Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

As downtown Northfielders are probably aware, there is concern about potential real estate tax increases in 2006.

A number of downtown building and business owners have spoken with the NDDC about this issue recently. The statements of property valuations for the purposes of determining real estate taxes arrived last week and they include valuation increases from 2004 to 2005 ranging from 27% to 159%.

The increase in the valuation does not necessarily directly translate into an increase in your tax bill. However, an accountant and an appraiser that are friends of the NDDC are building some models of potential tax scenarios. If you would like to have your information included in this model, give it to Joe Grundhoefer at The RuebNStein. We will post this information after it’s been compiled.

There is an “Open Book” Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 27th, 10 am to 1 pm, at the Northfield City Hall on this topic. Anyone can attend this meeting and speak with the County Appraiser.

There is also a County Board of Appeal and Equalization Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, 8:30 am at the Rice County Government Service Building.

The Northfield Community Investment Fund, a $1.5 million pool intended to assist development and redevelopment projects in Northfield, is up and running. The final signing of the documents is taking place two floors over my head at this very moment.

The Fund was originally the brain-child of the NDDC. Founders Brett Reese, Bardwell Smith and Jim Braucher, along with long-time supporter Dixon Bond, knocked on a few doors several years ago with the vision of spurring investment and redevelopment in downtown. The potential participants preferred a community-wide approach and the baton was passed to the Northfield Enterprise Center (NEC) about two years ago.

The fund participants are Carleton College, St. Olaf College, First National Bank of Northfield and Community National Bank. Each entity has contributed capital to create a community-oriented investment fund.

Seated at the table from left to right: Dave Shumway, First National Bank of Northfield; Alan Norton, St. Olaf College; Lynda Grady, NEC; Don Kuenhast, Community National Bank; Steve Meyer, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly; Fred Rogers, Carleton College; Joe Hargis, NEC.

Although the fund is now community-wide, the type of challenging projects that it will support, those sometimes difficult community-building projects that push the typical bank’s envelope, are often located in downtown. The NDDC is excited about the potential for this new fund.

We thank Carleton College, Community National Bank, First National Bank of Northfield and St. Olaf College for their creativity and courage.

Last Wednesday, February 9th, the NDDC hosted one of their increasingly regular (must be the bran muffins) Block Head Gatherings. As is our practice, it was held at Joe Grundhoefer’s Rueb-N-Stein at 8 am.

Our special guest was Heidi Hamilton, Director of Public Works for the City of Northfield. She brought Joel Walinski, the City’s new Operations Manager to the meeting.

We asked Heidi to join us in a discussion about our interest in having a “Lick and a Promise Cleaning” of downtown before the Community Day of Service on April 30th and a substantial “Spring Cleaning” before the Northfield High School and St. Olaf College Graduations on May 29th. We also voiced our interest in working with the City to get the river railings painted by citizen volunteers. Heidi listened to and clearly understood our wishes and indicated that she would see what she could do to to accomodate them.
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At Thursday morning’s meeting, the Economic Development Authority reviewed and approved a request by the Northfield Historical Society for $75,000 of Downtown Revolving Loan Funds.

The Historical Society will use the funds to restore the roof of the Scriver Building to its original design (repairing the leaks in the process), create new exhibit space to expand their offerings, and to address interior wiring, plumbing, and soundproofing issues.

This work will be the first phase of the planned restoration of this important downtown building and is expected to be completed in time for the July 4th celebration.

The NDDC had worked with the EDA to make the Downtown Revolving Loan Fund more “user-friendly” in the hopes of stimulating just this type of exciting project. This is the first loan approved since the terms of the program were revised and the first loan in 2005.

For more information on the Downtown Revolving Loan Fund, call City Economic Development Specialist Deanna Kuennen at 645-3069.

The Exapansion and Redevelopment Committee of the NDDC, known as the E. R. Team, held another Block Head Gathering last week. About two dozen folks showed up at The Rueb for coffee, doughnuts and discussion.

There was an update on the Downtown Revolving Loan Fund, particularly the under $10,000 category. Loans of this size require no collateral and no match.

Joe Grundhoefer recently used the program to build his nifty new Rueb ‘n’ Stein garbage enclosure. Contact Deanna Kuennen at the City to find out more about this EDA program.

A “heads-up” on the Downtown Inventory was given. DSU delivered a report to the City Council and many of the NDDC Action Squad’s recommendations on downtown infrastructure were included. City staff will be conducting public forums over the next 30 days or so. The NDDC and the Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a public forum on the topic, with presentations from City staff and opportunties for public input, at the November General Membership meeting on WEDNESDAY (yes, Wednesday), November 3rd, 8 am, at the Archer House.

A discussion was conducted on the State of Business Downtown and recent events to promote foot traffic. The NDDC’s “Welcome Students” initiative and the Chamber’s “Fall Fest” were highlighted. It was mentioned that Country Living Magazine will be covering this year’s “Winter Walk”.

Speaking of nifty Garbage Enclosures, the topic of Downtown Garbage Handling was introduced. The E. R. Team has conducted several tours of Downtown Garbage Sites (19 and still counting) and has some shockingly graphic pictures. The Team’s recommendation for improving this situation is COMBINE receptacles, CONTAIN (visually) with screening, and COORDINATE pick-up schedules. The E. R. Team will be following up with owners of 3 sites to move forward on this matter.

There was then a spirited discussion of Downtown Code Enforcement, particularly Section 1306. Many downtown building and business owners have talked about the high cost of retrofitting historic structures. Deanna Kuennen suggested that the City and the NDDC jointly host a discussion between City Inspector John Brookings and interested building and business owners. The NDDC is working with the City to set up this meeting.

Finally, the recent spate of incidents of Vandalism, particularly on the Westside was raised. There was much speculation about the source of these incidents and possible ways to address them. Chief of Police Gary Smith has offered to meet with downtown building and business owners to talk about the issue. He will be invited to the next Block Head Gathering.