But what I Well, what I said would be I heard that. I already talked to D. No. All right. Good evening everyone. I am Mayor Shelley Carlson. Tonight is April 28th, 2025 and it is 5:31 p.m. The Morehead City Council welcomes in uh
public input on issues listed on the agenda or of general community interest time and council permitting. Speakers will be limited to three minutes each. If you would like to address the council during our meeting, you will need to fill out a form that's provided by our city clerk and we will call you up
during the citizens to address the council item on the agenda. You'll need to state your name and if you are a Morhead residence. If comments were submitted to the clerk prior to the meeting via email or phone, those comments will be entered into record. For more information on participation,
please visit the council meetings page on the city of Morhead website at morheadmn.gov. We the Morhead City Council collectively with gratitude acknowledge the sacred land the city of Morhead is built upon. We acknowledge the people who have resided here for generations and recognize that the spirit of the Dakota Ajiway Mati and all indigenous
communities permeate this land. With that, could I get a roll call, please? Ryan Nelson here. Nicole Matson here. Heather Nie here. Emily Moore here. Deb White here. Lisa Borggan here. Sebastian McDougall here. Chuck Hendrickson present. Mayor Shelley Carlson here. And
for those are who are able, please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Right. And city manager Molly, do we have any agenda amendments? Mayor, we have an addition to the agenda item 15E related to the demolition of the Morhead Center Mall and the $1 million deed
grant. Okay. Um and then I also um am going to move some things around, but I guess that's it's all still on the agenda. So, we don't need to approve that as part of the amendment. So, um with that, do I have a motion to approve the amendment with the addition of 15E?
So, move Nissa Meyer second. Borggan a motion and second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Moving on to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. McDougall.
Second. Hendrickson. Have a motion and a second. Any discussion on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. So, moving on to recognition recognitions and presentations. We have
three proclamations to be read tonight and then we do have a presentation um from the white earth nation. The citizens to address council I will be moving that before 5D. Um there are three individuals who wish to speak um
in regards to the presentation that White Earth Nation will be providing. So this will give uh those folks an opportunity to speak prior to the presentation and we'll um hopefully allow uh the presenters from White Earth to incorporate some of your uh the
answers to any questions that might be asked um during the presentation. Again, as noted um previously, each speaker will be limited to three minutes each. I'll explain the time clock when the person comes up. The first person comes up and you'll need to state your name
and if you are a resident of the city of Morehead. Um with that um our first proclamation is Sher Larson Day. Sher, why don't you come up to the podium? So this is the official proclamation of
the city of Morhead, state of Minnesota. Whereas Sher Larson, executive director or should I say former now? Probably. Okay. former executive director of the Morehead Business Association, led the Morhead Business Association since 2018 to promote and support the growth and
success of the greater Morhead area. And whereas Sherry's dedication to the mission of the MBA and the vitality of the city of Morehead fosters a thriving community and region. And whereas Sherry's leadership through networking opportunities, relationship building,
advocacy, and events have provided a resource for business in Morehead and for all to succeed. And whereas Sher was a key support source of support and helpful helpful guidance when our community weathered the pandemic, market inflation, and economic hardships. And
whereas Morehead has accelerated in population growth, maintained low unemployment, and expanded a diverse and productive economy during her leadership. And whereas Sherry and her husband Dale, who coincidentally also just uh retired last week, have lived in
Morehead for more than 45 years and as a family made many neighbors and friends feel loved and cherished. And whereas Sherry is a treasure to Morehead in promoting our wonderful city. And we all appreciate that Sher Larson has what she's done to serve our community and
keep Morhead proud and strong. Now therefore, it be proclaimed that I, Shelley Carlson, did recognize April 25th, 2025 as Sher Larson Day on the occasion of her retirement and in recognitions of her talents and contributions to the community. Thank
you very much. Yes. It's me again. Thank you very much for the Sher Larson Day on April 25th. Um, as you all know, and I've said this many times, the opportunity to promote Morehead is something I do and will continue to do and cheerlead for the
businesses of Morehead. Uh, the last seven years have been unbelievable and I thank you all very, very much for this honor. Thank you. [Applause]
you are a small bundle of energy and enthusiasm and um positivity and just resilience and I I don't know all the all the adjectives and you have left huge shoes to fill. Um, but we are
so filled with gratitude for all that you have done for the for the community and we really truly wish you the best best both of you the best in your retirement. Though I know you're not one to be able to sit for longer than 30 seconds. So, um, I know that we will see you around. So, um, next is a
proclamation for fair housing month and council member Nisser will be reading that one. I have workers memorial day. Oh, I mean workers memorial. marvelous. Do you switch? No, you can just read it. Okay. Um
whereas each April we observe workers Memorial Day as a day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job. And whereas we remember those who have died in workplace catastrophes, suffered diseases because of exposure to toxic substances or have been seriously
injured because of dangerous conditions and neglectful employers. And whereas the core theme of workers memorial day by tradition is mourn for the dead and fight for the living. And whereas workers memorial day is a day to
rededicate ourselves to fight for safe workplaces. And whereas April 28th is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, OSHA. And whereas workers memorial day is observed in
hundreds of cities and states. I now therefore Shelley Carlson, mayor of the city of Morehead, do hereby proclaim today, Monday, April 28th, as Workers Memorial Day. All right. Thank you, Council Member Nissa Meyer. And um Council Member
McDougall is going to read Fair Housing Month. Uh whereas the city of Morehead and its human rights commission are committed to preventing housing discrimination while promoting equal opportunity in Morhead and we encourage the importance of increasing community
awareness regarding fair housing. And whereas each April the entire nation comes together to celebrate fair housing. And 2025 commemorates the 57th anniversary of title 8 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, commonly known as
the F federal Fair Housing Act. And whereas everyone has a right to safe, decent, and welcoming housing regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, public assistance status,
and marital and famil familial status. Whereas everyone has a right to live in neighborhoods of opportunity and choice and where people can thrive and be healthy as a result of a quality education, a clean and safe environment, and an economic and social opportunities. Now therefore, Shelley
Carlson of uh mayor of city of Morhead does hereby proclaim April as the fair housing month of in Morehead and encourages lenders, real estate agents, landlords, business owners, and other residents alike to take the opportunity to recommmit to preventing unlawful housing discrimination while promoting
equal opportunity. Thank you very much. We should probably All right. Um, and as I stated before, we are going to move up citizens addressing the council item on the agenda to now. Um, and I'm just going to
read them from how they were handed to me of the individuals who would like to speak in regards to this um agenda item. Uh, the first one is John Winter. Uh, Mr. Winter, if you want to come to the podium, what I will have you do is uh
state your name and if you are a Morehead resident, um if not, if you could state the the city that you live in. Um how this wonderfully technologically savvy contraption works is the light will be green um as the
three minutes are counting down. when it's read, you will need to wrap up and um end your your uh comment period. So, go ahead. Hello again. I'm John Winter. I'm a supervisor at the Glendon Township
Board where Hello, guys. These guys purchased our land in Glendon Township. So, I just want to say a few things. Um we got a few concerns about our property that it's in Glendon Township
right now. I know the casino purchased or the tribe purchased it. They'd like to talk about putting a casino, a truck stop. They want to do Everly housing. Uh and I don't know, I've also
heard maybe a golf course. I'm not true it is or not, but that's what I've heard. But as a township board member, I asked and requested from the county that we do a a uh I'd like to see three things
done. I'd like to see an economic impact study done. I'd like to see a interv environmental impact study done because of the aquifer that is there. I'd like to see what what it would do to our
drinking water for Morehead, Dworth, Glendon, and all that stuff. And also, I want a crime study done from when the casino was established in Manomomen County to present to just see where where that's
at. Now, you're also going to hear him talk about land trust. Land trust is a big deal. Once it's in land trust, you guys will have no authority on zoning, permitting, or tax base. And I'd
love to see the land stay into tax base. If it's a great impact to our economy, why take it out of tax base? So, let's really think about this land trust. I mean, yes, they want to bring an opportunity to our economy.
they want to bring some jobs, but we've got a lot of people that have done their share, paid taxes and everything. So, if if it's going to be a great opportunity, what's a little in uh property tax that they have to pay, you know, to run this
facility. So, um I know a lot of study should be done before anything happens. So, if you guys can really ask a lot of questions. I mean, I'm I'm from the
reservation, so I I grew up there. I know these guys. I talked to them last week. I just got some concerns for our people. And I hope you guys really consider what impact it will do to our county, not just the city of Morehead,
because you guys will probably annex it and take it away from us and you're going to put some burden costs on the city people because you're going to have to provide the roads, the power, and the water. So, there is a lot of cost that's going to be created. You're going to put
uh pressure on the fire departments and the sheriff's department and the city of Morhead. I know you guys are short police officers already, Mr. Winter. So, your time is up. Thank you. Yep. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Right. Next is Zena Bear. Uh and Zena, if you can come and state your name and if you're a resident of Morhead. Thank you very much. And then the time will start. All right. like the court of appeals. Absolutely.
Thank you very much, Mr. May Madame Mayor, council members. Appreciate your presence. I am Zenus Bayer. I live in South Morehead, 1715 Third Street South. Have lived
there for almost 20 years. Been a long-term practitioning lawyer in Klay County. And as a disclaimer, I will let you know that I previously represented the White Earth Band as general counsel for several
years in the late or in the early 1990s through the 2000s. So I don't come here as a advocate for the tribe, but I do know the tribe very well and I have not spoken to the tribe about this issue
at all. That's as a background. I was able to catch some of the comments made by the public at the county commission meeting and I thought
that the criticism was unwarranted of the tribe. It felt as though they were being attacked just because they're a business coming in and proposing an expansion.
Now, commenting on Mr. Winter's suggestion about a crime study, if this was Titan machinery coming in, would you ask for a crime study? Would you ask any other business coming in for a crime
study? But that that's not my point. Um, the criticisms I heard in the county were largely based on the loss of tax revenues through trust initiation. If
the property is in trust, it is true that it is no longer on the county or city or state tax roles. Full stop. That's it. But the tribe has admitted they need roads, they need sewer, they
need water, they need law enforcement. All of those are subject to agreements with tribes. Don't be frightened of dealing with the White Earth ban just because they are
exercising the sovereignty they were given by Congress and supported by the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court has taught all of us that tribes are
domestic dependent nations and they exercise the authority that is given to them under the US Constitution and legislation. Some of the comments seem
to suggest that people just don't want gaming in this area. I would suggest that it is environmentally sound to put the gaming there. Why have
thousands of cars driving up to a distance away when they could be gaming in your backyard and be beneficial for both the city of Morehead, Klay County, and all the subsidiary jurisdictions? Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank
you. And the next individual is Ed Dorset. And sir, if you want to come to the podium again, state your name. You're a resident of Morehead. And if not, where you're a resident of and then you'll have three minutes to speak. Uh
Ed Dorset. I'm a also a supervisor in the township, Klay County or excuse me, Glendon Township where the land lies that they are dealing with. I have concerns about this and
uh we're seeing the casino being sold as a boon to Morehead and I wonder if anybody here recently has driven through Manomomen. If you have and if you were familiar
with it 20 years ago since the casino has expanded up there and become a big part of the city, I question if you can see where there's any advantages been provided to the citizens up
there. The uh just the town itself is suffering and I don't think that the casino is doing a single thing for the residents up there. Uh, other than that, the bulk of what I have for opposition, John already voiced, and there's no
point in going through it again. But I do have concerns also about uh land owners close to the casino with things that are not all going to be good, the things that are
going to be happening there. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Um, and then I also have a a letter from the American Legion, which I will hand that to our city clerk when the council meeting is done so it can be uh scanned in and sent to um all
of the council members. Um, just for those in the audience, uh, when people address the council, um, it's not a back and forth. We don't do a question and answer type of a session. It's just an opportunity for citizens to come and
provide information to the council um and they take that information in. So with that I am going to turn over um or ask White Earth Nation to come up and I believe it is the secretary treasurer um Mike Lorac who will be
presenting um on behalf of the White Earth Nation tonight. Um we typically don't allow very much time for questions of presentations. Again, presentations are just an opportunity to hear information from the people presenting, but I know that there have been a lot of
questions. Um, we've received a number of emails in regards to this topic. So, um, we will, um, have an opportunity for councils to be able to, um, ask some questions tonight for about 5 to 10 minutes before we, uh, start our our meeting of the night. Um, with that, I
will turn it over to you, uh, Mr. Lorac. An Buju Mike Lorac. I'm the secretary treasurer of the White Earth Nation. Uh I was uh delegated to sit in for chairman Fairbanks today and I was kind of uh he's he's out on out of state travel. First of all, I'd like to thank
the mayor and the council for giving us this opportunity to present here today and I would just kind of like to you know what I like to do is I like to speak from the heart and I always like to clear the air on a little thing on a few things. So, you know, this this this economic development uh opportunity that
we have here for Morehead and Klay County, you know, the tribe always looks like looks at that not only for our membership, but also for the citizens of Morehead and Klay County also. And I got to let you know that this isn't this is a very very infasy stage. I mean, we're
we're looking at looking for a letter of support to put the land into trust for gaming. But that doesn't only mean gaming. That means hotel. That means convention center, that means a lot more economic opportunity in this area. It means housing, it means, you know, employee housing. It means a lot of
things. You know, I I always like to chuckle a little bit because when people say, "Well, there's rumors there's golf course. There's rumor there's going to be this rumor there's going to be that." Well, those are exactly what they are. But I think that's the sky's is the limit actually when you know with this property. And we bought this property
for economic development. And we also I'd like to mention that we also for our own membership. We still have to have meetings with our own membership. We still have to have town meetings with our own membership on whether uh you know they're okay with a casino. They're okay with everything here. So I just
wanted to mention that also you know this is a first very first step of it. Very first step of it. So but I would like to just introduce some people that I brought here today. I brought Nate Matthews. He's our he's our executive director of our tribal utilities commission. and he's going to be doing
the presentation. I brought uh Jacob Severson. He's in our land department. He's our tippo. I brought Richard Hanks. He's our government relations guy. And I brought Roman Hanks. He's our communications director. So, what I'm going to do now is I'm going to introduce uh Nate Matthews so he can
come up and do the presentation for us. And then I can come back up if you have any other questions for me. So, and I am not a resident of Monomen, so I mean Morehead. I'm sorry. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Matthews. Thank you,
your honor and councel. As secretary mentioned, my name is Nate Matthews and I work with the tribe and our utility commission and I'm part of the team that's helping assess the project. Also going to be working with the local governments. when I say that the cities,
the design professionals, engineers, planning staff in this area. Um, a little background about this project. As secretary mentioned, we've looked at this for economic development. We purchased the property for the intention of developing it for casino
resort complex. as the as the months and and potentially years unfold on something like this, their first step forward in a project is to is to receive this property into trust status. Uh trust status allows the
tribe the ability to put a casino in this in this location. Um as then the project will uh come into tighter focus once that trust status uh becomes clearer. So right now we have some very high level kind of concepts and things
to summarize what a project like this would look like here in the Morehead Fargo market. The tribe has had 33 years in successfully managing gaming and so we have that at our backs to help this project be successfully uh come to
fruition here. We firmly believe that mutual cooperation, transparency, and shared governance principles will need to be part of a project like this. Know there's concern, some fear that when things go into trust
that local control dissolves. I know the trib's intention to have a successful project like this will require good communication, understanding of local zoning, local water issues, local utility concerns, transportation, environmental issues, all these things
on projects that are large like this. I think you know those those are we'd like to relay that we come with that expectation to work together in partnership. Um, we thank you for your consideration for this trust application letter of
support when we do receive letters from Morehead Klay County and we're also asking the city of Dworth if they would support this application. We're meeting with them later this evening. Summary perspective um on the executive summary, if you have the
slides over there, we can kind of walk through these. Um, like we mentioned last week with Klay County, we're looking at a full-scale casino with class three gaming. We are anticipating a luxury style hotel to be attached to this
facility with well over 200 rooms, dining establishments, multiple establishments in the facility with different regional cuisine associated with them. Part of this facility will as well include a conventioning component
with meeting space for regional and local events and meetings. We would of course have to have controlled parking, potentially a garage and landscaped public spaces to make sure that this blends in with um the community's
expectation and how the tribe would envision this to look from a a landscaping perspective. Next slide is uh some some data or some details about some of the projected economic and community impact to this
facility. We estimate about 500 jobs permanently would be created from a facility like this across the spectrum of what a facility like this would require. That's gaming of course, hospitality, food and beverage maintenance management positions. Not to
mention obviously the construction jobs that are associated with this project. When we met with the county, we kind of gave a little more of a fine level detail of of some of the classification of wages. And I think that was uh pretty pretty fine into the
weeds. But suffice it to say, I think for for for you and and the other community we're meeting with tonight, we want to summarize that by saying the projected payroll for a facility like this is around $23 million. annually. Um in addition to that, we'll
have local purchasing power uh infused into this economy here. We do believe facilities like this are a draw to tourism. Um and we feel that's a great way for some cross-cultural exchange for people to understand anabi culture and a great way to expose them to the beauty
of the of the Anishnabi people. Um, so the next I'm going to move on is to the casino operation. Right now the facility uh in it in its conceptual phase is we're looking at a 90,000 to 110,000 square
foot gaming floor. What that would host is around 900 to,200 state-of-the-art games. um later late late some of the newer games from the latest games to classics.
So, it's designed to be welcoming and allow people to feel comfortable to learn how to to to game. We also would have 10 to 12 table games in a facility like this. Offices and support areas are part of this facility. Like I mentioned earlier, of course, we have to
accommodate the parking. The hotel, as I mentioned, uh would be attached. We would spec it at 250 to 300 rooms. That would obviously all of that would be uh further uh fine-tuned with a feasibility study the tribe would need to conduct uh
of its own on on the market and what would work and fit right in this facility here or this market. And so the hotel would be attached a lot of the conventioning as you'll go to and you see those attached spaces are pivotal in in the northern climates. The convention center that would be
attached to this facility included would be 100,000 120,000 square feet allows it's a big showroom. A concert facility would be associated with it. I'm going to interrupt you just a second. Can we advance the PowerPoint? I think I had two times to the next one. There we go.
Thanks. Thanks. So the convention center like I said uh mayor and council would probably would be 100,000 120,000 square feet very similar to our facility at the shooting star. We would have uh state-of-the-art uh technology and also
uh of course catered meals as part of all of that food and beverage at this facility that we would envision there would be about three to four restaurant and food areas built within the facility. They would be a combination of
quick uh dining, casual dining, fine dining or steakhouse component. The main bar area open to the gaming floor. Um and and that would obviously have uh food and beverage uh and entertainment components all wrapped together in in
one. We mentioned earlier last week, you can go to the convenience store slides, please. This is the last slide. We talked about a truck stop. Maybe that's a little premature to say that's exactly what we would envision here, but that was identified because we realize
there's not much over on this side of of town, so to speak. Christina, one more for uh uh there we go for uh rest areas. And so as the tribe envisions how to develop this property with the casino
and with a hotel, it's a natural u study would be conducted on is it a truck stop, is it a convenience store? We're not really sure, but a sea store here would make sense. Um there's on this on this side of town. Um, obviously we would as well take a look at if there's
any franchised uh uh restaurants that would like to participate with this development as well. So that is it. That's the the presentation I have short and sweet as far as just kind of the high level components of this project. Um, if there's any questions about the
land, the trust process, um, or any other questions, uh, now's the time if you have any for us. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Matthews. And again, just um to just reiterate, there aren't going to be any decisions made tonight.
This is just an opportunity to get some maybe questions um answered u maybe questions posed so that you know, we certainly don't expect you to have all the answers tonight um but maybe develop a list of questions that will need to be addressed at some later time. So, we'll
go until 6:15 with any questions that council has. So, Council Member Oh, Hendrickson or No. Okay. Council member Matson, Council Member Borggan, then. Thank you for being here and for
the presentation. And I also want to thank the citizens who were heard as well. I think it's all really good information. And I think we should all keep in mind that this is a longterm situation. It's not like something's happening next year. So, I think we all
kind of have to just not get too excited. First, I I think one of the biggest um questions that I have or maybe concerns is the 500 jobs. You know, we really are struggling in a lot of areas in Fargo, Morehead, hiring
people in companies that are already established. Do you have any ideas by which you would work to get workers to come to this? Because 500 people is a lot of people. I guess I guess that's where some of our
employee housing stuff would come in, you know, because I I honestly believe that some of our own membership would move over to this area, maybe work at the casino or work at I think that's that's one way. Okay. you know, you know, it provides uh those jobs over in
in this area. And do you envision if you had employees living on the property that they would have like um a reduced rent because, you know, rent is so expensive. I mean, I'm I'm just wondering, it sounds good, but if you
can't afford it and you're only making $18 an hour, I don't know how much you can pay for rent. I mean, these are all just kind of things that I think we should all be worried about or talking about. Those are future things we can look at. And it's 19. I think ours is
minimum as $19 an hour. Yeah, it's a good wage. Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Like I said, this might just be a list of questions. certainly don't expect you to have all the answers, but definitely something that um at at some point in
time in the future that um will likely well not even likely will have to be addressed in some way, shape or form. Like council member Borggan said, this is a first step in many um and this isn't going to happen anytime soon. So, Council Member Matson and then Council
Member Nelson. Um thank you so much. Thank you for coming and giving the presentation. Thank you to the people who came with their um questions and concerns. I just wanted to address the issue of the trust land for a moment. Um, has anybody ever heard of Elbowwoods, North Dakota? Anybody familiar with
Elbowwoods? That is where my grandfather was born and went to high school. He was a member of MHA Nation, which um, back a long time ago used to be known as three affiliated tribes. The reason you probably haven't heard of Elbow Woods, North Dakota, is that it is under Lake
Sakakawa now. It does not exist. um the uh my grandfather's tribe was essentially forced um to sign a contract to seed 94% of their agricultural land and 80% of the people that lived where Lake Sakakawia is now had to move
somewhere else and it was um the the that was about 1950 or so and the impacts of that are still being felt to this day. Okay. So, when we talk about trust land, that's I don't know White Earth Nation's story. Um, but I have a feeling that there's some similar things in your history as well. And that is the
reason that the federal government has trust land for tribes is that um the federal government has an obligation to um we're never going to make it right. It's never we cannot you cannot um compensate for the deliberate and
repeated destruction of people's homes and people's lives and livelihoods. But to the extent that we um can try to make some amends, that is one of the purposes of the trust land is that we have an obligation because we made agreements.
Thank you. All right. Uh Council Member Nelson. Thank you, Mayor. Just curious what the timeline is for establishing or applying for the the trust the status of the trust. Is that you plan to make application this year, next year? When
when do you expect that to proceed? Uh oh. Um once we once we know what the local community if they're in support of it, then we will proceed with the application. That's why we're looking for a letter of support. So, but we
don't know yet. It could be this year. It could be early next year. Um but we do want to get it in as soon as possible because that process is a long process. um especially when it deals with gaming that can take you know 18 to 24 months
just to process the application and and do you need all of the uh I guess communities you know between Klay County, Morehead, Dworth you mentioned in there. Do you need all of their support or do you proceed with two out of the three or maybe there's more
communities? Can you just kind of give a little background or what if you get no support? Does it can you still make application? And I'm just I don't know much about it. So I'm just trying to hear it out. So you can make an application without notifying any local
governments. Um but then once that application is accepted uh by the Department of the Interior, it then they then notify all the local uh communities. So we wanted to be as transparent as possible and so we want
to garner support if possible before we put in an application. Um but no, we don't necessarily need um a letter of support, but it would be much appreciated. And then and then the last when it's in
a trust, then it's I assume that it's forever in a trust. Correct. It's not 30 years it comes out of the trust. Is that fair to say? Correct. Okay. Yep. That's all I have. Thank you, Council Member McDougall. Uh Boozie,
thank you for coming. Um, I know right now there's a lot of talk of putting it in trust land and you have what 288 acres out there and there's still a lot of planning of what to do with the property. Would it be even feasible of
say, you know, you need say 80 acres for the casino and the convention center and everything that way to put that portion of the land into trust first and then add it later. the the additional let's say you put 80 acres into the convention center casino the other additional 200
later into the trust if needed or I don't I know it's still way early planning but it's a thought that came across thank you uh yes you can do that yes yep and would that be something the tribe would even think about possibly doing
too or is it just all or none on the 288? It's a possibility. Yes, at this point it's a possibility. That's why we're meeting with the local governments to see what what are their expectations um and then we can proceed from there.
Megwitch, other council members, uh Council Member Nisser. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I want to appreciate um the members of White Earth for being here tonight um and your presentation. I have a couple of questions and sort of thoughts. Um,
is the plan for all of these buildings and um, amenities to be built as one or do you plan on looking at phases of um, growth or is it essentially all necessary to have it survive um, as a a
place so you're going to do it all at once? Have you considered that at all? I know council member Nelson mentioned a timeline. It's going to be taking years, but I'm curious if this is a 10-year plan or a 30-year plan, just out of curiosity. Yeah, I guess I can kind of answer that.
I mean, it's it's not a there's nothing in stone. So, I mean, you know, it it could be either way. It could be the phasing system, you know, if we do if we did get it for entrusted for gaming, you know, the casino hotel would go first, then the convention center, and then the convenience store. We I mean there's uh
we're it's such uh so premature right now. We just have to get together and see, you know, how we're going to do this and what our timelines are going to be and and where we're going to be where we're going to be at when we start. So, excellent. Um it takes a lot of planning and communication, particularly when we
think of myself, my own age, when we plant seeds that we may not get to experience the shade of those trees. That's how I'm envisioning this project. Um, one thing I'd like to just plant, um, is the public safety element. It was
mentioned by, uh, some residents both who communicated with some council members in writing as well as here tonight. Um, and I am curious if, um, as one of those support entities, you mentioned employee housing and a convenience store and another um, list
of amenities, but have you considered having your um, own safety unit? um or security as as part of that. Um there was uh mentions and discussions of um potentially taxing um already the uh
heavy burden on our police, on our firefighters, on a variety of other um entities. And so I'm curious if that is potentially part of the plan, having some of those elements and those employees as part or employees of the tribe.
Yes, that's I mean we we definitely have security there. And we'd also look into, you know, whether we have because all all of our officers, our tribal officers are also post-licensed also. So, I mean, I'm not saying they can go anywhere they want, but I mean, we can have that support for public safety. We can do
that. So, I I think as it as it moves on, I think we have to really look at that anyway. We're going to have to look at our fire coverage, our EMS coverage, our public safety, all that that fits under public safety. We got to take a really hard look at that and we will have that on our radar. Excellent. Thank
you for um putting those into consideration, but also sharing um some of that knowledge that others who are outside may not know those considerations are being brought to the table for conversation. Thank you. Yeah, in my former life, I retired from law enforcement. I was a public safety
director. So, excellent. Top of your mind then. Marvelous. Thank you very much. Any other council members? Uh Council Member Hendrickson. Uh quick question. in in Manomomen. Do you have a convention center
and what kind of Yes. Go ahead. And what's how many conventions do you get there a year and number of people? Actually, sir, can you come up to the podium so that we can have your voice heard through the microphone? And thank you very much. I used to be Yes. Uh that
that's booked out actually uh close to a year in advance between weddings. Uh, I know that a number of local um local companies have their events there, Christmas parties and things like that. Um, so I know that I I can't speak for Shooting Star, but I know that that when
we try and do our events there, we're looking months out. So, um, in Manomomen it's it's pretty active. So, I can imagine here it would be uh even more so. And like what type of conventions or you said weddings, but like any company annual meetings or anything like that?
Sure. We we we do host those a lot. Um internally as well. Uh I know that the White Earth RBC and our programs hold all of our meetings at Shooting Star Casino. Um but but we would work with I I feel like um convention bureaus and things like that to to to work those in.
We do have a banquetss department that uh does that type of thing for shooting stars. So I imagine we would just expand that staff here. Okay. And um thanks for being here. Yes, of course. Thank you. Thank you. If I could just add one more comment, we do we do host a lot of like
like my act like the we and then we do there's a lot of tribal executive meetings there. We do and it's it's we we are we are fairly busy. So, and I'm thinking about the economic development around Morehead with that and you know Fargo and Morehead we're always looking
we still haven't really don't have a convention center so you know we're kind of kind of looking in that direction. So yeah, cuz when we first met, uh, that's the one of the things that was top on our list. It was it was like, what can we do for this area? You know, you're talking about a convention center and
you're talking about what works best for both of us. That's what that's we talked about. So what can we provide? Any other questions from council members? Right. And I just I a lot of the council
members uh kind of took the questions that I had. Um right now um one thing I did want to mention and maybe you can confirm this too. Um when I was doing kind of some research on on what occurs once something or the process of of
getting land into a trust land. One of the thing things that kept popping up was the NEPA review, the the National Environmental Policy Act review. And one of the sites that I went to said that that process can take up to four to six years. And so it's my understanding
that even when the request is made to be put into trust because I know that that has been kind of an ongoing concern um is is our water aquifer um and the environmental impacts and um there were truck stops
there previously but because uh it was leaking into the aquifer um they ended up needing to close and I know that that's one of the things that you have mentioned And um do can you talk about some of the process of say the
department of interior says yes you can pursue this but what is the process after that and I know there there's a lot of other reviews but NEPA was one of them that kept popping up for me. Oh yes so the feed of trust process it's
about 18 steps and it involves multiple agencies. Um this case it would be the office of Indian gaming would be also have a say in it. NEPA uh NEPA typically take anywhere to about a year right now. Um but I do know that they are under a
lot of stress on the federal side right now. Um they are not able to work remote and most of the NEPA individuals do work remote. Um so I we are kind of struggling on that end right now. Um, but I would probably, like I said, the
18 to 24 months I think would be fair because once you put in an application, they have certain time to respond and if it's a completed application and then they send out something called a preliminary title opinion from the solicitor's office. Um, but and and it's
just it's just paperwork and it ends up some files on a feed of trust can end up being three to 400 pages. Um and and they notify local governments all along the way. They can comment. Even even public individuals can comment. Um but
but yeah, it it you can look it up online. It's the feed of trust handbook. It's you can just type it in. It's all it's all public information. Yep. It's pretty fun reading. environment. Well, I don't know if I would say say it was fun, but I know that I went down a lot of different
rabbit holes and was consuming a lot of different information and and it is quite complicated, right? Yes. Because there is multiple different levels of feed of trust. See, White Earth is able to do a mandatory feed of trust acquisition because of the Welssa Act. There's also on reservation
discretionary. There's off-reservation discretionary and then there's gaming. So, there's multiple different avenues you would take. So this one would we would take off reservation for gaming and knowing sorry mayor and knowing there's an aquifer here too they may
also want to have a little more um knowledge of some rough concepts of the of site development layout as as the NEPA officers take a look at that provide recommendations I'm working on one right now uh in Baggley and we and Jake was
helping me on this they recommend us moving footprint of a of a solar array just a little bit further away from a protected wetland, right? That kind of a thing. So, there's lots of different ways that they they look to protect the environment as they uh accept projects into trust.
Thank you so much. And and the only other comment that I had is that um and this was brought up by council member Nissa Meyer. I know that uh when uh Secretary Treasure Lorac was the director of public safety, um I worked also with a couple of the sheriffs and
that your tribal uh law enforcement worked very well. You could make arrests for non-tribal members because you were Minnesota postcertified and um it was just like you were another police department is what it was. Um, also very uh sad that one of the officers that
came from White Earth Nation already left Morehead, went to the state patrol, but um he was an exceptional officer. So, I think it really um shows the level of professionalism that you have within your law enforcement and and uh your public safety um within the right
reservation. So, all right. Well, thank you guys very much for coming and uh Migwitch and a lot of questions need to get answered and I'm anticipating we'll have future meetings. Yep. I just like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to to present today, you know, and I think this is a big
opportunity to collaborate. I think it really is. Migwitch, everybody have a good night. Mitch, thank you. All right, moving on to approval of the April 14th, 2025 meeting minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the meeting minutes? So move Borggan second. Madson have a motion and
a second. Uh any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. We've already done motion or uh citizens to address the council. [Music]
Um don't believe we have a public hearing tonight. All right, moving on to 15 administration. And I will turn this uh section over to Miss Robin Houston. Oh,
it's like looking for you. Came out of the corner over there. Thank you, Mayor Carlson and council members. Again, I'm Robin Houston, the Morehead city planner. Tonight I present the second reading of the cannabis retail business registration
ordinance. As we discussed at the last meeting, the proposed ordinance dress addresses the 2023 cannabis laws requirement for business registration for any Morehead business selling cannabis or low potency hemp products. It also creates registration
fees and fines for ordinance violations. And then it also repeals our 2022 um-21 ordinance that we approved for the low potency hemp products within the city. Uh since the last reading, uh
staff did make one clarifying adjustment to the proposed ordinance language as it relates to those low potency hemp edible retail sales uh retailers. So, we have um quite a few that already sell those
products in the city. Um and when we were looking at the 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours of operation, those don't work and they're not really enforcable for those bars that are selling those edible drinks already. So, we double checked the
statute and we just basically opened it up to the up to hours for those businesses. So, they can essentially be open um 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. Um most have been
operating that way with a liquor license anyway, except for say a bar that does not have a um 2 a.m. license. They would close at 1:00 a.m. And then same same with the lower potency hemp um sales, those would end at 1:00 a.m. as well.
Um, we did have an inquiry regarding if on premise sale of f full potency cannabis drinks would be permitted at Morehead Bars and the actually the answer is no. Um, as the stat the statute prohibits the sale those sales where alcohol is sold on premise. So we
won't ever have a bar in Morehead that sells both cannabis and alcohol. There could possibly be, I've heard of these, a cannabis bar where it only sells cannabis drinks. Um, they just couldn't sell tobacco or alcohol along with that.
Please let me know if you have any questions. All right. Thank you. Um, any questions for Miss Houston? And if there are no questions, I would entertain a motion to approve 15 A and B. Move to approve Nissa Meyer.
Second, Matson. Motion and a second. Any discussion? All right, seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Right, that motion carries. Thank you. Thank you, Robin. Um, next is
15D. Uh, and I will turn this item over to Christopher M. McShane. Thank you. Thank you, Mary Carl. Carlson. Um I've lost my voice today, so if uh if need be, um cat can can take over a little bit, but my guess is that
we can make it through this relatively quickly. Um the for the diversion project, the Morhead Clay County JPA authorized uh the going into eminent domain for certain properties in Wilin County. Uh that was a year and a half
ago or so. Uh we came back before you guys as a as a council um and you approved um using eminent domain in Wilin County. We have had two separate actions uh where eminent domain was necessary because we were not able to
get um a a resolution uh on a voluntary basis. Uh and we have um we've had to use the court system. Um the process in North in Minnesota for eminent domain is that you you start an eminent domain action. uh you file a motion with the
court to give the land owners the opportunity to to contest necessity and public purpose. Um and then after they have an opportunity uh in court to contest uh public purpose and necessity um then there's an order for a deposit
uh and that deposit amount uh from statute is that is the amount of the appraisal uh that was done during the negotiation process. Um what has been presented to you uh as um I think it's 14 15D uh and I believe there's a
council communication um is the amount of a deposit that needs to be made for the uh 20 or so properties uh that were a part of the the Wilin County action. Number two, um there is a couple small changes to this. Um number one is that
the David Ness property is removed. Um and that property is removed because we were able to voluntarily resolve that last week. Uh so the the closing happened on Friday and of course we don't need to double pay. So uh that is removed from this deposit amount. Uh the
other change is for properties uh 5170 and 5174. Um there's a host of owners in that property, some of which have passed away. Um and the the owners when we approached them saying we want to pay you make this deposit that the statute
requires and that the court has ordered um they said we're not sure how we're going to get my deceased relatives to sign that. So they have asked us to deposit that with the court instead of to to write a check with four different names on it. Uh two of which are for people that that are no longer with us.
Um there there was a court order uh at the end of December. Um we we probably should have made this deposit in January. The reason we did not uh come and ask for that is the the attempt we attempted um in January, February and
even into March was to try to work with uh um with any land owners that have an incumbrance. So primarily mortgages um where uh the mortgage holder would have some right to the funds. Uh, and we wanted to make sure that there was a an
ability for the mortgage holder to get whatever they believed was was just. So, you'd have to have the landowner and the mortgage company agree. Um, we we pushed that to the attorneys for the land owners because we didn't want to interfere with that relationship. Uh, they told us they would get that done.
Ultimately, they didn't. Um so as a result of that um you know we're just going to deposit with the court and whenever the lender and the land owner can come to an agreement uh then they can can agree as to how that money will come out of the court. Are there any
questions of me about the eminent domain process or what's being requested from the the city at this point? Thank you. Any questions for uh Mr. McShane? Uh if not, I would be um willing to entertain a motion to approve 15D.
So moved to Hendrickson. A motion by Hendrickson, a second by Borggan. Um any discussion or questions? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Thank you,
Mr. McShane. and uh hope you're feeling better. Um moving on to 15E. Um and I will turn this over to Assistant City Manager Mike Re. Thank you, Mayor and City Council. Um tonight uh the action in front of you
here is to approve a resolution um related to the uh guaranteed price amendment number two uh for the demolition work that is going on at the Morehead Center Mall. Uh the uh
amendment one which was passed uh about a month or so ago um authorized work on on the first phase of that or well the current phase of the the demolition. Um and they are well ahead of schedule on that. Um in fact uh about a month ahead
of schedule. Um and so with that they would like to uh start working on on the next phase of of the demolition. Uh at this point that would entail uh taking down the United Sugars and Allen Ed
Evans portions of the mall. Um the uh the remainder would uh would would stay there until Downtown Chiropractic uh relocates uh later this year. Um the uh amendment number two amounts
to uh $740,000 and 80 857 Yeah, about 800 uh about $741,000. There we go. Um the uh that
will be paid for by a uh $1 million uh grant that we got from DED. Um we just received uh the grant uh the written grant uh agreement uh the signed version back from the state today. So uh that
was one thing that we were waiting on prior to allowing them to move forward with this. So uh that is is uh in hand and with this action it allows them to u uh keep their momentum and and uh start
on start early on this on the final phase of demolition. Thank you. Any questions from council? Council member Borggan, I just have a question about the $1 million grant from DED. Is that something that you had anticipated and it was in the budget?
you were just waiting for it or is this something new and we got a $1 million windfall? Well, um no, it was something that we applied for uh in early February um and and we did uh that item I believe
was on the last city council agenda that we accepted the grant funds. Um the the restriction though is is that they can't actually start doing the work that's funded by the grant until the
grant is fully signed and and we receive that signed version. So, um that was one of the things that we were waiting for and trying to time that. Um and uh we heard just this afternoon that we uh we received that back from the state. So,
okay, maybe another way to ask my question would be, so when we had the the budget for the demolition, did we account for the million dollars of a grant or is this something outside of our budgeted monies
that we were going to use for the demolition? Um, I I guess I guess in a sense it's outside of what we budgeted. Yeah. So it's a positive. This is a very this is a very positive very but I mean it's positive to the budget. So we thought we
were going to spend a million dollars on demolition of city money which we had budgeted and now we are getting a million dollars of grant money. So perhaps that money can be used for something else. True or not? That is true. Yep. We had this it was part of the budget. We applied for the state
deed grant. It was a very competitive project and in fact this was the largest grant in the state of Minnesota in this round of redevelopment grants. Right. Okay. Thank you. Sorry I didn't ask my question very clearly. Mike, that that's fine.
Any other questions by council members? Uh council member Batson. Um I have not seen the thing that it is we're voting on. Can we can I read it before I vote? I don't think it's not in the packet, is it? No, this was an amendment that we approved at the beginning of the
meeting. The addition. So, I'm just wondering I haven't I don't know what it actually Yes, it is in the packet. It is in your Do you have your packet open on your I do it should be listed as item 15e. Was that added later? When was that
added? Earlier today. Okay. And so I I don't think I was notified that the packet would has had been updated since I downloaded when it was initially put out. So I guess I wouldn't have had a way to know that there was an amendment.
Yep. And this is one um that is uh how do I um it's it's not an abnormal request to basically approve grant funds that we applied for. So any of the grant funds
that we applied for, all of that grant information would have been part of the council packet in when did we apply? February. And so it is accepting that grant that we approved to move forward
with council. Uh city manager Molly Mayor if I could the I should have so the the packet that is online is accurate. It has been since this morning. I should have sent an email to the entire council just notifying that there will be a request to add an item to the agenda. Yeah, that's okay. I just
would like to I would like I'm I'm a visual processor and so I would just like to see the thing I'm voting on before I vote on it. I can also abstain if we don't have it physically in front of me, but without like looking at it, I I don't know what you know I'm not I just I'm not prepared to vote on
something I haven't seen. Yes. All right. Why don't we take a 5m minute recess then for council member Matson and any of the other council members to review it and then we'll come back at 6:45. Thank you very much. All right. Um, we will reconvene now.
Um, and um, Mr. Reitz, if you want to go back to the podium in case there's additional questions, that'd be great. Um, any other questions in regards to 15E? If no questions, I would entertain a motion to approve 15E. So moved.
Second. Uh, motion by Hendrickson, second by McDougall. I know there were people over here. I don't know really who said it. Um, but I heard Sebastian. So, um, any other discussion or questions?
Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Reats. Right. Moving on to mayor and council reports. Um, any council members have reports on board or committee meetings that you attended on behalf of the city? Uh,
council member Nismire. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, I want to um appreciate the organizers of the New Roots Midwest uh welcome, wellness, and unity celebration that was held yesterday at the Armory. It was a fantastic um community uh conversation
event and um the mayor and I were able to attend and uh enjoy both entertainment as well as great conversation with community members. Um an update from the solid waste advisory committee is that you may or may not
know that our resource recovery center has uh a reuse room. The reuse room is um open and available Monday through Friday um 8 to 4 as well as the first and third Saturdays of every month from 8 to 11:30. And I want to highlight the
reuse room um because although it is limited that you can only take five items a day out. You can bring as many as you would like to reuse. And so since it is Earth week, since it is cleanup time for all of us to be cleaning out our homes and our garages, um it is a
wonderful opportunity to reuse um many of those things that we have that are like new or gently used and bring them to the resource recovery center. The resource recovery center accepts a list of uh a wide variety of items from residents of Morehead even before
cleanup week. So, if you have so many things that you would like to address and you don't want to leave them out on your rainy curb, um April 28th through May 17th, um residents can bring items free of charge on the approved list, which you can find with a quick Google
search to that reuse room, also to just be um disposed of as trash. Uh, cleanup week is May 5th uh through the 9th for those who have recycle day B and May 12th through the 16th on recycle day A.
If you have no idea what week you are or letter you are for recycling, I encourage you to go out to the city of Morhead's website. We have an outstanding what's my recycle day sort of um tool to enter it in so everybody can figure that out so they know when to
put out their extra things for cleanup week. I want to appreciate all of the um staff that participated and made possible posts and information sharing for Earth Week. Um you all may know that I am a big lover of Mother Earth and
anything that we can do to celebrate her and preserve her is outstanding. Thank you. Um and with uh Earth Day, mayors Dardis, Mahoney, and myself and uh the the mayor of Dworth wasn't there.
It was a city manager who's there declared Earth Week last week. And fun fact, Mayor Mahoney actually took a remote control from the reuse room and had signed a little paperwork. So, it's very nice that he came shopping over in
Morehead. Council member White. Thank you, mayor. Uh on April 16th, I attended the Red River recovery initiative meeting. And for those of you um if you're not familiar, that's the coordinated opioid overdose response group. Um and I wanted to mention um we
always get updates from Lieutenant Detloff on the OD mapping and we've seen an uptick in overdoses in our area. Um it's still early in the year, but that is sort of counter to the uh downward trend that's occurring throughout most of the rest of the nation. And so it
just kind of emphasizes the importance of our um support for harm reduction and the coordinated response that they've been working on. Um on April 24th, I attended the CAPL LP board meeting and annual meeting and um I'm pretty new on
CAP. This is my first uh only my second meeting. Uh, and I'm really impressed by the depth and breadth of their work. And I just wanted to mention in particular because they provide the outreach services in Morehead to folks who are unhoused, um, such as people who are
living in encampments. And I appreciate the respectful and humane way that they handle that. Um, in their annual report, they uh, mentioned that last year they uh, had an average of 35 people that they assisted each month with outreach
services. um and an average of 26 people per month with family homelessness prevention and assistance program resources. So, I wanted to thank them for their work. Um on Saturday, Council Member Matson and I got to participate
with our running group, Faster, Stronger Runner, on their annual I know I'm mispronouncing this, but it's called plugging, but it basically means running and cleaning up garbage, but it's the um annual Earth Day run and park cleanup. and we had about two dozen people um in
Gooseberry Park to clean up the park. Um and then I just wanted to mention that this Thursday, May 1st, is uh we're having a conversations with council members event at First Congregational United Church of Christ um on 8th Street
from 6:00 to 7:30. So, for folks that are on the north side of Ward 3 or if you're over in that southwest area of Ward 1, because we're sort of straddling the two, um we'd love you to drop by, hear what's happening in your neighborhood, um share your ideas, and
we will apply you with cookies and coffee. Thank you. All right. Thank you. and with the council council with conversation with council members. Is that all of the council members?
Three in one. What? Oh, I get it now. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. Um, other council members, uh, Council Member Moore. So, on April 17th, I attended my first West Central
Initiative Economic Development District Board meeting, and we discussed our shared regional challenges as well as insights and approaches to resolving them. We had a VIP guest, which was the former Minnesota Secretary of State, Mark Richie, um, where we discussed all
things Minnesota from arts to agriculture. So, excited to be on that board. Thank you for the appointment. Uh, and then in the evening we had the Morehead Board of Appeals and Equalization that went off without a hitch due to our fine assessor Nathan
and his stellar team. So that's it. Yes. And I was going to give a shout out to him, too. I think it's the last couple of years we have had no one show up to appeal um any of of the assessments that have been done. And I think that uh Nate
Ary, Amy McDonald, Lori Lewis, Jana Wagner, Steve Rosinski, very I'm anticipating Polish name and DJ Stefen and I'm not sure if that was all of them looking at you,
Dan. Um but what and Christy Lasheski, what an incredible incredible group of people. Um, one of the board members was on uh was an assessor in Plymouth, I think for over Plymouth, Minnesota for
about 25 years. She said their meetings would last hours. She is stunned that every year, almost every year, we have no one coming. That just shows what an exceptional job um our staff do in the city of Morehead. Can't help but
interrupt. you know, just because uh no one showed up at the meeting doesn't mean there we didn't have a number of calls and in-person visits and emails and things like that. So, that's off to the to the level of service um rather than just referring people to a to a meeting to dealing with what's right in
front of them. Yep. Absolutely. And they talked about that too, how they just really worked with anybody who had any questions or concerns and and we did approve a couple of adjustments too. So, but those were already done prior to the meeting. Um, other council members have reports. Council member Borggan. Thank
you, Madame Mayor. So, I participated in a needs assessment for the search for the new executive director of the Fargo Morehead Visitors Bureau. And I think it was really great that they asked someone from Morehead to come and give our perspective on what we think that very
key position needs. And it is a um search firm out of I think Arizona. So that is ongoing as we speak and I believe Charlie Johnson is done at the end of August. So it's for his replacement. I also um participated in a
panel discussion with Klay County social services and the governor's well I don't know if it was the governor's office but it was um state representatives of Medicaid insurance etc. So, it was me
and social services and um we were talking about the proposed cuts to Medicaid on the federal level and then there are proposed cuts on in the governor's budget as well. So, that took place last week. I think it was a good
discussion. They this panel of state representatives from agencies had traveled to seven different locations within the state. So we were the last location. It was very well attended. I'm sure there was 20 citizens there. So it
was it was interesting. And then um of course there was the Morehead Public Service Commission and the Metro Flood Diversion which the mayor was at. So I'll let you respond to that one. So that's it. All
right. Other council members. All right. Seeing none. um with my reports. It's been a busy uh two weeks. Um last two weeks I've attended five different flood mitigation meetings um to really talk about how to continue
to strategize and engage um um with our representatives and and um those across the state on the need to finish our flood mitigation project. The request again is approximately that 60 million for the city of Morhead. 16 million that
would go towards um assisting with the um implementation or the putting in our our lift stations. Um and then if we get that funding, we could start immediately and have all of
those lift stations completed by next fall and close the chapter uh on flood mitigation within the city of Morehead and make Dr. for Bob Zimmerman. Extremely extremely happy. Um we also had a a meeting in regard to our border
cities legislation um had a number of meetings um for the community center library um with entities who are interested in being a community supporter. Uh, city manager Molly and I
also had it in a tour of DNM Industries. Um, which I learned that the CEO is Nancy Otto's son, which is um, just kind of a little fun fact. Um, a long time serving uh, city council member in
Morehead. DMM Industries started in 1982. They do doors and frames and hardware in Morehead. They moved to Morehead in 2006 to 60,000 square foot building and expanded in 2014 with an additional 43,000
um square feet. They have 120 employees and they are ESOP and every single employee that we came across talked about how grateful um they were to work there and how much they enjoyed working there, which I think was pretty cool.
and they they ship nationwide and I'm always amazed at these businesses and manufacturing companies that are in the city of Morhead that do work across the United States. It it was it was a phenomenal tour. Um the 22nd of April,
uh city manager Molly and I did a Rotary presentation. It was also the triple RDC meeting. Uh again, the the work being done for the new dispatch center is still on track. Um, and the other good news was that nearly all of the dispatch positions have been
filled. They only have two more left um with dispatchers and one supervisor. And in the state of North Dakota, which is where the Red River Valley dispatch is located, um the governor of North Dakota uh signed a bill that declared them now first responders, um which allows them
access to some additional benefits. And so that was a huge deal for them and um we're excited for them. Um we had the finance meeting for the diversion on April 23rd. Answered a lot of questions in regards to Minnesota funding um for
the metr flood diversion authority. Um again a $3 billion project and the amount of funding that the state of Minnesota um needs to contribute is is uh not insignificant but certainly not the um huge when you look at a $3 billion um
project. Um, I attended a YMCA strategic planning meeting. There were a number of people that were also representing um the the Minnesota side and the Morehead side. Uh, and I think we were all spread out and divided into different groups. And I think the the summary of each
group was everybody wanted uh to have a YMCA in Morehead. So, we're going to just keep putting that out there and maybe it'll actually happen someday. Um and then the 24th attended a lunchon at MState. Again, some really good news. They are increasing enrollment again and
looking at putting in new programs like cyber security. And then with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Board, uh things are still on track to open in 2027. And that is all I have. Over to you, city manager Molly. No updates tonight, Mayor. All right. And we do not
have an executive session and there isn't any new business. So with that we are adjourned. Good night Morehead.