City's Deal with Ewig for Parking Lot Delayed

The Port Washington Common Council voted on Tuesday to delay a deal between the city and business owner Daniel Ewig for the purchase of the M&I Bank drive-thru that was planned to be turned into a city-owned parking lot.

The decision comes after results from an environmental test from Konicek Environmental showing chemical compounds in the soil. Though the levels appear to be lower than the acceptable levels per Department of Natural Resources standards, City Administrator Mark Grams said they don't know for sure.

The vote gives the city a 60-day window to check with the DNR before closing on the property.

The property, the M&I Bank drive-thru site, is slated to become the city's through a swap that gave Ewig's building access to a parking lot directly behind the new Boerner Mercantile Building, according to an Ozaukee Press article.

The site used to be home to an auto dealership, according to City Administrator Mark Grams. At that time, gasoline tanks were also housed on the property. The dealership was razed in the 1970s, and the M&I buildings were constructed in the 1980s. When this happened, it's likely that the tanks were not drained and instead were filled with sand — a common practice at the time, Grams said.