After 2 and a half hours of discussion, it was a 5/2 vote in favor of approving a lease amendment with St. Olaf College. The city of Northfield needed to release 12 acres of land, just west of the hospital in order for a private developer, Yanik Companies, to lease the land directly from the college. Their plan is to develop a 94-unit senior housing facility with the potential for a 70-unit facility later on. The project is estimated to bring in $314,000 in property taxes based on an estimated valuation of $21 million, said Administrator Martig. Multiple questions were answered by
Community Development Director Chris Heineman, Hospital President Steve Underdahl, COO Jerry Ehn and Chester Yanik, the owner of the company. The plan, vetted by the Hospital Board, has their full backing. Yanik is not asking for any city funds, no TIF dollars. What they have asked for is the specific location. Infrastructure is already in place and they don’t need to build a road. St. Olaf College is also on board with the development. Mayor Pownell and Councilor Nakasian voted no expressing they felt the Council was left out of the process, among other things, “I’ve been clear about my concerns, had questions with regards to location and zoning. Is it truly the right place for locating some of our most vulnerable people in our community?”. Adding that it’s a great project, she just wanted it somewhere more walkable and in a community. Another stickler for them was the call to make a decision last night. Yanik has the funding in place and builders ready to begin construction June 1st. Yanik made it clear they need to get this going or they’ll pull out. With the hospitals long term care center losing close to a million dollars a year, it’s not a sustainable model, so they’ve been discussing options for about 3 years. Councilor Ness said, referring to the location, “I don’t think the Council should micromanage to the point of saying we should not put seniors out there”. That being 3 miles from downtown at the Northfield Hospital. [NOTE: The hospital was specifically built in Dakota County due to better medical tax breaks]. Ness added, “we should not let personal preferences cloud our decision to approve this lease agreement. This is good for the Hospital, good for St. Olaf and great for the City”. The next step is a development agreement where there will be plenty more discussion. Typically this type of project would not have to be in front of Council, Martig said, “this is unique in the fact that this property is leased by the City for the hospital and it’s ancillary related uses that they had so what we’re looking at is adding some additional conditions on the development to really make sure that it ensures it’s quality”. Final action is expected at the end of January. To listen to the full interview with Pownell and Martig go to kymn.net.
Municipal ID 2nd reading approved unanimously
Once again Council Chambers was overflowing with people as the 2nd reading of the Municipal ID was on the agenda. Thirteen people spoke, two of those remained very leery of creating a database of names. When the vote was unanimous the Chambers erupted in, nothing short of jubilation for much of the room. Next steps include implementation which will likely be in March.
Neuville steps down – to be honored by RCTC
Rice County District Court Judge Thomas Neuville is stepping down. Former Northfield attorney, former State Senator, Neuville was appointed Judge by Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2008, he was then elected in 2010 and again in 2016. Neuville was on the Wayne Eddy Affair on November 20th. He talked about his diagnosis with kidney cancer and the progression of the disease. He commented, “I can’t go back and do chemo right now, I’m hopeful that my blood counts will increase and then I can try chemo therapy again”. Neuville has a long history of service to the community. You can find the show on kymn.net under the Wayne Eddy Affair. The commission on judicial selection is searching for Neuville’s replacement. This announcement just came in:
RCTC Establishes a Judge Neuville Treatment Court Recovery Fund
Fund Developed to Honor Judge Neuville at his Retirement from the Bench
Faribault, MN, December 13, 2017: Rice County Treatment Court (RCTC), a court that improves the criminal justice system while supporting participant recovery, has established a fund to honor Judge Thomas Neuville’s retirement from the bench of Rice County District Court on January 4, 2018. The fund will be used to establish a community monument to honor Judge Neuville. Additional funds will be used to support the recovery of RCTC participants. Judge Neuville led community partners in the development and implementation of RCTC in 2013 and 2014. He has served as the treatment court judge since July 1, 2014. At the announcement of his retirement, one participant said “no other judge could care about us the way Judge Neuville does.” Nine participants have completed RCTC or “Commenced” their recovery in the community. An RCTC evaluation completed in June 2017 concluded that in treatment courts “bad things are avoided and good things happen in all areas of life including adding to the cost benefit of RCTC,” confirming that treatment courts save taxpayer money. The Policy Team of RCTC includes Rice County Administration, Rice County Community Corrections, Rice County Social Serves, the Rice County Attorney’s Office, the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office, Rice County Court Administration, the Rice County Sheriff, Faribault and Northfield Police Departments, Northfield Health Community Initiative, and local treatment providers West Hills Lodge and Omada. Donations can be completed online at www.northfieldhci.org/donate or mailed to Health Community Initiative.
