Northfield group presses Dollar General for land and access as FEMA-funded dam removal advances

Jeff Schultz, the town project lead, told the Riverwalk Task Force that Dollar General has declined to grant an easement for a Riverwalk path but has "graciously offered to give the land to the town," and the town has begun a boundary-line-adjustment process with a hired surveyor, Bowman Survey.

Schultz outlined two separate access needs tied to the project: permanent land for the Riverwalk path and temporary construction access to the river for the FEMA-funded dam removal. He said engineers originally proposed routing construction traffic through Dollar General's main driveway, but the company rejected that option. Schultz said the town is pursuing either access through newly conveyed land on Dollar General’s south side or routing trucks through an adjacent, already-disturbed apartment-construction area on the north side.

The project team has submitted permit applications that include two access points as backups, Schultz said, noting that SLR—the firm that revised earlier designs prepared by DuBois King—prefers to use already-disturbed areas when possible because federal funding triggers cultural‑resource protections. "Because it's federal money, they're subjected to a lot of restrictions" on disturbing potentially sensitive areas, a task force member said during the meeting.

Schultz warned that while all project funding is allocated and sitting in a fund, final FEMA approvals and other permit paperwork remain outstanding. He said the goal is to advertise the project for bids in May but that construction will likely not begin until July to match the low‑water period and avoid nesting-season restrictions. "Their goal is to put the project out to bid in May and... they cannot start construction until July," Schultz said.

Task force members discussed trade‑offs that will shape the final trail design: if federal contractors encounter cultural artifacts during work, federal requirements could compel restoration to pre‑project conditions and complicate subsequent trail construction in those sensitive areas. The group also weighed traffic‑safety concerns about routing heavy equipment near the Main Street bridge if southern access is the only available option.

Next steps identified at the meeting include continuing negotiations with Dollar General's attorneys on the survey and conveyance; finishing outstanding permit materials for FEMA and state reviewers; and returning to the task force with updates at or before the May 21 meeting.