Ice Arena
This project was adopted by the previous council (with 2 dissenting votes). By the time I took my seat, the architects had already been contracted for 1.8 Million (with another 2.3 Million for extras). The EDA had also voted to approve it, as a project of their own. Like the swimming pool, the EDA will own the facility until it is fully paid for. And that will take 20 years (unless the bonds are re-financed).
The citizens of Northfield are the hook for 80-90 percent of the Ice Arena...
History Note: As in 2018, this project should have been put to a citizen vote. It was never made clear why it wasn’t. My guess is that too many worried that it would be voted down, as it was in 2018, and it would be on the ballot with (therefore affect the potential passage) the school bond referendum at 120M.
Another History Note: The old Ice Arena was built solely by private philanthropy 50 years ago. It outlived its usefulness. I acknowledge the concern that hockey is an expensive sport, not enjoying any resurgence (as soccer is), and there are relatively few players and skaters as compared to other sports. I ended up supporting this because it has always been a part of Northfield, the School District did not want to lose up to 100 families, with corresponding loss of state aid, and in the big picture, Minnesota is a hockey state.
Unfortunately, building an ice Arena is expensive. The actual construction cost is 21M, but with all of the other costs, the total is 25M, millions more than what the previous council voted. Here it is 2025, and we are so far down this road that I and other councillors (5) exercised our individual judgment to take the last vote that would complete the project.
On the good side, the Nfld Hockey Assn (a 501c3, non profit) raised a few millions to help in building it. The city of Dundas and School District are also promising (actual legal contracts) to help Northfield pay off the bonds. Also, the land and some of the site preparation was donated by private citizens.
But to be clear, the citizens of Northfield are the hook for 80-90 percent of the Ice Arena, depending on how you look at the bonds and Dundas/ISD contributions. This Ice Arena belongs to you, generous taxpayer and I believe the hockey community will be (or already is) grateful.