The Northfield City Council has reached a general consensus on the utility rates for 2023.
During the work session on Tuesday night, the council heard from members of city staff on several different areas of the city budget. Justin Wagner, the City Utilities Manager, gave a presentation on the water rates, and in particular the need for several increases in the drinking water rates over the next few years.
A study on the city’s drinking water found high levels of manganese in the water. While the city’s water supply meets federal primary drinking water standards, the levels of Manganese exceed the EPA’s secondary standards. A high manganese level in drinking water has been found to be harmful to infants, as it can cause learning disabilities, notably attention deficit disorder, among others.
In order to mitigate the issue, the city is planning to build a new drinking water treatment plant at a cost of $32-$33 million dollars. While the city has applied for federal grants to cover most of that cost, the city would still have to bond for the balance. Wagner said the city is operating on the plan that the federal government will cover 75% of the cost, leaving the city to pay just over $8 million fir the new plant.
To that end, the plan is to incrementally raise the rates on drinking water. In 2023, the increase will be 15%, followed by increases of 20% in 2024, 2025 and 2026, followed by another 15% increase in 2027.
City administrator Ben Martig said the city has applied for several grants to cover the costs, and they are optimistic about receiving that help.
“We are trying to get federal grants. I think we’ve applied for five and right now we’re down to one that’s potentially that’s still active. But it could fund as much as 75% of the plant. And we maybe could even be 100% potentially funded by the feds. We’ll see. We’ll keep working, and there’s been some new federal legislation. Maybe we can go after more.”
According to Martig, the average utility bill in Northfield is about $90. Assuming that the treatment plant project is not 100% funded by the federal government, Martig said the 15% increase in the drinking water rate would push the average to about $95.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig can be heard here
Osterman, Northfield Historical Society, toning down the roles of guns
The Director of the Northfield Historical Society, Cathy Osterman, tackled a relevant and important issue in the Society’s latest newsletter
when she addressed how to teach about violent historical events in both an accurate and a sensitive way.
The most famous historical event in Northfield, the defeat of the James-Younger Gang, is a triumphant story of a community coming together to protect their town, but it’s also a deadly story reenacted every year with a mock shootout.
For Osterman, “truth is paramount” to the work of any museum or historical society. At the Northfield Historical Society she said, “we stand by the facts… There’s just no getting around the fact that guns played a really big role in [the story]. They were used and used violently.”
But, Osterman said, the defeat of Jesse James isn’t a story about guns. It’s a story about people. And that’s what she emphasizes to students who tour the Historical Society.
She cited a tour she gave to Northfield Third Graders in May, just a short time after the tragic shooting in Uvalde, TX. She didn’t focus on the guns, she focused on the “six heroes” of Northfield who responded to the gang. Three were unarmed and threw rocks, distracted gang members, and rescued civilians.
“There were a lot of heroic actions that day and we didn’t have to star a gun. We didn’t have to say, ‘and because so and so was shot…’ it didn’t matter. Because what matters is the fact that everyone worked together in the way that they were able to. They were courageous, they were putting others first, and those are the attributes that I was trying to get across to the kids.”
When Osterman gave a tour to seventh grade students, she humanized the Northfielders of 1876 by asking the students who they might have been in the story. Would they have been courageous enough to throw rocks? Would they have been brave enough to check on the bank teller who was shot? Would they have been compassionate enough to go comfort his family?
Osterman said, “The story is about people: real people, real stories, real choices… and that’s really what I want to get across, not the violence.”
The Northfield Historical Society has a new exhibit featuring the untold stories of the defeat of Jesse James. For more information, visit northfieldhistoricalsociety.org.
ReCharge Northfield event will return in October
Northfield Shares and the Northfield Rotary Club have announced the second annual ReCharge Northfield event to be held again this
October.
Recharge Northfield will allow people to learn about electric vehicles and the benefits of owning one, not just to the planet, but to the individual as well. Alongside Northfield Shares and Northfield Rotary, the event is sponsored by the City of Northfield and Recharge America, which is a nonprofit organization that seeks to bring awareness to electric vehicles.
Attendees will have the opportunity to drive an electric vehicle, talk with owners of electric vehicles, learn about charging options, and the environmental and economic benefits of owning an EV.
Attendees to the event will want to plan ahead and arrive early. Last year the test drive option proved to be so popular, that the wait list to drive one of two Teslas became longer than the time available to offer the test drives.
Recharge Northfield is set for Saturday, October 15th in the parking lot of the Northfield Middle School, from 10am until 1pm. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information on ReCharge Northfield, visit northfieldshares.org
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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