By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
The Northfield City Council meets tonight for the first meeting of 2025, and the first meeting with the new members elected in the 2024 election, including Mayor-Elect Erica Zwiefel and Councilor-Elects Chad Beumer and Peter Dahlen, Councilor Brad Ness was also reelected to the council. The meeting will start with the Council being sworn in by City Clerk Lynette Peterson.
After being sworn in, the council will elect a President Pro Tem, who will lead the City Council in the Mayor’s absence.
One of the main items on the agenda is related to the lease of the Community Resource Center or CRC. The CRC is a building owned by the City of Northfield on Jefferson Parkway and provides space for many of Northfield’s most critical non-profits, including the Community Action Center, Healthy Community Initiative, Three Rivers Community Action, Rice County United Way, and Fifty North. By owning the building, the city provides the space at a highly subsidized rate to the non-profits, however, with several needed repairs to the building, the city has debated what an appropriate rate increase would be to cover the costs.
The City Council will also hear a plan for the Lincoln Parkway walking and Biking Improvement Project and a grant application with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The Northfield City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays for a regular meeting and on the second Tuesday for a work session. All meetings start at 6pm. Public comment is welcome during the council’s regular meetings. Anyone who would like to address the council on a topic not on the regular agenda must do so during the listening session at the start of the meeting. Registration for the listening session must be submitted online by noon on the day of the meeting. You can also sign up to comment on items during the regular meeting; unlike the listening session, commenting on specific items happens at the beginning of the debate on an item.
The public is welcome to attend in person or watch online. To watch online, go to northfieldmn.gov and click the “Agenda & Minutes” button in the middle of the home page. From there, find tonight’s meeting date to watch, as well as a copy of the agenda and other meeting documents.
The meeting starts at 6pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
