The Devils Lake City Commission met Monday, Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall. The agenda began with the Call to Order, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, and approval of the minutes from the meeting on Oct. 20.
There were no awards or proclamations, no public hearings or bid openings, and no visitors or delegations scheduled for this meeting so the commission moved on to the first order of business to be addressed: commission portfolios.
Fire Chief Nate Bennett updated the commission on the switchover of software from NDPERS to another system which will take about one to two months.
Commissioner Jason Pierce reminded everyone about the veterans’ banner project scheduled for May 2026; the order forms for military appreciation banners are now available online on the city’s Facebook page; they can also be picked up at Mr. and Mrs. J’s, the VFW, and RadioWorks radio station. The price is $105 per banner. Pierce stated that should they receive donations from around the community, that cost may end up being lower, but at this time $105 will be it. The deadline for ordering the banners is Feb. 28.
Pierce also contacted City Attorney Jack Yunker about sending out letters to alert property with owners who may own blighted structures i.e. derelect buildings with broken windows or graffiti sprayed on the outer walls, and was told that it would take time to change the wording in outgoing letters to property owners that would match the new city ordinances.
Devils Lake Airport 23-year-old Dominic Eritano reported they had received a new Aarf truck that would be back-up for the current one at the airport. He also said that the boarding numbers have gone up 15 to 20 percent recently. Sky West remains serving Devils Lake for the shut down and told the commissioners not to worry about TSA showing up to do their jobs.
Next on the agenda was Old Business:
Public Works Director Mike Grafsgaard provided details of a public input meeting held on Oct. 28 to discuss downtown parking restrictions, snow removal and street maintenance. Over 120 letters were sent to all downtown property owners requesting feedback, offering the option of calling the City Engineering Department to provide comments if people were unable to attend the meeting.
Only one person attended the input meeting; he expressed concern about potential delay in snow removal downtown unless parking restrictions were adjusted to allow for fewer days [a similar adjustment to summer parking restrictions did not appear to be a concern].
Based on that single feedback in addition to further discussions between Public Works and the Devils Lake Police Department, it was recommended that current parking restrictions and signage remain as-is through this winter, then revisit the issue in the spring. Public Works will notify the police department prior to when snow removal operations occur downtown in an effort to better ensure vehicle removal and compliance. Also, there will continue to be notices posted on the city’s Facebook page.
Commissioner Uhlenkamp reported that the Lake Region Public Library was hosting a Holiday Angel Tree this year. Those participating will have their $25 gift wrapped and returned by Dec. 15. They were asked to purchase age-appropriate gifts and not to just purchase gift cards.
Commissioner Knowski did not have anything new to report at this time, himself. Police Chief Jason Toso reported on the department’s vest partnership that helps pay for new protective vests for officers. The vests have a life expectancy of about 5 years so they try to change them out with new every 4 years. The next project will be a different kind of vest, a “hardware” vest. They decided not to go with the license plate reader they’d looked at for the city.
Spencer Halvorson, City Administrator and Auditor, reported that the city calendar would be ready next meeting for the commission’s approval. He also reported on the NDPERS cost share but no action need be taken today regarding the changes to the employee benefits until they work out all the details.
There was some discussion regarding the new city garbage pick-up plan which included questions about the new garbage containers and their placement, as well as the rates and fees involved, with a target date of August 2026. “When we transition to the new system we realize it will be a learning curve for us all.”
Another topic discussed by the commission towards the end of the meeting dealt with selling city property and whether their policy was what was the best “in public interest.” Other cities throughout ND have different ordinances that govern this action and give the city more leeway. Halvorson investigated several of them and shared some of the differences they had to the Devils Lake policy.
Following that discussion and action regarding the return of a parcel from the Roundhouse development was tabeled so they could determine if there was anything owed on the property, special assessments – were they all paid? Were there any back taxes owed? Should they return the initial $2,000 less filing fees?
The session broke to go into executive session to discuss legal matters, virtually pausing all further action until that session ended. Several minutes later when the commission returned to reconvene the meeting, they voted to pay a list of bills submitted for payment and seeing no other business before the commission, Mayor Moe adjorned the meeting.
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