City Commission - Regular Meeting

Mr. Mayor, I'd like to pull item number 21B and 21G for discussion, sir.

If I might, wouldn't it be more appropriate just to advance these to the next agenda meeting because we don't have notice to give people a chance to respond?

I'll go to second for purposes of discussion.

Well, I applaud people going into a consent agenda, but generally speaking, if we can give our staff and administration an opportunity to be prepared to have the discussion you're hoping to have, that would be my preference.

Mr. Mayor, thank you. Commissioner Strand, thank you. These are two topics that I've gone back and forth repeatedly since last week on these items, but I have no problem delaying both of them. One is just actually the G is not even an action item. It's just thoughts on the item to pull it. So without objection, I'd have no problem continuing it to the next meeting.

Then, Mayor, I move that those two items just simply be put on the next agenda if possible.

Per Commissioner Strand, I'd be happy to table these until next meeting and make a motion to do so. Thank you. Is there a second?

Thank you for being here. Can you tell me, would you be going through with this project without the tax incentive?

Mr. Mayor, thank you. Can you touch on the regional impact of this? I think you introduced a little bit here, but what's going to happen down in Wahpeton as well?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. For our friends at the EDC, you and I sat down last week for a bit, a good couple hours, and walked through this project as well. Can you remind me what the current valuation of this building is relative to what it was five years ago? I think that's an important touch point.

Ryan? And then also, touch on, he alluded to it, but until you and I spoke, I had no context relative to, you said it's a pharmaceutical industry before. what you and I spoke, and I can maybe tell the story too, but it's better coming from you, I think. If someone else was to buy this building, what happens to the building?

Excuse me. I think we have a unique fit with our incentive program and building and user plus I wanted to touch on the regional impact. I kind of have some angst with our friends in Richland County for a number of reasons. They're good friends of mine. Most of them, if not all of them, are very good friends, some fraternity brothers even. So they should be thankful for the city of Fargo supplementing their economic industry. I think that what we've got is a building who is essentially based on not the proposed data but our own assessor's data, buildings and free fall and valuation. Further, if

Thank you, and the reason I'm supporting this pilot, I'm glad the request isn't more than five years. I kind of have this limit in my mind of five years as far as I'll generally often go, but 22 new jobs is why I'm supporting this. That's what private sector income growth is about, is 22 new good paying jobs. We had one a few months back where there was one new job. you know in the end but that's what this is for is to create new good quality professional jobs and it looks to me like they would deliver this. However, my question again is do we and are we assuring everybody that we will have a

Thank you, Mayor. I'll clarify. I don't want us to be asking for the reports. We require it.

Mr. Mayor, thank you. Ditto what you said. In addition, Commissioner Strand, to that point, we actually are compiling data right now, doing look-backs, not in a formal sense, but in an informational sense, data-gathering sense, with our friends at EDC, our friends in planning, and I think even the Chamber is getting involved in this, too, a little bit. finding out what those data points are and we can measure our victories and our losses in terms of exactly what Mayor Beauchesne just said is, seeing if we've made the right decisions over the past couple decades, we'll have real numbers from re

Well, I think it's absolutely wonderful that they found this building because it seems to be the perfect fit with their needs and what is available. From what I hear, it sounds like other state funds may be available to help pay for this project, but I don't think it should be at the expense of taxpayers. As I continually hear from my constituents that they are fed up with businesses getting tax breaks while residential fees and assessments and taxes continue to go up. So while I believe this is a great project, and I think a wonderful addition to the city, I will vote no for the tax break.

I'd just like to chime in a little bit to what Commissioner Turnburg is saying. If they are meeting all of the requirements that we have set forth in those policies, we don't really have a good reason not to approve it. So if our question is about the policy, maybe we need to look at the policy if that's the question.

Maybe before Ms. Baird leaves, I have a question for her as our auditor. You almost...

If I recall, I thought that we had revisited this topic of serving minors and serving people without proper IDs. I thought we had a new requirement that those folks begin immediately. One of the other requirements is incorporating scanners, ID scanners. What's the status of that? Where are we at with that now?

And if I might continue, my recollection is we had discussed it, and if there were violations, that was one of the options they were facing. So anyway, if the Liquor Control Board could pick this topic up again. Sure. One more question.

In each of these reports, you might not always know who the owners of the business are. You might know their name, but I'm not comfortable seeing the server's names identified in the documents. If there'd be a way to not have to list their name, because that's forever out there, that they were violating a law and breaking the law. If we could find a way to not have to identify the individuals who were serving, I'm not sure we can, but that'd be my preference.

Commissioner Turburn. I just wanted to add, Commissioner Strand, I believe you're thinking of the nicotine ban because that has been discussed at length with the scanners or perhaps with the Liquor Control Board, but of that I'm not aware.

Might I continue, Mayor? You may. That is happening on that front also, but when like clubs, District 64 had their license, false IDs, issues surfacing, that was a front and center conversation for us with scanners and use of scanners and requirements for scanners. And my general sense is if they had a violation, that was a requirement going forward. And my sense also was we'd want them all to use scanners if we could proactively get to that point.

IAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE COST OF ALL OF THIS RESEARCH AND THE BALLOTS AND THE WORKERS AND THE PLACES WILL COST THE CITY?

Mr. Mayor, thank you. Did that include staff time? I understand that was hard costs. That includes staff time also? Okay, so it was just hard costs. Yep, thank you.

I'm not sure if this works or not, but I know at least one of the sponsors is in the audience. If ever, I wouldn't mind hearing from them if they wanted to share a few words.

Also, just to clarify, so we would vote whether or not to go to a ward-based system, but we would have no idea where the wards would be with the election. That will be decided after?

Mr. Peterson. Mr. Mayor, thank you. This is no different than what they do legislatively. We do it at the county every 10 years, too. So you'll twist and turn, contort. And the interesting part about will be the politics of what those districts look like when you're done, because there will be politics in this, and that's what a lot of people don't want to talk about. I wish it wasn't the case, but that may be the reality. So yes, gerrymandering is the correct word. Thank you, Mayor.

I move if, unless it's already been moved, I'll move. I'll second.

Would it be appropriate to hear from one of the sponsors at the podium tonight?

I want to thank these leaders in our community from all sides of the aisle for advancing this topic, which has been rumbling around for probably years. And I don't know where the public will go or not with whether they want wards or want more commissioners or not. But I want to thank our leaders. We have two former city commissioners and a former governor candidate on the steering committee. You know, and one thought that occurs to me also is there was a moment in time where they approached our commission here and asked for permission for our legal team to help work with them proactively to ma

Mr. Mayor, thank you. The only thing I'll say is I find it fascinating from a group that wants to promote civic engagement, wants to promote the number of us sitting up here, actively chooses to have a special election knowing full well voter turnout could have been substantively higher but one month later. It would have been very interesting if they would have waited a month, done it in November. I think it was intentional that they did not. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

That calls for a legal interpretation. Are they even able to, if they wanted to, incorporate this into the November general?

I had the impression, I might be wet behind the ears, I had the impression it had to be its own standalone election by statute.

Thank you, Mayor. As I read this, you're talking four new police officers? Correct. And the chief was requesting eight or nine?

To get up to what he perceived a minimum standard. I think that topic needs some more work. And, and, and I'm not, and I'm just, we, we've got mo, we've got some time now to fine tune our budget. What we'd be doing, I believe, I understand it today, setting a ceiling at the mill levee, and then re, revisiting subtitles, subtopics. And I believe, I'm not sure where things will go, but the utility increase is a really important conversation for us to dive deeply into as, as well. So, number of officers and the utility rate increase of 14 some dollars per year, which is the beginning of a new str

Well, because this stage is just a part of the budget process and required that we hit this deadline, I will move to go forward with the budget process and approve. However, I wanted to share what our budget looks like. And I have, since we got this, this takes a little bit longer than the time we had in our budget workshop to go through. And I have gone through every department and have identified several items I think should be discussed and cuts that can be made. And I will not go forward with a budget without public safety being priority one in getting our police officers. And I'm also alr

Commissioner Peterson? Mr. Mayor, thank you. Commissioner Turnbig, exactly. I think this is a technical execution of a motion. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not satisfied with where we are right now either. And I think we will all do a great job. I would encourage us, as I do, look through your book. make cuts i think the ball can be squished i think we can still accomplish our mission and minimize the effects on our neighbors regarding our utility rates know full well that it's not going to be any easier over time but i think we can slow walk into the pain rather than driving headlong at 100 m

How do you feel about the budget where we're at now and the processes going forward?

I would propose that we have one in addition to, just because I do not think that will be enough time. Even with our budget workshops, it was almost only enough time to absorb the information and not give feedback and ideas.

Commissioner Turnberg. I have so many questions. What happened to Cass County working with them as part of a relocation for the municipal court?

And if GTC was located in the former Cass Public Health and NSP building, why wouldn't they go back? Because if my fear is now we have the deck building, the former deck building, and the Civic Center, which will both be demolished, we're going to be throwing loads of money into both buildings. But we have that other property across the street. Has there been any discussion on that?

Mr. Mayor, thank you. I know you answered this question, but I'm going to ask it again. For our transit folks, are we setting ourselves up to fail by accelerating this for a period of two weeks? I know you believe in the team. I just don't want to pressure them to the point where the building's not in an imminent state of implosion, right? So are you able to accomplish everything? And most importantly, maybe equally as importantly, making sure the public at large is informed as to our transition from the existing space to the old space? How comfortable are you?

Okay, Mr. Mayor, if I may. And then regarding the courthouse, CAS is packed. I can validate that. I'd hope more would be accomplished with our federal partners, but I'm hearing that's a no. So... There is a building to the west immediately outside the annex. So half a block, a block away from the courthouse. The old park district buildings. The county owns it. There is no program for that for the foreseeable future. It might be worth it. So it's fully accessible. Parking's available. Mass transit drop off right there. That may be if we're looking for an interim solution because the fiscal situ

Mr. Mayor, that's the motion I would make, sir.

Thank you. I just would be remiss not to share that we have, with all everybody's been through downtown the last few years, there's folks that would be concerned that we don't lag on this and that we act quickly and we don't create new elements of gatherings of people downtown that they're not right now prepared for. And this will shift our populations and where they're at and who they are. And I'm not trying to talk about those people. I'm just saying it's a new dynamic to downtown with the courthouse population, which is 70, 80 people a day sometimes, and with the bus service folks. We have

Thank you, Mayor. I've been working hard to keep up with all kinds of commissions and departments, Historic Preservation Commission, Planning. I've met with them on various topics, engineering as well. I had an opportunity to attend Grand Farm Elevate and TEDx through Emerging Prairie, both fantastic events. also visited and toured the Red River Dispatch Center, and Commissioner Peterson and I met with Chief Lorenz and a few of his captains, I believe, and so just keeping busy.

Okay, two things to report. The transit director vacancy right now after Julie Baumann retired We're well into the interviewing process and have gone through the initial phases. I want to say there were like 21 applicants from across the country, but we're down to two at this point, so we have two finalists that will be vetted further, and our HR department and others will keep us informed on that, but that's unfolding. Secondly, from the public health arena in the public health arena you may all know or not that the governor kelly armstrong has initiated announced a ban on kratom it's a subst

I am meeting with all of my departments in the coming week to discuss the budget and what we can do to help with it and also getting more involved and meeting more people through my new diversion departments, diversion authority committees. So any updates that I have or newsworthy items will be posted online.

Mr. Mayor, thank you. Boy, have I been busy learning about water. As I said with this portfolio that my peers selected me to have, this is one of the things I knew the least about, and this has been an absolute blast. I've had tours of multiple sites, water utility, water reclamation, areas that I've driven by for decades. I mean, arguably most of my life in some cases, never even bothered thinking about what activities are taking place there. And as I said in the past with our budget hearings as we were sitting down here, the innovation that's taking place by our team members is substantive a