Chillicothe — In his briefing to council, Mayor Luke Feeney expounded on Friday’s looming deadline for the paper mill – the official date when layoffs could start.
Feeney spoke for almost 10 minutes Monday evening. He said he has no official channel of communications that the public doesn’t have, and wished he had more information to share.
He pointed out that the WARN Notice, which has the legally required date of the start of possible layoffs of organized labor, is set for June 13th – and regardless of public statements, has not been retracted. Feeney said he hopes that the mill will stay open to the end of the year, as the owner stated on April 18th…but he does not expect that.
He mentioned the new program “Scioto Valley Forward” that opened its website and office that morning to assist with job searches, resumé building, and other related services – including a June 25th job fair.
Feeney listed three fronts in the battle. “The challenge is for all of us: doing many things at once and putting all of our energy into all of those things.”
The first is to “prepare for the worst” – 800 employees displaced with a quick shutdown. But, the Catch-22 is that if there is a mass exodus, that could hurt a possible sale to an employer who wants employees.
Feeney said the second front is employment assistance, largely led by JobsOhio, but also with mill operator Pixelle. He said the response team is identifying and courting potential purchasers who could use the paper mill in a similar manner.
He said the third front is considering what repurposing could look like, especially if there is no purchaser. The big problem is that a private owner controls the property, who is also out-of-state, and so it is hard to have any control of it or detailed information on it. A worst-case scenario would be if the mill sits dormant indefinitely.
Feeney pointed out that the county is in the middle of a new comprehensive plan, and is now adding a focus on the mill to look at what repurposing could look like.
Feeney said we all must be diligent and attack on all fronts, and that every level of government is working on it. All communications are open and cordial, and no one is being territorial.
He had also addressed the paper mill situation in the April 28th council.
Hear Feeney in his own words in the below video. (Council’s microphone system is networked only through each unit and is not amplified for the whole room…and it has a habit of being gravelly sometimes, so the sound is not the greatest.)
You can also find council’s live and archived video on Facebook and YouTube, as well as video on the independent “Chillicothe City Trackers.”
