MFDA Finance Committee Meeting – August 27, 2025

See full minutes.

A regular meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Finance Committee was held on August 27, 2025. Members present: Dr. Tim Mahoney, Mayor, City of Fargo; 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; Rick Steen, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Jim Kapitan, Cass County Commissioner; Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead and Mike Rietz, Assistant City Manager, City of Moorhead.

Member(s) absent: Robert Wilson, Interim Cass County Finance Director and Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner.

1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Dardis called the meeting to order at 4:01 PM. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

2. APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 2025 MEETING

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Mahoney moved to approve the minutes from the July 2025 meeting and Mr. Piepkorn seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

3. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Mahoney moved to approve the order of the agenda and Ms. Thompson seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

4. APPROVAL OF BILLS

Ms. Thompson reported that the bills payable through August 20, 2025, total $1,887,247, and are payable to the usual vendors, with Cass County Joint Water Resource District being the largest at $1,629,626.

MOTION PASSED

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

5. FINANCIAL REPORT

Ms. Thompson reported the total assets as of July 31, 2025, are $321,005,212; liabilities total $765,739, and the grand total net position is $320,239,474.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Piepkorn moved to approve the financial report as presented and Mayor Mahoney seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

6. CASH BUDGET REPORT

Mr. Benson reported that the Legacy Funds are winding down and it is anticipated that the first WIFIA draw will begin in September. Milestone payments to the developer in 2025 total $31,975,191, and it is expected that an additional $10,000,000, will be paid within the next few months. The contingency fund has been increased by $20,000,000, to accommodate the Statement of Principles payment parameters to the Developer.

7. MOUs AND AGREEMENTS

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

a. MnDOT & MFDA Joint Powers Agreement

This JPA defines the roles and responsibilities of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority and the Minnesota

Department of Transportation for MnDOT facilities and real property interests that are impacted by the

Comprehensive Project. In particular, the JPA covers the SEAI crossing of Highway 75 and discusses cleanup and repairs to real property interests held by MnDOT following Comprehensive Project operation. The Authority is responsible for designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining the SEAI crossing. The Authority will reimburse MnDOT for costs incurred during development of the SEAI crossing and for considering reimbursement requests from MnDOT for cleanup and repairs resulting from Comprehensive Project operation.

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Mahoney moved to approve the Agreement as presented and Ms. Thompson seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

8. DA BOARD APPROVAL CONTRACTING ACTIONS

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

a. Service Agreement, Amendment 0 – JT Lawn Services & Landscaping, LLC – $10,000

Snow Removal Services 2025-2026 – perform snow removal services on Metro Flood Diversion Authority owned properties on an on-call basis. The hourly rate remains the same as the 2024-2025 season.

b. Task Order 04, Amendment 6 – P3 Observation and Testing Services – Braun Intertec – $402,880

This amendment is for construction material testing of Reaches 7, 10 and 11.

c. Task Order 101, Amendment 14 – Design and Construction Support – Houston-Moore Group, Inc. – $1,905,000

This increase reflects increases in both 2025 and 2026 budgets due to design and construction delays in Subtasks 1.0, 2.3, 3.1 4.3 and 5.1. It also includes a slight decrease in 2025 and 2026 budgets for Subtask 4.1 as a result from less than anticipated support for the P3 Design Review and Comment.

d. Task Order 25, Amendment 0 – Cass County Electric Cooperative, Inc., $1,470,055

Reconnect relocated substation – reconnect electric lines to the relocated Oxbow substation located near County Road 14 and I-29.

e. Service Agreement 2024, Amendment 1 – C Three Media ($17,595)

Videography Services – this amendment closes the 2024-2025 services agreement. A new services agreement was approved for 2025-2026. The remaining balance will be returned to the project.

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Mahoney moved to approve all the contracting actions as presented and Mr. Piepkorn seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

9. OTHER BUSINESS

a. 2024 Financial Statement Audit Presentation

Mr. Papenfuss provided the 2024 financial audit report that was conducted by Eide Bailly. Mr. Papenfuss reported that the overall results were very positive and there were no issues that need attention or corrective action.

Eide Bailly rendered the following opinion:

We have audited the financial statements of the governmental activities and the major fund of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority (“the Authority”), as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the Authority’s basic financial statements as listed in the table of contents.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities and the major fund of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority as of December 31, 2024, and the respective changes in financial position for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

10. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on September 24, 2025.

11. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 4:24 PM.