My Price County's November 2025 article about PCUL, which was answering a question that many residents were asking regarding if the grant funding was being used and what it was being used for, generated a lot of interest. (See related article.) On the My Price County / My Northern Wisconsin Facebook page, people mentioned that PCUL doesn't answer My Price County's questions and some felt they did not get answers when they had directly asked PCUL questions. This discussion likely prompted Cheryl Moore, PCUL board member, to contact My Price County as she seemed to be aware of the Facebook comments and the article on our website. Cheryl gave My Price County the contact email addresses for Lynda Ludwig and Blake Pluemer, which were some of the contact email addresses we had written to now and in the past, and she stated that is how we could get our questions answered. We submitted more community questions to all three board members in late December 2025, but we have not received answers to any of the questions, which are found below the following article. We will report those answers if we get them. Cheryl also stated she did not have a way to share the October 2025 video recorded meeting with My Price County given the file was so large, but she provided a transcript of the meeting. There were obvious errors in the transcript, as it was likely generated by AI, but we were able to get a lot of the 35-minute October 8, 2025 PCUL meeting captured in the following article. We tried to clean up repeated "um" noises, grammar, and repeated words that AI likely got wrong but otherwise left the quoted text as shown in the transcript.
October 2025 Meeting
At the October 2025 meeting, Lynda "Lyn" Ludwig began the meeting stating the agenda was "project updates and then we're going over the Community Involvement Plan, which is required by the EPA Community Grant. And also the ABCA, which is Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives for the initial cleanup activities."
Lyn stated she is the project director and PCUL works with Melanie Sorman, EPA Regional 5, and Sarah Gruza, an EPA Project Officer and the Brownfields Project Officer.
Lyn stated the cleanup grant will be used for "engineer analysis to determine which buildings are collapsed or have some structural integrity issues. The other thing that it funds is the demolition of buildings for safe removal of asbestos or other hazardous material." She stated it also pays for the safe removal of universal wastes, such as paint or hydraulic fluid that is in storage tanks and equipment. Petroleum and chemical storage tanks will also be remediated and removed. Floor slabs will be removed if hot spots exist. Contaminated areas will be backfilled and graded. Plus, the grant will be used for topsoil in needed areas.
Regarding contamination, Lyn said, "When we look back at the recent soil and groundwater sample results, none of the concentration detected in the groundwater exceeded a Wisconsin chapter NR 140 enforcement standard, and none of the concentrations detected in soil samples exceeded the NR 720 WAC direct contact residue, contamination levels for industrial land use. However, only limited testing was performed in the 9.2 acre project area where the facility buildings are located and where access of the sampling is limited because on this building that's pretty much concrete or asphalt all throughout that 9.2 acres. So it's been covering up areas since the 1880s. So remember there's 14 different mills and this is probably the 16th rendition of different mill sites."
She added, "There's asbestos located in the pipes in different areas. So we've identified in a 2023 survey that the boiler, there's this massive boiler that heated everything for the mill; it's part of the hardware, hardboard process. So there's a big building that has multiple boilers and that has asbestos. You know, it was built prior to 1950s. And then there's many pipes and duct insulation. There's roofing paint, building base sediment and there's penetration tar. And caulk like on the seams of the some of these buildings. So, we've also assumed that some of these asbestos containing materials that are identified include boiler components and electronic panel components."
David Holmes, an environmental consultant, said, "So, there has been quite a few testings done. You know, a lot of it was done by Georgia Pacific when they removed tanks or they spilled something. And it was cleaned up. Then there was testing done when the previous owner brought the property. So, that's where they went and they collected soil and groundwater samples from eight or ten locations around the site, and that's where there was some low level contaminants found, I think, yes, there's some metals and some poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, which are just sort of like heavier. And less volatile petroleum components and then also some volatile organic compounds, but they didn't do, you know, really extensive testing, so. But what was found was, you know, again this is, this is a plant that you know mostly dealt with, you know, wood products and then the hazardous materials were paint. So it wasn't like a lot of factories where you necessarily are expecting to find a lot of contamination. Probably the biggest contamination is from the fires that were here. So, there was, there is, some contamination. So, you know, but so it hasn't been regarding like pesticides or herbicides. I don't believe there's been any testing for that. But there really hasn't been a reason to based on what we're doing so far. Again, we're sort of taking this from first we got to deal with getting the equipment in the buildings. Tanks and chemicals and then what the grant does then have the ability to start looking under the buildings and then doing actual soil or groundwater clean up if needed. But yeah, again, you know, there was testing before and there really wasn't anything there in the soil and groundwater that would appear to be a threat to public health or the environment."
David added, "We can't really do anything with the rest of the grant funds until the equipment was removed. And then that was further complicated by just realizing that there were 20 or 30 pieces of equipment where they had incorporated asbestos into it. Sometimes it was, you know, ovens for heating or the boiler or other times it's just in the old days they use to put a little bit of asbestos in everything."
There are required filings and required acknowledgement to the public which PCUL must do throughout the process. One example Lyn mentioned is that an assessment must be posted for 30 days so that citizens can view and understand the risks that will happen during the removal of contaminated items from the buildings. That 30-day time frame has now passed, and they have been allowed to remove equipment.
There are 41 buildings on the property with about 38 having equipment inside them. All the equipment was auctioned except for the 18,000 square foot building's equipment. The large smokestack that says "Lionite" on it will be coming down. Community members had previously asked if that could be saved for historical purposes. Lyn's comments from the meeting were that the people taking it down are from out of the area and don't realize the significance to residents, but residents would need to tell PCUL if they want it, or other elements, preserved.
As for what the future looks like, Lyn said that "August 1, 2024 is when our initial grant started ticking. So we have four years after that to complete our project....There's one large one like a football field building that potentially could be an event center or a YMCA with a track on the upper level, there's other buildings that could be like manufacturing possibly, you know, but we're really looking at the structural components to see if we can build out something and reuse parts of the property so that it's a dynamic process. Initially, we looked at the property; we want to flatten everything, you know, get everything off and take everything off. But with the EPA Cleanup Grant, you know, it's only, you know, 1.6 million. This is a huge property to clean up, so the amount of money we want to preserve and have some cash flow for the build out, so we do this very consciously of how we step forward so we're not destroying things that could be preserved and generating income or some historic value, but we did a historic preservation study prior to this, as well. There's lots of things we had to do as we step through the cleanup grant." Lyn said PCUL wants to address the need for housing, recreational opportunities, and reconnecting the community to Duroy Lake.
David Holmes suggested time-lapse photography as the project continues on and stated it is probably a "grant eligible expense." This would preserve the history of the mill through photos.
At the meeting, Lyn said the active involvement of local residents and institutions are required for the Community Involvement Plan (CIP) portion of the grant.
Questions for PCUL
We sent the following message and questions to all three board members, including the email address Cheryl told us to send the questions to, in late December 2025. My Price County has not received any responses. If PCUL responds to the questions the community has sent to us, we will share those answers on My Price County / My Northern Wisconsin.
"Community members have asked the following questions; the newer questions are at the top and the older questions, from our previous emails to you, are at the bottom. Cheryl Moore told us to send the questions again so they can be answered. Providing answers will help the community feel more informed and comfortable with that is going on. We still get those same older questions from community members, so please provide answers. Since the EPA grant wants you to answer community questions, that is why we are asking all these questions. Please respond:
Who is CAP Minnesota LLC (with attorneys Stephen D. Willett and Jon Neve)? Why are they suing PCUL, Lynda Ludwig, and Associated Auction & Liquidation Co as of 12-8-2025?
Why is Associated Auction & Liquidation Co and WSC, Inc. DBA Wausau Auctioneers suing PCUL and CAP Minnesota, LLC as of 12-10-2025?
Why hasn't PCUL paid the $205.50 that was due on 11-7-2024 to the City of Phillips for grass length exceeding 6 inches?
Who are the admins of the Facebook group, "Friends of Price County United Limited?" Are you associated with that group?
Where did the funds go from the October 2025 auction? Who profited?
Which grants have you been awarded and for how much and which properties?
We know some grants are no longer being honored. Have any grants been revoked?
Rather than tearing them down, are there uses for the structures on the property if they are left in place, such as business start-up locations?
Since "Lionite" is on a floodplain, how is that going to be addressed and handled if PCUL wants to build new buildings?
Since the EPA does not pay for demolition and revitalization with the brownfield grant, what are the 1.6 million dollars going toward? And where will the money come from to demolish and revitalize?
Once the "community involvement" requirement is met for the brownfield grant, will PCUL still be giving updates and asking for public input on the revitalization aspect or will that end when the grant requirement ends?
What is happening with the former Fred Mueller Ford, Express Mart, and Belan Realties properties. We were told a few people wanted to rent the Fred Mueller Ford building but were told they could only do so for a month or must share the space with another business. What are the plans for these vacant commercial properties?
Now that the Express Mart building has been demolished, what are the plans for that property?
What is the update on the Elk Lake Park parking lot lease with the City of Phillips?
You stated that PCUL is paying back taxes on the former Lionite property. However, what amount of taxes will PCUL pay in the future once the back taxes are paid? Does a non-profit get a tax break? If so, how much?
Many people have expressed that if the former Lionite building is torn down, people will be able to see much more of the lake, and many people hope that the area will be used as an additional park or recreation area. Some would like to see retail or service businesses there which would bring value to the community. Will people be able to see the lake if housing is built there? How tall will the housing be? Will there still be room for something else other than housing? Your EPA application states, "The residential developments envisioned for the Property will consist of (4) 16-unit apartments aligned around a public park; (14) 4-unit village homes along a lakefront trail, and (12) small homes adjacent to public small craft docks along the Lake." Is PCUL planning to put 132 residential units on the former Lionite site?
So much housing seems excessive when we need jobs here; without jobs, shopping, things to do, and better medical care, as expressed by community members at PCUL meetings, people will not come here, so why does Phillips need so many housing units right now?
Are any of the properties going to be used for migrant housing?
Lyn stated, in the meeting, that many people think you are in this for the money, and you would like that corrected in the community. To correct the rumors, please tell us why you want to make these changes in Phillips. Also, are any of the board members receiving any money from PCUL at this time? If so, how much and for what reasons? If and when these projects take place, especially if all the housing gets built, where will the income go? What is the projected amount of money the board members will make at that time? Please let us know anything you can about the money that may be generated now and in the future with these projects, using the My Price County / My Northern Wisconsin platform as an opportunity to get accurate information to a large amount of the community and beyond, as our news platform reaches over 15,000 households, and we realize your grant involves community input and questions being answered by PCUL so the community can be informed.
Where is the money coming from to buy the individual properties that PCUL and the other LLCs are buying? One community member asked if those purchases are being made from the cleanup grant.
When was the Lionite property purchased by PCUL? The tax records show the transfer took place on April 1, 2024. However, at the April 1, 2024 meeting, Lyn Ludwig asked the planning commission to correct the date of ownership of Lionite from November 11, 2023 to November 10, 2023. Why did you want the planning commission to show it was purchased on November 10, 2023 if the tax record shows it was purchased on April 1, 2024? When was this property purchased?
What is the timeline for accomplishing all that PCUL wants to accomplish?"