MFDA Board Annual Meeting – January 8, 2026

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The 2026 Annual Meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Board of Authority was held on January 8, 2026. The following members were present: Bernie Dardis, Mayor, City of West Fargo; Dr. Tim Mahoney, Mayor, City of Fargo; David Ebinger, Clay County Commissioner; Kevin Campbell, Clay County Commissioner; Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner; Rick Steen, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Dave Piepkorn, Fargo City Commissioner; Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead; Lisa Borgen, Moorhead City Council and Denise Kolpack, Fargo City Commissioner.

Member(s) absent: Chuck Hendrickson, Moorhead City Council; Jim Kapitan, Cass County Commissioner and
Duane Breitling, Cass County Commissioner.

1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Mahoney called the meeting to order at 3:30 PM. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

2. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA
The order of the agenda was not approved.

3. GENERAL COUNSEL UPDATE
a. Resolution Appointment of the 2026 Members to the Diversion Authority Board, Land Management, Finance & Planning Committees
MOTION PASSED
Mr. Grindberg moved to approve the above-referenced resolution as presented and Mayor Carlson seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

b. Election of a Vice Chair for the Diversion Board of Authority
MOTION PASSED
Mr. Ebinger nominated Mayor Shelly Carlson to serve as the vice chair of the Diversion Board of
Authority and Mr. Campbell seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

c. Election of the Secretary for the Diversion Board of Authority
MOTION PASSED
Ms. Kolpack nominated Dawn Lindblom to serve as the secretary for the Diversion Board of Authority and Ms. Borgen seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

d. Resolution Confirming the 2026 Meeting Dates for the Diversion Board of Authority, Planning and Finance Committees
MOTION PASSED
Ms. Kolpack moved to approve the above-referenced resolution as presented and Mayor Carlson seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

4. OTHER BUSINESS
a. 2026 MFDA Governance Annual Work Plan
Mr. Benson shared the 2026 MFDA Governance work plan and indicated that every January the Executive Director will draft a proposed Governance Policy Annual Work Plan and make a recommendation to the MFDA Board at the Annual Meeting. The MFDA Board will then approve the Governance Policy Annual Work Plan at the MFDA Annual Meeting. Following approval of the Annual Work Plan, the Planning Committee will conduct quarterly reviews of the Governance Plan. The recommendation for 2026 is that these reviews be completed by the Planning Committee in February,
May, August, and November, with the Executive Director’s annual review taking place in December.
b. O&M Transition Framework
Mr. Benson shared the O&M Transition Framework and key tasks. The Mission of the MFDA during O&M: The MFDA will conduct budgeting, inspections, maintenance, contracting, land/permit/environmental compliance, planning, and public outreach to ensure the FM Area Diversion Project (Project) is funded and maintained at a level that meets all MFDA, local, state, and federal requirements and is ready to provide flood protection to the benefited area in accordance with the water control manual. This transition is ongoing and will be completed by December 2027. The transition will be an asynchronous operation as we work every day to ensure Project construction is complete by the end of September 2026 and at the same time plan for and transition to O&M. We will also work in parallel to complete the Sheyenne River Mitigation Project (SRMP), other mitigation projects, and FEMA Physical Map Revision (PMR) complete by 2030.
Key Tasks:
• Ensure that the project is operationally ready so that we are prepared to operate for a flood in the spring of 2027.
• Move all MFDA Staff operations from the current administrative building to the new Authority Administrative Building (AAB) by the end of Fall 2026.
• Prepare 2027 cash budgets that serve as the transition budgets with both construction and O&M components.
• Execute necessary activities to have a maintenance levy in place to fund the O&M budget in 2028.
• Develop O&M plans for all components of the project to include the Local Flood Protection and Associated Infrastructure (LFPAI), the Southern Embankment and Associated Infrastructure (SEAI), the Diversion Channel and Associated Infrastructure (DCAI), and the Mitigation Features and Associated Infrastructure (MFAI).
• Develop and approve MFDA and local entity resolutions that outline the O&M assets, staffing/labor responsibilities, and fiscal responsibility.
• Complete the SRMP, other mitigation projects, and FEMA floodplain certification by 2030. End State: By the spring of 2027 we will be prepared to operate the project to protect the area from a potential flood event. By the end of 2027 we will be 90% staffed for O&M, have 90% of our required equipment on hand, have necessary agreements with partners regarding routine maintenance, mutual aid, or assistance, and have a 2028 budget prepared and fully funded through a maintenance levee. By 2030 the SRMP, other mitigation projects and FEMA floodplain certification will be complete.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.

6. NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be January 22, 2026.

7. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:57 PM.