Greg Colby appointed Councilor-at-large
The Northfield Council chose Greg Colby last night, among 8 candidates vying for the appointment of Councilor-at-large to fill the space through 2017. There will be a special election in November to fill out the term which ends in 2018. Each candidate had 1 minute for an opening and then were given 5 basic questions to answer for a total of 10 minutes each. Mayor Pownell commented on the quality of the candidates who had a diversity of perspective and interest and commitment to the community. She added that it was a wonderful opportunity for the Council to hear their thoughts. Council then narrowed
the field to four, then 3, where there was a tie between Joe Gasior and Arique Auigular (Ah dee kay AgyooAR). Greg Colby continued to bubble to the top. Since Colby seemed to be the candidate everyone had voted for at one point, Councilor DeLong suggested they make a motion to appoint him. The vote was unanimous. Colby commented that he was looking forward to tackling the City’s issues and “absolutely” looking forward to working with this Council. Pownell commented on Colby’s experience. He’s been a council member, a planning commissioner and Charter commissioner. He’s lived in Northfield for 32 years. Last November Colby lost to Brad Ness who was elected to fill the other At-Large seat. The Latino community in the audience were disappointed. I asked Colby what he brings to the table for them. He said he’s worked with the Hispanic community for 20 years, as a public defender, “I do understand the cultural issues, I understand the challenge that our immigration law presents and some of the fear out there”. Colby will take the oath next week.
Bly holds little hope on bonding bill
Governor Dayton has put forth a $1.5 billion bonding bill. District 20B Representative David Bly said there’s a lot of good things in it but believes it will be tough to get it through the legislature. Bly says the legislative leaders have not shown much of an interest in it. Healthcare looms large, I’ll have more comments from Bly tomorrow. You can also listen to his full interview on kymn.net.
Aldi update
An Aldi’s in Dundas is getting ever closer to reality. City Administrator John McCarthy spoke with the architect this week. He believes they’ll file for a building permit before the end of the month. McCarthy says most everything else has been pretty well vetted. Once the building permit is approved, they can begin work.
Robo Raiders take FIRST
FIRST, (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a non profit mentoring organization based in Massachusetts, sponsors an international robotics safety animation video competition each year. The Northfield High School Robo Raiders, the robotics team, won first place. Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann commented that this is a “real honor”. It will be played before every first competition in the United States and across the world of this season which kicked off Saturday. The kids in the competitions work in a Shop doing welding and using other equipment where safety is a factor. The videos are another part of the responsibility and creativity they are encouraged to apply. You can view it firstinspires.org or click on the link above.
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