The state legislature managed to balance the budget without a special session.  However, our legislators admitted that it was only through a combination of borrowing from the schools, some real cuts, and a few gimmicks and tricks.  They noted that the next legislature and governor will face a huge challenge.

One of the real cuts was Local Government Aid, or LGA.  These cuts have a substantial impact on the City of Northfield’s budget.

Although Bly and Dahle recognize that LGA cuts are not popular, they asked the attendees if they would have different priorities.  The legislators noted that 37% of the State’s budget goes to K-12 Education, 29% goes to Health Care, 10% goes to Property Tax Relief, 9% goes to Higher Education, 6% goes to Public Safety, 3% goes to Debt Service and 2% goes to General Government.  In contrast , about 30% of the City of Northfield’s budget goes to General Government.

Parks and Trails were another area of substantive cuts.  Although Bly and Dahle recognize that some people view these as less essential expenditures, they expressed their concern about the impact of these cuts on the state’s vital tourism industry.

The legislators encouraged citizens to speak up about their priorities for the state budget.  The budget balancing work is not over.

The Legislature managed to balance the State’s budget this year without a special session.  The many compromises included an agreement on an early enrollment option for Medical Assistance, a few more cuts to health care and other areas, additional cost shifts including delayed aid payments to schools, and an increase in borrowing, but avoided direct cuts to schools or nursing homes.

Senator Dahle and Representative Bly will provide a summary of the recently concluded session, including some details on changes in Local Government Aid.  Kevin and David will also offer some insights as to possible future scenarios and the potential impacts on municipal government and local taxpayers.

The NDDC is a non-partisan, non-profit community organization dedicated to the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Northfield. The event is free and open to the public. As always, coffee and cookies will be served.

For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at (507) 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

At this moment in time, the Council’s focus is on potential sites for the police station, feasibility analysis of the current site for the fire station, and whether or not to have the citizens vote on the financing.  The Council’s cost target for both facilities is $8.5 million, although City Finance Director has suggested bonding for $12 million, in case of “extraordinary cost overruns”.  Mayor Rossing said the cost of a referendum, estimated at $25,000, is a concern for some City leaders.  The Council will make a decision on June 15th.  More information is available on the City’s website.

Rossing noted that if the citizens do not support bonding for new facilities, bringing the existing facility up to code would cost $3.2 million, which would also be paid for by bonding.  One audience member noted that when a new liquor store was being considered, the cost estimate for bringing the existing facility up to code was about $300,000 but the final cost was around $165,000, and offered the hope that similar savings might be achieved.  The Mayor responded that it is prudent to be planning for a facility that will serve the community forty years from now.

Another audience member raised a concern about choosing a site that is relatively further from the center of the community and the resulting impact on the fire department’s I.S.O. (Insurance Service Office) rating, which has cost implications for property owners’ insurance.  City Administrator Walinski replied that the location has a minimal impact on the rating, which is largely determined by equipment, training and water pressure.

Yet another audience member said that most of the financial focus has been on the cost of a new facility.  He said over the forty-year life-span of the facility, the operating costs would far exceed the construction costs.  Several audience members expressed hope that the City had accurately estimated the increased costs of operating two larger facilities.  Mayor Rossing noted that Northfielders would need to do a better job of maintaining the city’s facilities than in previous decades.

The discussion of operating costs finally turned the group’s attention to the City budget.  Rossing said that, depending on LGA (Local Government Aid) from the State, the 2010 operating deficit could be between $300,000 and $700,000.  Several audience members offered that the news from last night’s State legislative session made the higher number likely.  The Mayor noted that the budget gap for 2011 will be at least as much.

The Mayor said that she is aware that the business community advocates balancing the budget without raising taxes but that this would require cutting services.  She asked if they would accept a cutback in the level of service for snow plowing.  Several audience members offered alternative cuts, suggesting that fire, police and snow plowing should be preserved.  Rossing and the audience seemed to agree that the citizens should prioritize core services.

When asked how the citizens might offer ideas for budget cuts, Mayor Rossing suggested that they could e-mail her.  Administrator Walinski noted that there is a place on the City’s website where such ideas can be sent.

It was noted that time for these ideas is short.  The first round of budget cuts must be implemented at the end of June.

An audio recording of the session is available on Locally Grown Northfield.

The Forum is being held at the request of Mayor Rossing.  She wishes to meet with downtown stakeholders and discuss two topics, the City of Northfield’s plans for financing the Capital Improvement Plan and work to address the budget shortfall in the 2010 budget and a similar challenge for the 2011 budget. In her own words:

I will be covering two very important topics that are at the top of the list of council priorities.

The first will be an update on the Safety Center projects.  I will cover process, timeline, plans in process, and next steps in assuring that Northfield’s public safety needs are met into the future.  We will also cover financing options before the council, the potential impact on property owners as well as highlight the opportunities for public input in the upcoming months.

The second issue is a discussion about the budget shortfall for 2010 and the impact of decreasing revenues into the future–loss of LGA, property valuations, economic impact, etc.  We will look at comparable cities and what makes Northfield unique.  I will also address what types of services can and cannot be cut and why because of mandates on what we do.  Finally I will lay out possible solutions, both short and long term, including the impact of certain types of economic development vs. others.

The NDDC is a non-partisan, non-profit community organization dedicated to the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Northfield. The event is free and open to the public. As always, coffee and cookies will be served.

For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at (507) 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

Mark was returning to Northfield.  He was born in Rochester, Minnesota, graduated from St. Olaf College, and worked as a lab technician at the Mayo Clinic before entering the management side as the V. P. of Human Resources for Mayo’s start-up operations in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mayo’s Jacksonville operations grew rapidly during Mark’s tenure, going from 35 doctors and 150 staff people to 115 doctors and 850 staff people.  He was with the Mayo system for 22 years before becoming the hospital administrator for Sanford Hospital Luverne in Luverne, Minnesota.

Mark discussed the Hospital’s business model with the attendees.  The market is currently defined as the area within a two-hour drive.  With Mayo getting into the clinic business he noted, the South Metro has become a new market.

He said that the Hospital has an excellent reputation for surgery and recognized strength in cardiology.  With the addition of Mayo’s Oncology Center, health care will be a strong driver for the local economy.  Mark noted that Northfielders will also benefit from the availability of new services in the town.

Mark said that community’s many assets, such as the schools, the culture, the natural beauty, and the vibrant downtown, help the Hospital attract talent.  He cited several examples of top-notch professionals moving to Northfield for the quality of life.

The sense of place and quality of life are reflected in the Northfield Hospital.  Mark encouraged everyone to just stop in and look around the facility.  He believes that citizens should be proud of their top-notch Hospital.

Henke took over from long-time administrator Ken Bank on April 1st.  He had previously served as the hospital administrator for Sanford Hospital Luverne in Luverne, Minnesota.  Prior to that he was chief operating officer for Winneshiek Medical Center and chief administrative officer for Decorah Clinic–Mayo Health System in Decorah, Iowa (2001-2006). Between 1986 and 2006, Mark served in several administrative roles at Mayo Clinic, including Human Resources, Systems & Procedures, Education, and Regional Health System Administration.

Henke is a 1981 St. Olaf College graduate.  In addition to his St. Olaf bachelor’s degree, he has an MBA from Northern Illinois University.

The NDDC is a non-partisan, non-profit community organization dedicated to the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Northfield. The event is free and open to the public. As always, coffee and cookies will be served.

For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at (507) 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

However, democracy, discussion of issues, and freedom of expression are always welcome in downtown Northfield.  Consider participating in an ad hoc forum at one of downtown’s fine coffeehouses or breakfast establishments such as the Quality Bakery, the HideAway, the Quarterback Club, Caribou, Blue Monday, the Tavern, or Bittersweet.

All it takes to thoroughly explore a topic of interest is a few engaged citizens and lots of hot coffee.

Photo courtesy of Griff Wigley.

PDG (and NDDC) founder Jim Braucher opened the session with a definition of sustainability as the “capacity to endure”.  He noted that efforts in this area sought a minimal long-term effect on the environment and to eliminate negative impacts on the building’s occupants and the surrounding community.

Miles Britz the outlined the five basic components of sustainable design: site planning, water use, energy use, indoor air quality, and resource conservation.  He emphasized that the benefits are in broad and deep categories: environment, economic, health & safety, and lower infrastructure costs for the community.

He noted that the movement coalesced around the United States Green Building Codes’ Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in 1993.  Britz stressed that this group is made up of all kinds of building professionals and provides a independent, third-party verification.

Braucher and Britz argued that the key to success is to bring everyone together at the beginning of the project: the owner, the architect, the engineer and the builder.  Braucher noted that in many projects, it can be important to involve the community from an early point too.

The LEED standards have four levels: certified, silver, gold and platinum.   The additional cost for achieving these levels is approximately 1 to 7 percent of total development costs.

Many local governments have adopted LEED incentive programs. These incentives include tax credits, tax breaks, density bonuses, reduced fees, priority or expedited permitting, free or reduced-cost technical assistance, grants and low-interest loans.

Owners of LEED buildings have noted the significant savings in operating costs.  For the KFI LEED Gold project in Roseville (converting a vacant grocery store into an office building), the calculation is that their $4 million investment will create $58 million in benefits over 20 years.

With the health benefits to the occupants, environmental benefits to the community, opearting cost benefits to the owner, and infrastructure cost benefits to the city, sustainable design deserves our further consideration.

Miles Britz, a certified LEED Accredited Professional with local architecture/engineering firm Professional Design Group, will provide real world examples of the concept and answer any questions about applying sustainable design principles to property development projects.  The objective of the forum is incorporate these principles into planning for future projects in Northfield.

Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing the built environment to comply with principles of economic, social and ecological sustainability.  According to Miles, the goal is to “eliminate negative environmental impact through skillful, sensitive design”.

The NDDC is a non-partisan, non-profit community organization dedicated to the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Northfield. The event is free and open to the public. As always, coffee and cookies will be served.

For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at (507) 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

NDDC Committees are continuing to tweak their areas of the Work Plan at their monthly meetings.  All additional stakeholder feedback is welcome.  The outline of the plan is presented below:

NDDC 2010 Work Plan
Initial Sketch from 11/18/09 Planning Session
November 30th, 2009 Draft, December 30th, 2009 Revisions

MARKETING (reach out to residents while encouraging visitors):
- Get people Comfortable Coming Downtown with Monthly Events
- Events/Promotions should have Themes (customers bring the energy)
- Retail Reference Index, Quarterly Crawl, Consistent Hours

PLANNING (short-term initiatives for long-term vitality):
- Implement Parking Work Plan, Bike Trail Leverage Plan
- Be prepared to support Private and Public Development Projects
- Clarify NDDC’s Role in Community Planning

ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING (support existing businesses while pursuing new businesses):
- Retention: On-going Survey of Stakeholder needs and Strategic Advocacy
- Recruitment: Maintain Target Business List/Formalize Recruitment Package
- Redevelopment: Maintain Available Property List, Support Private Initiatives

COMMUNICATING (facilitate exchange of information between downtown stakeholders and interested parties):
- Identify Community Web Portal, NDDC site supports it (residents & visitors)
- Partner on Forums – Collaborative Advocacy
- Partner with Colleges to Connect with World

SUSTAINING (assure organization’s on-going ability to pursue its mission):
- Increase Leverage from NDDC Website, Communicate NDDC’s Value
- Consider Conducting Events as Income Sources
- Explore Membership Concept, Expand Sponsorship Model

To share feedback, call or e-mail the NDDC or talk with one of the Board Members.  All are eager to hear your thoughts.