Patrick Marley and Rick Barrett

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Kimberly-Clark Corp. will close one of its plants in northeastern Wisconsin but may keep a second facility open if the state comes up with millions of dollars in an incentive package, the state Senate's leader said Tuesday.

But lawmakers would have to move quickly.

On Tuesday, the company said it wants a decision from the Legislature by the end of the month — just weeks before the Nov. 6 election.

"Conversations continue regarding the company’s position to commit to using the incentives, and we are advising policy-makers of the importance of identifying a date when the vote on the incentives legislation will occur. We’ve requested that the vote occur by the end of September," Kimberly-Clark spokeswoman Brook Smith said in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"This allows us to finalize our project plans and minimize the uncertainty and distractions being felt at our various sites, so our employees can focus on remaining safe and manufacturing quality products," Smith said.

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Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said the paper and hygiene product maker would close its Neenah nonwovens plant that employs about 110 people. But an incentive package could save the Cold Spring plant in Fox Crossing that has 500 jobs, he said.

Legislative backing unclear

Getting votes for such a package, which would cost tens of millions of dollars, has remained elusive. Fitzgerald said he did not know if leaders could get the votes for such a deal.

"I don’t really know where the support would be or how much support there is," Fitzgerald said.

He downplayed the possibility any deal would be reached before the election, let alone by the end of September.

Fitzgerald and GOP Gov. Scott Walker met with company officials at the Cold Spring plant Friday. Fitzgerald called the talks productive but said there was no chance the nonwovens plant could be saved.

"That other plant, definitely, they’re closing that plant," Fitzgerald said. "Cold Spring was the one the discussions were about."

Few Senate Republicans have said they support the incentive package, which would provide per-job incentives in line with those offered last year to Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn Technology Group for a massive plant planned in Mount Pleasant.

For instance, state Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield), who is running this fall against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, said she hasn’t made up her mind on the deal approved by the Assembly in February.

“We’re still looking at it and I still having made my final decision,” Vukmir said. “We’re listening to people, what people are saying about it, but I don’t think there is consensus yet in the caucus."

RELATED:Republicans likely don't have the votes for Kimberly-Clark deal, GOP leader says

Kimberly-Clark announced in January it planned to shed up to 5,500 employees and close or sell 10 plants worldwide. Among those targeted for closure are its facilities in Neenah and Fox Crossing.

The Assembly in February approved an incentive package, Assembly Bill 963, to try to keep those plants open and save 610 jobs.

Foxconn-like package

The Kimberly-Clark package is modeled on the deal for Foxconn, which stands to get about $4 billion in state and local incentives.

If Kimberly-Clark continued to operate in northeastern Wisconsin, the state would cover 17 percent of qualifying wages paid to workers and also pay 15 percent of any factory upgrades.

The wage incentives alone could cost state taxpayers $101 million to $117 million over 15 years. Those figures assume both plants would remain open. The amount would be less if only the Cold Spring plant remained operational.

Walker has championed the proposal, even as some of his fellow Republicans have opposed it. Aides to Walker's Democratic opponent, state schools Superintendent Tony Evers, didn't say Tuesday whether Evers backed the deal.

Senate leaders declined to take up the Assembly proposal in the spring but agreed to revisit the issue this summer after Kimberly-Clark officials said they would consider an incentive package now that the union at one plant has ratified a deal that includes worker concessions.

But they have had trouble getting backing for the package.

In an interview late last month, Senate President Roger Roth (R-Appleton) described GOP support for the bill as "significant" but did not name which senators were backing him.

"We need some Democrat support to get it done," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) said Democrats want a deal that will help all papermakers.

“Sen. Roth and Sen. Fitzgerald already killed this bill once and it doesn’t look like their Republican majority is any closer to getting a deal done this time around," Shilling said in a statement.

Republicans control the Senate 18-15.

Fitzgerald said it would be "tough" to reach a deal before the election but said he believed lawmakers would have a couple of years to reach a deal before the Cold Spring plant would close.

He said a wide range of possibilities are being considered, including offering a smaller package of incentives through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. instead of the Legislature.

"Nobody closed the door," Fitzgerald said of Friday's talks with Kimberly-Clark officials.

Arkansas officials are also trying to persuade Kimberly-Clark to keep a few hundred jobs there — and one state's success may depend on the other's failure.

Mike Preston, director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said in August he remains intent on keeping about 350 jobs at a plant there but signaled he expects to lose a bidding war with Wisconsin given the proposed incentive package's "unprecedented" scope.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the commission said state officials there are still in talks with the paper and hygiene product maker.

Government officials in the Fox Valley said they remain hopeful that a deal will be struck to keep the Cold Spring plant open.

"I would sure hope that political gamesmanship doesn't get in the way of this, and that (legislators) step up and look at it like they've done with Foxconn and other things. And sooner, than later, would be real helpful," said Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert.

Some of the 500 employees at Cold Spring have left since the January announcement that the plant was at risk of shutting down.

Recently, temporary workers have been brought in from out of state to fill vacancies, according to local employees.

"It has been challenging to find and hire talent to fill these open roles, and we decided to use a national firm in the short term to assist with placing these temporary workers," said Kimberly-Clark's Smith.

"They are losing some good people, and I'm sure it's not easy to hire with this cloud hanging over the plant," Kaufert said.

Local officials say they believe a deal to keep the plant open could be struck after Oct. 1, though they would rather have it done as soon as possible.

"I would guess what the company really wants is a commitment that the Legislature is going to come together and make some sort of decision, so the company can make theirs," said Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris.

"I would hope that the (Legislature) would at least come back into session and hash something out," Harris said. "If the company is assured that the Legislature is going to meet on this, as of a certain date, I'm sure they would wait to see what the outcome of that was."

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said he, too, believes a deal could come after Oct. 1.

"The Cold Spring plant is a state-of-the-art facility that's incredibly profitable," he said.

Northeastern Wisconsin has lost thousands of paper-plant jobs over the years, underscoring the importance of saving the Cold Spring plant, according to Nelson.

It's important to "fight to the last dog" to keep these plants open, he said.

Bill Glauber and Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel staff and Maureen Wallenfang of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin contributed to this report.