The students of Northfield High School have taken notice of the community conversation regarding their school building, and through the District Youth Council, have weighed in with their collective opinions.
Last week a member of the District Youth Council spoke at the informational meeting held for the community to discuss the options for the high school. He said a survey conducted by the DYC of students at the high school resulted in about a 50% response rate. Of those responses, he said, more than half of the s dissatisfied with the condition of the high school, 20% of the respondents are satisfied with the condition, and the rest were undecided.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann provided more clarity on the survey results. What he thought was most interesting were the comments made by the students outside of the questions that were asked.
Among the responses, he said, were complaints about inconsistent heating and cramped hallways. The students, he said, prefer areas like the media center that have more natural light. They also see a need for improved athletic facilities. Those comments, he said, gave legitimacy to the survey.
“The art space and the Media Center are popular, and again, those are spaces that have a lot of natural light, have tall ceilings and are more inviting. Now contrast that with the things that they don’t care for, like the temperature swings that can happen throughout the facility. I thought they did an excellent job of saying ‘We’re really pleased with the survey results because they align with what we hear anecdotally from our peers every day.’”
According to the school district website, the District Youth Council provides connections between the school board, school administration, and the student body by gathering and providing youth input on school district-related issues. They then present that information to the Northfield School Board, district administration, and other school-related entities.
Hillmann, who has often stressed the importance of public service, said the DYC provides an invaluable education for the students who participate.
“The skills that these student leaders learn are good lessons for them. We are working to build the leaders of our future, the people who will be our city councilors, our school board members our state and federal representatives. They’re getting that chance, right now, to do real work that helps them understand governance.”
The District Youth Council has space for up to twenty students. They meet twice monthly throughout the school year.
Attracting new commercial industrial business ‘a slow process’
One of the stated goals in the City of Northfield’s current Strategic Plan is to grow the commercial industrial tax base. City Administrator Ben Martig has said many times that Northfield lags well behind other comparable cities in the amount of commercial and industrial business located within the city limits. Even before the current Strategic Plan was written, this has long been a goal for the city.
Several years ago, the city annexed approximately 800 acres of land from neighboring townships specifically for this purpose. What is now referred to in the Northwest area has undergone some initial scrutiny in the hopes that a commercial business would want to settle there. Last year, in partnership with Xcel Energy, an Alternative Urban Area-Wide Review was conducted on the land as pre-emptive preparation work. The AUAR takes the place of any environmental studies that would be necessary before permits could be granted to build on the site.
While the city does its best to make things accessible and attractive, there has been a noticeable lack of development. Anna Watson, the city’s Economic Development Associate, said this is a slow process for good reason.
“Trying to attract businesses can be a slow process. Retaining businesses is easier and more efficient than attracting. But that Northwest area is really valuable. It can be slow just because we want to get a business in, we want to get that that tax base, but at the same time, we want to make sure it’s right for Northfield.”
The area has been earmarked for development as either a light industrial park or as a major data center such as the project Meta plans to build in Rosemount. But there is still work to be done in order to find the right company to settle there.
The city is currently working with the University of Minnesota Extension to gain more knowledge and insight into the local business community in order to become a better resource and deepen the city’s relationship with its business owners. Randy Yoder, the Chair of the Northfield Economic Development Authority said he believes that initiative will pay dividends when it comes to recruiting new business to Northfield, particularly in the Northwest area.
“The better the culture we build with the business we already have, the more attractive we become to other businesses. They start thinking they want to be a part of that. And so, the effort we’re making with the Business Retention and Expansion initiative can be really significant in attracting other businesses to our community as well.”
Mayor Rhonda Pownell said recruiting efforts continue with the help of strategic partners like the State Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and Xcel Energy, which funded the AUAR. She is confident that the project will show results in the near future.
Council to discuss road projects, legal representation
And the Northfield City Council will meet tonight in the Council Chambers in City Hall.
Among the items on the agenda this evening, the Council will vote to approve a contract with the law firm of Eckberg, Lammers, P.C. for prosecuting city attorney services, as well as an amendment to the contract for civil services with the law firm of Flaherty and Hood, extending the agreement for another five years. The Council will vote to approve the plans for the College and Water Street area road construction project this summer and send the project out for bid. And they will consider a resolution of support for an effort to modernize funding for public access broadcasting.
As always, the city and the council are asking to hear opinions and comments from the public. Anyone who wishes to do so is invited to come to the meeting and address the council on any topic they see fit. Those wishing to voice their opinions without addressing the council should email their councilors directly or post a comment through the eComment button on the “Agendas” section of the City Council website.
Tonight’s meeting will begin at 6:00.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
