Fargo City Commission Meeting – September 29, 2025: Budget, Transit, and Engagement Center
Fargo City Commission Meeting – September 29, 2025
The Fargo City Commission met on September 29, 2025, beginning with an executive session at 4:00 PM to discuss negotiating strategy and legal advice regarding annexation with the City of Harwood and Applied Digital Corporation. The regular meeting convened at 5:00 PM. The commission approved a consent agenda, conducted multiple public hearings, discussed the 64th Avenue Interchange, received an update on the Resource and Recovery Center (formerly the Downtown Engagement Center) relocation, debated the full-time mayor position, approved transit route changes, and adopted the 2026 final budget.
Consent Calendar
- Approved items 1 through 34, including: a letter of support for Halberstadt's to the ND Opportunity Fund Consortium; a third amendment to a purchase agreement with Galvanizers, Inc.; ordinances amending traffic, parking, and alcoholic beverage codes; findings for a dangerous building; a summons and complaint; license renewals; site authorizations and applications for games of chance; change orders for various projects; easements and agreements; items from the Finance, Audit, and Human Resources (FAHR) meeting; grant awards; bid awards; benefit renewals; and bills totaling $18,528,514.22.
Public Hearings
- Special Assessment List (Item 35): 24 improvement districts totaling over $43 million affecting 5,097 parcels. Approved unanimously.
- Sidewalk Assessments SR-24-A and SR-24-B (Items 36-37): Citywide sidewalk projects for 227 parcels totaling $749,695.38. Approved unanimously.
- Business Improvement District (Item 38): Annual assessment to support downtown clean, safe, maintain, and beautify operations. Approved unanimously.
- PILOT for Bison Run Rentals LLC (Item 39): 100% payment in lieu of tax exemption for seven years for six townhomes at 1102 & 1110 17th Street North. The developer noted a return under 9%. Approved unanimously.
- Annexation of 49.91 acres (Item 40): Parcel in Section 14, Township 140 North, Range 49 West, to be included in the 46th Avenue Industrial Park Second Addition. First reading of annexation ordinance approved unanimously.
- 46th Avenue Industrial Park Second Addition (Item 41): Rezoning from AG, Agricultural to AG and LI, Limited Industrial; plat approval; and first reading of rezoning ordinance. Approved unanimously.
Discussion Items
- 64th Avenue Interchange (Item 42): City Engineer Tom Knakmuhs presented a history of the project, noting that the overpass opened in 2022 and the interchange is currently programmed for 2028. Three public speakers opposed the interchange, citing broken promises (a 2019 meeting stated only an overpass), negative impacts on the residential neighborhood east of I-29, and a better economic case for an interchange at 76th Avenue. No decision was made; staff will return with a public comment summary and environmental document before seeking a decision.
- Resource and Recovery Center Relocation (Item 43): Assistant City Administrator Brenda Derrig reported on a public meeting and survey of three potential sites: 610 North University Drive, 720 14th Street North, and 2001 1st Avenue North. The survey (521 respondents) ranked 2001 1st Avenue first, followed by 720 14th Street and 610 University. Staff are evaluating acquisition costs, layout, and community concerns. Public speakers expressed mixed views: some supported relocation away from businesses, while others argued the center should remain downtown and that resources should be used to open it seven days a week. Commissioner Piepkorn opposed taxpayer funding for a regional service, estimating the cost at nearly $1 million annually. Mayor Mahoney noted state and county contributions and potential private donations. The commission discussed winter warming needs. No vote was taken; staff will continue evaluation and bring final options.
- Full-Time Mayor Position (Item 44): Commissioner Strand moved to delay the full-time mayor position indefinitely. The motion failed 4-1 (Strand aye; Kolpack, Piepkorn, Turnberg, Mahoney nay). Subsequently, Commissioner Strand moved to designate the mayor's position as full-time commencing June 1, 2026. That motion passed 3-2 (Kolpack, Strand, Mahoney aye; Piepkorn, Turnberg nay). The budget includes $25,000 for half a year of the position.
- Transit Route Changes (Item 45): Julie Bommelman presented proposed changes effective January 1, 2026: elimination of Route 16 and the Industrial Park On-Demand Service, realignment of Route 14 (north on 4th Street instead of 10th Street) and Route 15 (to pick up Cash Wise on 13th Avenue), a 2% expected ridership decrease, and fare increases. The MAT Bus Coordination Committee approved these changes. The local share for Fargo increased to $4.33 million, requiring an additional $830,000 in general fund transfers. Public comment raised concerns about service disruptions and accessibility. The motion to approve the route changes and resulting budget passed unanimously.
- 2026 Final Budget (Item 46): Finance Director Susan Thompson and City Administrator Michael Redinger presented the final general fund budget of $140,687,211, a 0.36 mill increase ($5.73 on a $353,500 median home). Key adjustments: transit changes added $830,000, health insurance premiums increased 12%, and offsetting savings from franchise fee revenue, reduced fuel costs, and salary savings. The final budget was approved 3-2 (Kolpack, Strand, Mahoney aye; Piepkorn, Turnberg nay). Commissioner Kolpack highlighted the 3% COLA for employees and the challenge of the property tax cap. Commissioners expressed concerns about future capital investment sustainability.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved.
- All public hearing items (special assessments, PILOT, annexation, rezoning) approved unanimously.
- 64th Avenue Interchange discussion deferred; staff to return with public comment summary and environmental document.
- Resource and Recovery Center relocation process ongoing; staff to present final options.
- Full-time mayor position: motion to delay indefinitely failed; separate motion to make the position full-time commencing June 1, 2026 passed 3-2.
- Transit route changes approved effective January 1, 2026.
- 2026 final budget adopted.
- Commissioner reports included: Fire Prevention Week (October 5-11, focus on lithium battery safety), lead service line replacement program (bids open October 22), and recognition of Mayor Mahoney with the 2025 Leadership Excellence Award from the North Dakota League of Cities.
Meeting Transcript
The pleasure of allegiance. Are you ready? I pledge. Through the play. United States of America. And to the Republic, which is there. One individual. Thank you. Roll call. Cole Pack here. Pepcorn? Here. Strand? Here. Turnberg here. Mahoney. Here. We're going to start with uh highlights of the police department's wellness program. That we have video that was shot in regards to that. It's a new program that we started that's working very well. Number one priority is taking care of our personnel, obviously, the most important asset. It's important for our profession as a whole, but specifically for our department. And it's a huge recruitment and retention tool. Officers deal with and see so many things throughout their career throughout their days that a lot of people don't really understand. It's kind of an interesting thing. I've sat around a campfire before with different people that aren't cops, and the question is always is what's the craziest thing you've ever seen? What is the craziest thing you've ever dealt with? And I always ask the question what's your definition of crazy? What's your definition of the craziest thing that you've ever seen? To me, that's completely different than what somebody who hasn't gone through that or gone through different things. So it's an interesting conversation to have with people as to what the craziest thing I've seen or gone through. Officer wellness is incredibly important. So they're able to go out and do their job and do it well. And also outside of their employment, it's important for them to have the healthy and happy life outside of work as well. A lot of times officers will experience what is called acute stress, and that typically happens anywhere from three to thirty days after a critical event. And so it's really important that we're able to take opportunities to meet with them and help them work through those incidents in order for them to process through it and move on to the next critical event. There continues to be a stigma when we talk about mental well-being. However, I feel like we're getting away from that stigma. But it is critical that people recognize the amount of tragic and critical incidents our law enforcement officers are exposed to in a monthly basis, is more than what the average person is exposed to in a lifetime. Officer wellness is a value in our department, and uh it's a huge component across the board. And we don't offer it just for our swarm personnel, but our civilian personnel as well. Um everyone's received resiliency training. The services are available to everyone in terms of our wellness coordinator and the mental health support. I think it's a really big thing. Uh it's a big thing in the law enforcement police profession, and our department is excelling in that area. We want to keep the ball rolling in that direction, and we see the positive results that it that it brings back. We've heard from our personnel about how certain trainings and how things we have done helped them get through certain traumatic events, and I think that's that's huge. Very good. Is there a motion to approve the order of agenda? So moved.
openpublica.com