GRAND FORKS LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Thursday, September 10, 2015 City Hall, Council Chambers

Present: Bret Weber, Ken Vein, Dana Sande, Todd Feland, Pete Haga, Maureen Storstad, Candi Stjern, Becky Ault, Deb Swanson, Paul Houdek, Tami Lazur, Al Grasser, Mark Nelson, Mary Jo Crystal. Community Partners: Barry Wilfahrt, The Chamber; Peter Johnson and Susan Walton, University of North Dakota; Keith Lund, GF Region EDC; Tom Ford, BRIC Coordinator; Blake Crosby, ND League of Cities. Legislators: Dist. 17 - Senator Ray Holmberg,Representatives Mark Owens and Mark Sanford; Dist. 19 – Representative ; Dist. 42 – Senator Mac Schneider, Representatives and Kylie Oversen; Dist. 43 – Representatives Rich Becker and Lois Delmore

Council President Sande welcomed everyone and expressed thanks to the legislators for the support that Grand Forks received from the State in the last legislative session, which was due to hardwork of legislators and community partners, many of which are present today.

Chair Weber shared the priority city project list which the City will be looking for support as we prepare for the next legislative session. The projects are – Water Treatment Plant, Red River Valley Water Supply Project, Northern Plains Nitrogen, Transportation/Infrastructure Projects & Funding, Public Safety Center – Oil by Rail Derailment Training Site. Committee members proceeded with brief updates on each of the priorities.

City Project Updates - Water Treatment Plant – The project timeline was reviewed along with the funding structure for the project. Legislators were thanked for their work which resulted in securing State participation for funding of this project. SB2020 provided for $30 million in support for the 2015-2017 biennium for this project which will be matched with $30 million of local support. Also included in this bill was a statement of intent to provide a 50% total cost share on the project, with an anticipated State contribution of an additional $30 million in the next session. Design work on the project is slated to be completed in mid-2016 with constructions beginning later that year and completed in 2019.

Red River Valley Water Supply Project – The project timeline and funding structure for the project were reviewed. This project is currently still in the planning phase but will be a significant project for the region.

Northern Plains Nitrogen – Feland reported that all permitting has been secured for this project, including FAA approval as to potential impacts for airport traffic. This is a large project for the region and will bring jobs and growth to the area first for the construction and then for operation of the plant. There will be infrastructure needs in this area due to the impact of the plant including an estimated $22 million in road improvements in the area and may look to State partnerships to meet some of those needs.

Transportation/Infrastructure Projects & Funding – Cities used to receive funding for major road projects from federal programs but funding for those has been cut in recent years, which has resulted in a gap in maintenance for existing roads in the community and installation of new roads for communities. Feland reviewed examples of needs that cannot currently be met with existing funding structure. The ND League of Cities has become a partner with cities across the state in looking at this issue and try to come up with a solution. The hope is that a proposal could be brought to the State which would provide a way to fund these larger scale projects with 40% local and 60% state funding. Examples of some projects are a grade separation on N 42nd St and a 47th Ave S interchange. Crosby explained that one part of this planning includes hiring Great Plains to complete a transportation study of city roads and needs, similar to what they did for county roads last year so that some good comparative need information is available for legislators. The City has been preparing for use of the new low interest loan program which was approved this session once it is set up.

The group discussed that locally the City Council is hearing the legislatures direction to keep property taxes down and has kept to no mill increases by the State’s definition, working to lessen special assessments, utilize part of the existing sales tax for infrastructure, and keep utility rates as low as possible for residents. There are still growing needs and we need to find a way to meet those. At this time the City is considering pursuing a sales tax which would be dedicated to infrastructure (water and transportation projects), which could be used as the local match for requesting state funds for some of these larger projects. This would mirror the efforts made by other larger cities in the state and which seem to give them an advantage when competing for state participation dollars. Storstad reviewed the revenue stream potential for sales tax and comparative data for other cities. Consensus of legislators was that if a City has an established source for the local share it can help their application be viewed more favorably at the State level.

Public Safety Center and State Radio – The City is currently pursuing a $1.9 million Federal Homeland Security grant for location of a new training center which would be adjacent to the current training facility and which would focus on oil train derailment response training. This would be a partnership with the ND Department of Emergency Services and SERTC, which currently has the only facility of this type in the US, located in Pueblo, CO. We appreciate having support from the State to located this type of facility in Grand Forks and believe this will be an asset to our community and region.

Ault provided information related to the development of a state-wide radio network approved to be funded through the ITD and that she serves on the subcommittee for this program, which will make communication between emergency services more effective.

Team Grand Forks Updates / Discussion – High Ed – Johnson distributed a brochure highlighting accomplishments and facility improvements and additions on the University of North Dakota campus. In total there are approximately $ ¼ billion in facility improvements in progress or recently completed on campus which will be featured this fall. They expressed appreciation to the legislators for their assistance in securing funding for the campus.

Grand Sky & UAS – Expressed appreciation for $13.5 million received thus far for the project. Announced that the groundbreaking had been held that morning on the park and anticipate groundbreaking for first tenant Northrup Grumman to be held in October. Negotiations are nearing conclusion with the next tenant and an announcement should be coming soon. This project will be a tremendous asset to the region. The opportunity to work closely with the legislature and deepen relationships with the Governor as this project has developed were greatly appreciated.

Economic Development, Valley Prosperity Partnership / Workforce – While oil prices and Canadian traffic have shown trends downward, the investment in other areas has set North Dakota up to continue to grow and strengthen. Examples of diversification steps are the utilization of internship programs to keep talented future leaders in the State, hosting of a diversification summit, establishment of the Legacy Fund, and the focus on the importance of research universities and the impact they have on our State. Valley Prosperity Partnership continues to promote collaboration in the region to strengthen it.

Interim Committees and Legislator Updates :

The City would like to continue the collaborative approach of engaging with the legislature during the interim which was very successful for the last session and welcomed input from legislators.

Economic Impact Committee - Planning to come to Grand Forks, Oct. 2015 timeframe. More information to come.

Higher Education Committee - Have committed to a meeting here in Grand Forks, August 2016, perhaps at new Medical School Building which is scheduled for opening at that time.

Human Services – Looking at May 2016 meeting.

Water Topics Overview Committee - Have set meeting slate and does not include Grand Forks. Focus is on smaller communities – Devils Lake, Williston, Velva/Minot. Grand Forks has been offered a chance to appear as a designated agenda item for the Nov 4 meeting, which is a joint meeting with Governor and Water Commission.

Other Comments –

Becker – Need to work on the job market in Grand Forks. Fargo and Bismarck both lead Grand Forks for average salary. Need to explore steps to take to encourage jobs in the community that will grow that number as well as the number of positions available.

Oversen – With the State assuming Social Service programs that have been run by the County in the past, should review the effect on local communities of the change and any impacts that should be addressed.

Adjourned 1:40 p.m.

Sherie Lundmark Asst. City Clerk