On Monday night during their regular meeting, the Northfield School Board heard a presentation from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann regarding the results of a phone survey conducted by the Morris Letherman group to gauge community support for addressing the problems with the Northfield High School facility.
Hillman said the group that was surveyed was demographically equivalent to the Northfield School District. The group spoke with 400 people, asking 34 multiple choice questions, and spending an average of about ten minutes talking with each respondent.
Overall, there does seem to be strong support for a referendum. Hillmann said 68% of those asked said they would support a referendum to fix the issues at the school. The survey asked about the major issues with the school ranging from temperature control and air quality to issues of security and making the school more accessible for disabled students. Each issue was shown to have a majority of support to be addressed by the district.
When asked about the amount of money they would be willing to pay in higher taxes in order to improve the facility, the survey found overall support in the range of $315-$325 a year, based on a home valued at $350,000.
At that level, the district could most likely pass a referendum that would authorize a $117 million renovation of Northfield High School, demolishing the older sections of the school and building a new, multi-level classroom structure that would include a new cafeteria and enhancements to the athletic facilities, which has been referred to as the “re-imagining” option before the school board.
There was little support, however, for building a brand-new high school.
“The data is the data. What we see is some really strong support for substantial investment in the high school facility, but probably not enough to where a brand-new building would be on the table. That’s where we are in terms of really strong support from the community to do some substantial work.”
Hillmann said when the survey presented the amount necessary to build a new building, only 17% said they would support a tax increase of that size. The number was almost identical to the 16% of respondents who said they would never support a tax increase of any type for any reason.
Reports say about half the board spoke favorably to some form of the “Re-Imagined” option, while the other half did not indicate a preferred option. One member of the board was absent on Monday night.
Hillmann said the time is at hand for those who have not yet expressed opinions on what the school district should do but wish to do so.
“We’ve done a lot of work ahead of when the board is going to vote on what pathway forward, if any, now is the time to reach out, to share your advice with the board about how to move forward. You can share your perspective with them by sending an email to board@northfieldschools.org. We really want to get as much community feedback and ideas before we make a decision to move forward than after.”
The board will meet in a special work session next Tuesday from 4-6pm to discuss options further, and then will vote on placing a referendum on the November ballot at their meeting on March 11th.
Several Capital Improvement projects in Dundas’ future
On Monday night the Dundas City Council approved a request to ABDO Financial Consultants to update the city’s Long Term Financial Plan. Dundas City Administrator Jenell Teppen said the plan will look 3-5 years into the future with a goal of predicting where the city’s property tax levy will be on an annual basis.
Teppen said the update will take all of the projects in the City’s Capital Improvement Plan into consideration. For example, in the next few years the city will need to address 115th Street, which is an unpaved street that runs adjacent to the Bridgewater Heights housing development. Teppen said that it is currently a Bridgewater Township Road, but the city is going to have to take responsibility for putting a paved surface on the road soon.
Another project on the horizon is the placement of a permanent traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 3 and Hester Street. MnDot has informed the city that they intend to replace the temporary signal with a permanent one in 2026, and that said Teppen, will be expensive for the City of Dundas.
“Right now, prices are about $1,000,000 for that permanent stop light and they have a 50/50 cost share. I don’t think that that’s going to be paid for entirely by property taxes, but we’ll have to find some funding mechanism for our portion of that.”
Teppen also referenced a pair of projects that will come together soon. Bids for a reconstruction project at Forrest Avenue and Depot Street are due by March 19th, with the awarding of the project expected shortly thereafter. And, she said, the Minnesota Legislature awarded the city money for the creation of a pedestrian crossing, along with sidewalk and trail connections, at the intersection of Highway 3 and County Road 1. That project is currently in the planning stages and will most likely be executed in 2025.
The Dundas City Council approved the request unanimously.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen can be heard here
Open House will focus on possibilities of modular housing
The City of Northfield will host an open house tomorrow afternoon to present a proposed housing development featuring modular housing in a coop neighborhood to the Northfield community.
The city is currently studying, in conjunction with the Northcountry Cooperative Foundation, the idea of creating the neighborhood on approximately 7 acres of undeveloped land in the southeast part of the city, in order to address the need for what is known as “Workforce Housing,” or homes that would be available in the range of $200,000-$300,000.
Staff from the city’s Community Development department will provide general housing information as well as information about the Northfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Staff from Northcountry will provide information about manufactured homes and housing cooperatives.
Attendees will hear presentations and then participate in facilitated conversations. The HRA will review Northcountry Cooperative’s findings in the coming weeks, taking feedback from this meeting into consideration.
The meeting is scheduled from 5 to 7pm tomorrow afternoon in the lower cafeteria of Northfield High School. For more information, visit the City of Northfield website.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
