The Devils Lake City Commission met for a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15 with several agenda items up for discussion. After approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, two bids were opened for curb, gutter, and sidewalk projects as well as asphalt and concrete street repair. Curb, gutter, and sidewalk featured one licensed and bonded bid from Elshaug Concrete Construction, LLC for $55,044; this was approved unanimously by the commission. The asphalt and concrete street repair bid was provided by licensed and bonded Tri-State Paving for the amount of $92,700; however, after City Engineer Mike Grafsgaard reviewed the bid, the total was actually for $94,300 after a mathematical error was corrected. The motion to accept this bid was passed with one dissenting vote from Commissioner Hamre.
Sean Roed, Director of Operations for the Lake Region Ambulance Service, appealed to the city commission for funding of a training center for first responders to include ambulance, law enforcement, fire department, and many other area agencies. The center will cost around $100,000 to get up and running, and once it is functioning it will bring in steady rental revenue. This projected cost even includes doing all the contracting work to the center in-house to save on labor. There is certainly a regional need for this center, and the commission pledged $50,000 with a unanimous roll call vote to this cause. Roed will approach the Ramsey County Commission as well to get this important facility brought to the region.
Representatives from Ottertail Power Company were present at this meeting to argue against the passing of another franchise agreement, even a limited one, with Nodak Electric Cooperative. The largest argument against multiple franchise agreements was the fact that any disputes between Ottertail and Nodak would be sent to the Public Service Commission for resolution, which could cause lapses in service and customer support. In the end, commissioners voted 3-2 to leave the current franchise agreement in place, with Commissioners Hach and Moe dissenting. Both Ottertail and Nodak were encouraged to draft a territorial agreement, but no official city action will take place in this issue.
Devils Lake received a memo from the North Dakota Department of Transportation on Friday to award an agency out of Rogers, MN the construction costs of the street improvement project along 14th St and 14th Ave. This cost will be $562,278.43 and that is less than what was anticipated for this project. This was passed unanimously with a roll call vote. There was another motion to approve a request for proposals for construction engineering services for this project, which passed with a unanimous vote.
Portfolio updates included sanitation finishing the last area for special pick-up, and regular garbage removal to return to alleys, and the Assistant City Engineer announced that there has been a change to the homestead tax credit and many more citizens in the Lake Region will be eligible for this tax credit. The previous net income rate to qualify was $42,000, and this has been raised to $70,000. Please call or visit the city offices for questions and more information.
Fire hydrants will be flushed in the coming weeks, and there could be some discolored water. This is just from a small buildup of sediment and will not be cause for concern. The commission voted unanimously to extend the alcohol license held by Lotta’s past midnight for the special late show of Fort Totten Little Theatre’s summer musical.
The commission was presented with the second reading of the domestic fowl ordinance that would allow citizens to own chickens in city limits. This reading was rejected 4-1 by the commission, with Commissioner Pierce being the lone advocate of the ordinance. A cost-share agreement with the State of North Dakota to provide 60% of construction costs in upcoming city projects was approved for $1.774 million. Commissioners amended their portfolios, with Commissioner Robbins being appointed to the Lake Region Public Library Board and Mayor Moe joining the Law Enforcement Center Board. The motion to approve these changes was approved unanimously. A motion to table a discussion over Forward Devils Lake accounts until the next meeting was also approved unanimously. A lodging and restaurant tax agreement has been in place with the Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce, approval of renewal of this agreement was approved unanimously. The Commission voted to pay the bills for April 2023 by a unanimous roll call vote, and the meeting was adjourned.
Agendas for future meetings and past meeting minutes can be found at dvlnd.com.
