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By Tracy Davis, on July 31, 2010, 1:33 pm
After getting feedback from y’all about the Friday Memo, I’ve gotten into a groove, so I’ll be posting the City Administrator’s “Friday Memo” on my CityCommons blog during the LoGro sabbatical. Hope to see you there.
Here’s this week’s memo post.
By Tracy Davis, on July 24, 2010, 3:33 pm
 The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City staff, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
The Friday Memo information from the Library, Streets & Parks, and Recreation departments would be of interest to most citizens. This week’s memo (PDF) also includes
- draft agenda items for August City Council sessions
- first notice of Public Forum on Budget – August 23, 2010 (check it out!)
- details on annual water testing
There is a City Council meeting on Tuesday. You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on July 17, 2010, 10:06 am
 At the Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, WA The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City staff, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
The Friday Memo information from the Library, Streets & Parks, and Recreation departments in particular would be of interest to most citizens.
Nothing huge in this week’s memo (PDF), just updates on smaller projects and various meetings with regional entities (Dakota County, Bridgewater township).
Next week’s meeting schedule includes a joint work session on Monday between the Cities of Northfield and Dundas. There’s a regular City Council meeting on Tuesday.
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on July 11, 2010, 2:05 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City staff, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
The Friday Memo information from the Library, Streets & Parks, and Recreation departments would be of interest to most citizens. This week’s memo (PDF) also includes the Boards & Commissions report (PDF) for June; you can find the Friday Memo and the Boards & Commissions report on the memo page for the week.
Items of note this week include:
- No more eyesore! Maybe. After the amended TIF note financing for the Crossing project closes this week, funds should be available for the City to begin planned site improvements and cleanup.
- An update on the Highway 19 construction schedule and the link to the MnDOT project website.
There is a City Council work session on Tuesday (which includes the next segment of the new LDC from the Planning Commission), and the third open house (PDF) to review the draft of the new stormwater ordinance.
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on July 3, 2010, 12:19 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City employees, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
No memo had been posted on the City website as of noon on Saturday; I don’t know why not. If one turns up I’ll amend this post.
NOTE: The library is closed today, tomorrow, and Monday. The municipal liquor store and City Hall offices are closed Monday. There are regular meetings on Tuesday and throughout the week; you can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on June 26, 2010, 9:16 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City employees, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
In addition to the regular department reports, this week’s memo (PDF) includes:
- Information about absentee voting, which begins June 28.
- Update on the annexation request in Bridgewater Township for Mayo Clinic, which will be heard by the City Council on Tuesday MORNING this week.
- Update on the Safety Center Projects and the proposed meeting schedule for the Steering Committee and Design Team.
- Update on the Surface Water Management Plan and timetable.
- Lots of other smaller project updates
There is a special Council Meeting on Tuesday 6/29 at 7:30 AM. You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on June 21, 2010, 11:14 am
I’m bogged down in a work project and have not been able to review the memo to do a decent post. Here are the links – can you help out your fellow citizens by highlighting items of note in the comments? Thank you!
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City employees, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
You can find this week’s memo (PDF) here, and find upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on June 13, 2010, 1:31 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City employees, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
In addition to the regular department reports, this week’s memo (PDF) includes:
- Information regarding preparation for the public hearing on CIP financing options at Tuesday’s City Council meeting (additional information now available on the City website)
- Background details about the Planning Commission’s public hearing on Thursday regarding the 4.5-acre annexation request from the Mayo Clinic (Bridgewater township supervisors agree that this project would be beneficial for all, and they will sign a joint resolution for orderly annexation).
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on June 7, 2010, 8:42 am
 Rumor has it that there’s a public meeting on June 15, something to do with the City budget. As Kiffi pointed out, as of today there’s no information available on the City calendar, or anywhere on the website that I could find.
Having been reminded by Jane’s comment that the City Administrator’s Friday Memo of 5/28 indicated that noticed would be published in the Northfield News on the 29th, I searched for “public notice” on the NNews website and came up with this item (typo in date, given as “5-59-10″) about three-quarters of the way down the page:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the City Council of the City of Northfield, Minnesota will meet on June 15, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall, 801 Washington, Street, Northfield, Minnesota, for the purpose of conducting a public hearing on (a) the intention to issue general obligation capital improvement plan bonds in an amount not to exceed $14,400,000 and (b) the proposal to adopt a capital improvement plan therefor. The proceeds of the bonds will be used to finance various capital improvements within the City pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 475.521.
All persons interested may appear and be heard at the time and place set forth above.
If a petition requesting a vote on the issuance of the bonds is signed by voters equal to 5 percent of the votes cast in the City in the last general election and is filed with the City within 30 days after the public hearing, the bonds may only be issued upon obtaining the approval of the majority of the voters voting on the question of issuing the bonds.
Individuals unable to attend the public hearing can make written comment by writing to Deb Little, City Clerk, City of Northfield, City Hall, 801 Washington Street, Northfield, Minnesota, 55057. Written comments must be received prior to the public hearing.
I’m glad that the Northfield News puts its public notices online; I hadn’t seen that before, so I was curious as to exactly where they get posted. After clicking around a bit I found it under Classifieds | Legals. If you want that information, the onus is on you to go to that page and check it a couple of times a week; no RSS feed or push notification for you!
Anyway, after finding the notice, I went back to the 5/28 Friday memo PDF, where we are told:
As part of the Council decision making progress on financing the facilities projects identified in the 2010 – 2014 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), the notice for the June 15th public hearing on the capital improvement bonds / capital improvement plan will appear in the Northfield News on Saturday. The ad states “the intention to issue general obligation capital improvement plan bonds in an amount not to exceed $14,400,000.”
Here is how the upper limit for the public safety facilities project was arrived at:
The land acquisition, site prep and construction cost figure was taken from KKE’s report to the Steering Committee last Tuesday and represents the highest cost option listed. A contingency of 8% was added – higher than the minimum recommended by the architect of 5%. Bond issuance costs were added along with capitalized interest. These are also estimated.
It is important to emphasize that the dollar amount stated in the public hearing notice is the maximum, not to exceed amount. The amount of any actual bonds issued in the future will be based upon actual costs / bid awards. It is also important to set the upper threshold high enough to ensure that all project costs are covered. It should also be noted this public hearing notification is required and a necessary step until the Council determines if the projects will be funded through CIP Bonding or hold a referendum on the project financing.
KYMN radio’s news update of May 26 says,
The Northfield city council affirmed its support of the Steering Committee’s recommendation that the Woodley site is preferred for a new fire facility. The council also affirmed the three southern sites (Cowles, Gleason and Jasnoch) are preferred for a new police station. At its work session on Tuesday, the council discussed preliminary estimates of costs for the projects, with a high-cost range of around $10.6 million and a low-cost range of about $8.6 million. At last night’s meeting, Northfield Community Development Manager Brian O’ Connell said the process is still on track for the council’s June 15th deadline for deciding on a funding strategy for the buildings.
Among all the things that are not clear to me on this subject, one thing stands out: Where did the June 15 deadline come from? Is the Council going to make a decision about the bonds the same night as the public hearing? Inquiring minds want to know.
By Tracy Davis, on June 6, 2010, 12:19 pm
If you’re concerned about the Cannon River watershed, Spring and Heath Creeks, the health of the Jordan aquifer, and the quality of your drinking water, then you should care about what’s happening with the Surface Water Management Ordinance updates, which will be presented in their draft form this coming Wednesday, June, 9, from 6:30-8:00p in the Community Resource Bank Conference Room. Details after the jump.
Water trail photo slide show. This slideshow requires the latest version of
Adobe Flash Player
(slideshow courtesy of the Minnesota DNR)
Continue reading Another City public meeting/open house, why you should care, and a rant
By Tracy Davis, on June 5, 2010, 12:08 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City staff, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
It’s the first Friday of the month, so this week’s memo (PDF) also includes the Boards & Commissions report (PDF) for May. I admit to colossal failure as this is the third consecutive month for which there is no report from the Planning Commission. I think that’s been remedied for future, i.e. it will be handled by someone other than me.
You can find the Friday Memo and the Boards & Commissions report on the memo page for the week.
Items of note in the Friday Memo include:
- A timeline for the Mayo Clinic project – annexation request, hearings, etc.
- Acknowledgment that the downtown recycling cans are ugly
- Great update on activities from the Housing department
- Miscellaneous engineering & construction updates – Fourth street, trails, etc.
It’s a busy week at City Hall, including a City Council work session on Tuesday (which includes the next segment of the new LDC from the Planning Commission), and an open house (PDF) to review the preliminary draft of the new stormwater ordinance (more on that to follow in a separate post).
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on May 29, 2010, 9:20 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
This week’s memo includes:
- Issuing notice of a public hearing on June 15 on capital improvement bonds and the capital improvement plan (CIP) regarding the City’s “ intention to issue general obligation capital improvement plan bonds in an amount not to exceed $14,400,000.”
- Info on how Northfield compares to some other cities in terms of levies and aid cuts.
- Details about a joint public-private partnership for yet another “community video” for Northfield, to be used… how? where? why? to what end? I dunno, but let’s throw some money at it because it seemed like a good idea at the time, and apparently there’s no one on City staff who remembers the dismal result the last time the City tried something like this without more of a plan.
- Updates on the Fourth Street improvement/infrastructure project.
- Update and disclaimer from the IT department regarding the City_of_Nfld_PR account on Twitter.
- News from the library about the summer reading program.
You can find the Friday Memo on the memo page for the week.
The schedule is a bit off this week since Monday is a holiday. There is a City Council meeting on Tuesday, and a Planning Commission work session on Wednesday (moved up from Thursday because the Commission is finalizing information for the Council meeting packet for the June 8 meeting and staff needed the extra day for prep).
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
Thanks to those of you who’ve responded by commenting on my previous posts about the Friday Memo. I’m back in the saddle with the weekly Friday Memo posts… at least for now. 
By Tracy Davis, on May 26, 2010, 7:06 pm
KYMN Radio and the Northfield Historical Society announced today via their respective blogs (here and here) that a webcam would now be streaming live video from Bridge Square. KYMN’s Tim Freeland and NHS’s Hayes Scriven are the geniuses behind this.
You may remember that Tim Freeland and Adam Gurno did a proof of concept last year with the time-lapse video of the December snowstorm which was picked up by MPR. (Nice work, everyone. Have some Google juice.)
However, the moniker “KYMN-NHS-Cam” is kind of lame. How about SquareStream? RiverStream? Should we have a “name-the-camera” contest here on LoGro? Continue reading The heart of downtown, now streaming live 24/7
By Tracy Davis, on May 24, 2010, 9:44 am
 Late last week the City website put up notice for tonight’s Green Step Cities Presentation meeting. The notice doesn’t say what it’s about, who it’s for, who’s making the presentation, or anything other than the place and time, which is unfortunate because it may be of interest to citizens.
The Minnesota Green Step Cities program is a State-sponsored program described as a voluntary program for all Minnesota cities to identify, support, and recognize implementation of a set of sustainable development best practices focusing on greenhouse gas reductions that lead cities beyond compliance and encourage a culture of innovation.
The program is new and will be available this summer; the purpose of the presentation is to inform the City Council about the program. Tonight’s presentation will be made by Phillipp Muessig of the MPCA.
Since the program’s “best practices” have many implications for land use, I’ve encouraged my fellow Planning Commissioners to attend as well, even though we were not notified/invited. (I don’t know why not. )
The meeting is tonight (Monday) in the Council Chambers from 7-9p. Wouldn’t it be awful if “too many people” showed up?
By Tracy Davis, on May 21, 2010, 4:17 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
This week’s memo includes:
- Report on city officials’ attendance at the Dakota County Mayor/Managers Breakfast Meeting, at which consultant Mark Koegler for Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc (HKGi) gave a presentation on the Business and Industrial Park Master Planning process to inform regional partners about the project
- An updated tentative meeting schedule for the Police and Fire Facility
- Draft agenda for June City Council meetings
Also in the memo, a report that as of 11:00 a.m. this morning, four candidates have filed for office in the upcoming election:
Suzie Nakasian – Ward 1
Nathan Kuhlman – Ward 4
Jon Denison – Ward 4
Rhonda Pownell – At-Large
You can find the Friday Memo on the memo page for the week.
There is a City Council work session (including a joint session with the Planning Commission to discuss the next installment of the draft Land Development Code) this week. You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
If you read this post, and/or click on any of the links within, would you do me the favor of a comment below just letting me know that you did so? As I posted last week, I’m still undecided about how valuable these weekly posts are, and how many people read them. Thank you!
By Tracy Davis, on May 17, 2010, 4:20 pm
 I’ve been doing weekly recaps of City Administrator Joel Walinkski’s Friday memo for forever. Actually it was Griff who started it. We wanted to disseminate the information in the Friday Memo (a PDF link posted on the City website), highlighting items of note with the ability to link to other documents and materials. Eventually the Northfield News and others began posting links to the Friday Memo, and recently the City started including hyperlinks in the memo PDF itself.
I’m wondering if Griff’s original idea has now outlived its usefulness. Since there are rarely any comments on the Friday Memo posts, I’m not sure we’re doing much of a service; not enough, that is, to justify the hassle factor (for me). So I’d like to know, if I discontinue doing the Friday Memo posts, does anyone care?
I haven’t done the last two, and the only person I’ve heard from about it is Griff. I’m happy to continue if our commentary is an added value, but if not, the information is available multiple places now. I’d like to know what you think.
By Tracy Davis, on April 27, 2010, 9:13 am
 Lance and I went for a hike in Big Woods State Park about a week ago, and the dwarf trout lilies were in bloom. After reading a bit about them (here’s the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service fact sheet) I wondered if there might be some in the Arb or down along the river.
Apparently the dwarf form of the trout lily is ONLY found in three counties in Minnesota, and nowhere else in the world. The foliage of the dwarf trout lilies and the regular trout lilies looks the same and they are found together in the same drifts, so you can’t tell them apart until they bloom. Trout lilies have six creamy-white tepals (that was a new one for me) and the flower is about the diameter of a nickel. Dwarf trout lilies have 4, 5, or 6 tepals and are about the size of a dime. They also have a slightly pinkish cast.
I went into the Arb and found some trout lilies, but only a few were blooming, and I didn’t see any recognizable dwarf trout lilies. Does anyone know if the dwarf version has been identified in or around Northfield and/or the Arb?
Here are some more details from the MinnesotaWildflowers blog/website.
By Tracy Davis, on April 24, 2010, 1:41 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
This week’s memo includes:
- updates on various administrative and infrastructure projects
- board & commission vacancies/seeking applications
- a flyer from Three Rivers Community Action promoting their 4/7 seminar about creating a healthy home (what you need to know about radon gas, lead, mold, etc.)
You can find the Friday Memo and attachments on the memo page for the week.
There are City Council and Planning Commission work sessions this week, as well as the EDA’s public open house on the Business Park planning process.
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on April 22, 2010, 1:09 pm
The Planning Commission will NOT be holding a public hearing on the proposed revisions to the City’s flood plain ordinance at their meeting tonight; the item has been pulled from the agenda due to some jurisdictional requirement that was not met. (Nothing to do with the City of Northfield, its ordinances, or procedures.)
When I asked City Planner Dan Olson for details, he responded,
Apparently FEMA did not give one community in Dakota County the “full right of notice and appeal” to according to the federal process. As such, FEMA is now ruling that all communities in Dakota County have to stop their adoption process while FEMA attends to the procedural oversight for the one community. This will take approximately 1 year.
Just in case anyone was going to attend tonight’s meeting just for the public hearing….
By Tracy Davis, on April 19, 2010, 8:19 pm
(Originally posted on my CityCommons.net blog.)
Thanks to the City Council, the Planning Commission, and especially to Tim Freeland of KYMN Radio and City Councillor Betsey Buckheit for making my job easier.
First, a quick update on the LDC from this morning’s KYMN Radio newscast.
Next, the video of last week’s presentation to the City Council on the Land Development Code as it relates to existing (“built residential”) neighborhoods:
Continue reading Land Development Code update
By Tracy Davis, on April 19, 2010, 9:14 am
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
Here’s last Friday’s memo (April 16) with the monthly Boards & Commissions report (for which I failed to produce anything of value… I suppose I can’t just say “see my blog for details”).
Here’s the previous Friday Memo (April 9).
There’s a City Council meeting tomorrow. One of the agenda items is, “Identify preferred locations for Safety Center”.
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on April 4, 2010, 11:55 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
There’s a lot of info in this week’s memo. Some of the highlights include:
- updates on seasonal city services in light of budget cuts
- the Code Red brochure
- information about the Safety Center architect selection
- lots of details about grants, apps, and opportunities
You can find the Friday Memo on the memo page for the week.
There’s a City Council strategic planning session tonight (sorry, no details available other than place and time) and a City Council meeting (including the 4th Street trees issue) tomorrow.
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on March 29, 2010, 10:43 am
 The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
This week’s memo contains musings and updates about unfunded mandates, as well as details about the construction closure of the Fifth Street bridge for a little more than a week. You can find the Friday Memo on the memo page for the week.
No City Council meeting this week; see the City Calendar for schedule and details of other meetings.
By Tracy Davis, on March 21, 2010, 4:00 pm
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
This week’s memo contains the scoring and ranking of proposals by the Safety Center Architectural Firm Selection Workgroup. The top 5 firms are tentatively scheduled for interviews next Friday, March 26. In addition, from now on the mid-month Friday Memo will include a draft of City Council agenda items for the upcoming month. (April’s draft agenda is included in this week’s memo.) You can find the Friday Memo on the memo page for the week.
By Tracy Davis, on March 18, 2010, 3:22 pm
 This Saturday, March 20, from 9a to noon, Carleton College is sponsoring a home electronics equipment recycling day. Items accepted include TVs, printers, fax machines, computer monitors, microwaves, stereo equipment, VCR’s, DVD players, electronic games, laptop computers, calculators, portable audio players, cordless phones, cell phones, keyboards, etc.
Depending upon the nature of the item, a variable small fee will be charged to defray the costs of recycling. (This opportunity is offered to individuals/households only, not businesses.)
For more information about what’s involved in manufacturing these items, why you should recycle them, and some heinous human rights abuses in this industry, see the Materials Processing Corporation blog:
E-waste sent overseas for processing to places like Guiyu has very detrimental effects on the health of the e-waste workers, and even the residents of the towns where this processing takes place: “According to reports from nearby Shantou University, Guiyu has the highest level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world and an elevated rate of miscarriages.”
Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to recycle electronics with firms that have promised to process everything they take in here in the United States. A list of these recyclers, which includes Materials Processing Corporation, can be found here.
For more information, dropoff location, and details on the fees, please see the Carleton website.
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