Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

Saturday’s Northfield News had a front page story about an issue that the NDDC has been working on for several years now. It’s the ever-rising commercial property taxes in Downtown Northfield.

After many years of double-digit property tax increases, the economic viability of our traditional commercial district is being threatened. Something must be done if our historic buildings and local businesses are to survive.

The NDDC’s E R Team journeys to St. Paul again tomorrow, to meet with key leaders on this issue. Our stated intention is to get a plan in place by late summer or early autumn for implementation at the next legislative session.

The NDDC Board visited more businesses last week. It is truly amazing to see the wide variety of products and services available in Downtown Northfield.

We started with Nicole Maloney and Jerry Weber, the wife and husband team that opened Sweet Pea’s Loft and recently expanded across the hall to Sweet Pea’s Toys & Treats. They’ve got a wonderful selection of home accessories and gifts and now offer toys and candy too. Come visit them at 220 Division Street.

Then it was just up the street to April Ripka at The Sketchy Artist. She been open since January and has been meeting the needs of area artists as well stirring the creative juices of average citizens ever since. April also has an ever-changing show of the work of emerging artists on her walls too. Check it out at 300 Division Street.

Our next stop was Equine Outfitters. They have tack, apparel and gifts for those that own, or just love, horses. Owner Brenda Miller treated us to a tour of their lower level manufacturing facility, where they make products that are shipped all around the world. Be sure to check out their fascinating products at 200 Division Street.

Finally, we climbed the stairs to idinsight. This local high tech company, started by some of that famous St. Olaf talent, offers fraud prevention software to the banking industry. Pictured are: Robert Olson, Purushothaman Subbaiah, Jens Jensen, Matthew Schraan, Glenda Mixer, Aswani Nair, and Lee Runzheimer, along with the NDDC’s Keith Covey, & Mary Rossing.

The businesses that we visited, small but vigorous enterprises, have an impact locally, nationally and even internationally. All that and more are available in Downtown Northfield.

Last night the City Council passed a new Ordinance that may end sidewalk dining in Downtown Northfield.

The NDDC has been working for about two years to encourage the City to allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages on the adjoining sidewalks by the customers of licensed vendors. Recognizing that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is a serious matter and should be handled carefully and responsibly if allowed on the public sidewalks, the NDDC researched the practices in other communities, around the state and country, to see what types of requirements might be put in place to insure the public safety.

We were therefore surprised when, sometime between the Council Work Session and the First Reading, a new Chapter had been inserted in the Ordinance that extended “the same requirements, review processes, fees, and conditions” to businesses that had long offered non-alcoholic beverages and food on the sidewalks in front of their establishments.

When the the NDDC asked that the new Chapter be dropped and that the Ordinance once again focus only on the consumption of alcoholic beverages by the customers of licensed vendors, City Attorney Maren Swanson agreed that when the Ordinance drafting began two years ago, it had focused on controlling alcoholic beverages and that the reference to non-alcoholic beverages and food and the new Chapter could be dropped.

Councilor Jim Pokorney came out strongly against such a move, however. He felt that the sidewalks belonged to the City and that they must be brought under control of the City. Councilor Pokorney went on to suggest that by adding more regulations, the City would in fact be facilitating business expansion. Councilors Davis, Denison and Vohs appeared to support Councilor Pokorney’s views and position. Mayor Lansing seemed to have concerns about it and Councilor Nelson clearly thought that it was a bad idea. I didn’t stay for the vote.

When the new language was introduced at the First Reading, I talked about it to some of the owners of businesses that currently offer this sidewalk option. These businesses have between four and six seats on the sidewalk and the owners said that if the application, inspections and fees are too much, it just wouldn’t be worth it for them to continue the practice.

So come on down(town) and enjoy a cup of coffee and a scone on the sidewalk. One of our best loved downtown delights may soon be coming to an end.

In yesterday’s StarTribune (4/6/08), there was an interesting opinion piece. “Have dollars-will spend locally”, by Christy DeSmith, discussed her plans for spending her stimulus check.

Christy is a freelance writer and, from her description, it sounds like she’s generally pretty careful with her money. It’s also clear that she’s quite thoughtful about how she spends her limited resources.

She’s going to spend her anticipated money in an effort to maximize the local stimulus. Specifically, she is going to try to direct as much of that stimulus check as possible to the state’s economy “by shopping local, family-owned businesses for Minnesota-made goods”.

Christy is one of those creative professionals, she earns her bread by writing, and it appears that she hangs out with other creative types. Her “local-only bender” begins with an “extravagant dinner” at a local restaurant and then she heads to a play performed by local actors and, “most important, written by one of the Twin Cities wealth of fine playwrights”. Finally, she ends up at one of the locally-owned boutiques that carries Minnesota-designed products.

I think she’s on to something. If we follow her advice and spend our stimulus checks locally, it might really have a meaningful positive impact. We can dine at one of our locally-owned restaurants, swing into a shop that carries Minnesota-made products (pictured is the Arts Guild’s Felicia Peters gesturing to her shop’s wide-range of local artists’ offerings), and then check out some of the hometown talent on one of the many local stages. It would be a hot time for you and a heat-up for the local economy.

I really enjoyed her closing lines: “For the first time in a long while, I’ll shop without guilt. Buyer’s remorse? Try hometown pride.”

Yeah, let’s try some hometown pride.

“Miami still has some catching up to do”, so claimed the headline of Ronald Bosrock’s “Global Executive” column in Monday’s (February 25th) Strib article. In the competition for global talent, he argued that the Twin Cities was way ahead of Miami.

While recognizing that Miami has attracted multi-national companies and the largest concentration of banks south of New York City, largely due to its location in relation to Latin America, Bosrock said that the city’s current investments reveal that it is trying to catch up with the Twin Cities in at least one area. Miami has not been as successful at “attracting the highly educated, highly trained, and highly paid workers” needed to work for the multi-nationals. Miami’s current capital investment program is focused on positioning the city as a “center of culture and a place that offers a quality of lifestyle”.

Miami has recently built a new symphony hall, a new opera house, and a new museum of modern art. However, it’s not just buildings that create culture, it’s programming to fill those buildings. Miami has had to borrow artists from Cleveland.

The Twin Cities, on the other hand, has launched a public relations campaign called “More to Life”. The goal is to let the world know that the Minneapolis and St. Paul already are a center of culture and a place offering a high quality of life, featuring such offering as the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, the Guthrie Theater, the Ordway Center, the Walker Museum, the Science Museum, the History Center, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Bosrock concludes that in the increasing global competition for talent, you have to recognize your assets and promote them vigorously. Perhaps there are some lessons for Northfield in this story.