WEDC board member Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, an opponent of the deal, said Friday in an interview he is calling for WEDC to amend its process so that the board can review the contract itself before granting final approval. He said there was some irony in the board at its August meeting being given closed door updates on both the potential Kestrel litigation and the Foxconn negotiation.

“Based off of what happened with Kestrel and the size of this, the contracts should be made available to the board members,” Carpenter said. “If you vote for something as a legislator, you bought the farm, you have to explain everything you voted for. … Because this is so complex and important to know what’s going on, it’s essential we’re looking at this.”

In response, a WEDC spokesman said the process for approving the Foxconn award will follow the same process as other enterprise zone awards — the board will vote to approve a staff review, which details the terms of the agreement, designates the zone and authorizes WEDC staff to finalize the contract. Once the contract is executed, it will be a public document.

WEDC board chairwoman Lisa Mauer said she disagreed with Carpenter’s assessment of the situation and that the board has been kept apprised of the process.