Fargo City Council Meeting - 2025-12-22
Fargo City Council Meeting Summary - December 22, 2025
The Fargo City Commission convened on December 22, 2025, to address a wide range of municipal operations, public safety initiatives, and community development projects. Key discussions included the rollout of a new FCC broadband fiber initiative, a major transition for the Fargo Youth Initiative to a school district partnership, updates on river bridge reconstruction, a renewal of public safety technology contracts, an organizational restructuring of the finance and auditor departments, and the critical relocation of the Resource and Recovery Center. The meeting concluded with public comments regarding transit expansion and meeting transparency.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Motion to approve the minutes of the December 8, 2025, regular meeting carried unanimously.
- Withdrawal of Items: Items 28 and 29 were withdrawn from the agenda upon motion and second.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Gert Carroll advocated for expanding public transit routes to West Fargo, South Fargo, and Horace to improve job access. Commissioner Strand responded by offering to discuss specific route suggestions privately with Mr. Carroll. Mr. Carroll also proposed that the city and state consider instituting a municipal rideshare service as an alternative to Uber and Lyft.
- Christopher Collin requested a written response regarding two grievances: (1) that he was illegally denied speaking rights at the November 29 Arts and Culture Commission meeting, which was not recorded or broadcast despite policy requirements; and (2) a complaint that city correspondence is not consistently acknowledged within the mandated 24-hour timeframe.
- Christopher Cohn (also noted as a previous speaker) recommended the Fargo Brewing site as the optimal location for the Resource and Recovery Center, citing lower lease costs compared to the chosen site and proximity to downtown, noting that downtown business owners generally desired the service to remain in the area.
- Rocky Schneider (Downtown Community Partnership) voiced strong support for relocating the Resource and Recovery Center to a new location, acknowledging the current facility's inadequacies and praising the city's leadership in securing private partnerships to fund the move.
Discussion Items
- FCC Broadband Initiative: Staff explained the Federal Communications Commission's initiative to deploy high-speed broadband in the right-of-way. Commissioner Mahoney clarified misconceptions regarding private property versus the public right-of-way, noting that underground utilities (gas, electricity, fiber) are typically located in the public right-of-way or a 10-foot utility easement adjacent to sidewalks. Staff emphasized that this initiative provides residents with more provider choices and competition.
- Fargo Youth Initiative Transition: Commissioner Colpak, Isabella Meyer (FYI Chair), and Kirsten Nelson (School Board) discussed transitioning the Fargo Youth Initiative from the Planning Department to the Fargo School District, with partnerships from the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley and Fargo Parks. Commissioner Colpak and Isabella Meyer expressed that this evolution would broaden horizons for youth advocacy beyond city limits and increase civic engagement. Commissioner Mahoney supported the move as a way to create future leaders.
- Bridge Projects (12th Avenue North & 40th Avenue South): City Engineer Tom Knockmus and Jeremy Gordon provided updates. The 12th Avenue North bridge requires reconstruction due to flood risks, with an estimated cost of $27-30 million; staff noted the need to determine intersection improvements at Elm Street. The 40th Avenue South pedestrian bridge, estimated at $7 million, is in design and will be built permanently above the 100-year floodplain. Commissioner Stern raised concerns about security and vandalism at the 40th Avenue access point near Blue STEM School, to which staff responded that the bridge will feature lighting and coordination with the school.
- Axon Contract Renewal: Chief Sabowski and AC Travis Tavanowitz proposed a 10-year renewal with Axon for body-worn cameras, car video, and a first-responder drone program. They highlighted a projected savings of $8.6 million over the contract term compared to a shorter commitment. Commissioner Pepcorn opposed the 10-year term, citing the city's recent bond rating downgrade and arguing for a one-year term instead. Commissioner Mahoney supported the 10-year commitment as a necessary financial safeguard. The motion passed with a split vote.
- Finance and Auditor Restructuring: Susan presented a plan to restructure the Auditor's Office by transferring finance-related duties (special assessments, debt payments) to the Finance Division, appointing the Finance Director as the Acting City Auditor, and moving records requests to the Auditor's Office. Commissioner Kolpak clarified that the "Auditor" is a statutory legacy title and does not perform internal audits, countering concerns about conflicts of interest. Commissioner Pepcorn and others requested a six-month review period to assess job descriptions and workload impacts before finalizing the transition.
- Resource and Recovery Center Relocation: Staff recommended proceeding with a lease agreement to relocate the Resource and Recovery Center to a new location to better serve unhoused neighbors, noting support from over 35 nonprofits including Sanford Health. Commissioner Strand emphasized the moral imperative to support vulnerable populations while maintaining downtown integrity. The motion to proceed with the lease carried with Commissioner Pepcorn voting against it.
- Appointments: The commission voted to approve appointments to the Board of Adjustment, Historic Preservation Commission, and Renaissance Zone.
Key Outcomes
- Motion Carried: Approved the withdrawal of items 28 and 29.
- Motion Carried: Approved the continuation of the public hearing for the alcohol beverage license transfer to January 20, 2026.
- Motion Carried (5-0): Approved the transfer of the FA alcoholic beverage license from Farther South Hospitality to Fargo Ventures.
- Motion Carried (5-0): Authorized staff to prepare MOUs and documents to transition the Fargo Youth Initiative to the Fargo School District.
- Motion Carried (4-1): Approved the Axon contract renewal for a 10-year term ($13 million total), with funding allocated via the public safety sales tax.
- Motion Carried (4-1): Approved the audit and finance restructuring with a six-month review clause to assess implementation effectiveness.
- Motion Carried (4-1): Authorized the lease agreement and relocation of the Resource and Recovery Center.
- Motion Carried (5-0): Approved the recommended appointments to the Board of Adjustment, Historic Preservation Commission, and Renaissance Zone.
Note: The transcript indicates the public hearing for the alcohol license transfer was continued to January 20, 2026, pending potential landowner objections regarding a property north of the data center. The vote tallies on the Axon renewal and the Resource and Recovery Center lease indicate opposition from Commissioner Pepcorn.
Meeting Transcript
Roll call, please. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. The Federal Communications Commission or FCC has an initiative to roll out a high-speed broadband internet access to every resident in the United States. And that includes in our community where they want to try to get the latest technology to make our residents or businesses more productive with a very high internet speed that can go back and forth. So that's part of the process. But what they've done is they've allowed companies to go into our right-of-way without our ability to deny them of that right. So we have to work with them to get what we want, put them where we want them to be and stuff like that. But there's no ability for us to say no, you can't do it. That's part of the broadband initiative nationwide. Oftentimes I think a lot of the residents and adjacent landowners really think their property goes all the way to the curb. And the right-of-way doesn't. I know they're asked to maintain it. They're asked to maintain the sidewalk, mow the grass, but it's really part of the public right-of-way. Then you add that utility in the newer area of the town, and it gets to be a lot of your front yard can be used for other things, even though it's your property or shared with the city. So there is a lot of misconceptions. Public right-of-way really starts back of sidewalk across the street to the back of the sidewalk on the other side. So that's the way we call the public right-of-and that's where all of the obviously the road that you use to get to it from your house, but there's so much stuff buried underneath the road. You have storm sewer, sanitary sewer, water mains, but then you have all the private stuff. Gas for heat, electricity for lights, fiber for internet. You know, all the things that our residents use are oftentimes buried in the right-of-way. In some of the newer areas of town, we also have an additional ten feet on each side of the sidewalk on the property side of the sidewalk called a public utilities, but that's just for burying other or the other various underground utilities that are used by our residents. You know, like I said, gas, electricity, internet, all those things are oftentimes buried in that utility easement as well. So just gives us more space to put our stuff in, put their stuff in, and not crowd the right-of-way. So if we have an emergency, we're not digging on top of everybody else. We can actually dig down and fix the water bay, fix the sanitary sewer, things like that. First thing you're going to see is all the locate flags. And those are all the flags that all the existing utilities are putting in to protect their stuff that's underground. And that can just be a sea of flags in some place. If you want to give us a shout, we could put a dot on a map and kind of you know let them know that there's something in that property so they can look for it. A wire to a hot tub or uh sprinklers, or if you have a pet fence that's underground and stuff like that, they know it's there. They'll try everything they can do to avoid it. But it's really on the homeowner to let us know that that stuff is there because that's the homeowner is really the only person that knows it's there. Probably the primary benefit is there's another choice. You know, we have a lot of incumbent internet providers that are been in this town for years, and this is just another choice. You know, whether it's better value, better pricing, or they think that they need to drop around and make sure that there are choices, and you can use the new people, you can use the ones that are already being uh already installed here. So I think they're the benefit of choice and competition and all the things that go with it. City of Fargo's created a website, it's Fargo ND.gov slash fiber. If you need more information, you know, reach out to the email address and send us an email and we can try to answer some questions as well. Interesting. That was nice to know. Uh is there uh motion to approve the order to the agenda. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Motion carried.
openpublica.com