Public Outreach Committee – Meeting Minutes from May 27, 2020

Diversion Authority Public Outreach Committee

Meeting Minutes from May 27, 2020

PDF of Public Outreach Meeting Minutes from May 27, 2020

Diversion Authority Public Outreach Committee

Meeting Minutes
2:00 P.M. – Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Virtual Meeting
Fargo, North Dakota

The Diversion Authority Public Outreach Committee met virtually on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. The following committee members were present: Rodger Olson, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Kevin Campbell, Clay County Commissioner; Mike Thorstad, West Fargo City Commissioner; Jake Gust, Cass County Joint Water Resource District; Shelly Carlson, Moorhead City Council Member; John Strand, Fargo City Commissioner; Katie Mastel, Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chambers and Ken Pawluk, Cass County Commissioner.

The following committee member was absent: Rick Steen, Cass County Commissioner.

Others present: Joel Paulsen, FMDA Executive Director; Tammy Jo Taft and Rocky Schneider Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. and Terry Williams, USACE.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Olson at 2:03 p.m.

Approval of minutes
Mr. Gust made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from April 22, 2020 and Mr. Campbell seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Water Topics Overview Committee
The WTOC Committee will hold a virtual meeting on June 4, 2020. Dr. Tim Mahoney and Mr. Paulsen will be presenting regarding funding for the FM Area Diversion Project, land acquisitions, audits related to the Project, P3 and federal funding.

Legislative Communication
Executive Director Paulsen sent a letter to all legislators highlighting the Project milestones, successes and how COVID-19 has impacted the Project.

Mitigation Plan Summary
We have been working with the NDOSE for approval of the Property Rights and Acquisition Plan. The plan included detailed plans and processes for acquiring property rights as well as mitigating and the impacts to residential and commercial properties. It is anticipated that it will be approved relatively soon.

CLOMR Update
Approximately 625 properties and over 400 property owners will be impacted. The CLOMR outlines how the Project will meet the NFIP requirements and how it will result in future changes to the flood maps for the area. Approval of the CLOMR results in the finalization of the hydraulic model for mitigation purposes and will be used to define how property is or is not impacted.

Communications Plan Update and Schedule
Work continues on the communications plan and its content. A presentation regarding the specific content and targets will be discussed at the next meeting.

Analytics
Recently, the website has been seeing a lot of traffic. There has been longer viewing times and a significant increase in watch time since the documentary.

April Analytics
Web Map

  • – 186 items viewed in April
  • – 6.41 average items viewed per day

    • Website FMDiversion.gov

  • – 2,533 sessions from 1,322 visitors
  • – Average time on the site = 2:01 minutes
  • – 5,668 page views

    • YouTube

  • – 5,256 minutes of watch time
  • – 9,536 impressions with 486 views
  • – Almost 2,000 more Impressions than March

    • Twitter

  • – 2 tweets with 3,442 impressions
  • – 1 mention and 47 profile visits

    • Construction Video Updates
    The group viewed two short videos narrated by Ms. Williams. The first was the Diversion Inlet & Control Structure just south of Horace. The second was the Wild Rice River Control Structure. The videos and the anticipated completion timelines can be found on FMDiversion.gov.

    Election Update
    Executive Director Paulsen has been meeting with candidates and disseminating information on the Project. His meetings have been welcomed and well received.

    Adjournment
    Mr. Campbell made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Ms. Carlson seconded the motion. Motion carried.

    The meeting adjourned at 2:31 p.m.

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