Rebate dollars bring debate
Tax rebate dollars are in debate between Dundas and Bridgewater Township. These dollars come from within the Annexation Reserve District. City Administrator John McCarthy explains that the agreement requires the City to pay Bridgewater for lost tax revenue for land inside property annexed to the City. Dundas’s understanding is that that money is to be used for roads affected by annexation, not for routine maintenance such as putting gravel on Decker Street. The Dundas Council says that’s not what they agreed to and last night, Dundas council chose to decline the tax rebate payment. The payment for this year is $43,000 and will be placed in a special fund earmarked for the tax rebate. They’ll ask to sit down with Bridgewater on how the money is used. McCarthy says they’ve had ongoing talks and thought they had an agreement but, as McCarthy put it, “they chose to use the money in a different manner”. Two years ago, the City asked Bridgewater Township to talk about several items involving the ARD including how the rebate money is supposed to be spent. That’s when Bridgewater Township chose to sue Dundas. That lawsuit over the zoning and planning authority went back and forth until the courts finally settled on Bridgewater’s idea that the Zoning and Planning commission would have ultimate authority rather than the Dundas City Council. The two will meet again May 8th.
NDDC and Chamber possible merge
Two organizations whose mission includes keeping downtown Northfield vibrant may merge. Members of the Boards of Directors for the NDDC and the Chamber of Commerce met last week. Yesterday they announced that they’ve each passed nearly identical resolutions to agree in principle to merge the 2 entities. The Board of the Convention and Visitors Bureau was also at the meeting and supports the resolution, applauding the decision. The NDDC met last night, board member, Jerry Bilek commented that everyone was very excited and on board. That he’s optimistic this will serve both entities, as well as the City, better. He added that if this action would diminish either organization then they won’t do it. The next steps in the initiative are to engage a broader pool of people in the discussion including downtown retailers, businesses and building owners, Chamber members and city officials; review governance and naming issues; and gain final board approval from each entity. The process is expected to be completed by June 30th.
Northfield PD keeping eye on River but no flooding predicting
As the rain and some snow continue to fall, the Northfield Police Department has been receiving inquiries about the river level and our current rain pattern. Chief Monte Nelson has been keeping a close eye on things and says, “we are not expecting imminent flooding, but the river levels are rising at a steady rate”. He’s urging any businesses and/or residents in areas prone to flooding to make the necessary plans to deal with any encroaching water. For information go to the City’s homepage ci.northfield.mn.us, you’ll see the “Emergency Preparedness Resources” tab on the left. Click there for numerous resources, guidelines, and contact information as well as a video. Again, they’re not predicting flood levels as yet, just awareness.
Click below to listen to FULL newscast:
Listen for news updates on-air at 6, 7, 8, Noon, 3 and 5
The post Today’s news update – Rebate dollars bring debate; NDDC and Chamber possible merge; Northfield PD keeping eye on River but no flooding predicting appeared first on KYMN Radio - Northfield, MN.