Today’s news update – Butler speaks his piece as Council ponders noise ordinance; Beyond the Open Mic discuss the hotel project; Will County Road 1 be lowered?

June 28, 2016
12:01 pm

Butler speaks his piece as Council ponders noise ordinance

As the City of Northfield ponders an “Unlawful Noise Ordinance”, Norman Butler, owner of The Contented Cow, spoke up at the Open Mic during last week’s Council meeting. He took issue with the number of times The Cow and his name were mentioned during the council’s work session 2 weeks ago. Other outdoor venues were mentioned 1 to 3 times, his was 15. He said that it was disingenuous, “to declare that this proposed ordinance is not targeted at The Cow”. While there have been complaints through the years, Butler noted that Police Chief Monte Nelson said the decibel levels of live music from The Contented Cow do not exceed permitted levels.

Butler has filed a data request for noise complaints through 2015 into 2016 that include, in part, the nature of the call, the time and day and where the complaint came from, “this data may help the Council’s decision making process by supplying hard information instead of minority opinion regarding disorderly conduct, loud parties and unlawful noise which, in this ordinance, bundles together with late-night weekend outdoor music”. Butler pointed out that he’s recently spent over $22,000 making improvements, “and all of this without grants or loans, forgivable or not”. He is asking the City Council to set the time limit on Friday and Saturday nights to midnight. City staff are recommending 11pm. All agree to a 10pm time Sunday through Thursday. He said, “before making your final decision please allow more time to analyze the results of my FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) which will tally noise in all it’s variety including noise which is offensive to one’s ears or music to one’s ears”. Right now there is no ordinance addressing live outdoor music.

Beyond the Open Mic discuss the hotel project

Northfield Council won’t be meeting tonight but Victor Summa and Don McGee go Beyond the Open Mic with a discussion surrounding the hotel project at The Crossings site and questions regarding acquisitions of small lots in the area and other subsidies. They’ll discuss a memo Councilor Ludescher has sent to Administrator Ben Martig regarding possible violations of State and Charter laws. That’s tonight at 6 o’clock.

Will County Road 1 be lowered?

Rice County Engineer Dennis Luebbe discussed the status of the County Rd. 1 construction with Dundas Council including options for lowering the road at the top of the hill at Highland Pkwy and Ferral Avenue due to access and safety into the residential area of Bridgewater Township. The question is how far can they lower the road and how it affects Dundas as the lower it gets, the more reconstruction has to be done. City Administrator John McCarthy said that becomes a city expense and there are city utilities, such as water and sewer, in the area. Those utilities would have to be relocated, lowered or protected depending on the cut. McCarthy said the entire length of the road will have 3 lanes, a center turn lane running the whole way and 8 foot shoulders. Incorporating multi-modal features is also a part of the design. Co. Rd. 1 is set for reconstruction in 2018. For more listen to McCarthy’s full interview on kymn.net.