Mayor expresses frustration over recent “situation” The Mayor took issue this morning with an editorial piece in the Northfield News wherein Jerry Smith’s headline reads “Mayor, city council failed community in Haggenmiller departure” Graham said, “we were put into a situation based on the actions of an individual… or individuals that forced us to a situation that we don’t like”. {listen to podcast below for quote} He’s speaking of the written complaint against Haggenmiller for an inappropriate relationship with a female department head. The debate dogging the Mayor and council has been the public’s right to know and the privacy of the accused and accuser. He said, again, they followed the advice of 8 attorneys and stands by the Council’s decision. Graham said the individuals involved in the complaint are the ones who let the city down. “It’s not easy. This stinks. I absolutely hate everything that we’ve gone through in this process”. He said the Council has taken the matter very seriously and did what they felt best. He added that Nick Haggenmiller had every opportunity to open it up to a public hearing but chose to keep it closed and chose to sign the agreement. Councilor Ludescher has been vocal in his belief that the Council did indeed violate the open meeting law as Smith contends in the oped. In the meantime, caught in collateral damage are 3 female department heads who’ve not done anything but will get scrutinized and some City employees who have chosen not to wear their logo’d shirts because the public is asking them questions they can’t answer. Still, they must work – Council discussed the PW organizational structure change and interim Admin The Northfield City Council still has work to do and last night in their work session they discussed the proposed Public Works organizational structure change. Some councilors expressed concern about moving ahead without a City Administrator. After talking it over with Public Works Director Dave Bennett, Zweifel said she felt confident they could move forward with Bennett at the helm. The consensus was to move forward. It will eliminate the Project Manager position which was just recently instituted. Four other manager positions will be filled in Engineering, Streets & Parks, Utilities and Facilities. Total financial impact is will be just under $36,000. Mayor Graham discussed the search for an interim administrator. He and HR Director Michelle Mahowald are working with the League of Minnesota Cities on a list of names and will be making phone calls. These candidates are generally retired or between jobs. An interim Administrator would likely hold the position for about 6 months as council works to find a replacement for the fired Haggenmiller. Last night Graham said that Gary Weiers, who found Haggenmiller, guaranteed he’d be around for at least 2 years. Since that didn’t happen, the next search will be on his dime. Know the burning restrictions As cool weather will get here, the Northfield Police Department asks residents to keep 2 things in mind when building a recreational fire. First to be considerate of your neighbors who may be affected by the smoke and to know the burning ordinance within the City. Briefly your fire pit must be at least 50 feet from any structure, it can’t be any larger than 3 feet in diameter or reach higher than 3 feet. The complete press release with the rules is on our website kymnradio.net under Community News. Nfld “leads the State that leads the Nation” Yesterday the Northfield Chamber held a State of our School district luncheon at the Northfield Golf Club sponsored by Benjamin Bus. Superintendent Chris Richardson spoke on the progress of our school district calling Northfield “the district that leads the State that leads the Nation” in academic excellence. Northfield’s K-12 student population has changed little over the last 2 decades holding pretty steady at 4,000. Richardson briefly discussed the Master Facilities Plan. There will be another public meeting next Tuesday evening in the high school auditorium from 7 to 8:30. Richardson remarked on one area they are working to improve and that’s providing more vocational training opportunities for students who wish to work in the trades, professions that will be in high demand in the coming decade. Big Woods holds annual meeting Friends of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park are holding their annual meeting and program Thursday evening beginning at 6:30 at the park office. Master Gardener, Lisa Reuvers, will talk about pollinators. Find out about different types of pollinating insects, why they’re important and what you can do to help. The public is invited to attend, light refreshments will be served. Click below to listen to FULL newscast: 9-23-15 news Listen for news updates on-air at 6, 7, 8, Noon, 3 and 5 The post Today’s news update – Mayor expresses frustration over recent “situation”; Still, they must work – Council discussed the PW organizational structure change and interim Admin; Nfld “leads the State that leads the Nation”; Big Woods holds annual meeting appeared first on KYMN Radio - Northfield, MN.
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