METRO BRiEFS

CEO shuffle

NCHC CEO/CFO resigns — the second to leave the organization in less than a year

North Central Health Care’s interim

Chief Executive Officer has resigned, making her the second CEO to step down in less than a year.

The organization announced Jill Meschke’s resignation Friday. Meschke had been named interim CEO last summer after the organization announced the resignation of CEO Michael Loy in July. Loy resigned following an investigation into a loan program he launched aimed at retaining employees. The handling of the situation and investigation caused one board member, Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven, to quit the board in protest.

Prior to being named interim CEO, Meschke had served as Chief Financial Officer for NCHC, and it appeared she still retained that title while also serving as the CEO of the organization. Prior to coming to NCHC, Meschke had been a director of accounting and financial services for the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

In response to questions about whether the board had made any efforts to recruit a permanent CEO in that time, NCHC Board Chair Kurt Gibbs told City Pages that the board planned to meet Wednesday afternoon, past City Pages’ editorial deadline, to discuss the next steps in regards to hiring a CEO and CFO. Meschke’s resignation leaves the organization without either. The resignation comes at what has been a troubling time for NCHC. The organization in 2020 saw a $3.9 million loss, after finances had earlier begun to turn around under Loy’s leadership. And the organization is in the midst of wrapping up a major campus overhaul that began in 2019.

Jill Meschke

Children’s Imaginarium hiring director

The Children’s Imaginarium is ready to hire a director as the organization has nearly reached its fundraising goal.

The imaginarium organization has raised $3.6 million, or 94% of the organization’s fundraising goals. The group is planning to hire a director to finish the final round of fundraising ahead of a opening targeted for later this year.

The Children’s Imaginarium, formerly known as the Marathon County Children’s Museum, will be the first project in the Wausau Center mall redevelopment area that is also supposed to eventually attract housing and commercial development to the downtown. The imaginarium will co-locate with HOM Furniture, which is

shifting to a smaller footprint in the building left standing after the mall was torn down last year.

The imaginarium will feature “commissioned exhibits supported by educational programming and hands-on activities, ample parking and accessibility for children and families,” imaginarium officials say. “The museum is working with nationally recognized exhibit fabricators to design exhibits rooted in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and will offer programming geared toward children ranging from two to twelve years of age, and their families.”

Those interested should contact the Imaginarium’s founders at info@chlidrensimaginarium.org.

“We are excited to bring on a leader who can champion our vision for the project as it enters its final phase,” says President and co-founder Maggie Gordon. “This position will play a key role in working closely with the Board to develop and implement the strategic plan, establish policies and provide leadership support for staff and volunteers.”

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Pot proposal morphing into deep look at fine structures

What started as a proposal to “decriminalize” marijuana possession in Marathon County has now turned into a deep dive looking into fines and forfeitures in the county.

The county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee made that decision after looking at a proposal brought up earlier this month aimed at reducing fines for possession of marijuana from $250 to $50 and making it a county-level offense.

But the committee elected to take a step back and look at all the fines and forfeitures. So much of the fines paid by Marathon County residents ended up going to the state, despite the county spending so much money on resources to fight crime here.

The Committee takes up the issue again in March.

Survey: Most riders looking for weekend, other community routes

Most adult riders are looking for weekend bus service along with routes to other communities, according to a survey by a transit consultant looking at the city’s bus service Metro Ride.

The survey, conducted by the consultant RLS and Associates, found adult riders’ number one improvement was service on Saturdays, followed by service to other communities, says RLS consultant Laura Brown. The company surveyed 253 bus riders to gather the data.

The city hired RLS last year to look at the transit service from an outsiders view and make recommendations on how the service can be improved. RLS will make a series of recommendations based on its study of Metro Ride, which included the surveys, public input meetings, committee meetings, studying the system and a public survey that is set to go out soon. Those recommendations are expected later this year, and the consultants will also help the city find funding for any expansions and improvements and stay through August to help with the process.

The consultants’ hiring comes as Metro Ride ridership has continued to decline. The service has been caught in a catch 22: limited service hours, only operating Monday through Friday, and only within the Wausau city limits (without service to even the city’s industrial park) make it hard to attract new riders; but low ridership makes it harder to expand those services that would attract new riders.

The consultant’s final recommendations are expected in July.