MFDA Board Meeting – October 22, 2026

See full minutes. 

The following members were present: Josh Boschee, Mayor, City of Fargo; Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead; Chad Peterson, Fargo City Commissioner; Michelle Turnberg, Fargo City Commissioner; Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner; Chuck Hendrickson, Moorhead City Council; David Ebinger, Clay County Commissioner; Rick Steen, Manger, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Lisa Borgen, Moorhead City Council; Jim Kapitan, Cass County Commissioner; Duane Breitling, Cass County Commissioner and Kevin Campbell, Clay County Commissioner.

Member absent: Eric Gjerdevig, Mayor, City of West Fargo.

 

1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Boschee called the meeting to order at 3:00 PM. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

 

2. APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 2026 MFDA BOARD OF AUTHORITY MEETING

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Peterson moved to approve the minutes from the September 2026, meeting and Mr. Breitling seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

 

3. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Steen moved to amend the agenda, adding Consent Agenda item 4., e., i., HMG Task Order 102, Amendment 13, R2, under item 10., a., making it item 10., b., with Mr. Bakkegard providing additional information as it relates to the Task Order. Mr. Campbell moved to approve the order of the agenda with the addition and Mayor Carlson seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

 

4. APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Steen moved to approve the Consent Agenda and Mr. Ebinger seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

 

5. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE

Mr. Benson reported that there have been a lot of things to track with the various agencies as we transition to O&M. Mr. Fisher has been coordinating several tours and holding discussions about environmental issues.

The AAB building is complete, and the move has tentatively been scheduled for the week of November 9th.

The City of Horace has placed a $100,000 special assessment on a tract of land belonging to DA, for their Wall Street project. A MOU was signed with the City of Horace in 2019 for $5,000,000, and Mr. Benson is going to request that they take the $100,000 out of that fund.

 

6. GENERAL COUNSEL UPDATE

a. WIFIA Update

Mr. Shockley reported that there will not be a WIFIA draw taken this month. We are still awaiting invoices from the developer, and the policy is not to submit a draw request unless it is $25,000,000, or more.

 

b. PPA Pledge Resolution

Mr. Shockley provided an overview of the PPA Pledge Resolution indicating that the issuance has been pushed back to November or December due to the delay from the developer, and the funds are not needed at this time.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Steen moved to approve the Resolution as presented and Mr. Breitling seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

 

7. PROJECT UPDATES

a. USACE Project Update

Ms. Williams provided the following USACE update:

1 Red River Structure (RRS)

Structure includes 3-50 ft. wide Tainter gates. Construction is 99% complete. Final punch list items being addressed and turnover to Sponsors for OMRRR date is to be determined.

2 Reach SE-2B

99% complete. Contractor addressing punch list items. Final inspection pending. Completion date is 23 October 2026.

3 Reach SE-3

92% complete. Hwy 81 road repair ongoing and involves excavation and replacement of road embankment, flattening side slopes, repaving, and adding/replacing box culvert sections. Reopening date is TBD and weather dependent. Contract completion date is 19 October 2026.

4 Reach SE-4

85% complete. Topsoiling and seeding ongoing. Contractor resurfacing 130th Ave S. up and over. Contract completion date is 20 October 2026.

5 Reach SE-5

77% complete. Soil-cement placement is complete. Anticipate 180th being fully open on 21 October. Contract completion date is 31 October 2026.

Ongoing Mitigation

6 Forest Mitigation

Three Contracts. Planting/maintenance ongoing. Completion dates are December 2028.

7 Drain 27 Wetland Mitigation Project Plantings

Native plantings 5-year contract for wetland establishment. Completion date is 2 December 2027.

Operations, Maintenance, Repair, Replacement, Rehabilitation (OMRRR)

8 Reach SE-1B

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 14 September 2026. Turf maintenance ongoing.

9 Wild Rice River Structure (WRRS)

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 20 July 2026.

10 Diversion Inlet Structure (DIS)

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 15 June 2026.

11 OHB Reach 43-B Ring Levee

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 29 December 2025. Turf maintenance ongoing.

12 I-29 Raise

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 20 December 2025.

13 Drayton Dam Mitigation Project

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 28 Nov 2023.

14 Reach SE-1

Turnover to MFDA occurred on 29 December 2022.

 

b. SWDCAI Project Update

Mr. Bakkegard provided an update of the construction map that shows the current work in progress, and the 30- and 60-day projected progress:

Progress Map Updates

• Drain Inlet Completion
• 32nd Ave & CR 6 Bridge Completion
• Channel Reaches 12,13, 14

30- to 60-Day Outlook

• Interim Completions
• Aqueduct Spillways

 

c. Project Safety Update

Mr. Bakkegard provided the safety update for the period September 1 to September 30, 2026, and he reported that it was a good month with only one recordable event with dust in an employee’s eye that required treatment. There were no other incidents to report.

 

d. P3 Monthly Update

Mr. Bakkegard highlighted the buildable units progress in the October P3 monthly update.

Maple River Aqueduct

Flume/Conduit Structure

710+17

Active 95.80%

Continued Welding Vertical Gate

Completed Welding the Vertical Gate

Tower Bridge

Installed Stairs and Ladders in the

Vertical Gate Towers

Installed the maintenance crane

Installed the hoist

Welding vertical gate lifting eyes

Four rollers have been installed

Shedding and Cladding installation ongoing

Vertical Gate leak testing (5) passing

Maple River Spillway

710+17              

Active  93.40%

Welding the permanent solution for the sheet piles

Welding studs on sheet piles

Formwork and rebar installation for Sheet pile facing and cap beam

Concrete pours for Sheet pile facing and cap beam

Installation of Compressor building components

Installation of the manhole

Installation of the Obermeyer gates

TexCote application ongoing

Maple River Aqueduct

Engineered Channel

710+17              

Active 98.41%

Installed Flex-a-mat up to the High-Water Level

Completed the Excavation and Tie-in with the Aqueducts

Vegetation is planted

No productive activities in September

Sheyenne River Aqueduct

1477+50              

Active 90.35%

Formwork and rebar installation for west abutment, east abutment, Flume Bypass culvert, Flume sidewalk

Concrete pours for west abutment, east abutment, Flume Bypass culvert, Flume sidewalk

LFC heat trays installation

Installation of the Mineral Insulated Cables and Self-regulating cables

Texcote painting in the Flume

Boulders Installation

Welding pile tension anchors in wingwalls, Sheet piling in wingwalls, backfill for wingwall footings, Backfill between wing walls

Formwork and rebar, concrete pours for wingwalls footings

The table can be viewed in its entirety at www.fmdiversion.gov.

Please reach out to Mr. Barthel if you have any questions.

 

e. Monthly Drone Video

A video highlighting the progress that has been achieved in October was viewed.

 

8. COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE

Mr. Fisher provided the following communications update:

PR/Media Relations:

• September construction update
• Jay Thomas Show
• Highway 81 updates

Newsletter:

• O&M
• 51% open rate
• 6% click-through rate
• Next issue: Engineering

Outreach:

• GIS Conference

Recognition:

• National awards for:
• gov website editing – 2nd Place
• The Diversion Current – 3rd Place
• Social Media Campaign – 3rd Place
• Social Media Presence – Honorable Mention
• Year-in-Review Infographic – Honorable Mention

 

9. LAND MANAGEMENT UPDATE

a. Property Acquisition Status Report

Mr. Fisher provided the following property acquisition status report:

Key Activities:

• In the last month, successfully closed 13 parcels / 5 owners in the UMA
• Continued negotiating settlement agreements for existing eminent domain actions
  • To date, completed three (3) eminent domain trials in Cass County; no new trials in the last month
  • Completed site inspections and initial discovery hearings for the actions in Minnesota
  • Scheduled Commissioner Hearings for Minnesota actions
  • Negotiated many settlements since completing the first trial
  • 12 pending settlement offers with property owners
• Closings are pending for:
  • MN: 9 parcels / 3 owners / 266 Flowage Easement Acres
  • ND: 30 parcels / 10 owners / 763 Flowage Easement Acres
• 23,075 acres of flowage easements have been acquired, and 4,015 acres are outstanding
• Continued development of the MFDA’s post operation clean-up and restoration programs
• Continued development of the MFDA’s crop loss programs
• Started working on the 2027 Farmland Leases

Property Acquisition Progress:

• 4% completion in the Construction Footprint
• 1% completion in the UMA Footprint
• 3% of the parcels in the Southern Embankment have been acquired
• 1% of the parcels in the Upstream Mitigation Area have been acquired
• 79.8% of the Environmental Easements have been signed
• 0% completed: Stormwater Diversion Channel; Oxbow-Hickson-Bakke levee; in-town levees and the Drayton Dam mitigation

 

10. FINANCE UPDATE

a. Finance Meeting Update

Mr. Steen reported that all the items on the Consent Agenda were approved at the Finance Committee meeting. Sales tax receipts are up 15% in Cass County and up 10% in the City of Fargo. Draft Version 2 of the 2027 cash budget was reviewed with potential approval in December or January.

Mr. Bakkegard provided an update on the HMG Task Order partial amendment. He indicated that there is an estimated amount of $3,500,000 that will be needed over the next two years to cover the mapping process. He also noted that this is the largest project that FEMA has participated in and they are following their protocols and policy as closely as possible. There will be a lot of back and forth in 2028, 2029 and 2030 as we transition into the mapping process.

 

11. OTHER BUSINESS

a. Crop Loss Reserve Fund Sub-Committee Update

Mayor Carlson reported that the MFDA has established a Crop Loss Reserve Fund Sub-Committee. The sub-committee met on October 21, 2026, and reviewed the three RFQs that were received in response to the request for qualifications for a fund oversight manager.

At the recommendation of the Sub-Committee and Finance Committee, it is recommended to approve Johnson Financial as the fund oversight manager and direct staff to finalize a contract with them.

MOTION PASSED

On behalf of the Crop Loss Reserve Fund Sub-Committee and Finance Committee, Mayor Carlson moved to recommend that Johnson Financial be retained as the fund oversight manager. Mr. Peterson seconded the motion, and on a roll call vote, the motion carried.

 

12. PUBLIC COMMENT

There were no public comments.

 

13. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on November 19, 2026.

 

14. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 3:37 PM