The $16 million PFAS solution | Wausau news
The Weekly Wausonian for June 23, 2022
The good news is that when city leaders turn on the new drinking water treatment plant in August, it will filter out PFAS to levels below the new thresholds recommended by state agencies.
The bad news? It’s short-term, and long-term solutions will cost $16 million.
The city is hoping to get state and federal money that would cover up to $10 million of the costs of the granular-activated carbon filtration system. When the new plant turns on, it will filter PFAS to 12-15 parts per trillion, less than the 20 ppt threshold the DNR and DHS recommends. (Though EPA thresholds could be much lower.)
This week, paid subscribers read part II in our series Big Trouble in Little Kronenwetter. Among other things, we learn just how many staff have left the village in the past two years.
What else in Wausau news?
City leaders approved a new incentive program to for employees to give retirement notices early. HR Director Toni Vanderboom (who herself is leaving the city) says incentivizing employees to give notice of six months gives the city time to hire someone new and hopefully include overlap so the retiree can provide some training. The program comes as city hall is on track to lose a record number of people this year.
City staff are working out terms on a new greenhouse to replace an old city-owned industrial building, but only after some concern over the price. Asch Properties offered to buy the Wausau Chemical property for $40,000 and invest $250,000 into it, but some thought that price tag should be higher. Others said it was an improvement over usual proposals from developers, who often want the property for free and tax incentives besides.
The city’s Public Health and Safety Committee Monday issued a formal expression of concern to Newch’s Eatery. The restaurant/bar saw a fight there in March involving more than a dozen people, and police arrived to broken beer bottles and blood on the floor. The restaurants’ owner said a new person was managing and that it wouldn’t happen again.
Environmental cleanup of Riverside Park could happen yet this year, city leaders say. Alarms were first raised at the park by Tom Kilian, now a city council member, and Citizens for a Clean Wausau. The DNR is reviewing the cleanup plan, which involves removing the top layer of soil.
A number of cell phones and internet service stopped working in the Wausau area Tuesday. According to AT&T, another company’s workers cut a fiber line that led to the outages in Wausau area zipcodes.
Around the metro
County leaders Tuesday voted to provide schools with $70,000 in mental health funding. The program helps “institutionalize” the Marathon County School-Based Counseling consortium. The move comes after the Marathon County Youth Risk Behavior surveys have continued to show increasing levels of anxiety, depression and feelings of being unsafe amongst teens.
This week in data
City Hall continues to lose employees — as data crunched by The Wausonian shows, Wausau government is on track to see more employees leave city hall than at least the past five years.
Business
Missing Angelo’s Pizza? Timekeeper just announced it is partnering with the iconic Wausau pizzeria to provide Angelo’s Pizza to the distillery’s food lineup. Timekeeper, which serves those fancy mixology cocktails as well as creating its own spirits, will also offer an Italian Negroni as tribute.
Entertainment
Friday, June 24: Harold Melo is one talented guitarist — and this Friday he will put that talent to work as he brings several of his bands, along with The Station, to Whitewater Music Hall for Together, We Can. The event is meant to support folks in the Ukraine following the Russia invasion, and all of the cover charge of $10 goes to the cause. 6:30 pm. See the event page for more info.
Fri-Sat, June 24-25: It’s not every day there is a brand new event! Since the Balloon Rally is no longer held at the Wausau Airport, Wings Over Wausau now will be! Check out the event’s vintage car show, drone demonstrations, an airshow with local pilots, plus all the food, entertainment and kids activities to provide your family with a great time. $5 per family, free with non-perishable food donation. See the event page for more details.
Sat-Sun, June 25-26: Not to mention, this is the weekend Wausau Events moved Chalkfest. We’ve got a real battle for Wausau’s Big Weekend on our hands! Make sure you go take a stroll down to the 400 Block and check out the artists at work, or head on down the week after to see all those cool creations. Check out the event page for details on how to sign up to participate yourself.
Saturday, June 25: Copperbox is a Wisconsin band on the move! Their unique blend of accordion and rock make Copperbox not only a unique band, but one that has won numerous awards including a number of WAMIs by their band members. They’ve shared the stage with The Doobie Brothers, Peter Frampton ad even Robby Krueger of The Doors and Huey Lewis and the News. More details on the event page.
Looking for kids/family events? Check out the full listing from The Wausonian’s partner Wausau Mama, who puts together a weekly listing of children/family activities.
Sports
The Wausau Woodchucks had clawed their way back to .500 ball before losing three straight. The Chucks lost to the Madison Mallards Tuesday in Madison to slide to 10-13 for the first half of the season. The Chucks took on Madison at home Wednesday night, past deadline for The Wausonian.
Stevens Point native Roisin Willis won the 400-meter Nike Outdoors Nationals Sunday. Willis, daughter of former Irish Olympic Middle-Distance Runner Breeda Willis, hit a PR of 52.64, the fourth fastest of the 2022 season. Willis in June set a national high school record in the 800 meter race.
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