MFDA Finance Committee Meeting – October 22, 2025

See full minutes.

A regular meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Finance Committee was held on October 22, 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; Mike Rietz, Assistant City Manager, City of Moorhead; Sarah Heinle, Cass County Finance Director; Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead and Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner.

Member(s) absent: no members were absent.

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 SEPTEMBER 2025 MEETING

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Grindberg to approve the minutes from the September 2025 meeting and Mr. Kapitan seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

3. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Carlson moved to approve the order of the agenda and Mr. Steen seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

4. APPROVAL OF BILLS

Ms. Thompson reported that the bills payable through October 14, 2025, total $4,037,858. The largest bill is payable to Clay County in the amount of $1,894,830, and the second largest at $1,517,469, is payable to the City of Fargo,

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Grindberg moved to approve the bills as presented and Mr. Kapitan seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

5. FINANCIAL REPORT

Ms. Thompson reported the total assets as of September 30, 2025, are $289,280,504; liabilities total $1,881,269, and the total net cash position is $287,399,234.

MOTION PASSED

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

6. CASH BUDGET REPORT

Mr. Benson reported that the budget continues to track well in all areas. He also noted that there have not been any draws on the WIFIA loan to date and the largest line item that has increased is milestone payments to the developer.

7. BUDGET CHANGE REQUEST 023 FROM P3 CONTINGENCY FOR DRAIN TRANSITIONS TO DIVERSION CHANNEL

Mr. Barthel provided the rational for the Budget Change Request to allocate $550,000 of System Wide P3 Contingency to cover costs associated with legal drains outside of the P3 channel transitioning to tie into the P3 channel right of way. The FY 2025 cash budget will increase from $447,555,689 to $ 448,105,689.

The scope of work is a result of impacts to drainage configurations caused by the construction of the Storm Water Diversion Channel and Associated Infrastructure (SWDCAI) project. This work is required to complete legal drainage transition tie-ins that are adjacent to the P3 work but fall outside the Work Limits and the 404 Permit. This work is being done by the local Water Resource Districts in coordination with the P3 Developer and the Diversion Authority.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Grindberg moved to approve the Budget Change Request adding an additional $550,000 to the Cash Budget and Mr. Steen seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the motion carried.

8. DA BOARD APPROVAL CONTRACTING ACTIONS

a. Exclusive Authorization to Sell Agreement – Horace Elevator site – Horizon Real Estate Group – $0

This Agreement is granting the exclusive right to negotiate the sale of the Horace Elevator site located in Cass County, North Dakota. No budget will come from the program or cash budget as this is a commission-based compensation, with 6% commission being split between the buying and selling agent at the time of closing.

b. Master Services Agreement (MSA) – Auditing Services – Eide Bailly, LLP – $0

The Standard terms and conditions governing the delivery of its professional services. Each engagement will be further defined by a corresponding Statement of Work (SOW), which will specify the scope, timeline, and budget applicable to that project.

MOTION PASSED

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

9. OTHER BUSINESS

a. 2026 DRAFT CASH BUDGET VERSION 2

Mr. Barthel presented the DRAFT 2026 cash budget indicating that there were only minor changes made from Version 1.

The HMG amendment has been added under Engineering & Design for the Sheyenne River Mitigation Project and $9,000,000, has been added for the payments due to BNSF to manage and maintain the railroad bridges per the C&M Agreement with BNSF. Additionally, we are tracking land acquisitions very closely. The total FY2026 DRAFT Version 2 is $943,973,903.

10. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on November 19, 2025.

11. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 4:23 PM.