MFDA Finance Committee Meeting – April 23, 2025

See full minutes.

A regular meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Finance Committee was held on April 23, 2025. Members present: Bernie Dardis, Mayor, City of West Fargo; Dave Piepkorn, Fargo City Commissioner; Susan Thompson, Finance Director, City of Fargo; Lori Johnson, Clay County Auditor/Treasurer; Mike Redlinger, Administrator, City of Fargo; Mike Rietz, Assistant City Manager, City of Moorhead; Rick Steen, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Jim Kapitan, Cass County Commissioner; Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead; Brandy Madrigga, Cass County Finance Director and Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner.

Member(s) absent: Dr. Tim Mahoney, Mayor, City of Fargo.

1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Dardis called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

2. APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 2025 MEETING

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Steen moved to approve the minutes from the March 2025 meeting and Mayor Carlson seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

3. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Grindberg moved to approve the order of the agenda and Mr. Kapitan seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

4. APPROVAL OF BILLS

Ms. Thompson reported that the bills payable through April 16, 2025, total $2,252,028, and are payable to the usual vendors, with the Cass County Joint Water Resource District being the largest at $1,574,182.

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Carlson moved to approve the bills as presented and Mr. Kapitan seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

5. FINANCIAL REPORT

Ms. Thompson reported there was a timing issue in the receipt of the sales tax remittance statements and two months will be reflected in the May financial report. Ms. Thompson also reported the total assets as of March 31, 2025, are $313,816,031; liabilities total $897,634, and the grand total net position is $312,918,337.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Steen moved to approve the financial report as presented and Mr. Redlinger seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

6. CASH BUDGET REPORT

Mr. Benson reported that that revenues for the month were $1,388,000 and noted that the sales tax receipts for the City of Fargo and Cass County were not recorded. Mr. Benson also noted that the $14,300,000, in milestone payment that has been paid to the developer now includes the railroad shoofly lines.

7. MOUs AND AGREEMENTS

Mr. Shockley provided an overview and summary of the following TCE and MOU:

a. James Danielson & MFDA Ballast Removal TCE

The purpose of this Temporary Construction Easement (TCE) between James K. Danielson and the Metro Flood Diversion Authority (Authority) is to allow the Authority and their contractor a temporary easement to access the Danielson property for the purpose of removing ballast within the abandoned rail corridor in/near Horace, ND. The removal and remediation of the ballast material was an environmental commitment included within the Purchase Agreement with BNSF.

b. Rush River WRD & MFDA

The purpose of this Second Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the RRWRD and MFDA further defines the roles and responsibilities of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority and the Rush River Water Resource District for District facilities that are impacted by the Comprehensive Project. In particular, the MOU amendment covers drain transitions for Drain 2 (Lower Rush River), Drain 12 (Rush River), and Drain 30 and discusses maintenance of remnant drains. The District is responsible for designing and constructing the drain transitions, and the Authority is responsible for reimbursing the District for its work, as well as considering requests from the District for maintenance funds for remnant drains in the event of a deficiency.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Grindberg moved to approve the TCE and MOU as presented, and Mr. Steen seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

8. DA BOARD APPROVAL CONTRACTING ACTIONS

Mr. Bakkegard provided an overview and summary of the following contracting actions:

a. Cass County Electric Coop, Inc.

– $506,400.35

Task Order 23, Amendment 0 – Upstream Mitigation Area Zone 1 – Electrical Work – This work replaces an overhead electric line with 3-phase buried electric line in the Upstream Mitigation Area (UMA) Zone 1 along 173rd Avenue and 51st Street.

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Carlson moved to approve the task order as presented and Mr. Steen seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

9. OTHER BUSINESS

a. Minnesota Funding Update

Mr. Benson reported that Governor Walz visited Moorhead on April 16, and a meeting was held to address the need for the Minnesota flood control funding. He was very supportive of the Project and the need for $60.4 million to complete the City of Moorhead in-town projects as well as projects in Wolverton, Comstock and Georgetown.

10. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on May 21, 2025.

11. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 4:15 PM.