Northfield City Council Outlines Economic Goals

The motto might be called “Retain, recruit and improve.”

After a long discussion, Northfield city councilors on Tuesday chose a handful of near- and long-term priorities for the city’s economic development in a process that may take power to implement them away from the Economic Development Authority.

In a process that began mid-March, Thomas Clough, a Northfield resident and nonprofit consultant, has surveyed city councilors and EDA members, which most councilors regard as impotent, to figure out a way to revitalize economic planning in the city.

For the meantime, though, a decision on disbanding or restocking the EDA is taking back shelf to a formulation of the principles by which the city—whoever is in charge—should develop itself.

Clough said the EDA’s disputes over process and minutiae stems from a fundamental disagreement over whether Northfield should encourage industrial expansion with tax subsidies and developing open land, or whether it should focus on drawing development and high-skilled people with the lure of the town’s culture and two selective colleges.

The council, which will not vote to approve guidelines until next week at the earliest, ended up deciding on a hybrid approach of the two.

Councilors said to “retain and grow existing businesses” should be top priority, with helping keep land available a key part of it. In second was the goal to recruit small, talent-heavy and complimentary businesses with high potential for growth which would help retain high-skilled graduates from and colleges, another goal.

Rounding out the list were priorities to market Northfield as a artistic, recreational and conference destination, improving city infrastructure and preserving the city’s downtown and its overall “quality of place and life.”

In other news

• Councilors directed city staff to look into legal and environmental inspection issues over the potential purchase and resale of the former Northfield rail depot to a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the depot.

In a proposal, the Save the Northfield Depot group proposed either leasing or accepting the donation of two adjoining properties on the Q-Block—where the Quarterback Club is located—directly west of Hwy. 3, from the city. The depot itself would either be transferred from the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which owns the structure, to the city or directly to the Save the Northfield Depot group.

• Councilors agreed to vote next week to remove several sites from consideration for the stalled .

The center, approved last November, is not suited for locations at the Q-Block property, City Hall, a site at 400 N. Water Street or at the The Crossings development. Councilors Patrick Ganey and Rhonda Pownell said the blocks to each site ranged from prohibitive cost to unsuitable topography and potential issues of navigating emergency vehicles in nearby traffic.