Safety Center Tour
On Monday, November 16, the City Council put replacing the Northfield Safety Center into their 5-year Capitol Improvement Plan. A new police facility will be built in 2011 on a site yet to be determined and the present building will be razed and replaced with a new one for the fire department in 2012. Anticipated cost for construction of both components is $8.5 million. The third project, expansion of the Northfield Public Library, is scheduled for 2014.
The city has engaged Randy Jennings to assist in informing the public about the Safety Center building planning process. He has agreed to meet with citizens on Monday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m. to tour the building. League of Women Voter members Kiffi Summa and Jane McWilliams urge citizens to take advantage of this opportunity to see the Safety Center and to talk with Jennings about the city's plans.
Safety Center
I toured the Safety Center with a group from the Chamber of Commerce. There was lots of discussion and commentary, but it wasn't at all clear what would become of it or how or if it would be used. Apparently it wasn't at all.
The group I was with seemed pretty clear that building a firehall on the present site would be a huge mistake as one of the operational advantages of a new facility would be the ability to "drive through". Instead of dealing with the congestion and hassle of getting the right rigs out for an emergency, followed by working to get eveyrthing back in place afterward, a wider and shallower hall, with an access road on the "back" side would allow straightforward pull out/pull in. I don't see a way to make all that happen practically on the present site without a new access from Highway 3, huge amounts of fill, and some wild re-orientation of a new building.
Renovation of the exisiting building for our police seemed practical on the other hand.
The recent decision to do essentially the opposite makes it seem as though there was a foregone conclusion.
Pete Sandberg
840 E Fremont
Northfield