January 7 The City of Appleton Common Council turned down an opportunity to purchase land owned by Outagamie County on which a public-private partnership would construct the proposed Fox Cities Exhibition Center. The 8-to-6 vote against spending $2 million already budgeted for the property downtown adjacent to Radisson Paper Valley Hotel means proponents of an exhibition center may need to look elsewhere to construct the more than $20 million facility, which would allow the Fox Cities to attract larger conventions than it currently can accommodate. The day following the council’s decision, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson presented a counter offer to sell the property to the city for $1 in exchange for an agreement to build a parking structure for county employees. That offer was still under consideration as of B2B’s press deadline for this edition. January 7 JC Penney announced plans to close its Oshkosh store in April, effectively laying off 79 employees. The company also announced it would close its department store in Racine. The state Department of Workforce Development is preparing staff from the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board to deliver job search, career planning and resume assistance as well as job training to affected workers. January 7 A $10 million multi-family housing project to redevelop a more than 100-year-old former woolen mill on the banks of the Fox River near downtown Appleton was set back when the city’s common council rejected a request to rezone the two-acre property by a 9-to-6 vote. Oshkosh developers Andy Dumke and Cal Schultz proposed a 60-unit apartment complex called Woolen Mills Lofts in an area known as the industrial flats below the downtown. Though the project was endorsed by the city’s plan commission, council members voting against the project cited concerns regarding pedestrian safety, limited parking and limited greenspace. January 9 The U.S. Department of Labor reported 252,000 new jobs were created in December, dropping the national unemployment rate to 5.6 percent. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, construction, food services and drinking places, health care and manufacturing. For the entire 2014 fiscal year, nearly 3 million jobs were created nationwide, the highest amount of job growth since 2001. January 10 HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center on Green Bay’s west side closed for nearly 24 hours after a water main break began flooding the basement boiler room, shutting the boilers down and leading to a loss of heating capabilities. Emergency room visitors were re-routed and about 50 patients were
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NNB2B | February 2015 | 7