By Rich Larson, News Director
The Northfield City Council will meet tomorrow night, and the chief item on the agenda will be the approval of the 2021 tax levy and city budget.
Initially, the levy had been set for an increase of 5.7%. However, members of the council asked for that number to be rolled back for next year. The levy is now set to increase by 3.7%. Within that increase, Mayor Rhonda Pownell said last week, is the funding for the Economic Development
Authority, the Housing & Redevelopment Authority, the Capital Improvement plan, key street projects, and more.
“We’re moving forward with necessary equipment that needs to be replaced, funding our library, our streets and parks, our police department, all of those different aspects are within that budget. And the council has worked hard, and so has the city staff, in looking at ways that we can keep it down. The original levy was at 5.7%, I believe, and the council really asked for ways that we could reduce it, without cutting into essential services, or other aspects or holding off on other projects that would be beneficial to the community that we could get done during this time, because interest rates are so low.”
A vote on the Riverfront Enhancement Plan is another issue on the agenda. The plan would bring development and some significant change to Riverside Park, Ames Park, and other areas along the Cannon River over a 5-10 year period. The Defeat of Jesse James Days planning committee has raised alarm regarding the plan, saying that the proposed changes would render the areas unusable for events during the celebration weekend, including the carnival and the rodeo. Defeat of Jesse James Days general chair Galen Malecha said that, while the committee does not object to the plan itself, it would like to have some input on how the plan is executed and where conflict with Defeat of Jesse James Days could be avoided.
Still another issue on the meeting agenda is the rezoning request and issuance of a Conditional Use Permit for St. Olaf College as the school looks to make significant developments to the East side of its campus. Last week, during a public hearing on the matter, the Northfield Planning Commission voted to recommend that the council approve the request, but only on the condition that the school remove a new 200 stall parking lot that the planning committee deemed “excessive.”
In all matters, the City Council is always looking for input and opinions from the public. As the Council is meeting in a virtual environment during the Covid-19 pandemic, the best way to voice an opinion is through the eComment section of the City Council webpage. The eComment section can be found by clicking HERE.
Northfield Arts Guild Names Rachel Haider Interim Executive Director
And the Northfield Arts Guild has announced that Rachel Haider will assume the role of Interim Executive Director when the current director, Tim Peterson, steps down on December 31.
Haider was the Guild’s Performing Arts Manager until her retirement from that position in July of 2019. Since then, she has maintained a strong presence with the Guild , directing a number of guild productions and helming the Purple Door Youth Theater program.
Peterson announced in October that he would be stepping down at the end of the year to take the position of Executive Director and Chief Curator at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.
A search is currently underway for a new permanent Executive Director for the Guild. The job listing can be found HERE.
