Last night’s Books and Stars on Bridge Square was the finale for the summer. See Northfield librarian Kathy Ness’ blog post on Northfield.org for details. And see the her Kid’s Happening blog for all the latest kid-related activity at the library.
Looks like some of the brick paver crosswalks downtown are need of sand fill after recent heavy rains. Lots of gaps in lots of pavers. And some pavers are cracking.
I’d report this via the City of Northfield’s Tell the City About page but I used it over a month ago to report graffiti and never heard back. A good idea and implementation back in 2005 but now way outdated.
I wonder if they’ve heard about SeeClickFix? The difference? Transparency and accountability… plus photos via mobile phones. Cheap to implement!
The Northfield Historical Society is recommending that the two ash trees (see photo above with red arrows) in front of the Scriver Building (its headquarters and museum) be removed.
The issue was on the agenda at last week’s Council meeting. See p. 42-52 of the July 20 packet (PDF). From the packet:
NHS is initiating a project to increase the accessibility of the Scriver Building by installing an elevator in the alley behind the stair tower that opens onto Bridge Square. The elevator will provide ADA access to all three levels of the building. Currently the accessible entrance to the building is off of Division Street. However, this enters into the Museum proper and does not allow access to other floors of the building.
To make the elevator ADA accessible they are proposing to use half of the sidewalk in front of the building to construct a ramp to allow access to the elevator from the stair well. Other options were explored but were not feasible due to physical constraints of the building. Drawings showing the proposal are attached. Currently the sidewalk in this location is about 12 feet wide. The proposed improvements would use 5-6 feet of this width leaving 6-7 feet for the pedestrian access route if additional width for pedestrians is not provided.
Here are six more photos of the area in front of the Scriver Building.
I’m trying to understand the rationale for the removal of the trees since ADA standards would still be met after the ramp was built.
After a presentation at the Council meeting by NHS Executive Director Hayes Scriven and SMSQ architect Steve Wilmot, much of the Council discussion was about the removal of the trees. It ultimately voted 6-1 (Pokorney opposed) to approve the resolution to begin negotiations for the right-of-way (ROW). Here’s the video of the discussion:
Friday night’s thunderstorm (actually Sat. morning around 1 am) did some damage on the north side of Northfield.
At least four of the historic-type street lights on the east side of Hwy 3 near The Crossing blew down. And many trees near St. Olaf took a beating, including these on Highland Ave., one of which landed on a parked car according to this comment from Josh Dale who lives nearby:
I live on the north-east corner of St. Olaf property, off Highland Ave. The power went out shortly after 1am. No power=no warnings, other than a lightning strike, blown transformers or downed power lines…it was a good several minutes after the power went out that it started hailing and huge branches started ripping off trees in the area. A large part of a tree landed on two cars parked on the roadway of Highland Ave in front of my home. I’m sure many of you are now aware of the significant tree damage around town, especially on the north side. Luckily no one that I’ve heard has been injured by any debris last night, but the possibilities are always there.
We can’t all be expected to rely on media sources for weather warnings. Sirens are quite necessary. If I get woken up at 2am by sirens, I am thankful for the chance to seek shelter if necessary instead of waking up to my family, friends or myself in danger.
There was substantial damage from the winds with trees down, street lights down. In one case a tree on a house. We lost a bunch of big branches here on the farm, and there was a tree blocking half the road on 2nd street in Dundas.
Anyone else know of damage from this storm?
(To discuss whether or not the warning sirens should have been deployed, see/add to the discussion attached to this blog post.)
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!)
That means motorists heading from Northfield to I-35 will be forced to detour from the detour. Rice County Engineer Dennis Luebbe says that will push traffic on to County Road 59, known locally as Old Dutch Road.
The road, which intersects with Hwy. 19 just west of St. Olaf College, runs almost parallel to the highway. The detour heads north at Baldwin Avenue, which connects with Hwy. 19 west of Holyoke Avenue. Eastbound travelers will take the detour in reverse.
For north-bound travelers, I think Cty Rd. 23 (AKA Cedar Ave) might be a better option. Take it to Cty Rd. 86, west to Cty Rd 46 (AKA Pillsbury Ave), north to Cty Rd 2, west again to the intersection with I-35 near Elko/New Market.
For south-bound travelers, remember:
County Road 1, from west of Dundas to the interstate, has been closed for weeks as crews widen the roadway and straighten two curves near Baldwin Avenue county officials consider unsafe. Traffic which would have used County Road 1 has been detoured to Hwy. 19, a move approved by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
It was just me and Ross this week, talking about all-things Northfield including goose poop, the upcoming council and school board elections (separate issues), and the opportunities afforded by the departure of Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski.
It’s clear from listening to the show, however, that we need Tracy.
She’s–not–just a pretty face She’s–got–everything it takes She’s–mother–of the human race She’s–not–just a pretty face
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).
Last night while riding my bike downtown, Woody Wannamaker, one of the original members of the PQCC (not his real name; we use it here—and the photo of his shoes–to protect his identity. His real name is Jim Gleason) alerted me to this vehicle parked in front of KYMN’s studios on Division.
He also sent me this photo he’d taken earlier in the day with his cell phone of a car erratically parked in front of the GBM.
I asked EDA member and bank VP Rick Estenson what the delay was since the chart indicates (in yellow) that the Phase 1B was to be completed by July 2 and [sigh] there’s no explanation on the City’s 1999-style web page for the project. "Rick, the weather’s gorgeous. Why aren’t they at least pouring sidewalks this week?”
Rick suggested that the delay might be due to the fact that the NDDC, which agreed to contribute labor to help reduce project costs in front of its office on 4th St., might be hampered by its unskilled workforce.
Sure enough.
Update 7/16, 8 am: Ross continues to do his part, however inadequate it might be. He poured the sidewalk outside the NDDC office yesterday.
It was just us this week and we spent our entire non-fluff segment talking about downtown parking, as it’s at the top of Streetscape Taskforce’s list of recommendations (PDF of June packet).
$760,000 is budgeted for expenses related to the purchase of this rental property at 304 Washington St.
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.
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.
And then in April, I took this photo of workers removing the fencing along the west side of the Cannon River in Ames Park. I sent this email to City Engineer Katy Gehler-Hess:
Hi Katy, I see the fencing along the Cannon River downtown was removed this morning. The plantings didn’t grow? What’s plan B??
I never got a reply but she evidently forwarded my email to Street/Park Supervisor T.J. Heinricy who wrote:
The fence in Ames park was removed per the recommendation of Bonestroo Inc. They were the contractor hired to do the install. I asked them this Spring about the fence removal. The gentleman that did the install did a very detailed inspection. The planting’s are doing just fine and are thriving. That was their assessment.
I took these photos last night. The geese use the canoe ramps and the bank next to the Ames Mill fence that’s not city property to enter and exit the river. And the plantings are NOT thriving everywhere as Bonestroo contended. There are many spots that look like this:
Nfld News:
City Administrator Joel Walinski said it will take time to see the full effect of the new shoreline, which looks much better than it did two years ago, he said.
Border Collies (BC) are specially trained herding dogs that are extremely effective for keeping geese out of areas where they are considered a problem. Border collies are the method of choice for large open areas such as golf courses, airports, parks, school ground recreation fields, corporate parks, etc.
Results are immediate. Usually requires aggressive initial use (several times a day for 1-2 weeks) until geese get tired of being hassled and stay away. While the wolf-like gaze of Border Collies is incredibly frightening to geese, these dogs will not harm them or children.
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.
Recently a few of our public officials acknowledged what many astute observers had been discussing for months. The City of Northfield needs to address a $2 million budget deficit.
After experiencing property tax increases of over 300 percent since 2000, commercial property owners have been encouraging City leaders to balance the budget without another property tax increase or the creation of additional fees. Most business leaders, indeed many private citizens, have had to balance their own budgets in the face of declining income, and they understand that cutting costs often means reducing services.
In at least three discussions with local business leaders, Mayor Rossing has suggested that if the City needs to cut costs, they could look at cutting Police, Fire, and Snowplowing. The question that came to my mind, “Are these the services citizens would most want to cut?”.
Based on conversations I’ve had with a variety of people, I believe the answer is, “No.”
Several groups in town have been asking for greater citizen participation in City budget balancing since at least last November, when many of their members were already predicting the coming crisis. However, some of our City leaders have resisted citizen involvement.
Very recently, the Council discussed the possible creation of some kind of citizen advisory group to analyze City spending and to recommend changes. But now it’s July and the fiscal year is half over.
Northfield has valued and encouraged citizen participation in the big issues of the day since John North set up his Debating Society shortly after founding the town. One hundred and fifty or so years later, we’ve probably got more Web 2.0 tools per capita in this town than any other community in Minnesota.
In the award-winning and best-selling 2006 book “Wikinomics”, authors Tapscott and Williams suggested that we open source government. As the many of the most progressive and successful private sector organizations have realized, we’ll make better decisions if we tap the insights of a broader segment of the population.
So let’s “wiki” a City budget.
A few of us have met informally over lunch in recent weeks to share gathered City budget information. One product of our group’s efforts is posted within this piece. We consider it to be merely a starting point for further discussion.
It represents the City of Northfield’s General Fund Budget for 2010. I would note one thing in particular, however. This financial summary includes Economic Development and Housing Development, both of which are funded by separate levies on the taxpayers. Our group thought it was a more transparent view of the City government’s spending to include all of it on one page.
I encourage you to review the attachment and consider how your $11 million are spent. If you were trying to cut $2 million, would it be library hours, park maintenance, or the Spanish interpreter? Would you instead look at cutting back on police, fire, and snow-plowing? Or would you look at other areas of the budget?
Griff has discussed several techie tools that might be appropriate for a citizens’ “vote” on funding municipal services. Mayor Rossing has publicly pondered a survey of citizen priorities. Frankly, I’m about ready to set up 7 labeled cans in the coffeehouses and taverns around town and hand out 9 dollars worth of wooden quarters to interested citizens.
But citizen input gathering is the next step. Right now, I would encourage you to review and contemplate where your money is being spent. Think about your priorities moving forward, in a new economic reality, and be ready to share them with all of the people of Northfield.
Griff Wigley: Athena, that is one hilarious cartoon. But you’re not over-educated tho it’s pretty fucking understandable (gee, where have I seen that phrase?) that you think that right now. Your way of approaching getting a job...
Griff Wigley: David, it’s on Entenza’s website: He would also require every Minnesota student to apply to at least one accredited postsecondary institution in order to get their high school diploma. The idea is to make...
David Ludescher: Curt: I have to question the accuracy of the reporting. That idea is just too dumb to be true.
Griff Wigley: Would there be a combination of colors that might make the site more agreeable to the eyes? Lots of gray and blue now. Tracy, want to take a whack at it?
Griff Wigley: Not sure, Kiffi. It might have just been a slow connection on your end.
kiffi summa: OOPS ! it just came back, but hadn’t ben there all morning. Whassup ?
Griff Wigley: Phil/Kiffi, the reason that SeeClickFix works is because the information is public. Everyone gets to see what’s submitted. Why have 10 people make phone calls to report the same thing? Then everyone gets to see how and...
mike paulsen: The city invites us to contact them via email and web forms. It is much more efficient than telephone, and should be the preferred method of contact. I sure hope that communications sent via email and the web form aren’t...
Phil Poyner: Apparently the one feature folks don’t know how to use on their new-fangled “smart phones” is the phone part!
Griff Wigley: Hey Don, great to hear from you… and that you’re still doing the outdoor thing. I’d never heard of water cycling.
Don Haugo: Cycle America was started in 1988. In 1997 Greg Walsh took it over and has been running it since. I live in Bloomington, Minnesota and am about to start marketing a couple of new outdoor adventure events for next year, the...
Phil Poyner: Excerpt from “Development of a Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard Program at Langley AFB, Virginia.” Canada geese- In June 1999, more than 225 resident Canada geese were molting at Eaglewood golf course adjacent to the...
Griff Wigley: Librarian Kathy Ness noted in her blog post on Northfield.org that the original location for tonight’s Books and Stars finale "was Ames Park- we moved across the river to a "goose free" Bridge Square."...
Griff Wigley: David, the vegetation can work in some cases but in this case, it isn’t. But it makes no sense to me that we should quit using 3 parks (Ames, Riverside, Babcock) plus the trails and bridge for which we just spent a half...
Michelle Hawkins: Wow, Kiffi, If you’re right it brings up all kinds of issues, legal, ethical, and moral. That’s a tough piece of meat to chew on! You’re correct in treading very carefully and caution is understandable,as...
kiffi summa: Back in comment # 149, I said “more on “fandb” and duplicity, later… I’m finally getting back to it, after wondering how to say it; I guess I’ll just have to come right out with it: Back on...
Barb Kuhlman: William, I do not agree that my post would be banned by LGN by the guidelines I suggested. I offered my opinion on a comment (or opinion) you offered. I did not comment on you personally. I did not label you, make any...
David Ludescher: Tracy: Look at the city processes. There is a small percentage of Northfield clamoring for more and more electronic information. Time spent catering to folks like us is less time for the rest of Northfield.
Tracy Davis: David, I think your observation is flawed. Electronic communication has been one of the great democratizing forces worldwide over the past decade. The idea of technology “haves” and “have-nots” has been...
David Ludescher: Tracy: Another observation is that electronic communication has created social class structures that are unhealthy for democracy and its representatives, especially in a small community like Northfield. Not only do we now...
Sean Hayford O'Leary: That’s a shame, Erica. But since we now know that a (brief) crossing period can be accommodated without interrupting traffic at that particular intersection (which has the shortest crossing distance and relatively...
Erica Zweifel: It appears that the automatic crossing was temporary, this Saturday I had to push the button to get the pedestrian signal at 5th Street.
Griff Wigley: Sean, I’ll try to capture the audio at a low traffic time so everyone can hear the loud beep-beep and the quiet messages. And I’ll check the 5th St. intersection but all the improvements there look to be the same as...
Steve Wilmot: Perhaps a distraction, but here is a Startribune story about tree loss in Plymouth from today’s edition: http://www.startribune.com/loc al/west/99285424.html?elr=KArk sUUUycaEacyU
Steve Wilmot: Griff, The ADA accessibility issue is twofold here, one is to access the building and the new elevator inside. The other is for free passage on the sidewalk for those continuing down to the Post Office or the river. The similar...
Griff Wigley: MPR’s Question of the day: Do you depend on sirens to alert you to severe weather?
Griff Wigley: Jane/Josh, thanks for the reports. I’ve blogged your comments with some photos at: http://locallygrownnorthfield. org/post/18720/
Josh Dale: I live on the north-east corner of St. Olaf property, off Highland Ave. The power went out shortly after 1am. No power=no warnings, other than a lightning strike, blown transformers or downed power lines…it was a good...
Griff Wigley: You’re welcome, Jeanette. The slimy handshake was memorable!
Jeanette Nelson: Hi Griff, Thanks so much for receiving so graciously, however reluctantly, a hug from a fellow Norwegian! Oh, and also for the wet slimy handshake.
Tracy Davis: You can view this part of Tuesday’s meeting here. It’s evident from the discussion that it was not Councillor Pownell’s intent to do things surreptitiously or behind the backs of the other councillors; it was...
Griff Wigley: "A lack of transparency continues to plague the Northfield City Council" says Nfld News Jaci Smith in a tweet about Suzi Rook’s column re: the layoff of Marj Evans-de-Carpio : On Tuesday, City Councilor Rhonda...
kiffi summa: If you look at the disbursements in the Council packets, you will see the janitorial work IS being contracted out; here’s some numbers from the July 6 disbursement list: 6/11/10 May City Hall Cleaning – 1282.50...
Tracy Davis: From the Wall Street Journal, 7/19: Cities Rent Police, Janitors to Save Cash
Ross Currier: Hey Tracy - Thanks for offering your priorities. I really appreciate it. Although I may not necessarily agree with your every priority, I greatly admire the philosophical base which gives a solid structure to your...
Kathie Galotti: What Rob said–about Crazy Days. I kinda like the new layout of LoGroNo, though, myself.
Rob Hardy: No. I LOVE downtown Northfield, but I prefer its charming everyday self, not the hyped-up crazy version. I grinchily observed Crazy Daze this year by riding my bike out to Target. Also: while I’m being a Grinch, I hate the...
Bright Spencer: You mean have Crazy,Crazy Daze? Always have a plan B and maybe even C. C?
kiffi summa: Jane: you are correct about the randomness of the discussion that followed… in some ways that is understandable as someone (MNDOT) had just thrown a big wrench into the works of the Council’s fast moving train. I...
Jane McWilliams: I was pleased to read that the council has decided against a November referendum, but I was dismayed at the randomness of the discussion which followed. It would serve them well to put the whole project on ice for a few...
David Ludescher: Ray, It might happen now with a number of new Council members and a new City Administrator, especially if this Division Street site is a real, and not a fanciful, option. It sounds as if the City Council still doesn’t...
Sandy Vesledahl: We will be selling luminaria’s on Bridge Square during Crazy Daze for Relay for Life of Rice County. If you would like to purchase one to be lit at this year’s event to honor a loved one who has been affected by...
kiffi summa: Forgot to mention that I believe this agenda item was titled specifically to avoid controversy. It is true that the position also entailed the Welcome Center duties , that may have been the majority of the job’s hours, but...
kiffi summa: Was doing the Observing for the LWV… so yeah… Council voted 4-3 to table ’til the Aug 3 meeting. C. Pownell had asked C. Zweifel to table the issue (Zweifel had asked for the reconsideration) because C. Pownell...
Tracy Davis: Funny, Griff, I posted this link on the wiki thread before I saw you put it here!
Griff Wigley: Thanks, Bart. FYI, 4th St. between Division and Washington was paved and striped yesterday.
Bart de Malignon: On June 25, Joel Walinski responded to my query about the yellow “boom” (which is probably not effective any longer as it’s been dislodged by a large, floating tree branch and moved downstream). Joel...
David Henson: Tom, food prices have fallen for years and years (decades and decades) in the USA (free market). And the government in every country mentioned for riots has grown so your cause and effect seems either driven by an emotional...
Griff Wigley: I forgot to tell Tom to link to his Writer’s Notebook blog: http://tom-swift.com/weblog/ I’ve added it to the bottom of his blog post above.
Griff Wigley: Kaufman has a blog and he’s got the pdf of his Food Bubble article on it. His blog has links to other media that have covered the article.
Tom Swift: Here’s one response to those numbers, Griff: “If we use the ratio from the last quarter, it implies Amazon has sold around 22 million Kindle books so far this year. That’s just the equivalent of 6 percent of the...
Griff Wigley: NY Times: E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon Amazon.com, one of the nation’s largest booksellers, announced Monday that for the last three months, sales of books for its e-reader, the Kindle, outnumbered sales of hardcover...
Bright Spencer: Rob, I read about half and skimmed thru the other, I have never liked to read through the excess of words that are often set before us because people are getting paid by each word they write. I will give myself a chance to...
Tracy Davis: I met with Rhonda Pownell yesterday on another issue and asked her about this. From her comments I wondered again whether the Council was given adequate and thorough enough information upon which to base their decision....
Jessica Paxton: Wow. These are stunning. Too bad the City didn’t consider looking in its own back yard and hire someone like Mark to produce its promotional video….
Bright Spencer: it sure is a nice bunch of photos, plus a lovely day and event.
Griff Wigley: Suzy Rook’s column is titled Another Farewell: http://northfieldnews.com/news .php?viewStory=53575
kiffi summa: On the NFNews website, 8:15 Saturday night, so not in the print version of the paper, Suzy Rook writes in her column, “Writer’s Block”, a provocative article about Joel Walinski’s departure. The first sentence is: “What, if...
Griff Wigley: Rob, have you heard if any of the incumbents intend to file?
Griff Wigley: I found your comment in the spam bucket, Rob. Not sure why it ended up there, tho. The link looked fine to me.
Rob Hardy: According to Jan MItchell’s LWV notes from the June 14, 2010 school board meeting, the terms of Kari Nelson, Noel Stratmoen, Mike Berthelsen and Julie Pritchard expire at the end of the year. Because Pritchard was appointed...
David Ludescher: Paul: I suggested to the Streetscape Committee that it develop a quantifiable methodology or a rubric to determine value. In the simplest terms, I suggested a three part test. First, compared to non-Streetscape government...
Paul Zorn: David, You said above (in 6.1): … Then again, common sense requires that the project have value. Agreed. The live question is whether the project offers good value for money. And then: This is a non-essential, pork-barrel...
David Ludescher: Bill: Think about it this way: If every biker who used that portion of the trail had to pay for using it, do you think the “investment” would ever repay itself? If not, then why should the downtown taxpayers...
Current Discussion Threads