Nfld Council passes Levy at 2{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}
The Northfield Council met last night They started with public hearings on several levies, plans and budgets. The HRA and EDA levies passed unanimously at about 1.8{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} each. The General levy passed 6 to 1 at 2{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}, that was the Preliminary levy they set in September. Councilor DeLong wanted it to be 1{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}. Mayor Dana Graham said, “while we can’t control, obviously, the County or the School District taxes, our City taxes, for the most part, are going down”. The 2{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} is a dollar amount of overall spending. If more people, more businesses come to town, then that 2{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} is spread out further. Council passed an
$11.8 mil 2017 budget. They did have to approve a transfer of $90,000 to pay for raising the electric transformers next to the Cannon River to protect businesses during flooding episodes. Graham was in studio this morning. His full interview is online.
NAFRS to bring conceptual design of Facility to entities and the public
NAFRS, Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Services, joint powers board will hold a special meeting tomorrow morning at Community Resource Bank. They’ll lay out their plans for the Fire Facility to the Northfield and Dundas Councils as well as the Township Supervisors. Chair Glen Castore said, “we’re bringing people up to speed on where we are with refurbishing the facility”. The JP Board needs approval from both councils and the township supervisors before they can move forward on the estimated $3.5 mil project. Castore said the final vote will likely be late summer after they’ve nailed down final costs. Right now, they have a “conceptual design” which includes repurposing some areas including a small engine repair shop, a place to repair hoses and a training room. They’ll also need more room for the equipment. They’re looking at adding 4500 sq. ft. The trucks will drive into the building from the back by the river and exit out the south side. The meeting is at 9am in the conference room and the public is encouraged to attend. Castore’s entire interview is online at kymn.net
Frustration over policy and process of Fire facility
There’s a history of frustration for Dundas Mayor Glenn Switzer and Administrator John McCarthy regarding the process by which the NAFRS Joint Powers Board and committees have been working. There’s no dispute on the facility and refurbishing, it’s that, as a public body, they need to do things in a public way. Switzer said, “when one of the members has a question it should be taken seriously and it should be answered and it should be thoughtful instead of being marginalized”. Dundas has continued to have questions and has continued to feel stonewalled. Switzer said trust has been eroded, “every time we ask a real simple question we don’t get a good answer and we’re told don’t ask questions it kind of says, well, that means you should ask more questions ’cause what’s going on?”. The RFP went to one architect and one builder with only conceptual designs. Switzer added, “there’s this rush to get the projects done instead of dealing with building this organization and going through different steps, maybe get the drawings, maybe bring it out and bid it and get multiple bids then we can hold someone to a bid and we know exactly what we’re getting”. Switzer is in favor of creating a Taxing District and says that’s why he’s strong in pushing for policy of the Board because “how this Board starts to work now is how it will work in the future”. He believes they’ll get through it but his concern is for the future. His entire interview is online at kymn.net.
NDDC hires Ex. Dir.
The Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) has hired a new Executive Director. Jenni Roney has accepted the part-time position and will begin her duties on January 1st. The full press release is online at kymn.net. We expect to hear more from Roney in the coming weeks.
Snowflake found!
And the 2016 Winter Walk snowflake ornament has been found. Ed Brodie, from Maplewood, found it at 8:20 this morning. It was in a tree along 5th street and Washington behind Hogan Brothers near the stop sign. Brodie’s interview with Jeff Johnson is here. snowflake-12-7-16
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