The Northfield City Council met for a work session on Tuesday night under the idea that they would discuss bids for the city’s 2023 mill & overlay street projects. In reality the Council gathered to discuss the petition that has been presented to the city asking for a reverse referendum on the financing of the project.
Members of the Valley Pond Townhome Association have objected to elements of the plan that call for the construction of two-lane protected bikeways, and more pointedly, an off-street bike path that will be constructed in front of many Valley Pond Townhome properties. The project entails building the curb out 8 feet into the existing street, creating a new boulevard area, and putting the entire project in the public right-of-way.
Those opposing the bike lanes circulated a petition for the purpose of requiring a referendum on the financing of the project. A valid petition would require the city to engineer a special election to put the question to the voters or the city would be required to table the project for 365 days and would not be allowed to issue bonds to pay for the street repairs and construction.
City Administrator Ben Martig has noted that the cost and effort to put a special election together would not be feasible, effectively canceling all 2023 street projects.
The petition, which required a number equal to 5% of the total number of votes cast in the 2022 general election – which equated to 500 signatures – received more than 1100 signatures. However, when presented to the city and reviewed by legal counsel, the petition was found to have been deficient in six of the nine required criteria to give it legal stature according to state law. The petition was returned to the petitioners with about 48 hours left before the final deadline to submit.
Local attorney David Ludescher sent a letter to the City of Northfield outlining the opinion that the city was wrong in rejecting the petition in light of Northfield City Charter requirements. And earlier this week, Ludescher sent a second letter to the city threatening litigation in district court if the city awards bids for the street projects. The letter also warned any bid awardee that, in his opinion, the city would not be allowed to pay for the construction services.
With all of that on the table, the Council debated the best path forward on Tuesday night.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell echoed the concerns of other council members about the motivation many had when signing the petition.
“The stories that I think some of us were hearing behind some of those signatures were: people were upset about the tax levy, people were upset about a different project, or people were feeling like we were not listening and so they wanted to make their voice heard. Not one of [those stories], I don’t believe, was specifically about the financing mechanism.”
Martig, meanwhile, expressed frustration with the references to the City Charter. He said there is a misunderstanding of how the Charter relates to Minnesota Statutes, and this has been shown time and again, referencing protests to the construction of the Police Station, the Fairfield Inn, the 5th Street Lofts, and even a zoning amendment that had been brought by the Charter Commission itself.
“There’s a lot of, I think, misunderstanding of state law [as it relates to] the city charter. I would say, though, that this isn’t new territory for Northfield. The Charter seems to always get brought into the conversation [even though it] has no has no connection to this particular financing. I haven’t been able to figure out why this tactic continues to be used. I can’t say what the motivations are behind it, but I’ve stopped trying to figure out why.”
In the discussion, only Councilor Brad Ness said he would vote against awarding the bid, and said, in fact, the only option of which he would vote in favor would be the call for a referendum. Every other member of the Council indicated they would vote to award the bids. Mayor Pownell said she had strong reservations about asking the voters for permission to pay for street repairs.
“I think that the Council was clear. I have some concerns about putting something to the voters on whether or not we move forward on a street reconstruction project. I can’t get behind sending road construction projects to voters to determine whether or not we update our streets. It’s not the best way to handle it. It’s not good governance.”
The Council is scheduled to make the official vote to award the bid at the next regular meeting on Tuesday.
Volunteer teams sought for Rice County Day of Caring
The Rice County Area United Way has announced the second annual Rice County Day of Caring. The event will take place on Friday, Sept. 22, and a statement issued by the United Way called it one of the best ways for county residents to feel more connected to the community.
The Day of Caring will center around teams of volunteers performing services throughout the community, including painting Community Action Center’s Resource Center in Northfield, park and school grounds beautification in Northfield and Faribault, and organizing at agencies including IRIS, Hope Center and Ruth’s House of Hope. More projects involving the Rice County Historical Society, River Bend Nature Center, Habitat for Humanity in Northfield are expected to come together as well.
Last year, the statement said, 200 volunteers from organizations in Northfield, Faribault and Lonsdale pitched in to complete 20 projects and the organization is hopeful to see the same sort of success this year.
The United Way is asking local companies and organizations to create volunteer teams and register for the event. Sponsorships are available as well for $1000 and $500
Volunteers will receive a T-shirt, as well as both breakfast and lunch.
For more information on Rice County’s second Day of Caring, visit the Rice County United Way website at ricecountyunitedway.org.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
