Brown County Board member Pat Evans has asked that the Green Bay City Council forgo a proposed resolution on the Neville Public Museum, saying its passage would break the city and county’s relationship.
In an April 30 email, Evans said many County Board members were “not happy” with the proposed resolution, which urges the county to hire a museum director and says the museum is seeing instability. The last director resigned over half a year ago
Evans said the museum was the business of the county, not the city. Evans said he recognized the resolution was intended as a show of support for the museum, but “it is not being seen that way.”
“To be absolutely direct, the County Board (and county executive) are working on this issue and do not appreciate being told how to do our job(s),” Evans wrote.
He requested the City Council at its May 5 meeting place the document on file, what would effectively neuter further action. Evans said it would be inappropriate for the City Council to pass the resolution.
Adopting the resolution “will do nothing but hurt” the city and county’s relationship on other matters, Evans said, listing their collaborations on moving the coal piles along the Fox River, renovating the Brown County Library, and funding the city’s new fire station headquarters.
The resolution “could potentially kill any support” from some County Board members on other initiatives for the city’s benefit, Evans said, specifically a county resolution to share part of its sale tax revenue with local communities and getting more funding to redo Shawano Avenue.
The email was sent to the resolution’s sponsor, City Council President Alyssa Proffitt, and co-sponsors Mayor Eric Genrich and City Council members Ben Delie, Doug Orlowski, Joey Prestley, Jim Ridderbush and Jon Shelton.
Proffitt told the Press-Gazette she saw no reason to drop the resolution. She said Evans’ suggestion that the city and county’s relationship would break down was “a disheartening narrative to spread.”
“It was never intended to tell them what to do,” Proffitt said. “It was to shine a light on what was happening at the museum.”
Proffitt and the city’s Public Arts Commission that endorsed the resolution on April 22 have said the museum has seen staff pressures and a lack of direction since former director Beth Kowalski resigned on Sept. 15. Jeff Flynt, the county’s deputy executive, took over as interim director.
Commissioners criticized what they said was an opaque process by county officials over the museum’s future and in choosing a director. Language was added to the resolution at the commission’s April 22 meeting to say that “any long-term, strategic changes” to the museum “should be guided by a transparent and inclusive community engagement process” to keep public trust in the institution.
The museum’s future has come under repeated questioning by county officials since Kowalski’s resignation. Some County Board members have floated the idea of adding children’s exhibits to the museum in a bid to increase attendance, an idea that’s drawn disapproval of other County Board members.
Toni Burnett, executive director of the Children Museum’s of Green Bay, on Oct. 2 said, “This is a very intentional model – not something that can be simply retrofitted onto a history museum without undermining both missions.”
Flynt previously told the Press-Gazette the county was looking to keep the museum “financially sustainable for the long haul.” The museum has rebounded to pre-pandemic attendance levels and, in 2025, posted its highest revenue since at least 2019.
The county budgeted $1.04 million for the museum in 2026, which is about 1% of the total budget.
Flynt said that hiring a permanent director was “just taking time.” He said interviews for the position were ongoing but declined to say when a director would be hired.
Evans said in his email that county officials are open to the idea of the city taking complete control of the museum’s operations without county funding.
Proffitt indicated her openness during the Public Arts Commission’s April 22 meeting to the idea that the city could operate the museum at least in collaboration with the county.
Proffit said she was uncertain of the resolution outcome at the City Council’s May 5 meeting.
At least one City Council member, Melinda Eck, has publicly indicated opposition to passing the resolution. Eck reposted on April 25 a social media post by former City Council member Craig Stevens who said the resolution “serves only as a public display of political pressure in an area where the city has no jurisdiction” and that the City Council “should not be inserting itself into county administrative matters.”
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. He also writes a weekly column answering reader questions about Green Bay. Contact and send him questions at 920-834-4250 or jlin@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brown County Board member asks Green Bay to drop Neville resolution
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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