Waterford Township Supervisor Liz Messner and Bridgewater Township Clerk Janalee Cooper stopped by my morning corner office at Goodbye Blue Monday yesterday. They’re spreading the word about how the Waterford Iron Bridge is in the running for a portion of $1 million from Partners in Preservation. They’ve teamed up on their promotion efforts with Dakota County Historical Society and are encouraging people to vote one day for the Waterford Iron Bridge (Facebook page) and the next day for Historic Pilot Knob (PDF).

I’m conflicted. I grew up a mile from Historic Pilot Knob and have Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota ancestors. See my 2008 blog post when the site was purchased by the city of Mendota Heights, saving it from development.

  
But my affection is now for the Waterford Iron Bridge because I regularly visit there, biking and walking across it as it’s adjacent to the Carleton Arb.  It was one year ago this weekend when the flood nearly washed it away.

Northfielder Paul Hager has produced this gorgeous Waterford Iron Bridge video:

The Waterford Iron Bridge from Paul Hager on Vimeo.

So 1) get your butt over to the Partners in Preservation Facebook page, 2) Like the page, 3) authorize their  app so you can vote, and then 4) vote every day till Oct. 12.

You can also vote via your smartphone. Scan their QR code to make it easy.

See these links for local Waterford Iron Bridge media coverage:

• http://northfieldnews.com/content/vote-now-bridge-finalist-facebook-campaign
• http://northfield.patch.com/articles/waterford-iron-bridge-one-of-25-finalists-for-1-million
• http://kymnradio.net/2011/09/21/todays-news-update-charter-commission-proposes-changes-waterford-iron-bridge-in-the-running-for-preservation-grant/

Bridgewater will be holding public hearings about changes in the wind turbine portions of the zoning codes. That process includes engaging interested citizens in a dialogue as we educate each other on this issue. The three things I think will drive the discussion include how high we can build these turbines, how noisy and how distracting will they be.

I expect to hear engineering evidence showing that the efficiency of the turbine is improved by making it taller, that there is no medical evidence suggesting that the low frequency sound emitted by the blades causes health problems, and that the flicker from the blades is an issue mostly for road traffic. But more, I also expect to hear that people in the country are fiercely protective of their property rights and their right to install these turbines.

Earlier this week, the Strib reprinted this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Walker bill puts $500 million in wind turbine investment at risk; 1,800-foot setback requirement would halt most projects.

About $500 million in investment in renewable energy over the next two years could be at risk if lawmakers approve Gov. Scott Walker’s wind turbine siting bill… Walker’s bill, proposed as part of a regulatory reform package, would mandate minimum setbacks of 1,800 feet between a wind turbine and the nearest property line. That compares with a setback of 1,250 feet from a neighboring residence approved by the Public Service Commission in a rule adopted last year and set to take effect this year.

Kathleen Doran-Norton, member of the Bridgewater Township Board of Supervisors, forwarded the email below and photo (above) to me yesterday.  She didn’t say so but I’m guessing she’s got Thursday’s Business and Industrial Park planning open house in mind since Spring Brook/Rice Creek flows through the southern edge of the “south site” on West Armstrong Rd. in Bridgewater Township.  Kathleen wrote:

FYI…why protecting our community’s "green space" is important.

Brook trout only live in those streams without warm water run-off from development, and in those waters which are very clean.

——
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010
Subject: A Spring Brook treasure
From: Stephanie Schmidt

A group of students and I went out sampling for brook trout on Saturday, kicking off an assessment of the current population.  Attached is a photo of one of our better finds… a 10.5 inch brookie, the largest of the day (I will reveal its location for a small price… maybe).  It was a beautiful day to sample a beautiful fish.

Stephanie N. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
Saint Olaf College
Department of Environmental Studies & Biology

When I first blogged about the proposed park last July (it was then generally referred to as the West Armstrong Business Park), I wrote that the proposed business park “is likely to be controversial because of the current (1999) annexation agreement between the township and Northfield, as well as the park’s location between Heath Creek and Spring Brook (Rice) Creek.” The post generated over 100 comments. I included these maps in the post:

Here’s a Google map of the area, with a few of my markers. View West Armstrong Business Park (proposed) in a larger map.

  
Here are a couple of Heath Creek and Spring Brook Creek watershed maps from an (old) page on the Carleton web site titled Environmental Aspects of Transportation Planning in Northfield.

As the map below shows, the trail would loop around Heath Creek south of Old Dutch Road and north of Armstrong Road, adjacent to the Gill-Prawer property that’s currently in annexation negotiations for the development of the West Armstrong Business Park:

The trail would obviously connect to the Mill Towns Trail at Sechlar Park. It also could connect to trails on the west and north sides of St. Olaf College’s property, possibly providing an alternate Mill Towns Trail route around Northfield to Waterford for eventual connection to the Cannon Valley Trail in Cannon Falls.

Note that Leif has written on the map:

These are concepts only. All actual routes, buffer are subject to onsite verification of feasibility and landowner cooperation.

Click the map thumbnail once for a medium-sized image. Then click the green arrow to view a very large image.

Click play to listen. 30 minutes. You can also download the MP3 or subscribe to the podcast feed, or subscribe directly with iTunes. Our radio show/podcast, Locally Grown, usually airs Mondays at 6:00 PM and Sundays at 10 AM on KYMN 1080 AM.

Here’s a Google map of the area, with a few of my markers. View West Armstrong Business Park (proposed) in a larger map.

  
Here are a couple of Heath Creek and Spring Brook Creek watershed maps from an (old) page on the Carleton web site titled Environmental Aspects of Transportation Planning in Northfield.

Update 7/12: Below is a land owner map of the area, courtesy of Bruce Morlan and his Politics and a Pint blog post.

See also:

• July 8 Nfld News, New annexation request may extend Northfield westward.
• P. 13 of this week’s EDA packet which has this summary:

Background

… on July 1, 2009, Mr. Robert Gill and Mr. Kenneth Prawer submitted formal annexation requests to the City of Northfield. The City Council is expected to give City staff directions on how this request should be addressed at its July 20, 2009, City Council meeting. The proposed annexation consists of 456 acres and, if annexed, would most likely be developed as business and light industrial.

The Bridgewater Township Board has been notified by the applicants that they have submitted applications to the City of Northfield. The City of Northfield currently has a signed annexation agreement with Bridgewater Township to allow up to 150 acres in a five-year period with no more than 60 acres in one year. Some of the proposed annexation area is not included in the annexation agreement. Therefore, as a result of these conditions, the annexation agreement would need to be amended to enable these annexations to be completed.

ALTERNATIVES FOR CITY COUNCIL:

1. The Council can request that the Planning Commission hold a public hearing on the annexation requests, and then make a recommendation to the Council.
2. The Council can decide not to pursue the annexation requests. If so, the application forms and fees would be returned to the applicants.
3. The Council can delay the consideration of the annexation requests until a market study can be completed for the Northfield area.