[0:00] being a few minutes late. Um we're

[0:02] usually kind of fairly prompt, but

[0:04] sometimes things take a little longer

[0:06] than expected. So, it's October the 5th.

[0:09] It's Fergus Falls City Council, and the

[0:11] first item on the agenda is the

[0:12] invocation by Nick Preston of Life

[0:15] Church, followed by the pledge of

[0:17] allegiance, if you'd care to rise.

[0:21] All right, let's pray.

[0:24] [clears throat]

[0:26] Heavenly Father, thank you so much for

[0:27] this beautiful day and thank you for the

[0:30] change of seasons. Lord, I thank you for

[0:34] uh and we just acknowledge you as

[0:36] creator of all things and we praise your

[0:38] name this evening. Thank you for your

[0:40] mercy, Lord, and your kindness to us.

[0:42] Thank you for your love, Lord. I thank

[0:44] you for each one of the city council

[0:45] members and the mayor, Lord. I thank you

[0:47] for the work that they do for this city.

[0:49] And I ask Lord God for your blessing on

[0:51] their life and their family Lord and

[0:53] just all the burdens and concerns that

[0:54] each of them carry individually. Uh we

[0:57] lift them to you this evening. Comfort

[0:58] them, strengthen them. Thank you, Lord,

[1:00] for the city staff, every aspect of

[1:02] their jobs that they do behind the

[1:04] scenes for Fergus Falls uh to keep this

[1:06] uh to be a wonderful place, Lord, to

[1:08] live. I just thank you for Fergus Falls

[1:09] and all that they do for this city.

[1:12] Thank you, Lord, for our police

[1:13] department, the fire department. I ask

[1:15] that you give them uh strength,

[1:17] discernment, and wisdom as they protect

[1:19] our city. God, give them the strength

[1:20] that they need to just to carry on and

[1:22] do the work that they do. And Lord, now

[1:24] tonight we ask for your wisdom, your

[1:26] guidance in this meeting as ideas and

[1:29] decisions or ideas are discussed and

[1:31] decisions are made, Lord, that Fergus

[1:34] would continue to flourish and and

[1:35] prosper in every way. And it's in the

[1:37] name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

[1:39] >> Amen. Amen.

[1:41] >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[1:43] United States of America and to the

[1:46] republic for which it stands. One nation

[1:49] under God, indivisible, liberty and

[1:52] justice for all.

[1:58] » I will call this meeting to order. Roll

[1:59] call, please.

[2:01] >> Here.

[2:04] Here.

[2:06] >> Here.

[2:10] we have a quorum. Um the next item um on

[2:14] the agenda is open for uh time to

[2:16] address items of city business that are

[2:18] not on this evening's agenda. Anybody

[2:20] wishing to do so, please come to the

[2:22] lecton, state your name and the city in

[2:24] which you live.

[2:28] » My name is Lois Sunset. I live in Fergus

[2:30] Falls. Thank you for letting me come

[2:32] here today. I think um Laura Laurel for

[2:34] inviting me. Um, and I just want to say

[2:36] thank you all. If any of you had

[2:38] anything to do with the splash pad or

[2:39] the water park, I always wanted one as a

[2:42] mother. Now, as a grandmother, I'm so

[2:43] thankful that you've done that. I'm here

[2:46] today because on September 1st, my

[2:47] husband and I were walking on our usual

[2:49] constitutional, which we do almost every

[2:51] day on Lincoln heading

[2:54] east. We were on the south side of the

[2:56] road at about where 700 and 800 block

[3:00] come together on the opposite side of

[3:02] where First Avenue is. My husband heard

[3:04] a noise.

[3:05] He looked behind us. I went like this

[3:08] and I got hit by an electric bike. Um,

[3:13] I was knocked over. First thing I I

[3:15] hadn't couldn't even It went so fast.

[3:17] Um, I was knocked over. I had a bruise

[3:20] on my hip, a bruise on my lower left

[3:22] leg, and my head really hurt. I still

[3:25] have uh headaches to this day, which I

[3:28] did not have prior to that. So, I'm just

[3:30] here and I I do appreciate um Mayor

[3:33] Hicks for responding to my email. I

[3:35] emailed on um uh Labor Day and my both

[3:38] of my um council members responded me

[3:41] too. I appreciate that. I just bring

[3:44] this up. You would not believe anytime I

[3:46] talk to this about to anybody, they

[3:49] always have a story, a negative story

[3:51] about an electric bike. just outside

[3:53] while we were waiting for this meeting,

[3:54] Donovan Ragnus said he almost hit

[3:56] somebody on electric bike that was going

[3:57] the wrong way at about 30 miles an hour

[3:59] on the street. So,

[4:02] I'm just here to request that I I know

[4:04] the state is working on it. Uh Mayor

[4:07] Hicks mentioned that the state is um uh

[4:10] Jordan Rasmmanson and um

[4:13] >> other guy. [laughter]

[4:14] >> Yes, thank you.

[4:15] >> Yes. are um going to work on something

[4:18] statewide, but I would just ask you all

[4:21] if there's I don't know why we couldn't

[4:23] do something in our city because it's I

[4:26] mean my life is victed. I could easily

[4:28] have broken a hip if I just I'm a nurse.

[4:31] I see many broken hips. This could

[4:32] easily have ended it in a broken hip,

[4:34] broken pelvis. Um I could have had a

[4:36] concussion. Um could detrimentally

[4:39] affected my life and it was bad enough

[4:42] as it was. So, uh,

[4:45] we don't understand why any motor

[4:47] vehicles should be on a sidewalk. I

[4:48] understand there's like as we're

[4:51] walking, you know, we walk on paved

[4:53] paths, which I suppose it's hard to

[4:54] define as sidewalks maybe, but we were

[4:57] on a sidewalk, Lincoln Avenue.

[5:00] And this So, I got up. I reprimanded the

[5:04] kid. He was maybe 20. I don't know how

[5:06] old it was. You should not have that on

[5:08] the sidewalk. I think I said that twice.

[5:10] He was very nice. Are you okay? He said,

[5:12] "Are you okay?" He was holding his head

[5:13] cuz he was not wearing a helmet.

[5:16] And

[5:18] then we continued to walk downtown and

[5:20] at about US Bank, I saw the same young

[5:23] man going the other direction on the

[5:25] sidewalk on the other side of the

[5:26] street. We estimated he was going about

[5:29] as fast as the cars. So then I was mad.

[5:33] >> And then I stopped at the police station

[5:34] on the way home and and filed a report.

[5:37] Yeah. So, I just ask that you would

[5:40] consider doing something citywide to

[5:44] keep motor vehicles off the sidewalk.

[5:47] I really have mixed feelings about

[5:48] scooters because those are kids,

[5:53] but they're an accident waiting to

[5:54] happen, too. You can just see that. But

[5:56] anyway, electric bikes do not belong on

[5:59] sidewalks. Thank you.

[6:02] >> Thank you.

[6:04] Anybody else?

[6:08] I just want to see if I can make a

[6:11] proposal.

[6:12] >> If you care to state your name and the

[6:14] city in which you live.

[6:16] >> Yeah. Lewis Schwarz of Fergus Falls.

[6:20] » I've been a town resident for for years.

[6:25] And I wonder if it's a possible

[6:28] I suppose it's I don't know if it's

[6:32] I know this is not like Fargo or uh

[6:35] Rochester, but it's possible to have a

[6:37] something like a civic center or some

[6:40] that type of thing or

[6:48] » um we have uh the next best thing we

[6:51] have the Big Wood Event Center.

[6:52] >> Big Event Center. I wonder can that be

[6:54] expanded or anything to hold bigger

[6:57] events and stuff or is that

[7:01] >> it it depends. It's it depends how big

[7:03] an event you would like

[7:09] you know like the bigger band concerts

[7:12] and stuff like that or is that uh

[7:16] I think it would be difficult at this

[7:17] time. I mean that's why the center for

[7:19] the arts does the outdoor concerts

[7:22] because those obviously can attract you

[7:24] know500 plus people.

[7:26] >> Yeah.

[7:26] >> As opposed to you know um any any

[7:29] expansion of the big would be a

[7:31] significant financial

[7:33] um input from the city residents.

[7:38] So but we hear you. So

[7:40] >> yeah that'll be something like I suppose

[7:42] a tax or something like that.

[7:44] >> It would increase your property tax.

[7:46] Yes.

[7:47] Yeah. So, thank you.

[7:52] » I was just thinking, you know, that

[7:53] would create like, you know, jobs for

[7:56] the town and things like that and

[8:00] >> Right. Well, you if you stick around and wait um a few a little while, you'll

[8:06] hear about what we're doing on job

[8:07] creation.

[8:08] >> Okay.

[8:09] >> Thank you, sir.

[8:10] >> Thank you.

[8:11] >> Yep.

[8:15] » Right. Anyone else? If not, the next

[8:19] item is the approval of this evening's

[8:21] agenda. We have two items. Um, under

[8:25] consent agenda, item number six, a

[8:27] motion directing the city attorney to

[8:29] draft an ordinance reszoning

[8:31] 119 Vernon Avenue West in 114 Alcott

[8:36] Avenue West from R2 to B3 district. Um,

[8:39] council member Job has has requested

[8:41] that be um, a separate item due to

[8:44] conflict of interest. And the other item

[8:47] is the removal of F4, the visit Fergus

[8:51] Falls agreement. Um, we're going back to

[8:55] the their board and looking to realign

[8:57] the contract, the um, job description as

[9:01] well as the proposed business plan with

[9:05] that. Would somebody care to make um a

[9:09] motion to approve the agenda?

[9:12] >> Move.

[9:13] >> Thank you, Scott.

[9:14] >> Second.

[9:14] >> Thank you, Laurel.

[9:17] >> All those in favor say I.

[9:19] >> I.

[9:20] >> All those against same sign hearing

[9:22] none. Uh the motion is approved. The

[9:25] next item is public hearings of which

[9:26] there are none. The next item is

[9:29] awarding of bids. A resolution awarding the bid for the city

[9:34] hall city hall Koopa project to Sty

[9:38] Styhin LLC in the amount of $195,09

[9:45] and I believe that will be Guy Taylor.

[9:50] Thank you your honor. That is pronounced

[9:53] Strin Strin LLC. So, the recommendation

[9:57] tonight is to award the Cupula

[9:59] Reconstruction and Bell Reinstallation

[10:01] to Strin LLC uh contractor from

[10:05] Glennwood, Minnesota in the amount of

[10:07] $195,09.

[10:10] The council authorized bids to be

[10:12] advertised on August 3rd. Bids were

[10:14] placed in the daily journal, on the city

[10:16] website, and on Quest. Uh personal

[10:19] contacts with local contracts

[10:21] contractors were also made to encourage

[10:23] them to bid. uh six contractors attended

[10:26] a pre-bid meeting on September 15th. Of

[10:29] those six, three contractors submitted a

[10:31] bid. Bids opened on September 29th at 2

[10:35] p.m. Uh the three contractors that did

[10:39] submit bids were Comtock Construction,

[10:41] Gas Construction, and Strin.

[10:44] The architect has vetted the contractor

[10:47] and has determined that Strin LLC has

[10:49] sufficient knowledge of the project and

[10:51] equipment to perform the work.

[10:54] if awarded tonight, uh, will

[10:57] start as soon as he is able to procure

[11:00] materials with a completion date of no

[11:03] later than March 31st, 2027. If weather

[11:06] permits, um, the work will be done

[11:08] sooner.

[11:11] >> Would somebody care to make that

[11:12] resolution?

[11:13] >> I'll offer that.

[11:14] >> Thank you, Scott.

[11:15] >> I'll second that.

[11:15] >> Thank you, Laurel. Any questions of Guy?

[11:19] Is that going to have to be covered when

[11:21] they're working on that to try to keep

[11:23] some heat in there as far as sealing

[11:24] anything with any type of uh like

[11:28] compounds or anything like that?

[11:30] >> The current situation up there is it's

[11:33] sealed and so um the only time it'll be

[11:36] uncovered is when the coupa is

[11:38] reinstalled and that'll be built off

[11:39] site.

[11:40] >> All right,

[11:43] Mr. Taylor, I I probably remember. Are

[11:45] we close to the budget that we had on

[11:47] this was 150 to 200 or what was it?

[11:49] >> Yeah, the estimate from the architect

[11:52] was 150 to 210. Okay. And so we are

[11:55] right in there and we do have sufficient

[11:57] funds in the general government

[11:58] buildings budget to cover.

[12:00] >> Good. I uh I apologize if this was in

[12:02] the packet. I didn't see it, but

[12:03] somebody asked me the other night. They

[12:05] said, you know, 200 grand that's like

[12:06] the price of a small house. Uh where is

[12:09] the cost in this? Is it in the in the

[12:11] height to get it up there? the crane

[12:13] work or where I didn't see a breakdown

[12:15] of what it really was, but where does

[12:17] the cost come to to get us to 200,000

[12:19] for that?

[12:19] >> I can send that to you if you'd like,

[12:21] but it's the complexity of it. It's the

[12:24] materials. They're not common materials.

[12:27] Some of them are because a lot of it's

[12:28] just lumber, but it's the finish work,

[12:31] the the dome reconstruction. It's a lot

[12:34] of odd type work that isn't common.

[12:37] >> Sounds good,

[12:40] Scott.

[12:41] uh recent conversations and in

[12:43] particular the comments and questions

[12:44] that came up at the candidate forums uh

[12:47] had to do with local suppliers having a

[12:49] shot at the u local projects and in this

[12:53] case he's an out of town contractor

[12:55] which is fine but to the degree that we

[12:57] can encourage strand to use local

[12:59] suppliers uh that would be really

[13:01] terrific we can encourage them that way

[13:05] >> I think obviously it would be fair to

[13:07] say that a local contractor did bid in

[13:09] comtock

[13:10] So,

[13:11] >> and there were other contacts made. One

[13:13] was seriously thinking of submitting

[13:16] [clears throat] a bid and

[13:18] other projects kept him from being able

[13:20] to get everything put together.

[13:23] >> Thank you. Any other questions? Laurel,

[13:26] >> what's the timeline for completion?

[13:28] >> March 31st would be the

[13:29] >> That's the deadline. I saw

[13:30] >> the deadline. Yeah, we're hoping it'll

[13:32] be done sooner. Okay.

[13:33] >> I'm hoping by Christmas so we can get

[13:34] our lights strong.

[13:38] >> That roll call, please.

[13:40] Yes.

[13:41] >> Yes.

[13:43] [clears throat]

[13:44] >> Yes.

[13:49] >> The resolution is approved. The next

[13:51] item under petitions and communication

[13:53] is economic development update from

[13:55] James who has been with the city more or

[13:58] less one year. So, happy birthday.

[14:02] >> Thank you. I appreciate it.

[14:05] >> Well, hey, I just wanted to go through a

[14:06] few stats very quickly. Um so

[14:11] basically we we're about a year into

[14:12] this project. Um initially it was sort

[14:15] of the first couple months were a little

[14:17] slow. We were framing things and we had

[14:18] our our meeting in February. But what I

[14:21] wanted to talk about was uh more or less

[14:23] the transition from strategy and leads

[14:26] into execution. So 2026 was about

[14:31] developing continuing the pipeline. 2027

[14:34] is going to be about executing. Um I

[14:36] would also like to highlight that each

[14:38] and every one of you have been part of

[14:39] this in one way or another whether it's

[14:41] housing projects whether it's retail

[14:43] logistics manufacturing uh whether you

[14:46] know it's city staff and each council

[14:48] member has been part of this particular

[14:50] journey uh given where your interests

[14:52] are more or less. Um, so here we are.

[14:55] Um, active capital, none of this

[14:57] includes like the construction jobs

[14:59] that'll come, but generically speaking,

[15:01] I I think the sweet spot's probably

[15:03] about 130 million plus or minus 15 to 20

[15:06] million. So, you're probably going,

[15:07] "Wow, that's a lot of money. Where's it

[15:08] coming from? What What is it?" Um, of

[15:11] that, roughly a third of it is going to

[15:13] be in the form of housing. Uh, we're

[15:15] currently discussing six projects that

[15:17] are pretty serious at this point. Uh in

[15:20] addition to that, uh we have a fairly

[15:22] large logistics project that'll be

[15:24] coming on hopefully line here very soon.

[15:26] Um that's probably the lion share of the

[15:28] capex or capital expenditures that are

[15:30] not housing related here. Then you've

[15:32] got uh existing expansions plus a a

[15:35] pretty decent size expansion that we're

[15:37] looking at uh in addition to retail that

[15:39] we've talked about over the last couple

[15:41] of months. So when you collectively look

[15:42] at it um about a third a third a third

[15:46] as far as the direct jobs in the

[15:47] pipeline u again 60% of those jobs are

[15:51] one project and the project itself has

[15:54] already achieved its final investment

[15:56] decision. So it's not like it has to go

[15:58] through a corporate board or anything

[15:59] like that. It's now gone through due

[16:00] diligence and the process is underway.

[16:04] In addition to that um you know about

[16:06] half of the remaining jobs come in the

[16:07] form of retail which have a 2 to1 ratio

[16:10] of part-time to full-time and then 100

[16:13] permanent uh light manufacturing jobs uh

[16:16] that are either well actually we uh we

[16:18] saw our first 10 advertised here last

[16:20] week I believe uh here in Fergus Falls.

[16:23] Uh next slide.

[16:26] Oh and then of those housing units um a

[16:28] vast majority are multifamily. So, of

[16:31] the 200 or so that are currently under

[16:33] discussion and pretty we're getting into

[16:35] the planning process, um roughly

[16:39] twothirds to 70% of them are are multif

[16:42] family. Then you've got a smattering of

[16:45] um twin homes and single families. From

[16:47] there, as I mentioned, um about 37

[16:50] million in identified manufacturing

[16:52] investments and the lion share obviously

[16:54] being that larger logistics project. Uh,

[16:57] and then we've got two, not one, but two

[16:59] pretty significant retail um projects

[17:02] underway. I should call it two and a

[17:04] half actually because there's kind of a small one that we're doing as well

[17:08] that's uh that's going to be pretty decent for the community. Uh and

[17:11] then in addition to this over the first

[17:13] year we worked a lot of retention

[17:15] actually in this room held a lot of

[17:17] workshops worked with a lot of small

[17:18] companies and since you've given the

[17:21] some money they've increased their

[17:23] presence here and we're consistently

[17:25] referring some of the smaller companies

[17:27] uh to that particular service. And

[17:29] lastly um you know we still continue to

[17:33] target roughly 20 companies a month. Uh

[17:36] that's a combination of community uh

[17:38] companies that are already here. What do

[17:39] you need? how can we help? As well as a

[17:42] pretty aggressive outreach. Again, uh

[17:43] I'm not the cold caller of the group.

[17:45] The cold caller knows who they are. Uh

[17:47] and there's somebody that's really

[17:49] aggressive uh that we give leads to and

[17:51] they go out there and find the leads and

[17:53] then they come back and we start working

[17:55] projects. And um a really decent litmus

[17:59] test here is, you know, we've got 18

[18:02] active projects, but now eight are

[18:04] fairly advanced. And so I'm starting to

[18:06] work with the team here on how do we

[18:08] manage all of these projects at the same

[18:09] time to ensure that the developers, the

[18:12] owners, the investors, and everybody

[18:14] gets what they need uh so that nothing

[18:16] kind of falls through. So I would like

[18:18] to thank you again for all of your help.

[18:20] As I said, each and every one of you are

[18:22] playing a part and I will turn it back

[18:23] to you, your honor.

[18:25] >> Thank you. Any questions of James is up

[18:28] on the floor.

[18:31] >> Thank you very much.

[18:32] >> Yeah, you bet.

[18:34] With that, we will move on. The next

[18:36] item on the agenda is the consent

[18:38] agenda. Um, item one is a motion

[18:41] approving the minutes from the September

[18:43] 21st, 2026 city council meeting and the

[18:46] September 30th, 2026 committee of the

[18:48] whole. A motion approving licenses. A

[18:51] resolution certifying election judge

[18:53] election judges for November 3rd general

[18:55] election. A resolution amending the

[18:58] Houston engineering contract for acetone

[19:00] response actions to the MPCA.

[19:03] A resolution authorizing the mayor and

[19:05] city administrator to sign an acceptance

[19:07] letter for a state airport grant from

[19:10] MIDOT. A resolution approving a

[19:12] conditional use permit for a pylon sign

[19:15] in the B2 service business district at

[19:18] 1701 Lincoln Avenue. That's the new Le

[19:21] Schwabs building. A resolution approving

[19:24] the purchase of bodywn cameras for the

[19:25] Fergus Falls Police Department. a

[19:28] resolution accepting a donation from

[19:30] Artell Power Company Foundation to the

[19:32] fire department in the amount of $3,910

[19:36] and adjusting the 2026 Fire Department

[19:38] budget as such. Would somebody care to

[19:41] make that resolution?

[19:44] >> Thank you, Laura. Would somebody care to

[19:47] second it?

[19:47] >> I'll second.

[19:48] >> Thank you, Jim.

[19:50] Roll call, please.

[19:52] >> Yes.

[19:54] >> Fish.

[19:55] >> Yes.

[20:01] >> The resolution is approved. The item um

[20:06] remaining is a motion directing the city

[20:08] attorney to draft an ordinance reszoning

[20:11] 119 Vernon Avenue West and 114 Elcott

[20:15] Avenue West from a R2 to a B3 district.

[20:20] This was discussed earlier. Um, and uh,

[20:24] I don't know if council need anything

[20:26] more on it. Um, if so, um, I'm sure

[20:29] Clara would be more than willing to

[20:30] answer any questions. If not, would

[20:33] somebody care to make the motion?

[20:35] >> I'll offer.

[20:36] >> Thank you, Scott.

[20:38] >> I'll second.

[20:39] >> Thank you, Scott.

[20:43] If there's no questions, then all those

[20:45] in favor say I.

[20:46] >> I. I.

[20:47] >> All those against, same sign.

[20:49] >> Abstain. Miss Miss Job as abstained. The

[20:52] motion is approved. The next item on the

[20:56] agenda is under ordinance and

[20:58] resolutions. The first reading of

[21:00] ordinance 81 8 series battery energy

[21:04] storage. And we just need somebody to

[21:07] make that uh make that introduce it. So

[21:11] >> thank you Scott.

[21:13] It will come back obviously for a second

[21:15] reading.

[21:17] The second item is a second reading of

[21:19] ordinance 82 8 series reszone 301 North

[21:24] Union Avenue from R4 to B3.

[21:27] Um, this would require a roll call.

[21:31] >> Rachel,

[21:31] >> yes.

[21:40] >> The ordinance is approved. Um the next

[21:45] item is a second reading of ordinance 83

[21:49] 8 series reszoning portions of the lake

[21:51] region healthcare campus from R2 to B3

[21:56] and this again if there are no questions

[21:58] will be a roll call. Rachel,

[22:01] >> yes.

[22:02] >> Fish,

[22:03] >> yes.

[22:03] >> Joel,

[22:04] >> abstain.

[22:07] >> Yes.

[22:10] >> Morton,

[22:10] >> yes.

[22:12] The ordinance is approved.

[22:16] The next item is a resolution

[22:18] authorizing staff to sign a grant

[22:20] contract from Shipo for $26,653

[22:26] with an inind match of $7,96096

[22:31] to support public education outreach and

[22:34] preparation for a potential Fergus Falls

[22:36] commercial historic district. And I will

[22:39] call upon Clara Beck.

[22:45] Thank you, mayor. Um, we were very

[22:47] pleased to get notification from the

[22:49] state historic preservation office that

[22:50] the grant that we applied for um back I

[22:54] think it was at the end of 2025 has been

[22:56] federally funded and we are able to

[22:59] start our activities. As a reminder,

[23:02] what we would be doing with this grant

[23:04] is um writing an application for a

[23:09] downtown commercial historic district.

[23:12] not sending but just writing it at this

[23:14] point and then doing outreach to

[23:16] downtown business owners and building

[23:18] owners to talk to them about the

[23:20] potential um pluses and minuses of a

[23:22] historic district uh and then getting

[23:24] the word out about what it could look

[23:26] like in Fergus Falls to have a downtown

[23:28] historic district. So we are very lucky

[23:30] to have the uh money available from the

[23:33] state historic preservation office to do

[23:35] this without any cash outlay from the

[23:37] city. We will have um staff time and

[23:40] historical society staff time that will

[23:41] go into it to help with the work um that

[23:44] makes up for the inkind match. Uh but

[23:47] just looking for um [clears throat]

[23:48] authorization for Andrew to sign those

[23:50] grant documents so that we can then go

[23:52] out for bids for the work to be done.

[23:55] >> Thank you. Would somebody care to make

[23:57] the resolution?

[24:00] >> I'll offer that.

[24:01] >> Thank you, Scott. Would somebody care to

[24:03] second it?

[24:04] >> Second.

[24:05] >> Thank you, Al. Any questions of Clara?

[24:10] >> Your honor, what do the funds go for

[24:12] again? Would you clarify?

[24:14] >> It is. So, we had a historic study done.

[24:18] It would be taking the information from

[24:20] that study and writing it into an

[24:22] application for a historic district that

[24:26] would then go on to the National Park

[24:28] Service.

[24:29] >> So, the study's been done.

[24:32] >> Study was done. Mhm. So the 26,000

[24:35] funds the grant writing

[24:37] >> funds further research into crafting

[24:40] that narrative. Yes.

[24:43] >> Thank you.

[24:44] >> Mhm.

[24:46] >> Laura,

[24:47] >> how you said there are there are pluses

[24:49] and minuses which I'm aware of. Most

[24:50] people maybe are or are not. I don't

[24:52] know. When does it come back for

[24:54] discussion like to this body or is there

[24:56] public meetings? Because there are there

[24:58] are negatives along with the pluses to

[25:00] this.

[25:00] >> Yep. any um any historic district runs

[25:03] first through the um HPC which then goes

[25:07] to the planning commission and then

[25:08] ultimately ends up with the city

[25:09] council. So it can be heard in several

[25:12] different locations um and we can host

[25:15] public hearings at as many of those

[25:17] meetings as we'd like.

[25:18] >> Yeah. I just think it's really important

[25:19] that those business owners and building

[25:21] owners are very involved in this so

[25:23] they're making educated feedback or

[25:25] giving educated feedback. And we would

[25:27] like to at at the end of this, so we

[25:29] wrote into the grant um printed

[25:31] materials so that we can have we can

[25:34] have some of those pluses, minuses, all

[25:36] that. We we want to be able to give the

[25:37] business owners a packet and say this is

[25:39] what you are or are not agreeing to so

[25:41] they have all of the information

[25:42] available to them.

[25:47] » Then roll call, please.

[25:49] >> Yes.

[25:58] >> Mortonson.

[25:59] >> Yes.

[26:00] >> The resolution is approved. The next

[26:02] item on the agenda is a resolution

[26:04] authorizing David Drone and Associates

[26:06] to proceed with financial analysis of a

[26:09] 15-year property tax abatement request

[26:12] for the Channing Child Care Village,

[26:15] which would be the Pioneer Childcare facilities that are

[26:20] being built for

[26:22] >> on second on the Pioneer property,

[26:24] should I say?

[26:25] >> Would somebody care to make that

[26:27] resolution?

[26:28] >> I'll offer that.

[26:29] >> Thank you, Laurel. Would somebody care

[26:30] to second it?

[26:31] >> I can second that.

[26:32] >> Thank you, Laura. Any discussion,

[26:36] >> Mike? Yeah, your honor. I appreciate it.

[26:38] And I appreciate uh someone uh working

[26:41] on the child care issue in our city.

[26:43] That's um I think this has been ongoing

[26:45] for as long as time is. So, I think this

[26:47] is appropriate. The one question I had

[26:49] though is it seemed like Pioneer Care

[26:52] had a percentage of like space saved for

[26:56] employees or something like that. That's

[26:58] there. So, I I want to know what that

[27:01] percentage is. Is it is it 10%, is it

[27:03] 50%, I think that kind of weighs into

[27:06] where you given an abatement. If if it's

[27:08] really high, um then I then I have a

[27:11] little pause with it. Do we know the

[27:12] percentage?

[27:13] >> Um yeah, sort of. So they so the way

[27:17] that it works currently is Pioneer Care

[27:19] has um they have hired a staff member

[27:21] who provides services for their staff,

[27:25] but they also do open that up to the

[27:27] community if they have open positions.

[27:29] So it can shift. Um sometimes it might

[27:32] be all staff members, sometimes they

[27:34] might have families from in the

[27:35] community who are fitting into those

[27:37] slots. The expansion is happening

[27:40] because Pioneer Care has seen such great

[27:43] success with their with their current

[27:45] pod that they're going to open up a

[27:47] second pod. So, the whole build itself

[27:50] is six pods. So, they would have staff

[27:54] in two of them. Um, and then they would

[27:57] have whatever breakdown of slots in

[27:59] there that make sense at that time cuz

[28:02] it does shift fairly frequently who's

[28:05] coming in and out of a of a daycare

[28:06] setting. So they would have two that

[28:09] they have hired themselves and then

[28:10] there is a nonprofit that has been

[28:12] created that will be um hiring and

[28:15] placing other um other providers in the remaining in the remaining pods.

[28:22] >> Yeah. I think the only thing that you

[28:23] know gives me some pause is I want to

[28:25] make sure that the community here since

[28:27] we're we're giving a 15-year tax break

[28:30] to this project that the community has

[28:32] access to this at the highest level that

[28:34] we can. That would be my my only

[28:36] concern. And uh I hope that that's

[28:38] achieved.

[28:40] >> I Yes, I believe it will be. And I I

[28:42] should also say the hope is that um

[28:44] there is a change at the at the state

[28:47] level that means that this abatement

[28:50] these won't this won't have to be a

[28:51] request that's made in the future that

[28:53] these projects that are run by

[28:55] nonprofits are able to remain tax

[28:57] exempt. That's the the ultimate goal I

[28:59] would I would say.

[29:03] Scott,

[29:04] >> I think it would be at least worthwhile

[29:05] to point out that the property has been

[29:07] taxexempt as it was under Pioneers

[29:10] ownership. And so going forward now that

[29:12] it's developed, um it's not like we

[29:15] would be out anything necessarily if it

[29:18] just maintains its tax exempt status.

[29:20] >> Uh what we're out is the potential gain

[29:22] of uh $11,000 a year. Um, but we've

[29:28] talked an awful lot about supporting

[29:29] child care and this is a relatively low

[29:31] investment for what we'd be getting back

[29:34] and I'd support it.

[29:35] >> Thank you.

[29:38] >> Laur,

[29:38] >> I support it as well. But just a quick

[29:40] question. Normally when we do TIFF

[29:41] things, there's a deposit that they pay

[29:43] for the consultant and all of that. Is

[29:44] that still happening or is that city

[29:46] funds doing that?

[29:47] >> Nope. There will be a fund. So, we

[29:49] haven't um I need to get a new

[29:51] application from um Pioneer Care is the

[29:54] one who's writing the application on

[29:56] behalf of the Channing Childcare

[29:57] Village. So, we'll be getting an updated

[30:00] um application from them, which would

[30:01] include the the fee. And then David

[30:04] Drone is able to utilize both their own

[30:08] numbers and then since the county and

[30:09] the school district have also both gone

[30:11] through this process, can kind of also

[30:13] lean on some of that analysis that's

[30:14] already been done, which would shorten

[30:16] their time frame a little bit.

[30:19] Yeah, it would be fair to say that both,

[30:21] as you say, the county and the school

[30:23] district are doing tax abatement

[30:26] >> for this project.

[30:27] >> Yeah.

[30:30] >> Any other questions? If not, roll call,

[30:34] please.

[30:36] >> Yes.

[30:43] >> Mortonson.

[30:44] >> Yes.

[30:45] >> Thank you. the resolution is approved.

[30:48] It would also be uh fair to say that u

[30:51] Dean Monkey is being offered for a

[30:53] prestigious award for raising the money

[30:56] for this project. Um so he will know

[31:00] that early well hopefully the award

[31:03] ceremony was in February. So um you know

[31:07] Pioneer um fundraising board has done a

[31:09] very good job of raising all the money

[31:11] to build this. So, as opposed to, you

[31:14] know, it costing anybody. The next item

[31:17] on the agenda is presentation of claims

[31:19] in the amount of 2,65,843.82.

[31:25] If Jim would care to make that

[31:27] resolution,

[31:28] >> I will offer the resolution to pay the

[31:30] bills.

[31:30] >> Thank you, Jim. Would somebody care to

[31:32] second it?

[31:33] >> I'll second it.

[31:34] >> Thank you, Laurel.

[31:36] If anybody any questions to our finance

[31:39] director? If not, roll call, please.

[31:43] Yes. [laughter]

[31:44] >> Yes.

[31:52] >> The resolution is approved. There is no

[31:54] old business or unfinished business. Um

[31:57] there is no new business. Miscellaneous

[32:00] announcements are October 14 7 a.m.

[32:02] committee of the whole meeting. Uh and

[32:05] October 18, 5:30 p.m. City of Council

[32:09] meeting. And I um I believe there is

[32:12] that that adjournment closed meeting is

[32:14] no longer there. Is it?

[32:17] >> Yeah. I mean the closed meeting relating

[32:20] to uh the Axel Nelson apartments is

[32:23] going to be removed. We have a purchase

[32:25] agreement in hand from the owner that uh

[32:28] HRE is going to be reviewing and

[32:30] hopefully approving soon.

[32:34] » So um so with that uh this meeting is

[32:38] adjourned.

Fergus Falls MN City Council Meeting 10-5-2026

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