Scott Sannes, the principal at Spring Creek Elementary School for the past 25 years, made the abrupt announcement this week that he would retire from the position, effective almost immediately.
In a letter to the Spring Creek community, Sannes said after 25 years and much reflection, he feels it is time to try something new.
Sannes began his career as a teacher in the Lake Crystal school district in 1992. He said he believed then, as he does now, that public education is foundational to our democracy. He wrote that he is proud of the progress made at Spring Creek under his tenure and praised the school district’s staff and faculty.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said he will recommend that Tania Will, a veteran educator and advisor with the district, serve as Spring Creek’s interim principal for the 2024-25 school year. Hillmann said in an email to district families that providing stability and maintaining the excellent school culture that Spring Creek staff and families have come to expect is important. Hillmann said that Will has extensive experience as a classroom teacher and an instructional coach, mostly at Spring Creek. She is well known to most people in the building, and he is confident that she will meet the high standards set by Sannes.
With regard to his longtime colleague, Hillmann said the impact Sannes has made at Spring Creek elementary cannot be measured.
“Scott has made such a difference for the thousands of students that have walked through the doors in his time as principal. I will tell you it is rare to have a principal that stays for even 10 years anymore in one position, so to have had Scott’s skill and expertise leading that building for 25 years has been remarkable. He’s made substantial contributions to Spring Creek and to the Northfield Community.”
Dr. Hillmann also stated that the next steps for selecting a permanent principal for Spring Creek would take place in late February or early March. Sannes’ final day at Spring Creek was yesterday.
Economic Development Authority taking the lead on Downtown Redevelopment
Last week, the Northfield Economic Development Authority heard a presentation of what City Administrator Ben Martig called a reboot of the 5th & Washington Street project. The City is once again talking about building a structure on the Washington Street Parking Lot that would house a new Northfield Municipal Liquor Store, three levels of parking that would more than double the number of spots on the land right now, four 1500 square foot retail spaces, possibly up to 54 apartments, as well as what the presenters referred to as a “Grasvedt Lane enhancement.”
The first version of the project was proposed early in 2023 but went dormant when the developer connected to the project, Michael Lander, pulled out. Since then, aside from an assurance from Martig that the City is intent on continuing to find a solution to the Municipal Liquor Store problem, which has been considered cramped and in a subpar location for decades, there has been little word from the city regarding the project.
Earlier this year, the Northfield City Council asked the members of the EDA to take the lead on this project, as well as the future redevelopment of 5th & Washington Street. The presentation to the EDA was more or less a hand-off.
Randy Yoder, the Chair of the EDA said the presentation before the board was not a final design, but a concept, with a discussion of some of the specifics. And he believes there is still quite a bit of work and research to do on the project before the EDA can make a recommendation to the City Council.
“This is not etched in stone yet, so to speak at this point, as far as the details. I think the two things that we’re going to end up with is some kind of enhancement to parking, and we’re going to end up with a liquor store, most likely. The other two pieces are a way to enhance that whole concept, the commercial space and residential space. We still have a fair bit of due diligence to do on those two things to see what the opportunity is and what that should look like.”
As the design stands at the moment, the new building would have three levels of parking, one below ground, and two that would include 80 stalls each for public parking. The third floor could potentially be residential parking for the people who would live in the new residences. The design would include green areas and public spaces, including public restrooms.
Martig, in his comments, discussed the role of the Municipal Liquor Store in Northfield, and talked about a “misinformation campaign” that has been circulated by critics of the project. He, Director of Community Development Jake Reilly and Municipal Liquor Store Manager Brian Whitt all addressed the concept that the Muni, as some say, “doesn’t make money and never will.” Indeed, the presentation said, the liquor store runs as an independent business owned by the city that returns money to the general fund every year, despite the fact that it operates out of a site that is limiting. Martig said he has worked in two other cities that built new liquor stores when he was there, and both times the projects came in under budget and delivered more than had been promised.
The project will now be taken to the public, and input will be gathered. The EDA will discuss the economics of the project at their next meeting on August 26th. Martig said the project could possibly seek initial approvals as early as November.
KYMN Daily News 8/1/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
