The Northfield City Council met Tuesday night for a brief regular meeting. After conducting a pair of public hearings, the Council issued a license to the new owners of a currency exchange business and also voted to vacate a drainage easement. They then adjourned the regular meeting and reconvened in the City Hall Training Room for a special work session on the 2024 budget.
City Administrator Martig and Finance Director Brenda Angelstad gave a presentation focused mostly on the long-term levy forecast, which showed that the levy increase for 2024 will most likely be between 9% and 11%. The forecast showed the levy for 2025 could reach as high as 19% driven largely by increases to funding for the city parks maintenance budget and the possibility of the city building a new ice arena.
There were members of the Council who had questions and comments about a near 20% property tax increase in 2025. Councilor Kathleen Holmes pointed out that a referendum will most likely be on the ballot in November of 2024 asking the taxpayers to approve much needed upgrades to the Northfield High School. She said giving taxpayers a 19% property tax increase at the same time could jeopardize the chances of that referendum passing, and she said a scenario like that would be “tragic.”
For her part, Mayor Pownell pointed out that the property tax increase would only be one section of the school district, and not the entire area.
“Our school district expands way outside the city of Northfield boundary. So [their tax base], like most school districts, is regional. They don’t stay within the city of Northfield boundary, so their tax burden, I would say is spread out much further than just the city of Northfield.”
City Administrator Ben Martig said the ice arena issue is a complicated one and Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann has been part of the city’s conversations as they have searched for a solution.
“[With our conversations about] the ice arena he’s at the table. He sees that it’s really a difficult project that hasn’t been solved for decades. But we’re getting close to a private public partnership that would include the city, the school and some private fundraising that might offer some solutions. If you look at the hockey families, it’s over $1 million operating impact on those the school’s operating funds. So yes, we work very closely with the school district.”
Contacted for comment, Dr. Hillmann said the Northfield Area School District and the City of Northfield strive to be good partners and the district is prepared to help prioritize things as they work through some complicated facility issues.
Historical Society hosting Townie Night Reception
The Thursday evening of the Defeat of Jesse James Days is commonly known as Townie Night, and tonight the Northfield Historical Society is inviting the entire Northfield Community to a special Townie Night reception that will celebrate the opening of a new exhibit focused on the celebration itself.
Northfield Historical Society Executive Director Sean Allen said many people at the NHS have been working on the new Defeat of Jesse James Days exhibit. Because there is so much about the Defeat of Jesse James Days’ history to explore, he said, they could have started a year earlier and still been working on it up until today. Some of the artifacts on display came from the NHS archives but Allen said there wasn’t as much about the festival in storage as he would have expected, so they had to go looking around. After they put out a call for help, he said there was an outpouring of help and support from the community, and they now have an exhibit that is going to not just interest Northfielders, but also tug on their heartstrings as well.
“Going all the way back for the past 75 years, we’ve got video and photos that people have probably never seen as well of the raid reenactment and parades and things like that. We’ve got four or five different television screens with the looped video, which will be really interesting. We’ve got Wayne Eddy’s pants that started on fire back in the ‘90s along with the video that goes with that. I think people are going to really feel some nostalgia when they come in and see this new exhibit.”
Allen said they have home movies shot on 8mm film that will run on a loop throughout the exhibit. But the centerpiece will be the parade float that has been built in the middle of the gallery.
“One of the other things we have is this float we built. So, it’s kind of reminiscent of the of the Defeat of Jesse James Days float for the parade, but it’s inside the building. And it’s a great opportunity for people to get together and take photos.”
Allen said the Historical Society received a substantial amount of help in putting the exhibit together. Sandy Vesledahl has been a liaison with the DJJD Organizing Committee, whom he said was very helpful in communicating with committee members to find out what they might have in a closet or in their basement. The City of Northfield, he said, helped out as well by donating $20,000 to help fund the project.
The Northfield Historical Society will be open with expanded hours for the duration of the celebration. Admission is $5 for adults, and the organization has decided to let students in for free.
The Townie Night Reception will run this evening from 5-7pm.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Historical Society Executive Director Sean Allen
Depot tours will be fundraiser for AC
And the Northfield Historical Society is not the only organization open for expanded hours during the DJJD celebration. The Historic Northfield Depot will be open on Saturday, to offer tours of the restored building.
The Depot will offer 15-minute tours every half hour from 9:30-11:30, and from 1:00-5:00 explaining how the building was moved from its original location and meticulously restored using the original blueprints.
Visitors to the Depot will also see historic railroad artifacts, a model train setup, and a video of the Depot move in 2016.
The tours are offered for free with a suggested donation of $5, or $10 per family. The money will go toward installing air conditioning in the building.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
