The Northfield School Board has authorized the School District to contract with the firm of Morris Leatherman to conduct a phone survey of district voters to determine what they feel should be done about the Northfield High School facility.
The issue has been in front of the School Board for several years. Part of the building is more than 60 years old, and there are mechanical and physical aspects of the facility that need to be replaced.
The survey will be conducted with the intention of learning what – if anything – should be included in a funding referendum that would be placed on the November 2024 ballot. The data collected will tell the School Board and the District Staff what the voters of the district are willing to support and what the financial tolerance is to remodel or replace the high school.
Claudia Gonzalez-George, the Chair of the School Board, said the sample will be demographically representative of the voters of Northfield, and at 400 respondents, it will be an appropriate sample size for a city like Northfield. The margin of error on a survey like this, she said, is 4%.
The district worked with Morris Leatherman last year in partnership with the City of Northfield on a survey regarding the Northfield ice Arena, as well as other school facility related questions. George said some of those same questions would be a part of this survey as well, while some of the questions will be new.
Gonzalez-George said the district will give the general public every opportunity to learn about the problems with the high school, including, she said, offering tours of the building so voters can evaluate the situation.
“There will be tours of the high school on a weekend where we will make sure that the temperature setting is exactly the same as it is during the school week and then allow our community members to tour the high school and be able to see and feel for themselves what the needs of the high school are. And then there will also be a tour to Owatonna.”
There will also be public forums for people to discuss the issue directly with the Board and District Staff, she said.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann has indicated that the cost of the survey will be $23,500 and will be conducted in January.
‘Important’ public Comprehensive Plan meeting on Saturday
On Saturday, the City of Northfield is hosting a public workshop that will serve as the kickoff planning event for the city’s next Comprehensive Plan. The general public is invited to come to the meeting in order to share their visions for the future of Northfield.
The Comprehensive Plan, which has been labeled Northfield 2045, will serve as a guide for the city looking 20 years into the future. Northfield Director of Community Development Jake Reilly said the meeting will feature interactive stations where participants, including kids, will be able to share their vision on housing, parks, economic development, and transportation.
The Comprehensive Plan is different from the city’s Strategic Plan, in that the Strategic Plan serves a much shorter time span that lays out the goals of what the city hopes to achieve in alignment with its values. The Comprehensive Plan, Reilly said, is what defines those values.
“I love the strategic plan because it’s a short three-to-five-year vision for how we’re going to get things done and what those things are. The comprehensive plan is a 20-year vision that says what we want Northfield to look like in 20 years. Who’s going to be here? Who is it going to serve? And how well is it going to serve them?”
Northfield Mayor Rhonda Pownell sees the Comprehensive Plan as one of the most important things that will happen during her time as mayor. She said the Comprehensive Plan and the City Charter are the two most important documents that the city has. And while the Charter is a permanent document, the Comprehensive Plan allows members of the community to help shape the way the city will look and act for a generation.
“There are so many people that love our community. And there are more opinions than we have people, right? People value our community and that’s why there are so many opinions and I absolutely love that. This is the highest and best place for you to give your feedback and input to help shape our community for the future.”
The meeting will be held at Greenvale Park Elementary School on Saturday from 12-3pm. Every member of the community is welcome, including kids, who will have their own table with activities provided. The location is wheelchair accessible and Spanish translation services will be available if requested.
Food prepared by Little Frida will be served one hour prior to the meeting, at noon. The meeting itself will get underway at 1:00pm.
Those wishing to stay up to date with the Comprehensive Planning are asked to visit the Northfield City website. The Comprehensive Plan site includes a survey asking people what they would like to see in the plan.
Six legged roundabout will be built next year
On Tuesday, the Rice County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $4.76 million contract with BCM Construction in Faribault to build a six-legged roundabout at the east side of the Hwy. 19/I-35 interchange. The project will connect Highway 19 with the interchange’s northbound on and off ramps as well as the frontage roads on either side of the highway.
Rice County has secured about $3.5 million in grants to cover project costs and is working on additional grants to lessen the county’s portion.
Road work was expected to begin this past spring, but final approvals from the Minnesota Department of Transportation came late in the season, raising concerns that bids might not be as favorable as if they were let earlier in the year. By seeking bids this fall, county officials got a jump on the 2024 construction season.
Project staging is expected to include a temporary road under the I-35 overpass. Hwy. 19 traffic will be maintained throughout construction though County Roads 46 and 59, and the northbound I-35 ramp will be closed at times. Motorists planning to travel in the area should check the project page on the county website at ricecountymn.gov which will go live later this fall.
Work is expected to begin next spring and be complete by fall 2024.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
