Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

The new executive director of the Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP), Gordon Cumming, will address our next General Membership meeting on Tuesday, May 4, at 8 a.m.

Open to the public, the meeting will be held in the lower-level conference room of the Archer House at Third and Division streets downtown. We’ll have the coffepot on and treats available.

Cumming, a 1995 graduate of St. Olaf College, lives in Rochester, Minn., where he worked most recently for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He earned his master’s degree in environmental policy, regulation, environmental sociology and environmental ethics at Oregon State University.

Founded in 1990 by local citizens, the CRWP works with many agencies, organizations and individuals to protect and improve the water and natural resources of the Cannon River watershed.

If you’re wondering what CRWP has to do with downtown, this is what Ross Currier will tell you, “People may not think about the health of the Cannon River as a ‘downtown issue,’ but we believe that good parks, a clean river and low levels of pollution are as essential to the well being of downtown Northfield as a strong business climate is.”

Board members on the CRWP include citizens from Northfield, Dundas, Randolph, Faribault, Owatonna, Red Wing, Waterville and Waseca. The Cannon River watershed is 1,462 square miles and includes all of the land, lakes, rivers and streams that drain into the Cannon River. The largest tributary to the Cannon is the Straight River.

Join us on May 4 and bring lots of questions. Northfield began on the banks of the Cannon and it’s still the heart of our town.

Saturday, May 1, is the date for the first-ever Spring Fling event in downtown Northfield. Sponsored by the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, the event is designed to bring as many people as possible to the historic district for a day of shopping and fun. The showmobile will be in Bridge Square and entertainlment is scheduled all day. There will be gardening demonstrations, dance and musical performances, a fashion show, and a May Day program for young children. Detailed schedules are available from all downtown merchants.

The NDDC’s contribution to the festivities will be the 1st Annual RUN DOWNTOWN. Registration is at 8:30 am in Bridge Square and the race begins at 9. Runners will follow a 1.75 mile course outlining the boundaries of downtown. Points of interest include Ames Park and the pedestrian bridge spanning the Cannon River between 2nd and 3rd streets. Runners of all ages are invited to participate. Prizes will be awarded in Bridge Square following the race.

You could go to the Bluegrass State and watch the Kentucky Derby or you could do RUN DOWNTOWN Northfield. It’s your choice.

Meeting Notes
NDDC Arts and Culture Committee Meeting
January 20, 2004

UPDATES:

Downtown Marketing Committee (City)
Jane McWilliams:
No current action. Jane sits in as a liason for the arts community and our committee. The marketing focus of the city committee will most likely be on downtown Northfield as a whole, so if the NDDC Arts committe wants to market Northfield as an “artstown” that will be a separate avenue for us.

Summer Arts Festival
Jill Enestvedt:
Dates for the festival are set for August 5-15, 2004. The event will be co-sponsored by the NDDC and Northfield Arts Guild. The committee is organizing anchor events on the weekends, and evening events for the week between them. Activities will have both an arts and downtown focus, and will include an architectural tour of the downtown, orchestra on Bridge Square, activities for kids, artists studio tours, readings, performances and more.

Middle School Reuse
Bardwell Smith:
Artspace has been formally approved by the school board and will do a feasability study for the project by April. The NAG is developing a proposal for the use of some of their space. Ross and Karen will meet with Artspace Jan. 23. Representatives from Artspace will be speaking at the Feb. 3 general meeting of the NDDC, 8 am at the Archer House. We will encourage arts interests to attend to convey the wants and needs of the arts community and the many possibilities for the space. Renee will ask about a news article regarding this meeting, and Jane will ask NTV to tape it.

Bike Trail:
John Stull has joined the board. Rotary may have money for the downtown part of the trail.

Moving the city hall sculpture:
A new spot needs to be surveyed, and the sculpture needs to be correctly positioned. It will require a concrete base and may need repainting. Dixon, Karen and Sue will look into the viability of the move, and the artistic value of the sculpture. There may be city money available for part of the cost, but it could total $3-4000. During (or just prior to) the Arts Festival may be an ideal time for the move.

Arts, Recreation and Culture Committee
April 20, 2004 Meeting Minutes

Sculpture:
Ray Cox will move it.
Tim Lloyd will coordinate the painting.
Jim Braucher will do the engineering.
The City supports the move.
We still need to arrange a concrete base.
Arts Guild will do a plaque.

Artswirl:
We should have a parade. Perhaps Saturday, August 7th.
The focus could be the moving of the sculpture.
Sam Demas will arrange for one float.
Ross Currier will line up one musical group.

Sponsorship:
Karen Helland has asked Over and Back to consider designating Artswirl as the benefitee of their performance.

Middle School:
Artspace submitted their preliminary report to the school board last week. Its a go. The next step is the tax credit application.
We should have an event during Artswirl that recognizes the Middle School as a part of our overall objective of having Northfield considered an Arts Town.
Jill Enesvedt will look into a Film Festival.

Just Food:
Food as Art.
Ross Currier will look into Just Food doing an event during Artswirl.

NDDC Arts, Recreation and Culture Committee
2/17/04 Meeting Minutes

Arts Town Committee:
Will eventually go out of business
Members include Steve Edwins, Kristi Clarke, Karen, Paul and Sam
Goal is the creation of an Arts Coordinating Committee

Arts Festival:
Arts Whirl is the name
Scheduled for August 5th through the 11th
Will include Over and Back, Theatre in the Park
Notice has been sent out to the Performers
Next Meeting will be about Publicity
Hopefully will include a Studio Tour
Working on a 3-year Plan

Artspace/Middle School:
Phase 1 ends in April, Phase 2 ends in July
Rebecca Peterson raised $400,000 from 10 Corporate Donors for Fergus Falls
Currently Defining Vision of Reuse
Working to avoid competition for funds
Survey Space Needs by Disciplines
Arts Guild preparing a sketch of their interest
Bardwell L. Smith Film Society is gathering steam
NAG-NDDC Joint Coordinating Committee will bring together disciplines
Meeting on March 4th, 7 pm at the Middle School

Field Sculpture:
Research cost of moving
Put together a Plaque
Dixon will ask Ray Cox about cost and Jim Braucher about Engineering

Marketing Northfield as an Arts Town:
Downtown Strategies is not much to build on
Arts Calendar Software Integration with links to City, NDDC, Colleges, etc.
Currently hung up due to funding constraints