Community support “means everything”
Northfield Police Chief Monte Nelson often talks of the support our community gives to his officers but when 5 Dallas police officers were murdered, our community let the Northfield Police Department know just exactly how valued they really are. Chief Nelson said, “we started getting anonymous flowers at the PD, flowers and cards and cookies and cake and emails, homemade cards from some young people in town”. Nelson said those thoughts and prayers “mean everything”. He continued saying that, “our job is difficult every day of the year, again, we have it pretty nice here in Northfield. Even the
issues we deal with that are… people don’t call us when things are going right, they call us when things are going wrong”, adding, “it’s not always the most positive atmosphere”. Which means officers must learn how to handle it. He said recent events are hard on their family members, “they think about their own family because they’re going to work every day. So 
it’s real important we have the support because it helps me frame it for our officers for perspective”. Nelson said his officers must stay vigilant but not be paranoid. Follow their training and keep making good decisions. The Chief’s full interview is on kymn.net. He also talks about Night to Unite coming up on August 2nd which you can start signing up for. We’ll have more on that later.
Heads Up – Bump outs are in
Temporary bump outs are in place on Washington Street at 5th street in Northfield. In June, Northfield Council approved this interim solution to complaints of that intersection being dangerous. Mayor Graham commented that the bump outs narrow the road which slows traffic down, he added that he thinks they’ll still need to do some work including painting crosswalks. Washington Street is scheduled for an overlay in 2018, the bump outs will allow the City time to evaluate the intersection further and see if that would make more sense than an all way stop.
Middle school driveway makeover
Northfield Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann helmed his first solo School Board meeting this week as the newly named Superintendent. Through the Thought Exchange process the public suggested widening the Middle School driveway to help alleviate congestion. Hillmann said, “we’ll actually have an additional lane on the north side of the driveway, there will also be sidewalks on both sides hooking up to the new crosswalk at Arbor Street”. The District will provide an adult crossing guard during peak times. The City will be adding flashing beacons as well. Hwy 246 has also been deemed a school zone. The School Board approved a minor change order to the new Middle School sidewalk that will extend the sidewalk completely along the north side. The project is expected to be complete before school starts.
Depot asks for dollars and City talks takeover
The Save the Northfield Depot gave an update to Council and Secretary Alice Thomas laid out details of their request TIF 4 funding. They were asking for $129,000 for site improvements including driveway and parking, curb and gutter, sidewalk and lighting which has broad support from Council. Mayor Graham said it’s an area the City has a lot of interest in including creating a Transit Hub, which aligns with the Depot plans. When considering the funding request, Administrator Ben Martig brought up the idea of the City taking over some of the project. Mayor Graham explains, “not for the Depot part but for the Transit Hub and the building of the road in the back”. The City would use TIF 4 dollars for the overall project. Graham says it makes sense, “we’re all on the same page as far as how we want this to look and the possibilities of what can be”. He said there are lots of trips going up to the Cities and Northfield Lines is really busy. It could be a hub for Hiawathaland as well. The Save the Depot group would maintain control over the Depot.
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