Planning Committee Meeting – December 3, 2024

See full minutes.

A meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Planning Committee was held on December 9, 2024. The following members were present: Dr. Tim Mahoney, Mayor, City of Fargo;

Shelly Carlson, Mayor, City of Moorhead; Rick Steen, Cass County Joint Water Resource District and Tony Grindberg, Cass County Commissioner.

Member(s) absent: Bernie Dardis, Mayor, City of West Fargo and Kevin Campbell, Clay County Commissioner.

1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Carlson called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

2. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 5, 2024 MINUTES

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Mahoney moved to approve the minutes from the November 5, 2024 meeting and Mr. Steen 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 Mr. Steen seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

4. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HIRING UPDATE

Mr. Wilson reported that Cass County has received the executed contract from Mr. Benson, and he has submitted his resignation to the Cass County Highway Department. His start date is February 1, 2025.

5. MFDA AWARD SOLICITATION POLICY

Mr. Wilson introduced the proposed solicitation policy and stated that the cost of the application(s) need to be transparent and approved by the board chair if the application fee is in excess of $200. The policy also prohibits the use of contracted consultant(s) to prepare or review award application material.

MOTION PASSED

Mr. Steen moved to approve the award solicitation policy as presented and Mr. Grindberg seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

6. MFDA SPONSORSHIP POLICY

Mr. Wilson introduced the proposed sponsorship policy. The intent of the policy is to provide awareness of expenditures related to sponsorship activities. The current draft policy requires board chair approval to enter into a sponsorship agreement in excess of $200. Potential sponsorship activities would likely be limited to support a conference or industry gathering.

MOTION PASSED

Mayor Mahoney moved to approve the sponsorship policy and Mr. Grindberg seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

7. 2025 CONSULTANT SERVICES RATES

At year-end, consultants typically reach out to discuss rate increases. Currently, there is no procedure or protocols for rate adjustments.

Mr. Grindberg requested that this topic go to the finance committee for discussion and determination and then to the board for approval. Mr. Grindberg also requested a listing of the consultant COLAs for the last three to five years as well as the contract expiration dates.

8. GA GROUP CONTRACT

There was dialogue around engaging the GA Group for the upcoming legislative session and re-evaluating their agreement after the session wraps up. It was advised to move this to the December finance committee for further discussion.

9. CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATES

Mr. Redlinger reported that the MRA annual membership has been approved and they will be moving forward with utilizing them to create model human resources policies. Mr. Redlinger, Ms. Peters, and Mr. Wilson will be meeting with MRA to get a pulse on where they are with the MFDA salary survey.

Mr. Wilson reported that Mr. Grindberg will be remote for the December finance and board meetings.

10. OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business to discuss.

11. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be January 7, 2025.

12. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 1:56 PM.