Fargo City Commission Meeting - April 27, 2026: Convention Center Rankings, Human Rights Commission Pause, and Mosquito Control Agreements
Fargo City Commission Meeting – April 27, 2026
The Fargo City Commission met on Monday, April 27, 2026, beginning with an executive session at 4:30 p.m. in the Red River Room to discuss negotiating strategy for the potential purchase of property involving Fargo Lumber, LLC and/or Hempel Companies. The executive session closed at 5:03 p.m., and the public meeting reconvened at 5:09 p.m. in the Commission Chambers. All five commissioners were present: Mayor Mahoney, Commissioners Kolpack, Piepkorn, Strand, and Turnberg. The meeting included a video presentation on the city’s Storm Water Management Program, approval of the consent agenda (with two items moved to the regular agenda), and key decisions on the convention center, human rights commission, and mosquito control.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the consent agenda (items 1–39) except items 31 and 32, which were moved to the regular agenda. The consent agenda included routine approvals such as:
- Amendment to Developer Agreement with BLOC Partners LLC for Tax Increment District 2023-01.
- Amendment No. 2 to the Project Partnership Agreement for the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project.
- First reading of ordinance amending Section 11-0809 (Environmental Nuisances) and final adoption of ordinance amending Section 31-0102 (International Property Maintenance Code).
- License violation findings for El Agave Mexican Restaurant LLC and Chili’s Grill and Bar.
- Various bid awards, contracts, bonds, and easements, including:
- Pavement Marking Replacement Service Agreement with 3D Specialties, Inc. for $514,198.87.
- Bid award to Paras Contracting Inc. for $3,565,448.38 (Improvement District BR-26-F1).
- Bid award to CC Steel, LLC for $2,214,788.00 (Improvement District UR-26-F1).
- Wetlands Mitigation Credit Purchase for $4,800.00.
- Bills in the amount of $7,689,159.35.
- Items from the Finance, Audit, and Human Resources (FAHR) meeting were accepted, including year-end projections and grant awards.
- Approved the master parking services agreement, mosquito control agreement (moved to regular agenda), street snow plowing services agreement, and other administrative items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Olivia Fisher spoke during the public comment period (one speaker). She highlighted concerns about homelessness, safety, and the lack of affordable housing in downtown Fargo. She urged the commission to ensure that services for unhoused individuals continue to operate, particularly referencing the potential non-renewal of a lease for the “Deck’s new building.” She noted that the majority of unhoused neighbors are disabled people of color and that the city’s focus on safety often overlooks the struggles of those in survival mode.
Discussion Items
1. Convention Center Committee Recommendation (Item 40)
- Charlie Johnson, chair of the Convention Center Committee, presented the committee’s recommendation. The committee, formed in January 2025, evaluated nine proposals, narrowed to five, and then to four finalists. The final cumulative scoring ranked the proposals as follows: 1) Brewhalla, 2) Downtown Project, 3) Shields Arena Project, and 4) Fargo Dome Project.
- The committee recommended that the City Commission accept the rankings and direct staff to begin due diligence and negotiations with the top-ranked choice(s) for a public-private partnership to construct a convention center and supporting hotel(s).
- Commissioner Kolpack proposed moving forward with the top two ranked proposals (Brewhalla and EPAC [the Downtown Project]) for full financial due diligence, emphasizing the need for a true apples-to-apples financial comparison and to avoid rushing. She noted that the third and fourth options remain available if needed.
- Commissioner Piepkorn argued that the commission should not limit itself to two options, stating that financial feasibility is critical because the convention center would have no reserve fund (unlike the Fargo Dome’s $49 million reserve), and any shortfall would come from the city’s general fund. He urged taking time to evaluate all four.
- Commissioner Strand supported exploring the top two, but also suggested approaching the Science Museum (which is considering a dinosaur museum) about locating downtown, alongside the convention center, to transform downtown. He emphasized the importance of visitor experience and surrounding amenities.
- City Administrator Michael Redlinger confirmed that due diligence would involve the city attorney’s office, finance team, and external resources, and could be reported back to the commission in approximately 30 days (by the May 26 meeting).
- Vote: Motion to approve the committee’s numerical rankings and direct staff to begin due diligence with the two highest-ranked proposers (Brewhalla and EPAC) passed 4–1 (Commissioner Piepkorn dissenting).
2. Human Rights Commission Recommendation (Item 41)
- Brenda Derek, staff liaison to the Human Rights Commission (HRC), presented the HRC’s recommendation to remain “as-is” and pause all meetings until after the June 9 election, then work with the newly seated City Commission on a path forward.
- Sir Leaf (speaker) and Dalton Erickson (online, Executive Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition) both spoke in support of the HRC’s recommendation, emphasizing the importance of human rights protections and the need for the commission to be shaped by the incoming elected body.
- Commissioner Strand (liaison to the HRC) moved to approve the recommendation, noting that the HRC members are citizen activists who did not sign up to dismantle their own entity. He stated that if the City Commission wants to eliminate or restructure the HRC, it should own that decision.
- Commissioner Piepkorn opposed, arguing that the HRC had been given an extension to find a new path and had not taken action, and that further delay was not productive.
- Commissioner Kolpack supported waiting until after the election because the HRC chair is a candidate in that election, but expressed hope that the HRC would find a clear scope and purpose.
- Vote: Motion to approve the HRC recommendation to remain “as-is” and pause meetings until after the June election passed 3–2 (Commissioners Piepkorn and Turnberg dissenting).
3. Mosquito Control Agreements (Items 31 and 32, moved from Consent Agenda)
- Ben Prather, Cass County Vector Control, explained the annual agreement with Cass County for mosquito control services. The contract has remained unchanged for about 10 years, with a maximum allocation of $315,000 for larvicide and adulticide. Aerial spraying is triggered by trap counts and West Nile virus detections; the city did not aerial spray in the two summers prior to 2025, but did three aerial sprays in 2025 due to a wet season.
- Commissioner Strand raised questions about the decision-making process for aerial spraying, referencing a past incident where millions of monarch butterflies were killed. Staff explained that Moorhead had changed its protocol but later reverted to replicate Fargo’s approach after public outcry. The city coordinates closely with Cass County Vector Control, which is nationally recognized.
- Commissioner Kolpack noted that she sits on the vector control board and is involved in spraying decisions.
- Commissioner Mahoney emphasized the seriousness of West Nile virus and thanked the team for their professional work.
- Vote: Both items (2026 Mosquito Control Agreement and FAA Aerial Mosquito Spraying Authorization) were approved unanimously (5–0).
4. Liaison Commissioner Assignment Updates (Item 42)
- Commissioners provided updates on their liaison roles:
- Commissioner Mahoney mentioned the mayoral debate held at the Fargo Theatre and encouraged the public to attend future debates.
- Commissioner Kolpack reported on attending the 1015 Project press conference (statewide relay honoring pregnancy and infant loss, ending in Fargo on October 18, 2026), Earth Day event at the Resource Recovery Center, the Great Futures luncheon at the Boys & Girls Club, and the upcoming ribbon cutting for the Furniture Mission’s expanded warehouse. She also noted that the budgeting process is underway.
Key Outcomes
- Convention Center: The commission accepted the Convention Center Committee’s rankings and directed staff to begin financial due diligence with the top two ranked proposers (Brewhalla and the Downtown Project/EPAC). The commission will consider the results at a future meeting, with a target of 30 days for the due diligence report.
- Human Rights Commission: The commission approved the HRC’s recommendation to pause all meetings until after the June 9, 2026 election, and to work with the newly seated City Commission on a future structure and purpose.
- Mosquito Control: The annual mosquito control agreement with Cass County (up to $315,000) and the FAA aerial spraying authorization were both approved unanimously.
- Consent Agenda: All routine items were approved except those moved to the regular agenda.
- Public Comment: The commission heard one public comment from Olivia Fisher regarding homelessness and downtown safety.
- Next Meeting: The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 11, 2026, with the due diligence report anticipated by the May 26 meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Call the meeting to order. I invite you to join us with the uh Pledge of Allegiance in the United States of America. Roll call, please. Colpack, here. Pepcorn? Here. Strand? Here. Turnberg here. Mahoney. Here. With spring upon us, we are encouraging residents to help keep pollution out of our stormwater drains. Whereas, like they say, only rain down the drain. So now you can start an arch. I work for the City of Fargo stormwater division. And I um currently am working with erosion and sediment control. All of the water from storms or from rain events in Fargo goes down the storm drains that are in neighborhoods, and then it flows directly to the Red River. Our stormwater is not treated in any way. So it flows directly, like I said before, to the river. The only filter or treatment, so to speak, would be us. Like whatever we can do to stop other debris from entering the system is the best filter that we have. Spring melt is one of the times where we get the biggest rush of water running into the system. And a lot of the snow melt has been sitting on a parking lot or on the side of the street or on the curb line, and it's collected lots of sediment over that time. So it gets to be pretty critical that we can try to manage that. Typically they're on a corner, sometimes they're in the middle of a block. And then maybe take some responsibility with your neighbors and work together to kind of take that drain and keep it clean. Make sure there's no leaves, garbage. Commonly most things that enter are going to be debris off the roads, like salt, debris, other things that can wash from homeowners' yards into the system. Sediments, we don't want sediments in our system. And a lot of times also even to the point of trash. Cigarette butts are a huge problem. So we want to keep as many of those out as we can. So we want to keep as much sediments out. Plus, there's a lot of times there's sediment and chemical, you know, off of yards or lawns or whatever. And that causes overgrowth in our river system. Once the stormwater enters the Red River, Red River runs north, so it goes to Canada and then all the way up to Lake Winnipeg, and eventually to the ocean. So we want to keep it as clean as we can. Is there a motion to approve the order of the agenda movement items 3132 from the consent agenda to the regular agenda? And I'm going to put them in front of the liaison report. Is there a motion? That's a move. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, saying nay. Motion carried. Is there a motion to approve the minutes of the April 13, 2026 regular meeting? Move to approve. Second.
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