Jane McWilliams, LWV Observer
All council members were present for these meetings as well as for the closed meeting which preceded them.
During the closed session, the council undertook the 6th month review of the city administrator’s performance. Afterward, Mayor Mary Rossing reported that the council agreed that Joel Walinski has “done a fine job and exerted good leadership.” She outlined the 7 criteria established for the review and reported that he had met or exceeded expectations in each. As a result, the council authorized a one step increase in Walinski’s compensation, effective September 27, 2009.
There were three presentations at the Special Meeting. James Ingham proposed that Northfield establish a “Yellow Ribbon Community,” a program designed by the Minnesota National Guard which provides support for deployed servicemen and their families. There will be a training meeting for interested individuals and organizations to see what is needed and how people can help. He distributed informational brochures. For more information: http://www.btyr.org/HomePage
Mark Shaw, Director of Rice County Services, reported that plans are under way to establish a “halfway house” for women in chemical treatment in Northfield. This is part of a continuum of services. Presently, Rice County must send people to Owatonna or other communities. It may take a year for the process to be completed, including licensing, arranging with West Hills Lodge which will administer the program, and to finalize the location of the facility.
Planning Commissioner Alice Thomas reported on the progress of the commission’s Land Development Code review. The commission meets weekly, and has completed the policy issues, and is “on to the more difficult issues, zoning and regulations tied to the policy issues.”
Prior to consideration of the Consent Agenda, several people spoke. Victor Summa requested that the Second Reading of Ordinance No. 902, amending certain chapters of the code be removed for discussion because of confusing language. Scott Carpenter, Ann McGovern, Cal Kunau and Rick Vanasek addressed the resolution narrowing the number of locations to be considered for a skateboard park. (This matter had been discussed at the August 31 Work Session at which time a scoring process reduced the number of locations from ten to five. At that meeting, the council agreed to discuss a park development policy. This idea was not included in tonight’s resolution) Carpenter suggested that scoring process was faulty. McGovern urged the council not to put the park in Old Memorial Field, and suggested Sechlar Park instead. She asked to know how individual council members rated the park options. Kunau stated that on street parking in the Old Memorial Park neighborhood is congested, and adding a skateboard park would make it even worse. Park and Recreation Board Chair Vanasek suggested that the board could add a lot to the discussion of the 5 remaining options.
Tonight, the council seemed determined to keep the Consent Agenda intact and approved it unanimously.
The council devoted the major part of the meeting to discussing the Capital Improvement Plan. Staff provided a 37-page document which this observer has not yet assimilated, but which will be valuable to anyone concerned about the city’s capital project and equipment purchases and how the city plans to provide for them. It includes a chart showing a five-year improvement plan for all funds. (Later, when the revised version is available, we will provide the web address.) Mayor Rossing stated that this meeting was intended to determine what information council members need in order to make decisions later on the safety center and the library, and what things should be put in the “parking lot” for future consideration. There is concern about the tax impact of bonds for those two major projects. Large projects might need to be phased in order to spread the cost over time.
Two business organizations requested that the council consider Safety Center Task Force member Ray Cox’s minority report which he distributed at the time the task force made its report. (June 22, 2009 meeting.) The mayor and city administrator have made presentations to the Chamber of Commerce, and the city has been invited to meet with the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation on October 4th.
Mayor Rossing noted that while construction costs are down now, they likely will increase during 2010 as construction delay always creates cost increases. She said that the council will need to make decisions by the end of October on the large projects.
City Clerk Liz Wheeler gave an overview of the budget for her department, including 2010 elections. Information Technology Department Manager Melissa Reeder provided information about funding options for a municipal fiber optic system. For various reasons, Northfield doesn’t qualify for stimulus funds for this service. It appears that this project will go into the “parking lot” for the time being.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:25.
