The Northfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority will meet tonight, and a discussion about the exclusive Memo of Understanding with Northcountry Cooperative Foundation which is set to expire at the end of the month, is a key item on the meeting’s agenda.
NCF has been working with the City of Northfield on a proposed cooperatively owned housing development of manufactured, modular housing, that would be built on seven acres of land owned by the HRA at the Northwest intersection of County Road 1 and Highway 246. The development has quite a bit of support among the city staff and on the City Council, but it does not have unanimous support.
The city has done a substantial amount of work in helping to create affordable housing, and most of the single-family homes in Northfield would be priced at $350,000-$400,000 in today’s market. What many city officials have said is missing are the starter homes, or Workforce Housing, that are priced between $200,000 and $300,000, which is where the modular housing development would fit.
Modular homes are created from factory-built panels and constructed on-site. They tend to be far more energy efficient than most starter homes on the market at the moment, they can be built at a much faster rate than through standard home construction, they can be installed at almost any time of the year, and they look like a standard home.
Northfield City Councilor Davin Sokup has been a strong supporter of the proposition, saying the city will not have an affordable product on the market unless innovative ideas are considered.
Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig said the HRA must decide on continuing exclusive negotiations with Northcountry, or looking at possible other options as well.
“There was an exclusive memorandum of understanding to give time for due diligence for them to answer questions, look at site issues, and give them kind of an exclusive right to negotiate during that time, but that’s expiring. So, one question is do they extend it? We have had Habitat for Humanity come forward and say they have some interest on a potential development. So that could be an opportunity.”
Tonight’s HRA meeting will begin at 6:00.
Tax Calculator still to come on referendum information page
Last month, in an effort to address the many problems with the Northfield High School facility, the Northfield School Board authorized the district staff to begin working on a referendum to be placed on the ballot in November. If passed, the measure would fund a project to build a multi-floor classroom building, demolish four sections of the original building, and renovate other areas like the cafeteria and the auditorium. Additional questions on the referendum would provide for an expanded gymnasium, or “Field House” area, and the construction of a geothermal system to heat and cool the building.
The district intends to wage an extensive informational campaign in order to educate voters, and offer the information needed to make an educated decision. To that end, they have unveiled an informational page on the Northfield Public Schools website.
The title of the page is Reimagine Northfield High School, with the defining themes of Safe, Smart, and Sustainable. It offers information on why the renovation is necessary, and why a renovation project was selected instead of a new construction project. Another section discusses the questions that will be on the ballot. The language for the ballot has not yet been approved, so the exact ballot questions are not on the page, but the section talks about what each question will seek to approve.
Perhaps the most visited section of the page will be the tax impact tables, where voters can go to see exactly how much their property taxes will increase if the project passes. A promised tax calculator is still coming and will be put on the page in the near future.
Another section offers directions for more information, and a calendar offering dates and times for tours and virtual presentations.
There are maps of what will be demolished and what will be built, but there is no drawing of what the new building would look like. Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said there is a reason for that.
“We will have some artist renderings down the line. I always caution people with artists renderings because of my experience over the years. Let’s say that a window looks maybe three-fourths as big as the way it looked in the artist rendering. Sometimes people may be upset and say, “Wait a minute. You said that that that wall was going to be blue and it’s green. An artist rendering is just that. These are conceptual pieces.”
The page can be found on the Northfield Public Schools website at northfieldschools.org/reimagine.
Event will raise money for Fire & EMS body armor
In the wake of the tragic shooting of two Burnsville police officers and a Burnsville paramedic last month, several local organizations are coming together for a fundraiser to help ensure a situation with such results never comes to pass in Northfield.
Vest Fest, an event to raise funds to raise the money to purchase body armor to be kept in Northfield emergency vehicles will be held on Saturday, May 18th, in and around the VFW Post #4393 in Northfield.
Northfield Fire and Rescue Service Chief Tom Nelson said he was contacted by Galen Malecha, the General Chair of the Defeat of Jesse James Days Organizing Committee. Working in conjunction with the VFW and the VFW Auxiliary, Nelson said the event will include food sold by the Auxiliary, and a display of fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency equipment.
Nelson said it’s difficult to make sense of something as senseless as the situation in Burnsville, but this is a way to at least bring some good out of a horrifying event.
“Body armor that we can have both in the ambulance rigs and in fire rigs for those situations you hope never happens. They’re things you hate to even have to think about, but the last thing you want to do is not be prepared. So, this is a way for members of the Community to donate to this fund for something that we haven’t budgeted for and could really make a difference.”
The event is still in the planning stages, and Nelson said there would be more information made available soon. He said he was grateful to the organizations for doing the work to put an event like this together.
KYMN News 4/4/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
