But over on another thread ( who should run, etc) your idea is getting some play …drift, or overlap?

I personally and politically if somewhat futuristically (ie after I’m dead), others would say naively, like the idea of a merger of Northfield, Greenvale, Bridgewater, Dundas into one governmental unit with all of what Bruce Morlan says must be taken into account. There is much merit in discussing this idea at this early stage. I emphasise ‘merger’ rather than ‘annexation’ which smacks too much of ‘rough wooing’ as compared to a mutual seduction resulting in a marriage of great convenience for all parties.

You indefatiguable Brit! Is this why you lost the War with America in 1776?
You should have been on OUR (the Colonies) side; your ideas are just TOO revolutionary!

Without a current annexation agreement, I had thought a city could take up to 60 acres at a time, ad infinitum. But not a big chunk like this in one bite. I dare say some neighboring farmers must be sick about it.

We do not have an orderly annexation agreement with Waterford Township, so we should annex the township to give us industrial and commercial sites on Highway 3, Dakota Co. 47, and Highway 19.

Whoa! So, with no agreement they become just open land? That’s the sort of thinking that made Crazy Horse crazy. Townships are fed up with urban planners thinking that just because land is open and not crammed with shopping malls, industry and houses, it must be of no value and therefore just needs the loving ministrations of the city to make it valuable again. Dundas and Bridgewater have led the way in local cooperative ventures, with both showing great respect for each other’s goals and visions as they forge a new way of doing business. I certainly hope the next mayor of Northfield is a little more sensitive to the needs of the city than this sentiment expresses. That sensitivity surely must include having a healthy ring of townships that retain their rural character so the city can continue to be contented.
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That was part of Lansing’s problem. You can’t be mayor and have a pending or previous action against the entity that you are representing (as Mayor). You can recuse yourself from a conflict of interest, but you can’t recuse yourself from an actual conflict.

To understand the issue, it’s important to realize that the Key occupies two adjacent buildings. They own the northern one, or at least they did, the former Rock Shop that they got from Marv Dees. The southern building has been owned by the city for at least 20 years; before that it housed a TV repair shop, as I recall. The city never used it for much except storage until they started renting it to the Key.

When Hv. was starting up Froggy Bottoms, he had a vision for the city-owned portion of the Key that didn’t include the kids. His idea was for the city to tear the building down and put in a “pedestrian walkway,” except that instead of pedestrians walking, the city was supposed to let him put tables and chairs out there for his customers’ use. I guess you could argue it either way what’s better for Northfield–a youth center for our kids or a place where grown-ups can come down from The Cities and get sloshed on the sidewalk–but the city already had a commitment to the Key.

This was the context in which the threatened lawsuit developed. There really wasn’t much there, on close examination, but Hv. was loudly and publicly proclaiming that “Key kids” were vandalizing his property. One of the more fantastic stories involved an attempt to tunnel through what he referred to as his “historic wall” (because it was really old, I guess) to steal alcohol. I’m pretty sure the Northfield News ran at least one photo of the supposed damage. Other people familiar with the alleged wall thought that the “damage” might have been the result of some work an electrical contractor was doing on the building.

The lawsuit against the city, which I don’t think ever went anywhere, was based on the idea that landlords are responsible for the bad behavior of their tenants (they aren’t), and that the city’s tenants, the Key kids, were behaving badly. But there really wasn’t anything to support the claim.

That’s when the plot really thickened. Maren Swanson, instead of getting ready for a vigorous defense, seemed to be ready to give in on everything. Actually, I remember suggesting to her at one point that it might be a good idea to have someone else check her work.

I think the idea was to get the Key to move out with the promise that perhaps eventually they might be allowed to use some city-owned space for a while, perhaps the current liquor store or, more likely, a room at the NCRC. I’m glad for their sake that they were able to hang on to the space they already have.

Hvistendahl to sue City of Northfield, Union of Youth
http://northfield.org/node/708

I don’t remember if the lawsuit actually got filed or what happened.

And I don’t know if the relationship between them has improved since then so hopefully others will chime in.

I was thinking the same thing, but didn’t know how to approach it. Now that someone has pointed a finger at the 800 pound tie dye elephant…

I also see moving the skate park as removing a negative, and redoing the dam to be more river friendly as a positive to his business.

However, I do agree with many of his points.

You could probably find a perceived conflict with any business owner that would want to run for mayor. Some are just a lot more obvious, while some are just blatant.

If the Key vacates to a better opportunity, and the space is available, and the Hv family has the funds in this poor market to keep the space from sitting idle, is it really a bad thing? Maybe Hv would want to offer to purchase Basil’s as well, and turn the whole thing into a wonderful riverside development that would benefit downtown, and be a draw. As long as it is done legally, and he dots the i’s and crosses the t’s, and uses a good lawyer as his proxy…

I don’t know. I have to ponder this a bit more. What I do know is that David is very strong willed, and very focused. He strikes me as a “get it done” kind of guy, so I anxiously wait to see how this all plays out.

There has been so much inaction. I am chomping at the bit to see some forward movement, and something get done by the City leadership.

On a related note, I had assumed, just based on some personal observations, that someone connected with Hvistendahl’s office was acting on behalf of one of the three remaining candidates for police chief. I called there this morning to ask, and talked to Hv.’s legal assistant, who not surprisingly said she couldn’t give out that type of information, so I don’t know; I could be wrong. Ordinarily, it would be nobody’s business, but since Hv. has jumped into the political fray, it may be of some interest. Can anyone enlighten us?

I love the platform, and the fact that you are jumping in early.

Is there some way that you would consider the Safety Center as some sort of “Gateway” building, instead of the Muni? I like the integrated trail head / Canoe Rental / Tourism Center / Transit Hub concept, that would tie activity to both the river and the downtown.

I think the muni needs to move out on Hwy 3 somewhere (perhaps near the Cinema, or near the Q block)

The new safety center at Woodley and 3 would tie down that end as an anchor point.

You tie that to Veterans Park and Memorial Park via trail to the River Park (existing)

I think the skate park would be better suited behind the current safety center.

The walking bridge can be adjusted slightly to connect this area and River Park across the way, to the Farmers market, and other activities, as well as giving access for the residents near the Village on the Cannon to the ‘transit’ hub at the new location.

This would then beg for redevelopment of the River Park Mall. Since this was an old grocery store, the floor is built to support a significant amount of weight. We renovate it, open the rear to face the river, and put a single level library space, some conference facilities, the Chamber, and the CVB in there, so they are more visible and accessible to the community. Some City departments may also be able to have space here, and others could potentially use the Library building.

We then expand the trail / walk behind Just Food and the other building on 5th and Water, and tie it into the 5th & Water project.

The Canoe project can adjust the dam, and the way the river walk ties into downtown, and tie it in with the Crossing project. We then have access to the River all the way from the Rodeo grounds to the Crossing.

I think a SERIOUS inventory of all of the Cities building assets, could glean a method to do some serious improvements through realignments, with minimal costs.

You have all these “pearls”. They just need to be sequenced, polished, and strung together.

A - Thanks for the thoughts on this as well. I am posting the thoughts here, to see what the response will be.

-J