During the School Board meeting on Monday night, the Superintendent of Northfield Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann, and the Chair of the Northfield School Board, Claudia Gonzalez-George, presented the board with the draft of a letter to the Northfield City Council affirming the Northfield School District’s support for a new Northfield Ice Arena.
The current arena has been problematic for decades. It does not meet standards set by the Minnesota State High School League, despite being the home of the Northfield Raiders hockey teams, because there are no shower facilities in the locker rooms. It is not up to the code stipulated by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act because there are no accessible entrances, nor are their handrails on the stairways. There are holes in the ceiling, the building is in need of a new roof, and the ice-making equipment will soon have to be replaced.
Superintendent Hillmann made it very clear that he does not think the arena meets the standards of either the school district, or the city.
“I think most people in town understand that people have done what they can to keep the existing arena limping along. It is not a good facility. I think reasonable people can get together and say it’s not even close to a quality facility. It has served us. We’ve gotten our money’s worth out of it, but I have previously called it an albatross and I stand by that statement.”
The City of Northfield has been approached by a private entity with an offer of $1.225 million to buy the facility. They would like to accept the offer, but first a plan for a new arena needs to be put in place. City Administrator Ben Martig has been working to create a partnership between the City of Northfield, the City of Dundas, the Northfield Hockey Association and the Northfield School District to build a new facility. The Hockey Association has a plot of land near the Dundas Dome that has been donated to them for the express purpose of building a new arena. Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said Martig spoke to the Dundas council on Monday night, and while no decision has been made, Teppen said the Dundas council was receptive to his presentation.
The School District might have the most to lose if the ice arena closes and there is nowhere for the Northfield hockey teams to play. The Hockey Association estimates as many as 200 students would leave the school district and go to another school that offers hockey. Hillmann’s estimates are more conservative, but he said if 100 students were to go elsewhere it would cost the district $1 million in state funding, which would lead to yet another round of budget cuts.
The letter proposed to the School Board on Monday makes clear that the district would sign a 20-year lease, paying annual rent of up to $250,000, or $5 million over 20 years. Dr. Hillmann said, “hockey is as Minnesota as hotdish,” and a town of 20,000 should have a municipal ice arena.
“What I’m saying from the school district perspective is, if we do not have access to an ice arena, it will translate into further declining enrollment, which is not where we want to be. I also want to point out we had two section hockey champions this year and Ms. Hockey Minnesota and they did that with a substandard arena. Imagine what it could be if they had something that reflected their talent.”
The City Council is expected to take the topic up again in late May or early June.
Book fair will be open until 9pm through Friday
The Northfield Hospital Auxiliary Book Fair opened up last night and will run today through Saturday.
The book fair is an event many Northfielders look forward to every year.
The fair is the major fundraiser for the Northfield Hospital Auxiliary, which is a volunteer organization that offers help in creating a better experience for people at the Northfield Hospital. Over its long history, the Auxiliary Book Fair has raised more than $1.2 million to support hospital projects, community programs, and scholarships for students in the greater Northfield community. Event Chair Mark Heiman said the auxiliary will donate money, or purchase outright, things that the hospital has a need for, but are not set into the budget. For example, the auxiliary has purchased comfortable chairs for patients receiving chemotherapy. They have also paid to finish a training room for Emergency Service workers. Heiman said the money also goes to training and to fund scholarships for healthcare careers.
The book fair relies entirely upon donated material, and over the past two weeks, hundreds of people have donated books for the sale. Heiman said they regularly have a first-day inventory that tops 70,000 books, and this year he thinks that number is higher. Visitors will also find records for sale, DVD’s, CD’s, and what he described as a “massive wall of games and puzzles.”
More than three-hundred people volunteer to work at the fair every year, many sorting the books into several different categories. Heiman said every visitor will find their favorite category hoping to come across a treasure.
“The general categories are the same. The books are always completely different, and it’s a range of everything from things that were published last month to things that were published in the 19th century. And so, it’s an amazing smorgasbord of stuff that we never know what’s going to be coming in from one year to the next.”
The Northfield Hospital Auxiliary Book Fair is open today through Friday at the Northfield Ice Arena from 9am until 9pm, and from 8am until 3pm on Saturday. On Friday, the prices will be cut by 50% on all items. Saturday morning, from 8-12:30, patrons can fill a bag for $5, and from 1-3pm, everything left can be had for free.
For more information, visit northfieldbookfair.org
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Mark Heiman can be heard here
Annual city paper shredding event set for Saturday
The City of Northfield has announced its annual paper shredding event and Cleanup Days for 2024. The Citywide Paper Shredding Event will be this Saturday from 9am to noon and the Cleanup Days are on May 4 and May 11 from 7 to 11am, both events are held at the city’s Maintenance Facility
At the Citywide Paper Shredding Event, residents can get rid of old documents and clutter in an environmentally friendly way for free. Residents should bring old bank documents, contracts, or any other paper that needs shredding in paper bags or boxes that can be removed from the car by event staff. Vehicles must be in line on the 27th by noon.
These events are for Northfield residents only and proof of residence such as a City ID, driver’s license, or utility bill may be asked to be seen. For more information visit northfieldmn.gov.
KYMN Daily news 4/24/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
