MFDA Finance Committee Meeting – July 22, 2026

See full minutes.

A regular meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Finance Committee was held on July 22, 2026. Members present: Susan Thompson, Finance Director, City of Fargo; Mike Redlinger, Administrator, City of Fargo; Rick Steen, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Jim Kapitan, Cass County Commissioner; Lori Johnson, Clay County Auditor/Treasurer; Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner; Josh Boschee, Mayor, City of Fargo; Mike Rietz, Assistant City Manager, City of Moorhead and Sarah Heinle, Cass County Finance Director.

Member(s) absent: Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead.

1. CALL TO ORDER

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

2. APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE JUNE 2026 MEETING

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Kapitan moved to approve the minutes from the June 2026 meeting and Mr. Grindberg seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

3. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA

MOTION PASSED

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

4. APPROVAL OF BILLS

Ms. Thompson reported that the bills payable through July 15, 2026, total $3,100,802, with Clay County being the largest due to the Comstock reconstruction project.

A motion was not made. On a roll call vote, the bills were approved as presented.

5. FINANCIAL REPORT

Ms. Thompson reported that the total assets as of June 30, 2026, are $207,658,661; liabilities total $296,773, and the total net cash position is $207,361,888. Ms. Thompson also noted that 13 milestone payments have been paid to the developer between June 10 and July 2, totaling $86,000,000, creating the decrease in cash. This will be refunded via the WIFIA loan in approximately 30 days.

MOTION PASSED

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

6. CASH BUDGET REPORT

Mr. Benson provided the June 2026 cash budget and reported that sales tax receipts are stronger this year than they were last year at this time. The WIFIA disbursements continue to be received approximately every 30 days. Overall, revenues continue to track on target.

$174,249,096 has been paid to the developer for milestone payments and it is anticipated that they will be paid $600,000,000, over the next four months. There has been an uptick in land payments due to ongoing property acquisitions and we continue to await completion of some third-party projects.

7. DA BOARD APPROVAL CONTRACTING ACTIONS

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

a. Professional Services Agreement 2026 – Risk Management Advisory Services – AON Risk Services Central, Inc., – $5,000

Provide risk advisory services to the Diversion Authority for insurance, performance security requirements and risk management services in Conjunction with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority’s portion of the project from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027.

b. Task Order 11, Amendment 0 – retirement of existing Oxbow Substation – Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc., – $202,162

A qualified contractor will provide services to retire the existing Oxbow substation located at 4953 CR 81 S, Horace ND and located in the Upstream Mitigation Area.  It was previously determined the existing substation would be impacted by the FM Diversion Project and therefore a new substation was constructed.

c. Task Order 49 – Amendment 0 – WP38C – OINs 1412, 1485 & 1486 – Property Structure Mitigation LinnCo, Inc. – $271,397

Perform property mitigation services.

d. Services Agreement, Amendment 0 – Hickson Gauging Station – United States Geological Survey –  $34,760

Set up a new gauging station on CR 16 that will eventually replace the current gauge at Hickson, ND.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Kapitan moved to approve contracting actions 7. a., b., c., & d., as presented and Mr. Grindberg seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

8. OTHER BUSINESS

a. MFDA 2025 Financial Statement Audit

Mr. Pappenfuss provided an overview of the 2025 financial audit that was conducted by Eide Bailly. He reported that it was a clean opinion and there were no major issues or infractions noted.

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Boschee moved to receive and file the 2025 MFDA financial audit as presented and Mr. Kapitan seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion passed.

bi. Resolution Establishing the Crop Loss Reserve Fund Oversight Sub-Committee

Mr. Shockley provided an overview and summary of the Crop Loss Program and the Resolution to establish a Crop Loss Fund Reserve oversight sub-committee.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Grindberg moved to recommend approval of the Resolution as presented and Mayor Boschee seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

bii. Resolution Authorizing the Executive Director of the MFDA to Issue and RFQ for an Investment Manager of the Crop Loss Reserve Fund

Mr. Shockley provided an overview and summary of the Resolution authorizing the Executive Director to issue an RFQ for the financial manager of the Crop Loss Program Reserve Fund.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Kapitan moved to recommend approval of the Resolution as presented and Ms. Thompson seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

 c. WIFIA Update

Mr. Shockley reported that the next draw is anticipated to be received by the end of the month in the amount of $105,600,000. He also reported, for the new members, that the loan is a 40-year term with a 2.008% interest rate on the $569,000,000 loan amount.

9. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on August 26, 2026.

10. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 4:28 PM.