Fargo City Commission Meeting - September 18, 2023
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Fargo City Commission Meeting - September 18, 2023
The Fargo City Commission held a regular meeting on September 18, 2023, at 5:00 PM. The meeting included a consent agenda with 42 items, public hearings on the Interstate Business District Addition and the 2024 preliminary budget, resident comments regarding the Liquor Control Board, and several administrative actions. Mayor Tim Mahoney opened the meeting with remarks on Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, library programs, and city housing statistics: the apartment vacancy rate was 4.2%, with 1,623 apartments under construction in the metro area; 149 single-family permits were issued in the first eight months of 2023 (down from 297 in the same period of 2022).
Consent Calendar
All 42 consent agenda items were approved unanimously by a roll call vote. Key items included first readings of ordinances on seat belt use, lodging and sales taxes for the Fargodome, several change orders and bid awards, lease extension with Fargo Baseball LLC, and various grant agreements and appointments. Notable consent items:
- Ordinance amending Section 8-1321 on safety belt requirements.
- Ordinance enacting a lodging tax for the Fargodome and conference center.
- Ordinance enacting a sales tax for the Fargodome.
- Change orders for Fire Station No. 8 and No. 2 construction.
- Agreement for services with Folkways.
- Lease extension with Fargo Baseball LLC through October 1, 2028.
Public Comments & Testimony
Resident Comments (Liquor Control Board):
- Faith Dixon expressed outrage at the Liquor Control Board meeting, alleging racial bias and harassment by Fargo Police Department against District 64. She stated that having a liquor license is a right protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, not a privilege, and called for commission action.
- Wess Philome echoed concerns, noting overpolicing of Black-owned businesses. He criticized the board's suggestion to require patrons to show Facebook profiles and credit cards, stating no other bar faces such tactics. He accused the board head of racially motivated attacks.
Public Hearing – 2024 Preliminary Budget:
- Several residents spoke against proposed tax increases and the 26% budget increase. Glenn Knutson cited inflation and hidden franchise fees. Jay Larson questioned why taxes rise with city growth. John Searman reported a 15% property tax increase and called for spending cuts. Charles Canning requested budget cuts to January 2021 levels. Erica Eisenler (fire department employee) defended city employee compensation, noting a 40% turnover rate since 2009 and starting firefighter pay of $18.91/hour.
Discussion Items
Interstate Business District Addition (Public Hearing): A proposal to rezone 4753 45th Street North and 4269 40th Avenue North from residential, commercial, and park to industrial and commercial. The Planning Commission recommended approval (5-2) after removing concrete crushing. Staff presented conditional overlays including a 25-foot berm, tree planting, and a 280-foot buffer between industrial and residential. Residents and the City of Riley's Acres opposed, citing property value decreases (up to 25% per real estate professionals), traffic, environmental concerns, and inconsistency with the 2007 Growth Plan. Maria Goriecheva (chemical engineering professor) argued that industrial uses such as textile production pose carcinogenic risks and that state regulations prohibit crushing operations within 0.5 miles of residences. Dr. Joshua Morrell warned of cumulative health risks from prolonged industrial exposure. Commissioner Kolpack moved to approve the Growth Plan Amendment; Mayor Mahoney seconded. The motion failed 2-3 (Kolpack and Mahoney aye; Piepkorn, Preston, and Strand nay). Commissioner Kolpack then moved to approve the rezoning; Mayor Mahoney seconded. That motion also failed 2-3.
Application for Tax Abatement – 1201 Elm Street North: The owner requested value reductions for 2021 (from $257,200 to $97,000) and 2022 (from $282,900 to $125,900) due to significant foundation damage. City appraiser Mike Spanowitz recommended approval, noting damage likely existed at time of purchase. The commission approved unanimously.
Civil Service Commission Appointments: The commission approved reappointment of Paul Grindeland to a partial term ending December 31, 2023, and appointment of Barb Ransom to a three-year term ending June 30, 2026.
Liaison Commissioner Updates:
- Commissioner Strand thanked retiring Civil Service Commission members and reported on harm reduction programs: 3,441 visits to the downtown engagement center in August (average 111/day) and 234 mobile outreach transports (7 per day), diverting 36% of calls from police.
- Deputy Mayor Arlette Preston reported on the Youth Commission and water reclamation project, noting $4.3 million loan forgiveness for the water reclamation plant and $1.5 million for the landfill project from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
- Interstate Business District Growth Plan Amendment: Motion failed (2-3; Kolpack and Mahoney aye, Piepkorn, Preston, Strand nay).
- Interstate Business District Rezoning: Motion failed (2-3; same breakdown).
- Tax Abatement for 1201 Elm Street North: Approved unanimously.
- Civil Service Commission Appointments: Approved unanimously.
- Meeting Adjourned: Motion carried to adjourn to October 2, 2023, at 5:00 PM. Meeting ended at 6:38 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. We'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I invite you to join us. Roll call. Call Pack here. Preston? Here. Strand. Here. Mahoney. Here. Health. September is Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about suicide is a very serious public health problem. To highlight that suicide is preventable, and everyone, everyone has an important role to play. Community members can easily access free online mental health support by visiting Fargo Cast public health website. Another successful summer reading challenge wrapped up in Lake August, where one thousand four hundred and fifty-one children, one hundred and eighty-six teens, and six hundred and four adults registered for the challenge. September is library card sign up month. A plan is easy and can be done at the library's website. Up from the three point four percent last June, but at the same as the four point two percent average rate from twenty-two. Since two thousand nineteen, the vacancy rate has declined from eight point nine percent to four point two percent. As of June first, there were one thousand six hundred and twenty-three apartments under construction in the metro area, including one thousand three hundred and sixty in Fargo. Permits have been issued for three hundred and four multifamily housing units since June first and for two thousand twenty-three to date. Fargo has issued permits for nine hundred and ninety multifamily housing units. Other mission of the Gladys Ray Shelter is to provide safe, comfortable, temporary shelter for people who often do not have other options in the community and to help people connect to housing and services in a welcoming and not jung mental environment. The Gladys Ray Shelter is a free shelter for homeless adults regardless of physical or emotional condition and aims to facilitate their move towards self-sufficiency. In this video, you'll hear from the employees, learn more about the services provided and how the shelter has impacted many people in this area. This is the Gladys Ray Shelter, or as we like to call it the G-Ray. We're located at 1519 First Avenue South in Fargo. Our hours of operation are 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily. We provide low barrier services to individuals in the Fargo Moorhead community who may be seeking shelter who have limited or no other options for shelter in this area. She'd been a tireless advocate throughout our community. She helped start the first of so many things, and um it just seemed fitting that we would name it after such a such an amazing woman who left behind this legacy that has to guide us. If we're going to keep doing the right thing, we have to take advantage of this legacy that she left behind. So we have the capacity to serve 25 uh people, uh, 15 men and 10 women is our general goal. This winter we saw upwards of 50, um, at least 40 consistently throughout the night. It's not that big of a building. It does get kind of challenging to find spots for everyone. The need for shelter um far outweighs how many beds there are in this community at times. So we do stretch our capacity and we try to make sure that as many people have that safe day and five respectful place to exist as possible. People, when it comes to like those bare necessities that the people that we serve here are lacking, people don't really understand how far those bare necessities go in an individual's well-being. So it's not just about wow, that person needs to be able to have a shower so that they can be clean so that they can go to a job interview or whatever it is. That person is going through something really, really hard already, something very, very traumatic. When you add to the fact that they haven't been able to take a shower in a week, like how much harder does that make everything, not just oh, they need it for their hygiene and they need it so they can move forward with life, but how much more likely is that individual to uh get more upset to get more emotional? Like sometimes what you see is a lot deeper than the surface level. I know that the hurtful things that get said about this community that it does do harm to those who stay here. A lot of them have really thick skin, you know, they will still live their life, they'll still keep on smiling. Some of them say they even pray for those people once they hear something. I know I get very frustrated when I hear the stereotypes that so many people believe about the homeless population.
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