by Rich Larson
The proposed Kraewood development will receive a public hearing tonight during the city’s Planning Commission meeting. 
Developers Rebound Partners, Schmidt Homes, and the Stencil Group have created a plan to build 130 housing units over twelve acres on the former Paulson Tree Farm property.
Northfield is facing a severe housing shortage and the thirty single and multi-family homes, along with the 100-unit apartment building detailed in the plan would ease that problem. However, the proposal has received strong resistance from people who live in the area for reasons ranging from the size of the development, to increased traffic, to environmental concerns.
The developers have had several meetings on the issue with concerned area residents, city staff and members of the planning commission. The plat submitted to the city is a revision from the original, with a more reduced scope. A presentation given by city staff will recommend that the commission approve the plat with slight conditions.
The Planning Commission will meet at 6pm tonight in the City Council Chambers. Those wishing to participate in the public hearing are invited to attend and address the commission, make a statement through the eComment button on the Agenda section of the city website, or email city planner Mikayla Schmidt.
Budgeting process set to begin
The city of Northfield is preparing to begin the budgeting process for 2022, and on Tuesday night at the city council meeting, City Administrator Ben Martig gave a presentation showing what to expect in those upcoming conversations.
Martig said with six months of 2021 behind us, the city now has the foundation of information it needs to look at their operating expenses for next year. He said each department is conducting a review of their current costs and revenues “line item by line item” for Finance Director Brenda Angelstad and he to go through. When that process is finished, they will take the information they have to the city council for discussion.
When putting the preliminary skeleton together, Martig said there are several pieces the city will look at, beginning with debt service and personnel expenses. The five-year capital plan that the city has in place allows for few surprises in the debt service and the impact that will have on the annual tax levy, and Martig expects a 2.5% increase will be in place for next year. The personnel costs, he said, are 65% of the overall budget, because the city is ‘essentially a service entity,’ that requires a high number of employees in all the various areas and departments. With open labor contracts, increases to health insurance costs and general wage increases, he said the personnel costs are projected to increase by 5%.
Martig pointed out that this year, there will most likely be some offset due to the aid that is coming to the city through a possible slight increase in State provided Local Government Aid, and the money they will receive from the federal American Rescue Act.
“We’re going to have about $2.3 million in federal dollars that we will have to decide how to distribute, from the American Rescue Plan. That might allow us to accomplish some of our goals as a community, while also keeping some of our other costs down like property taxes, if possible. Maybe we can fund some of these things with other cash resources like that.”
He said there are other areas they will look at as well, like utilities, but he expects much of those costs to have negligible increases, if any at all.
The goal of this exercise is, he said, is to have the fundamental components in place, so that when the conversation shifts to the city council, they will be able to focus on the more discretionary areas in the budget.
The council’s first major budget conversation for 2022 is scheduled for the August 10th work session.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with City Administrator Ben Martig can be heard here
City touts sustainability through virtual tour
And the City of Northfield has posted a new project to its website highlighting many of the efforts taken around town to make Northfield a more
environmentally friendly place.
City staff collaborated with St. Olaf College students as well as local residents and businesses to create a virtual Sustainability Tour. The new page on the website provides information about what Northfield has done to become a more sustainable city and the resources that are available for those who want to increase their own sustainability efforts.
Half a dozen homes are featured showing the innovative ways that are being used to make homes more energy efficient and climate friendly. The tour touches on insulation, solar panels, rain gardens and re-purposed materials to illustrate the way these homes are either created or changed with sustainability in mind.
Some of the business examples highlight vehicle changes and renewable energy options. The tour also provides several tabs with information regarding waste, food, water and transportation.
Beth Kallestad, the program coordinator for the City of Northfield, said that last fall students in the St. Olaf Environmental Studies and Integration class contacted the homeowners and businesses who participated. The students did the interviews, took the pictures, and created an example of what the webpage could look like. City staff took those ideas and created the Sustainability Tour.
St. Olaf Professor Paul Jackson, who teaches the class said the practical experience, and the opportunity to engage the community this project gave his students is quite valuable,
“It is wonderful to see this collaborative work between the city, the college, area residents and businesses come to fruition. These kinds of projects provide an excellent way for our students to give back to the community that hosts them while simultaneously providing opportunities for them to learn through practice.”
An actual tour of these sites is a goal that is laid out in the city’s Climate Action Plan. Kallestad said the online tour will do for now. “Someday we hope to make this a ‘parade of homes’ style live tour,” she said, “but for now the virtual tour is a great start.”
The Sustainability Tour can be found by clicking here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
