By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
After a nearly two and a half hour long debate Tuesday night, the Northfield City Council voted 4 to 3 against approving contracts for the construction of a new water treatment plant. The plant was being proposed to address the issue of the high amount of Manganese in the water for infants, among other benefits the plant would provide.
Previous Story (1/21/2025): A Summary of the Water Treatment Plant Project; Northfield City Council Set To Approve Construction Bids Tonight
One of the main questions addressed was why the project had increased by approximately $20 million in expenses. City Administrator Ben Martig noted that the timing of the estimations and inflation raised the cost of the project:
“We knew timing wasn’t helpful because last spring is when the estimate was So there’s a lot of money spent and paying estimators to go to market check pricing, which they do as part of their work on contractor major firms, do that kind of work. And then we didn’t come back until November to authorize the bids. Then you know the bids came in in December, basically. Normally you have a tighter time frame with that, but because of the we are waiting for a decision on federal funding where we are holding out for potentially significantly more federal dollars.” – City Administrator Ben Martig on the KYMN Morning Show
Martig also noted that a new requirement to buy American-made supplies and equipment also raised the project’s cost.
Mayor Erica Zweifel stated that while she was committed to clean water in Northfield, she cited the project’s cost as the reason for her vote against the project. Here’s the Mayor on the KYMN Morning Show:
“So I’m totally committed to clean water for everyone, all the equity issues, the environmental issues, the sustainability issues. It was just how much it was overbid.” – Northfield Mayor Erica Zweifel on the KYMN Morning Show
Councilor Jessica Peterson White, one of the strongest advocates for the project, spoke about the concerns of being a pregnant mother in Northfield as the main reason for supporting the project. Here’s Peterson-White at the Council meeting:
“So I’ve been really committed to this project for a really long time as an equity issue because. Having an in-home reverse osmosis system is a matter of not just a financial privilege but the privilege of homeownership, the physical privilege of maintaining such a thing, and the same goes for water softening, which also improves people’s quality of life. Lifetimes of their kitchen appliances, all kinds of other things that are great about water softening. – Councilor Jessica Peterson White at the 1/21/2025 City Council Meeting
The final vote was that Zweifel, Beumer, Dahlen, and Ness were against the current project, and Peterson-White, Holmes, and Sokup were in favor.
Going forward, the council will again take up the issue in February to see if design modifications can be made to lower the projects cost. Zweiefel, Beumer, Dahlen, and Ness have each expressed interest in the project continuing at a lower cost point. Here’s Ness at the meeting:
“I don’t think anybody wants to kill this project. I think the price tag is excessive, and I think we need to look at needs and wants. I think a lot of this project could be wants.” – Councilor Brad Ness at the 1/21/2025 City Council meeting
The next Northfield City Council meeting is on February 4th.
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