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By Griff Wigley, on October 6, 2011, 8:36 am
 Northfield’s Central Park has been chosen by the Northfield Park & Rec Advisory Board to be the demonstration site for its new Recliner-in-the-parks project.
The goal of the project is to get citizens who spend too much of their leisure time watching television indoors to spend more time outdoors.
"We know it’s not realistic for most hard-core couch potatoes to become recreational users of our parks overnight," said Knute Nathanial, PRAB chair. "Research shows that the use of recliners are effective at helping people make a gradual transition. And since TV programs can now be watched on one’s smartphone, the time was perfect to try this."
The PRAB has rescued a number of Barcaloungers and La-Z-Boys from the colleges’ dumpsters in recent years so that no taxpayer money has to be spent on acquiring them for the project. All the recliners will have plastic tarps stored underneath them to protect them from the elements.
By Griff Wigley, on August 25, 2011, 8:16 am
 
A month ago, I attended a Parks and Rec board meeting when the issue of geese droppings was discussed. I wrote:
There was also discussion about the pros and cons of an ordinance that would prohibit the feeding of ducks and geese, as that’s seen as a contributing factor to the problem on the Sesqui Plaza. In the meantime, the City will place some “Don’t feed the wildlife” signs there.
The signs are now up. Four of them. Some people aren’t happy. Nfld News’ Suzy Rook published an online column yesterday on the issue: Please don’t feed the animals:
 A few people, I’ve heard, aren’t happy with the signs the city posted along the Cannon River asking downtown visitors not to feed the wildlife. But there are good reasons for the request, said city Streets and Parks Supervisor T.J. Heinricy…
While the signs, he said, are getting the point across, he’s gotten complaints from those who want to bring their children to the river to feed the ducks and geese. And while Heinricy understands how much fun it can be for a kids to interact with wildlife, he’s asking that we all do our part to keep Northfield tidy and safe: Don’t feed the animals. We’ll all be better off for it.
By Griff Wigley, on July 27, 2011, 9:38 am
Consideration of a Northfield area campground (RV park and tent camping) is now on the radar of the Parks & Rec Advisory Board (PRAB), the Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and soon the Northfield Economic Development Authority (EDA). (See the comment thread attached to the July 3rd blog post, Why doesn’t Northfield have a campground?)
So we can now start brainstorming possible locations and what the pros and cons might be of each. If the City creates a Campground Ad Hoc Task Force, the discussion here might be helpful to them.
For example, Sechler Park:
  
Sechler Park was one of the sites mentioned at last week’s PRAB meeting. I took the above two panoramic photos of the open space at the southern edge of the park, between the two ball fields and near the picnic shelter and playground. (See the aerial view image on the right, taken from page 5 of this Park Master Plan Appendix (PDF).
Advantages for tent camping:
- Flat grassy area
- Parking lot
- Water and bathrooms at the picnic shelter
- Adjacent to the Cannon River
- Adjacent to Mill Towns Trail
- Close to downtown
- Gates to the park would allow it to be restricted during off-season, high water, etc.
- Little needed for infrastructure improvements
- Other advantages?
Disadvantages for tent camping:
- Noisy railroad yard nearby
- Seasonal flooding
- Other disadvantages?
Attach a comment if you can think of other pros and cons for tent camping at Sechler. Would the site also work for RV camping?
Got another site you think suitable for tent camping and/or an RV park? Suggest it!
By Griff Wigley, on July 8, 2011, 9:06 am
Exactly one year ago yesterday, I blogged about the lack of progress in the City’s effort to control the problem of Canada geese shitting in Ames Park, Riverside Park, Babcock Park, and Sesquicentennial Plaza. I suggested a solution (Border Collies), other suggestions emerged in the discussion thread, and the Northfield News drew attention to the problem with an article, editorial, and letters to the editor.
  
But as you can see from these photos of Riverside Park this week, the problem is worse than ever. Are condo owners at Village on the Cannon pissed? Not only are the geese spoiling their ‘front yard’ and adjacent walking trails, they are likely hurting the sales of condos. Ironically, on their association’s home page, they feature a photo of the geese on the Cannon River. Oy.
    
It’s just as bad in Ames Park and in and around the Peggy Prowe Pedestrian Bridge in Babcock Park. It’s especially bad on Sesquicentennial Legacy Plaza. I wonder if Ray ‘Jake’ Jacobson knows what the geese are doing to the granite pavers surrounding his ‘Harvest’ sculpture?
I waved Northfield Park and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) chair Nathan Knutson over to my corner office at GBM yesterday and told him I had just taken photos of the problem. He said the issue came up at the PRAB retreat recently and that they were considering what to do. I don’t see anything about it their recent minutes and agendas but I hope this blog post will help focus attention on the problem.
By Griff Wigley, on June 1, 2009, 10:11 pm
 It was no surprise to me that the Northfield City Council voted 5-1 tonight to reject Ames Park as the location for the skate plaza. Betsey Buckheit was the only one to vote in favor of it. The real surprise was in the post-vote discussion where they opted to take over the criteria setting and planning process for a skate park location from the Park & Rec Advisory Board (PRAB). I briefly chatted with PRAB Richard Vanasek after the meeting who seemed stunned by the latter.
Continue reading Council rejects Ames as skate plaza site and then rejects Park Board from further planning
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Northfield’s Central Park has been chosen by the Northfield Park & Rec Advisory Board to be the demonstration site for its new Recliner-in-the-parks project.
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