The newly formed Northwest Area Process Advisory Committee, or PAC, wants buy in from the Planning Commission and the EDA. Mayor Pownell created the PAC to advise on what to do with the land annexed west of the hospital now that a Senior Housing project is set to break ground in June. In 2009 the City annexed 540 acres in Greenvale Township. A consultant was hired in 2010 and drafted a Master plan which was presented to the Planning Commission, the EDA, the Council in 2011. All of whom had questions. Ultimately it went nowhere. Fast forward to 2018 and the Senior Housing facility changes the landscape. The
PAC, which includes members of the Planning Commission, the EDA, some council and other stakeholders, came up with 8 questions which, “would eventually become the core of an RFP to a consultant that would help us answer these questions”, Will Schroeer, PAC committee and Planning Commission member presenting to them. Planning commission members asked why the first plan didn’t go anywhere. Betsy Buckheit, currently on the Planning Commission, was also on the 2011 Council, explained, “the original brief was, we thought, was going to be annexed for industrial/commercial development. Again, trying to balance out the tax base and the Master Plan came back with a Wellness Campus and housing and a variety of things that, I think, surprised people who were on the Planning Commission at the time as well as the Council so it was like building a mini city”. Money for was also a large reason. Buckheit said, “it would have had a huge amount of infrastructure and upfront costs that the consultants and the planning committee did not seem to want to discuss so I think there was concerns that the city was going to have to issue an awful lot of debt to put in an awful lot of infrastructure before we even had a whisper of development that would be coming in to repay those debts”. While Pownell wants a quick turn around from the Advisory committee, Planning Commission member Kate Stuart said, “looking at what the consultant would do, I’m surprised it could be done for little money, I’m surprised it could be done quickly. This seems almost as extensive a process as the whole visioning and strategic plan process we went through last Spring”. Community Development Director, Chris Heineman said the budget mentioned is $5 to $10,000 for a consultant. He reached out to some who said the timeline was too aggressive (Pownell wants a vision by mid October) and the scope too large. He was told they need to pare down the scope or increase the budget. The EDA reviewed the PAC’s plan yesterday, they wanted to discuss it further at their April retreat but the PAC wanted buy-in to their plan so far. The Council is expected to select a consultant by May 31st. I have the full recommendation by the PAC on kymn.net. We’ll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks. Members of the PAC include: Fred Rogers (Hospital Board); Jan Hanson (St. Olaf); Brent Nystrom (HRA); 3 members of the Planning Commission, Tracy Heisler, Will Schroeer and Betsey Buckheit; Councilor Greg Colby; along with Britt Ackerman (added AFTER the questions were selected) from the EDA and Jessica Peterson-White and Mayor Rhonda Pownell, both from the Council and EDA. Nate Carlson, EDA Coordinator, put together a timeline of the Business Park: Business Park Review Timeline Click for more: Final NW Process Advisory Recommendation
Man arrested again on DANCO
An Owatonna man is charged after violating a domestic abuse no contact order in Northfield. 35 year old Timothy Steven Schaefer was charged on New Years Eve after he reportedly grabbed a female victim by the throat early on in the evening and began hitting her head on the counter and kicking her. Schaefer, who has a child with the victim was charged with gross misdemeanor assault and ordered to stay away from her. Last Saturday night, officers received a call of possible domestic abuse at the same apartment. Schaefer and the woman were observed yelling at each other. Officers obtained a search warrant but the woman wouldn’t let them in. They forced entry and found Schaefer hiding in an upstairs bedroom. He’s bailed out of jail, his next court appearance is April 12th. He has a previous conviction for domestic violence in 2013. NO18000384 GM COMPLAINT ORDER OF DETENTION – SCHAEFER
UCC Pastor announces run for 20B Representative
We have the first person to announce their candidacy for District 20b representative David Bly’s seat coming up in November. Todd Lippert, the Senior Pastor of the First United Church of Christ in Northfield announced his intent to run. He plans to seek the DFL endorsement May 22nd. He was raised in a small Iowa farm town and has been serving as a pastor in the UCC for 15 years. Healthcare, advocacy for immigrant families and funding children’s education are his priorities. I’ll have his full release on kymn.net at noon today. Todd Lippert announces run for District 20b
