The Crossings Project coming along
The Crossings Hotel project at Hwy 3 and 2nd street in Northfield continues to move forward. Community Development Director Chris Heineman said the developer recently received “franchise authorization” to build the proposed 80 room Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites. They’ve also jumped some financial hurdles in regard to business equity financing. He added that he’s had several recent conversations with both the developer and a representative from the architectural side on “some planning for not only the Crossings site but some of the outlots there”. Last May Council voted to approve a $1.755 million
public subsidy. Councilor Ludescher voted against it and has stated that he would file a civil suit. Asked if he was concerned, Heineman said, “I think those are all completely legally sound. We used, as far as our financial consultants, they’re very well versed in these types of projects and have worked on similar projects throughout the State of Minnesota”. Building permits still must be obtained and there’s no date on ground breaking but the hope is to have the $13.2 million project built by next Fall.
Nfld Finance subcommittee roles defined
The Northfield Council passed a resolution to define the roles and responsibilities of a Council Finance Policy Subcommittee. A 3 member committee was formed earlier but Administrator Ben Martig felt there needed to be a clearer idea of their charge to avoid issues later. He explained that this is an advisory group to the Council that would look into items more closely such as budget monitoring (monthly), review of policies so that by the time it gets to the full Council, it’s been vetted. They would look into more detail on bond issues as well. What they won’t do is make decisions. Some councilors expressed a desire to have citizens involved. While voicing that it’s a good idea, others felt that that is a separate issue and should be looked into at another time.
Farmington to hold Referendum meetings
The City of Farmington has two referendums on the November ballot asking for $10 million and $2 million to develop an outdoor aquatic facility as well as ball fields, athletic fields more bike trails and play areas and an outdoor hockey rink. The second is conditional on the passage of the first referendum. The City has scheduled 3 meetings to help explain the referendums. The first one is this Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock at Rambling River Center. They’ll hold another at City Hall on October 19th at 7pm and lastly at the Maintenance facility October 26th at 7pm. Here’s a link to the City website calendar. City of Farmington
The Nfld Muni has started their Food Drive
The liquor store has started their annual October food drive. The Northfield Municipal Liquor store in partnership with the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association and Coors Light, are accepting cash donations for our local food shelf. Each dollar raised is equal to 3 pounds of food. We look forward to another successful campaign in 2016.
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