The Fargo City Commission met on Monday, June 24, 2024, at 5:00 PM in the Commission Chambers. The meeting included consent agenda approvals, numerous public hearings, a flood project update, adoption of a transit reorganization study, a presentation on homeless camps, and recognition of outgoing Commissioner Arlette Preston. Mayor Mahoney presided, with Commissioners Kolpack, Piepkorn, Preston, and Strand present.
Call the meeting to order. I have two assistant mayors tonight. Alex and Nathan, so it's gonna help me out a little bit. So we're gonna begin with a Pledge of Allegiance. I invite you to join us. Roll call, please. Call Pack here. Pepcorn. Preston. Here. Strand. Here. Mahoney. Here. Health. Last week, Fargo Cass Health and City of Fargo co-hosted a documentary Beyond the Bridge, a solution to homelessness. About 150 community members attended the event and also featured a panel discussion and a question and answer. This was a follow-up to the series of conversations that took place in February, facilitating James Matthew, Milwaukee County Housing Administrator and author of Mocky's plan to end chronic homelessness. Tonight is the final city commission meeting for Desi Fleming, Director of Fargo Cast Public Health. The entire team of the Fargo Cast Public Health wishes to thank Desi for more than 30 years of dedicated service to her community, her leadership during the pandemic, and the fun and laughter she brought to the office. Also, we're glad she has some dogs to walk. We also wish her the very best with her retirement, and she now has a new replacement. So welcome aboard, Jennifer, and nice to see Desi going off to fun stuff, right? Last week, the City of Fargo issued building permits for the airport parking garage and terminal expansion. The permit for the parking garage is 37 million, 37.8, and the terminal expansion was 94 million. An official groundbreaking is scheduled July 1st. Library. Residents are encouraged to volunteer this summer for the Carlson Library Learning Garden Plots. Sessions are weekly at 10 a.m. on Thursday mornings, weather permitting. Fargo Public Library staff have a booth at the Fargo Police Community Picnic happening in Broadway Square on June 26th to promote summer reading and challenge, along with resources, services, and upcoming events. Planning. The apartment vacancy rate in Fargo is 6.93% as of March 1st, which is down to third from the percent from 7.32% in December of 23. This is still 2.7 higher than a year ago when it dipped to 4.2. Currently, there are 852 apartment units under construction. Apartment permits in 2024 are less than previous years. There have been two apartment buildings permitted in 2024, a hundred and ten unit Laskwist building for the Fargo Housing Authority, and 168 Avery Avery by Kilborne Group, which is adjacent to the new park in Rapid M Pika Avenue. In 2023, 933 apartments were permitted, and 2022, 945 apartments were permitted. I want to take this opportunity, I think John Gunkelman's in the audience as well. Take an opportunity to recognize outgoing members of the planning commission. John Gunkelman, Rocky Schneider, and Don Morgan have all provided leadership in the development of neighborhoods and overall community. All three are active community members of our core neighborhoods and represent important topics critical to the work in the planning commission and the city of Fargo. John Gunkman has served since 2011. Rocky Schneider since 2013, and Don since 2017. We are thankful as there's so many citizens that are interested in being part of their community, and we are eternally thankful for the legacy of John Rocky Don with leave within the city. The City of Fargo recently had an essay contest for third and fifth graders in the Fargo public schools. We asked kids to answer the question what would you do if you're a mayor for a day? With us tonight are the winners of each grade. We have Nathan Ajadam, who just finished fifth grade at Kennedy Elementary, and Alex Dow, who just completed third grade at Longfellow Elementary. Both students wrote outstanding essays that were judged based on their originality, content, grammar, and structure.