By Rich Larson, News Director
The Northfield City Council met for the first time in 2021 last night. Oaths of office were taken by Councilor Brad Ness who begins his second term as a Councilor-at-Large, Mayor Rhonda Pownell, who became the first two-term mayor in Northfield in more than 20 years, and the two new councilors, Dr. Jami Reister and George Zuccolotto. Councilor Jessica Peterson White was voted President Pro Tem of the council for 2021.
Zoning and construction issues dominated last night’s meeting. The second reading on re-zoning
two parcels of land for the Community Action Center’s Hillcrest Village project passed unanimously. Hillcrest Village, when complete will offer emergency, transitional and affordable housing all in one development. The project was roundly praised by members of the council for its compassionate and far-reaching insight into the plight of families with unstable housing situations, and also how the development itself is climate friendly. Councilor Clarice Grabau summed up the general feelings of everyone on the council.
“I’m really excited about this project, and I hope we can find ways to encourage and reward this type of design in the future. I’m also excited about the unique way that this project creates a sense of community and designs a space with dignity. It’s really going to be its own neighborhood.”
Also passing a second reading was the St. Olaf College request to re-zone nine parcels of land for its Ole Ave Student Housing Project, that will include a residence hall and townhouse-style accommodations for third- and fourth-year students. While the Council expressed overall support for the project, there was quite a bit of scrutiny when the discussion turned to the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit, particularly with regards to the amount of parking necessary for the project. The Planning Commission has recommended that the council approve the CUP, but only on the condition that the parking spaces are dramatically reduced, calling the number of parking stalls excessive due to increased traffic concerns. The school has noted that most of the parking stalls in the plan are either reconfigured spaces from existing lots, or spots replacing the parking that will be lost when the honor houses on the north side of St. Olaf Avenue are torn down. Councilor Peterson White asked a question about the simple math of those lost spaces.
“[There are] nineteen honor houses and a certain number of spaces per honor house. But the honor house plan on the St. Olaf website says that only seven of those are going to be removed. Just a quick visual on my part and on the part of other people who are paying attention to this project, I can’t get my head around how we’re counting 95 parking spaces that are going to be replaced by the new parking. I’m hoping someone can clarify that for me, because my visual observation is dramatically different from that number, and the assertion that this amount of surface parking is necessary seems to be dependent on that calculation.”
St. Olaf Vice-President Jan Hanson responded that the honor houses that are not torn down will be decommissioned and used for office space and other projects but was less specific about the use of parking around those houses. Suggestions were made that the Planning Commission take a second look at the plan with the new information regarding replacement parking, but nothing was determined. The conversation will continue regarding the project. A vote is set on the CUP for February 16.
.
New Dundas city council meets, approves multiple directions
And the Dundas City Council held its first meeting of the year on Monday night. Like the Northfield
council, there were two new councilors on board. Luke St. Croix and Luke Swartwood both took the oath of office prior to the meeting. City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said there is a learning curve for the new councilors, but so far, they seem to be doing very well.
“Hopefully we’ve prepared them a little bit. We did an orientation session with them over the course of two afternoons, maybe a month ago. We went through all operations, how the city works, who our contracted staff members are. They got to meet, virtually, with all of them. The mayor came in and sat through both sessions. We just had a very free ranging discussion about the long-term vision for the city and how they’ll fit in.”
The meeting itself went smoothly, Teppen said. The council signed off on the purchase of a new Dodge Durango police vehicle and directed Teppen to begin negotiations with a possible new City attorney. The Council also agreed to changes to the purchase agreement for the old Dundas City Hall with attorney Dan Irwin.
Teppen said the timing of the meeting was an anomaly and that beginning January 25th, the council would resume their standard schedule of meeting on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Jenelle Teppen can be heard here.
