It's for the Bismarck City Commission.

I'm Sargiana Witski, a member of the League of Women Voters, and I will be your moderator.

This debate has been organized and the questions developed by the League of Women Voters, the Bismarck Tribune, the Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC, AARP of North Dakota, and Dakota Media Access.

There are three candidates running for two open positions on the Bismarck City Commission.

And all three of the candidates have joined us here today.

They are Trevor Vinnett, Amelia Dahl, and Matthew Hull.

Our purpose is to provide voters with information about the candidates and their positions on issues that affect the citizens of Bismarck.

The candidates have not received questions in advance.

Viewers watching this debate live on April 30th may submit questions by texting LWV Bizman 152 to 2233 to join the session.

Then text your question.

This debate format is as follows.

Each candidate will have 60 seconds to make an opening statement, and after opening statements, the candidates will respond to the question.

The first responses to questions will be rotated between the candidates, and each candidate will have 60 seconds to respond to each question.

After each candidate has responded to the question, there will be up to three additional minutes allowed for debate or additional comments from all three candidates.

After the final question, each candidate will then have 60 seconds to make a closing statement.

Candidates are asked to comply with their time restrictions so we can get to as many questions as possible.

Our timer will let you know when your responses are down to 30 seconds, then 10 seconds, and then stop.

For the debate segment, they will indicate when we are down to one minute and then stop.

Now let's get to our candidates.

Each of you have 30 have 60 seconds to make an opening statement.

Trevor, you can go first.

First of all, I would like to thank the League of Women Voters for putting on this debate this evening.

My name is Trevor Burnett, and I I have lived in Bismarck for 15 years, and I want to help the community, and I'm on uh I've been a past member of the Human Relations Committee.

I've I'm on the Bismarck Parking Authority.

I've ran for man city commission in the past.

I'm in the Bismarck Lions Club.

I I'm active with our transit system, homelessness, anything in the community to help people with disabilities.

I'm on the state reef council.

I served on the state council of developmental disabilities.

I'm active in the legislature.

I'm advocating for the city and state and local issues.

So I just appreciate your vote.

Thanks.

Amelia?

Good evening.

Uh I will echo what Trevor said.

Thank you to the League of Women Voters for this opportunity tonight.

My name is Emilia Dahl.

I have lived in Bismarck now for 14 years.

My husband and my two children have called this wonderful city home for that time.

We have enjoyed many of the great things that the city has to offer, and I look forward to working on the city commission to make Bismarck a place for all members of the community.

Matt?

I'd like to also thank the League of Women Voters and other organizations for putting on this event.

My name is Matt Hall, and I'm an archaeologist.

Like many, I didn't grow up in Bismarck, but moved here more than 10 years ago.

Since then, I fell in love with local, married her, and we have twin boys about to turn a year old.

I also fell in love with what Bismarck has to offer, and I'm excited about our future.

Combined with enjoy actually genuinely enjoying engaging with residents about their problems and priorities is why I'm running.

If elected, I'll have two key uh principles.

One, it's not what I want.

We all put tax dollars in.

We should decide what priorities city is focused on.

And two, is looking for win-win opportunities where we can improve services and save money at the same time.

In talking with residents, the number one issue I've heard has been homelessness.

I believe there is an opportunity.

If elected, I'd like to champion low barrier shelters that he's working on where we could offer services to folks rather than the current system where folks have to go please escort them to the ER for medical checkup, which is expensive and unpaid for, and then take into the county jail for the night to detox.

Thank you.

All right, moving on to our questions.

We'll start with Trevor.

What impact do you believe the new state law capping property taxes that 3% will have on future budgets?

I think this is gonna have a detrimental impact to the city.

I I'm opposed to, I understand we need to keep property tax low, but I don't think three percent is the way to go.

I think it should be uh tiered CPI system, but I think it's gonna have major strain on the city budget.

I I don't see how we can keep employees.

I don't see how we can keep our roads up to date.

I just think it's gonna be a major negative, and I think the city's gonna have to get creative on how to keep their employees because our city employees are our number one asset in the city.

So I would really we're gonna have some challenges, and I'll I can guarantee you I will work hard for the citizens to make sure we have a lean budget, but take care of our employees.

Thank you.

Amelia?

The three percent cap is going to be very hard for all city departments.

Um, I guess I shouldn't say all, not all of our city departments are funded by property tax, but those that are, it is going to be a significant ask.

Nobody wants to pay property tax.

It is a big expense for many households, but we need it to offer have the services that we continue to offer and to make Bismarck the place that people want to live.

There are opportunities for us to use technology and work with departments, but at the end of the day, it is going to be a challenge for our departments.

Matt.

So only about 25 to 30 percent of property tax bills actually go to the city.

The rest is parks and schools.

And that that piece that goes to the city is primarily for our emergency services.

Our police, our fire, our 911.

Um, and I don't think anyone wants to cut budgets there.

So we'll, you know, we'll have to get creative on how to, you know, how to manage it.

I talk with residents, especially retirees or anyone on fixed income, their biggest you know, issue is property tax rises and you know, potentially pricing them out of their own home, which no one wants.

So I think the city just needs to get creative on planning ahead, you know, knowing where you know how much we'll need to increase over years.

Um, but you know, like uh, you know, schools, you know, had the idea of doing a bond initiative when there's something large gonna happen, such as the upcoming you know, new police station or any new fire stations where because that normally won't fit in the three percent you know budget increase, that would be covered by bond issues.

But I think we we just need to be creative to find solutions to keep property taxes low for folks.

Thank you.

All right, I'll now open this topic for any additional comments from any candidate.

I uh I have a comment.

Uh one of the things that we're gonna have to do is really look at once over need, because I think people are going to get tired of the sales tax and any um bomb thing.

So I think we're gonna have to kind of stay away from that because what I'm hearing from the public is they don't mind the sales tax, but it all has to fit in the process, and the counties already got their sales tax.

We've done a sales tax for public safety and transit, so we gotta watch.

Yeah, and the problem with sales tax is it's our aggressive tax.

It tends to impact those of lower income more.

The nice thing about a property tax is it it is uh it fits with the increase in the property value, so you're paying more into the city or into the public services that you're receiving.

So we need we do need to be careful with sales tax um because we can't price people out of the ability to live here.

Right.

And I would say, you know, there so I think we actually get good value for what we pay into property tax.

Uh great example is the fire department.

It's actually a you know, according to in uh the insurance organization's top tier.

It less than one percent of fire departments around the nation meet that level, and as a result, everyone get er all proper or all structure owners actually get a rebate on their insurance cost.

As of a couple years ago, we had a 12 million dollar budget for the fire department, but because of the cost savings for insurance rebates, because they're high quality, you know, high training, fast response time, fire hydrogen density, all that, they actually save the uh community 10 million dollars.

So we're effectively only paying $2 million for a top-tier fire department.

So if the community wants to do cuts, we would have to be careful.

But I think you know, honestly, we actually do get pretty good value from emergency services.

All right.

So the next question will start with Amelia.

Can you describe your thoughts on public-private partnerships as it pertains to economic development opportunities?

When we talk about development in our community, um, it can't be just private entities and it can't be just public.

We need to work together.

Um that is how citizens get the most bang for their buck.

Um when we have private developers who want to invest in our community to bring services here, to bring housing, to bring hotels, motels, different organizations here.

We as a community benefit or as a city benefit, but it's important that as a city, we don't have red tape in place to limit that or discourage people from coming.

All right, Matt.

So I believe public-private partnerships are a good mix of you know, the public represents the you know the public's interests, you know.

Say, you know, someone wants to build a factory in the next to the cathedral districts.

Like obviously the public is gonna be like, no, even if there's private interest.

So it's it's a matter of balancing that public interest with what privates want to private enterprises want us to invest in.

Um I view a great you know, good opportunity for that for Bismarck is dealing with housing right now.

Is we need more, you know, more affordable housing for your our working class and middle class households as well as starter homes.

And so I feel that's a excellent example of partner public private partnership is trying to find you know develop areas that can help that.

All right, Trevor.

I I agree with both of the candidates here.

We need both in our community because without public-private partnerships, we can't do what the city does, and we need to have good development and good router to look at Sanford.

We need to work with our medical community to keep people here, and the biggest thing I hear is with housing.

That's an area we can't do much about as a civil a city, but we can facilitate that and not do it ourselves, but be at the table.

Thank you.

All right, and I'll open this topic to any additional con comments from any candidates.

So I'd say the role of the public sector is putting on the guardrails, you know, making sure like a factory not next to the cathedral district.

Otherwise, it's like it's up to private sector on how they want to develop.

The government's not there to tell them what to do.

It's just for the public good, these are the guardrails of what you know you can and can't do.

And you know, be very loose with that.

But also it's like if private, you know, if they were under red tape, it's like working with the private entities to find you know solutions to help you know expedite projects or not get in the way.

Government's not there to get in the way, they just provide guardrails for the good of the community.

Yeah, and I think our city zoning team has done an excellent job with the new land use proposal that has come out and is being shared across the city.

Um, they worked really closely with developers to determine what is working and what isn't, and how we can improve the development and really advance the city.

Right.

They worked with the home builders, so like a lot of the older communities, like where I live, uh, you know, if my house burned down, I couldn't build as is without a variance, and probably half the housing can't.

And so the city's reacting to that, you know, input from the home builders and other entities where it's like, hey, we need to change the zoning laws to allow more flexibility on development.

And I just have one thing to add to that.

I think the city's done a great job with the land development code.

I think prior commissions have done what they can, and I thank Commissioner Marco's leadership on the land development code as well.

All right.

Our next question is from a text it in question.

Name one way you would work to help make Bismarck more inclusive and accessible for people to visit for people with disabilities.

And we'll start with Matt.

So I think one way is uh transportation.

Um without transportation, you know, when I canvassed, you know, I've run to one lady, she was a shut-in.

She was older lady, so she didn't drive anymore.

And just because you, you know, in about 15 to 17% of the population of the country doesn't have a driver's license.

Now, just because you can't drive doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to take advantage of what the community has to offer.

So I'd say expand, you know, the recent expansion of the trap of the trans transit network was integral.

It was great for our community.

Um, you know, it it makes better living for those that don't have driver's licenses, but it encourages commerce, you know, because they'll be able to get out and about uh shopping and stuff like that.

So I'd say for those with disabilities, that that would be a key factor, as well as just general ADA compliance.

Trevor, uh yes, this is a topic near and near to my heart.

I've been working with Bizman Transit to deal with this for uh years, uh, the past five to seven years.

I go to every board meeting every month.

I sit in those board meetings, and it's a different, it's a different feeling since the city passed the sales tax.

Like Matt said, it's great to have transit fixed route until 10 for those that need to get a job or get home from work.

It's great to have Sunday hours to actually go out to eat.

And that's one of the things I've worked with the city on is you know, we have a transit board.

They have worked well with me in now that we got the sales tax.

But I hope we can expand that.

So we have lived experience on that board, and I hope we could continue.

The City Commission can continue to work with this on the holiday hours.

We we should be treated the same as everybody else.

All right, Amelia?

I will echo what Matt and Trevor said.

Our transit in this city is something that's vital to people with disabilities.

Um additionally, sidewalks.

Um many of us take sidewalks for granted in this community because we are able-bodied and we can step off a curb.

But if you try to walk and you need assistive technology, or you use a cane or you utilize a wheelchair, the non-accessible curbs are limiting your ability to use community services.

And so that can be anything from being able to go to your grocery store to being able to catch a transit bus.

Some bus stops are literally in the middle of a block where there's a curb.

And so that is limiting people with disability being able to get out and utilize our services.

All right, I'll now open this topic for any additional comments from any candidate.

Yes, I I would just say this is why I'm running.

Because people that I talk to in wheelchairs need the public transit, but the fixed route sometimes doesn't have a curb cut to get on.

It is to the point now where it's unsafe for people to walk.

And I'm running because I feel very strongly that our transit and our public sidewalks need to be accessible for everybody.

Whether you're poor or rich, it shouldn't matter.

We just need to be accessible.

And I'm here to do that, and that's why I'm running.

And I'd add, it's like, you know, North Dakota, we've had a bit of a uh, you know, worker shortage for a while.

It's like I had an uncle who had cerebral palsy, so he couldn't drive.

But you know, with public transit, he was able to get to a job and being a contributing member of society as a result.

So it's like this can, you know, it's not just, you know, for to be it's not just a nicety for these folks.

This is, you know, it can be life-changing.

Um, and it can be you know good for you know the overall society.

All right.

The next question will start with Trevor.

What steps would you take to promote economic growth in our city?

One thing I think we have the renaissance zone.

I think we could make we can we can make it better through there's the opportunity fund through the state.

There is the Department of Commerce.

I'm all supportive of those uh programs, but we just got to work with our state and federal and local, and we all work together.

We're we're a community of one.

Amelia?

I agree on with Trevor, we are a community and we need to work with other entities.

We need to make Bismarck an attractive place to not only live but to raise your family.

Right now we see people look um businesses trying to get employees, um, but attracting people to Bismarck is more than just employment.

We need housing that's affordable for all levels of the economic spectrum, and we need things for people to do.

And that drives economic development.

When people want to come to Bismarck, want to live in Bismarck, want to raise their families here, not only are they paying property tax, but they're paying sales tax.

They're utilizing services, their kids are enrolled in school.

So it really is developing the whole community.

Matt?

No, I agree with Molly about you know attracting people.

It's like, you know, the biggest issue for bringing folks to North Dakota or Bismarck in particular is the cold.

But we've got tons of college graduates that come through, and it's like they obviously will survive that first winter, so that's the biggest hurdle is solved.

So it's a matter of encouraging them to want to stay here.

Um, doing those events.

Right now, I'll admit Mandan's kind of kicking our butt when it comes to fun activities, but we're one community, so it's not competition, so we should add some fun events like Wilson has uh summer nights on Maine, where they have you know kind of a food festival, and at the end they have a you know a movie screened up.

Uh we could do that on uh on Broadway.

Uh one initiative I'd like to pursue is a Fifth Street pedestrian corridor to connect downtown to the event center and Kirkwood Mall.

This would be great for folks coming into events from out of town because it's honestly the same distance from downtown to the event center as is the Kirkwood Mall.

But that way, if people want to shop at chain restaurants and stores, there you know Kirkwood Mall is right there.

But if the ones that go to downtown for locals, it's right there.

It's just a matter of psych, you know, psychology of the back ends of buildings and railroad tracks.

But I think that would help the downtown.

Thank you.

All right.

Our next question is to start with Amelia.

How will you invest in protecting the public lands and waters surrounding the Bismarck Mandan community?

The we have a lot of great natural resources in Bismarck.

Um as a city commission, we need to uphold the zoning laws and the land use development.

I think that we as a community should value those public spaces because they are all we have.

And once they're gone, they're gone.

So I would fight for our ability to have those waterfront proper or you know, like the waterfront, access to the water for everyone, um, trees, nature, everything.

All right, Matt.

I feel this is a good area for partnership with the park, you know, uh park board.

Um I know in like Denver, they've got a trail network that goes all around town, and you know, it's just following creeks and rivers, and you can pop up and suddenly be like, oh, you know, surprise where in town you are.

It's similar to the uh cooley system up by Tyler Parkway.

So I feel that'd be a great value, and we already have a great trail network.

Um, so it's like and growing up, uh, you know, there was a cr uh creek nearby that was for stormwater, and I remember I love playing with it.

You couldn't develop it, so it's perfect, you know, essentially public access for children.

And it's like it's those things that it's like there's not a hard economic number on, but it adds great value to the community.

And so I feel those are the things to protect.

You know, we don't need we're not trying to block development, but it's those little niche areas where the best use for the community is just public access.

And I feel also the riverfront has been touched on is one of our greatest assets.

You know, we've got you know, I know there's been development with the Lewis and Clark uh organization.

Um, but I just think you know that's a great area for opportunity as well.

All right, Trevor?

I I have uh I think we could work with the park district.

I agree with Matt, but I have one thing to say.

On the keyboard ramp over here, the city owned the land.

So I'm really frustrated with the city because they gave the land away.

I think I'm Keelboat was a good ramp, and I just feel now we're gonna be short one.

So I would like to see that somehow because I feel that was a bad decision.

All right, I'll now open this topic for any additional comments from any candidate.

Crickets.

All right, moving on to them.

They're part of nature.

They're public.

Moving on to the next question, and we'll start with Matt on this one.

What are your thoughts regarding land use planning and the growth of the community?

So, as I touched on before, the the job of uh you know the of city government is to provide a framework.

I would think of it like a skeleton where it's uh it provides, you know, it helps guide what development goes where of like, hey, this is the area's gonna be commercial, this will be residential, we want some factories, okay.

We'll do it by down by the airport, something like that.

Um but after that, it's you know, getting out of the way of private development of like, hey, this is what you know, this is the theme of this area.

Go, you know, work within that theme.

All right, Trevor.

Um I I think we need to really work on you know with the new land development code.

I think that'll be a guide for this, but I really feel we need to work within that and try to make the community better.

Thank you.

Amelia?

Yeah, the land use code is a great example of what happens when we have private developers partnering with the city.

Um that was something that the community needed, and we got some really great feedback from developers on how to use the land and what they need from the city to develop.

Continuing those conversations and making sure that that land use code stays relevant and adapting it and changing it as needed.

All right, now I'll open this to any other comments from any of the candidates.

I'd say we just have to be careful on how we develop because Bismarck's limited on our options.

To the south is Apple Creek Valley and its floodplains, southeast is Lincoln and the airport.

To the east is the landfill and to the west, unless we're annexing Mandan, you know, we can't go there either.

So we're limited to the north and the northwest.

Or sorry, northeast.

And so we have only limited options.

So if we mess up, it'll affect, you know, it'll affect us long down the line.

A good example is you we only have one full-length north-south road through town, and that's Washington.

So that was, you know, over the generation over the decades a bit of a mistake in planning of where we miss, you know, we miss an opportunity and it's gonna be stuck with us for a long, long time.

I agree with Matt.

You know, we only have that one Washington Street, and you know, I think that was a mistake way back when.

So we need to be careful on how we do it, and I will promise the citizens that if I'm elected, we're gonna have some talks before engineering does anything, because if you make one mistake, you're in trouble.

Yeah, I I will say that I think our engineering department does a great job, and I think it would be hard to, you know, hindsight's 2020.

It's really hard to say, or it's really easy today to say that Washington was a mistake, but we didn't know where development was going.

Um we know a lot more about community development and neighborhood development now than we did when Bismarck was started.

So I wouldn't say that we're failing, um, but I would say there is opportunity for a better development strategy plan going forward.

Right.

And the planning department now looks out, you know, 15 to 20 years ahead, so it's you know, they it's not like it was in the 60s.

All right, the next question will start with Trevor first.

How should the city address aging infrastructure within the community, including city-owned facilities?

Well, this is a big thing on my heart as well, because we need to make sure our facilities, and I know the city commission tries, but we got to make sure we're following ADA and above that because for example, people in wheelchairs need bigger spaces.

So I think we like you know, for our city building, a good example would be the city hall here when the county does move out.

I think we need to look at maybe changing, you know, the Tom Baker room upstairs, you know, look at that, and then making sure all our facilities have wide enough doors.

Like, for example, the Bismarck Civic Center, their bathrooms, some of them are not accessible.

The exhibit hole is, but it's kind of tight.

So you you really need to look at all that, and I think this is something that if I've elected, they're not going to miss it because I deal with it every day.

I refuse to go to events sometimes because the hall is not accessible.

All right.

Trevor, your time is up.

Moving on to Amelia?

Yeah, I think you know, accessibility is definitely a part of aging facilities, but we also don't want to get into a situation where we put off maintenance and we defer maintenance so long that it becomes a big problem.

And so working with the maintenance department and the the departments that are in the aging facilities to see what we can do now to slowly improve those over time so we don't have a big bill in five, ten years looking us in the face.

All right, Matt.

No, I agree with both uh both everyone else at the table of you know, making sure there's accessibility.

ADA was passed what almost 35 years ago.

It's you know, kind of a little ridiculous that there's still buildings that don't comply.

Um, but I think a good example of aging infrastructure is the current lead line replacement project, which the city's working on.

Um so it you know, it's looking at you know federal and state grants to help because with aging infrastructure it's very expensive to fix.

So we would you know look for those additional resources to help keep you know property taxes, sales tax, any other taxes and fees down you know, to try and maintain that relief for folks.

All right.

I open up for comments from anyone on this topic.

Uh yes, I am I would say I would really like to see I like what uh the commission did with Commissioner Marker, or they did a fleet plan for the vehicles.

That's what I would like to see for the aging infrastructure where we can all have a plan to follow.

Yeah, the fleet program is a great example of how the city has worked to reduce costs to the citizens while still maintaining a high level of service.

Um I'll also talk briefly about um or address what Matt said about the aging lead pipeline.

Our city has done an excellent job at working with citizens to get those tested.

But this is a plug to say there are federal grants available to help you play replace those lines going into your house.

And that is something that the city is actively working on bringing to citizens.

So make sure that if you have a lead line coming into your house that you are working with us to get that replaced, because that is a great example of aging infrastructure that in the year 2026 we shouldn't have.

And it's a good example of uh you know citizens working with city government because if you don't if the city doesn't know what the material is and they when they come by to check and you're not home, it's gonna cost a thousand dollars each to uh do a uh uh hydro vac to find out what it is by punching a hole in your lawn.

Another example using the water department is the fact that they uh they've been playing ahead for major upgrades and fixes for the plant, and so they've been slowly raising rates rather than having a big jump because there's gonna be a big cost jump to try and build up those reserves and combine with bonds to help basically spread out the pain.

Uh you know, because it'll be the current generation and future generations that you get value out of these additions, so it should be the current and future generations that pay for them.

And I also think we need to really work.

I know in the past, and I think it was way back when Mayor Bachin was mayor.

We need to work with our state partners.

There for a while the city wasn't working with the state water commission.

So we got to work with partners to keep costs low.

All right, our next question will start with Amelia first.

What do you see as the role of artificial intelligence and municipal government?

Oh man.

You first.

I I am first, thanks.

Um AI can be a great tool.

However, I don't think that AI should re be replacing people.

Um AI is something that we can use to improve efficiency, but we need to do it in a smart and efficient manner.

Um I have had conversations with a few department heads about what they are doing to use AI in their departments.

Um I have some personal experience in my own professional work on developing agents.

And um AI agents are a great tool, but they are not meant to replace people, but rather streamline the process and make it easier for others to engage in the process.

All right, Matt.

No, I agree with Amelia.

Um I remember when I talked with the police chief, you know, he asked he asked a similar question, and I was initially I was thinking of you know, you know, kind of you know, drones in the sky, you know, crazy stuff.

I was like, well, that'd be a question for the residents to balance.

Um but he said that one of the ways that police officers were using it to help drive help write up reports after incidents.

And I asked, you know, I asked them when he, you know, he verified, it's like, well, they still check it afterwards, but basically it helps speed up the officers so they can get back on patrol.

It's like it's those kinds of things that's like I feel is effective use of AI.

But like I told the police chief in the end, you know, public gov or government responds to public.

You know, they're the ones that make the call.

So if they want, if they prefer to pay a little extra to police department so that there's no AI involved, like that's the call of the residents.

But if they're willing to, you know, city proposes an idea and they're like, hey, this could save us some money, and this residents are for it, it's like that's the job of a commissioner is to be like, yes.

All right, Trevor.

I agree with Matt and Amelia.

I don't want it to replace people.

And your example with the police team, I don't mind them using it for that.

But they need to, if the I'm like Matt and Amelia, if the residents want it and they tell us, yeah, we want it, I'm gonna listen.

But if they don't, then we go back to the way it needs to.

But I'm all for AI, but not replacing people.

I have had too much trouble with these automated systems.

And you need to talk to live people.

We're here to serve the residents, and that's what we need to do.

So thank you.

All right, I'll open this topic for any additional comments.

I think I think there needs to be an AI policy though as well, if there's not.

So thank you.

I think AI is just like any new technology, right?

For those of us who are around when the internet became a thing, and there was a lot of discussion about the internet ending a lot of jobs and how is this going to work into business?

Um, and we've adapted the way we've done business, but we're still doing business and we're more successful.

If you think back to your day at work today, and if you didn't have internet and you didn't have email, what would your job look like, right?

Making sure that we are using AI in a responsible way that improves efficiency is the key to making it successful.

All right, the next question will start with Matt.

What are your thoughts on creating a community triage center to address behavioral health addiction and homelessness in the area?

So talking with residents, the number one issue I've heard uh has been homelessness.

So I'm very much in favor of a triage center because it'll it's not just about off, you know, there before the grace of God go I of you know helping less fortunate.

It's you know, it's it's an example of where we can actually save money.

If you know if people are ready to, you know, get off drugs or get off the streets or whatever.

It's like I feel it's the you know it's it's I won't say obligation, but it's like I feel you know it's good for the community to help them offer them help because it then they can become you know one of those you know contributing members of society.

And I you know it's it's better than what we have, which is nothing.

So, Trevor.

I uh I agree with Matt, but uh, I want to tell you this is a subject I spend uh when the legislature's in session, I sit in the human service budget, and I see the needs and the requests, and I'm totally in support of a triage center, but I think we need to get it because what I see in here, I live at the Patterson Place apartments, and all they do is sit on the sidewalk and no place to go during the day.

And if they're driving their costing officers time, they they shouldn't have to deal with that.

That's the human services, and we need to coordinate as the city grows because our office spend way too much time on that, and then if there's a big incident, they have to kind of pinch it to get by.

So I I'm very familiar with it.

All right, Amelia?

I think the triage center proposal is an excellent excellent example of entities working together to address a need of the community.

Um this isn't a just city government problem.

This isn't just a state government problem.

It's going to take involvement from all levels of government plus private entities to address the homeless homelessness problem.

As a community, we need to invest in all of our citizens, not just those who are speaking the loudest at meetings.

We owe it to everyone in our community to make it a place that's welcoming for everyone.

And the triage center, like Matt said, does save us money.

If you are experiencing a crisis and you have one place to go, you are going to get the services you need quicker, more efficiently, and you will have resources to get you back on the right track.

If I could add a little bit to that, I work with uh them a lot, and and the one number one thing I hear from people is we need to get it built, and I think we need to work with CHI, Sanford, and the my biggest push on this is I don't expect the taxpayers to pay for it.

It's uh should be a public, private, we should facilitate it, the hospital should be involved, the chamber, all those people, so we can all work together, private donations.

There's grants from the Behavel Health and Federal Government, we need to tap those as well.

Because I am very familiar with those.

And if I was on the city commission, I would know the grant's name, and I give a lot of credit to Pam Sagness.

She does a lot.

And let me tell you, if I was on the commission, we would get it done.

Anyway, I agree with the others of you know, people talk about government being inefficient.

This is actually government trying to be efficient.

Because uh we all actually recently attended a forum on homelessness, and one of the things that came up multiple times was you know, there is no central nexus one-stop shop for services, and people are getting confused, like where to go for services, and this is what a pro, you know, like Amelia mentioned a partnership with public and nonprofits where they could this can be that one-stop shop where if someone's in need of whatever it is, this is where they can go.

Yeah, one of the things that we hear from residents is you know, somebody comes to me in crisis and I don't even know where to send them, right?

Somebody is experiencing homelessness, they're experiencing food insecurities, and I don't know where to send them.

With a triage center, we would have one place to send them, and all of their problems that they're facing could be addressed at one place, and it's not go here for your food and here for your mental health and here for homelessness.

It's a one-stop shop.

All right.

Oh, keep going.

I was just gonna say, and these are folks that you know might not have a car, so it's like transportation is not necessarily easy for them to go around town.

All right, we're to the last question.

And it's for Trevor.

What would you do as a commissioner to help address the affordability of housing, both ownership and rental within the community?

Oh, I would do a lot of things.

I think we need the home builders uh um tax exemption, but I also think we need to work with our for disability and older people.

They have the homestead tax credits for the state, all those programs, but I think we need to work with Damian Schlinger from the Burley County Housing Authority.

I've worked with him on the state rehab council in his prior job.

And I think one of our biggest challenges for our homeless is there's new federal regulations from the federal administration that's gonna harm our voucher system.

So I would really say we need to work on that.

Thank you.

Amelia?

The problem with the affordability of living is there's just not enough houses, right?

There's not enough living spaces for the people we are trying to attract to our community.

As a commission, we need to work with developers to make sure that we are efficient in the process of development and reduce any red tape that may be in the way, um, whether that's financial red tape or filing uh, you know, multiple steps that you have to go through to get approval for development.

I think there's some great opportunities to work with developers.

We just need to have those people at the table so that we know what we need to do to get more housing in the community.

All right, Matt.

No, I agree with Amelia about reducing red tape so we can reduce costs uh for housing.

But it's also uh cities already working on this is you know, the home builders and playing, you know, playing department are working together to work on the housing code and zoning code.

And I feel that that's you know, another public-private partnership.

But basically what we're short on is housing stock for the you know, like I said, the middle and working class, you know, income level, as well as starter homes.

And so if we can if we can increase that, um that it would um sorry, I was I was gonna cover this in my clothing statement.

Um but basically it can help actually reduce property taxes for all property taxes for all of us because it right now we have an imbalance in um you know supply and demand.

And so it's because there's a low supply, it's increasing demand for everyone and thus the prices.

Um so if we can, you know, we work with the home builders and the planning department to to zone areas for that, you know, lower and or uh working in middle class houses uh because right now a lot of the development that's been going up has been for upper middle class or above, and that's just not what we need right now.

And if uh if I can add, you know, this is something that we need for starter homes for young families.

They can't even afford it.

So we gotta work with uh whoever we can to keep our families and community great.

Are any other comments?

I'd say it's like trying we're not trying to you know make cheap houses or anything like that.

I imagine stuff like where I used to live with my wife before we had our twins, uh, was a two-bedroom, two-bath, you know, by the Y.

It's like it's a very simple starter house.

That's what I imagine is perfect for starting couples because right now the American dream is looking a little rough because that first rung out of college and out of an apartment starting to go, you know, starting to disappear.

The average house price nationwide is just over 400,000.

And that is not attainable for anyone, you know, starting out.

All right.

So that was our last question.

You now we'll each have 60 seconds to provide a closing statement, and we'll start with Matt.

All right.

Uh thank you again for the league to Legal Women Voters and other organizations for putting this event on.

We covered several important topics tonight, and I hope my responses have given residents a sense of my values and my vision for the future of Bismarck.

Alongside you know, residence number one priority of homelessness, as we've touched on, uh, I believe the the biggest issue facing Bismarck is a lack of housing stocks, specifically for working and middle class houses as well as uh starter homes.

You know, as I mentioned, this not only is affected, you know, this imbalance has affected you know property taxes for everyone, but it's also made it hard to attract and retain talented workforce, which we're short on here.

I'd say if people agree with uh uh agree with the initiatives I've discussed tonight and the values that I have, I'd appreciate your vote on June 9th.

And if you want to learn more, reach out, just go to Hull for Bismarck.com.

Thank you.

All right, Trevor.

Uh I would like to thank the legal women voters for putting this on tonight.

I just want the residents to know I'm here to serve every resident.

I'm here to be a listening ear.

I'm here to learn experience and I would appreciate your vote on June 9.

You can reach out to me at 70150.

Thank you.

And Amelia.

Again, uh one more thank you to the league and all the organizations for putting this uh event on.

Excuse me.

Um we have talked a lot about a lot of the issues that Bismarck is facing and a lot of the vision that we all have at the table.

At the end of the day, what matters is what the citizens need and what the citizens want.

And it's important to have that communication line open for anything that you want to talk about.

I think Bismarck is a great place to raise a family, and I am honored that my family we've got to raise our kids here.

If you have questions or want to chat more, you can visit my website at AmeliaDoll.com or my Facebook my Facebook, Amelia, the number four Bismarck.

Thank you.

All right, thank you to the candidates.

And I wish to thank Dakota Mini Access, the Bismarck Chamber ADC, the Bismarck Tribune, AERP of North Dakota, and the volunteers from the League of Women Voters for organizing this debate.

Thank you to the voters for taking the time to learn about the candidates for the Bismarck City Commission.

This program will air several times on the Midco Channel 602.

It will also be available for on-demand viewing at Dakota Media Access.org and on Dakota Media Access apps including iOS, Android, Apple TV, and Roku in the days leading up to the June 9th election.

Before we close this debate, we'd like to remind you that you will need a form of identification to vote in North Dakota.

You can find identification requirements and additional voting information on the websites or at the offices of your county auditor and the North Dakota Secretary of State.

And for candidate profiles, please visit vote for war one dot org.

Thank you.