Last night the Cannon River dropped below moderate flood stage for the first time since Saturday afternoon. As the flood recedes, the City of Northfield is planning for what comes next.
On Monday, Mayor Rhonda Pownell declared a State of Emergency in Northfield, and during an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the Northfield City Council voted to extend the emergency period through July 9th. Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott said declaring an emergency is important for several reasons. It aligns the declarations already made by the State of Minnesota and Rice County, it opens the door for state and federal relief funds, and it allows the city to bypass some of the standard protocol that would normally be necessary when engaging contractors for service or procuring materials to mitigate the flood situation. Elliott pointed out, in an emergency situation like a 500 year flood, there isn’t always time to follow City Charter guidelines.
“In an emergency, you can’t put bids out and requests that people respond back three weeks later, and we open those sealed bids. So it allows us to work with contractors, whether it’s for equipment or labor services and just immediately find someone who’s available to do that work because it is an emergency situation. We’re trying to protect life and property.”
The relief money the city will apply for could be a substantial amount. During her visit to Northfield on Sunday, Senator Amy Klobuchar said if the total amount of flood damage tops $10.5 million in the State of Minnesota, which seems very likely, then the available federal aid could pay for as much as 75% of the public cleanup and recovery, and the state could pay for the remaining 25%.
Mayor Pownell said that as much as the relief funds are needed, the damage could have been much worse. After the flood of 2010, the city made some major improvements to the public infrastructure and facilities, including raising all electrical boxes near the river to 903 feet – a point to which the Cannon has never risen – and remodeled the fire station to keep it from flooding again. While events like this are rare, they will most likely be more common in future years. Still, she said, she is very proud of the way the community has handled things the past few days.
“After 2010, they said, ‘You won’t see another one like this.’ Well, now we know better that we will see probably more of these. You need to plan and prepare, and I’m just really pleased with the response. There was a level of calmness with this year’s flood that you definitely didn’t see in 2010 and it’s simply because we’ve gotten better, and we’ve made the necessary improvements. But there’s still more that we need to do.”
The city has applied for two federal grants in order to take even more precautions on the west side of the riverwalk, and to help Carleton College build a flood wall around Laird Stadium.
While the water levels are receding, the river is expected to remain above minor flood level until sometime next week.
Landfill open extra hours this week
Rice County is working to make the cleanup process a little bit easier for all county residents. The Rice County Solid Waste Facility has been open this week from 7:30am to 3:30pm and will remain so with special Saturday hours this weekend from 7:30am until 2pm.
The Solid Waste Facility accepts garbage, demolition waste, appliances, electronics and tires for a fee. Household hazardous waste and yard waste is accepted free of charge. Appliances, electronics, tires, batteries, household hazardous waste and yard waste must all be separated from the garbage
Businesses needing to dispose of significant quantities of waste and/or hazardous waste should contact the Solid Waste Facility at rcsolidwaste@ricecountymn.gov or 507-332-6833 to discuss options.
The county has put out a call for volunteers willing to assist their neighbors with flood-related clean-up and those who could use a helping hand.
The county has set up a hotline for organizations or volunteers willing to help. A page has been put on the Rice County website for volunteers to sign up as well. The same toll-free number and online registration form can be used by county residents needing help with flood clean up, and by residents and business owners to document storm-related property and crop damage.
The hotline number is 1-833-643-7423.
League will hold separate forums for mayoral, council candidates tonight
Coming on the heels of a very interesting Mayoral and City Council candidate forum on Monday night, the League of Women Voters of Northfield and Cannon Falls, along with St. Olaf College’s Academic Civic Engagement program and Carleton College will hold their own candidate forums this evening, giving each candidate time to once again demonstrate their positions on the issues and distinguish themselves in the crowded races.
During the forum, candidates will deliver a 2-minute opening statement, and then will have one minute to answer each question posed by the moderator.
Voters may submit questions for the candidates by emailing them to contactus@lwvnorthfieldmn.org. Audience members will also have the ability to submit questions in writing at the event. Any questions submitted electronically will remain confidential with all identifying information removed before the event. The League reserves the right to revise, edit, and condense the submitted questions.
A statement issued by the League of Women Voters of Northfield and Cannon Falls said the organization does not endorse candidates for office or political party. This event is meant to help voters learn about each candidate in order to make an educated decision when they head to the polls.
The forums will be at the Viking Theater in Buntrock Commons on the campus of St. Olaf College. The Northfield Mayor candidate forum will begin at 6 pm and will run for approximately one hour. After a 5-minute recess the Northfield City Council Ward 2 candidates forum will begin, ending shortly after 8:00. Catherine Davis, a member of the Rochester League of Women Voters will moderate the mayoral forum; the moderator for the city council forum has yet to be announced.
These forums will be recorded and posted to the League’s YouTube Channel in early July.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit lwvnorthfieldmn.org.
KYMN Daily News 6/27/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
