A Northfield man is facing four charges including Intent to Terrorize and domestic assault. According to the criminal complaint, officers were called to a dispute just before 10 o’clock Friday night in the 500 block of Division St. 49 year old Richard Kenneth Smith had been making disparaging remarks to a man and pushing his stepmother, also known as Smith’s girlfriend. Officers broke it up and let Smith go after he said he’d leave them alone. Moments later, Smith told police he wasn’t happy with their involvement and was using vulgar language
and hand signals as he walked away. About an hour later police were called to Smith’s apartment on Washington St. on report of Smith dragging the same woman down the stairs. Bruising had developed on the victim and there was dried blood where her foot had been caught on a step. Smith was also threatening to kill the stepson. The most serious charge is a felony carrying a maximum 5 years in prison. Smith’s first court appearance is August 21st. He has a previous conviction for domestic assault. Smith complaint
Nfld Council sails through approval of Strategic plan and Solar contract
After months of debate, it took the Northfield City Council mere moments to approve their Strategic Plan Summary. Mayor Pownell commented that there was a “significant amount of effort” to get “buy in” from both the public and Councilors. The vote was 5 to 1 with DeLong the dissenting vote and Ness out on vacation. The One-page summary lists the 6 priorities each with their desired outcome, a key indicator, the target and the strategic initiatives to get there. The next step is to take those specific actions plans to accomplish the initiatives to the Boards and Commissions this month and then to come back on September 5th to get final approval and then “get to work”. The summary is on kymn.net. 1 – Northfield Strategic Plan Summary 8_8_2017 (1)
An item that packed the Northfield Council Chambers was the vote on Community Solar. The City had bids to buy part of their operational power from solar companies. Last night they approved a contract. Administrator Ben Martig said they have a commitment and they’re expecting some cost savings as well as a benefit to the environment. They’ll be locked in with a 25 year contract. Should they want to terminate, the fee is extremely costly. At 10 years in it would be almost $2 million. Councilor Colby bristled at that but, after talking with experts, felt that solar was still the right move. Martig said they were able to negotiate down from where they started and he felt good about that in comparison. There’s a lot of communities “doing this”, Martig said. Twenty-seven percent of the City’s operational power usage will now be solar. They will continue to explore expanding their solar usage. Councilor DeLong was the only dissenting vote, The actual solar garden is in Steele County. Mayor Pownell and Administrator Martig were in studio this morning, their full interview is on our website. 1 – Northfield Solar Garden Resolution 2 – Community Solar Presentation v3 Aug 8 2017
Speak up on 2018 street projects
Tonight, the City is holding a public meeting on the 2018 street projects. If you have questions, concerns and/or suggestions this is your opportunity to speak. It starts at 6 o’clock in Council Chambers.
