All right. It is May 26, 2026. It's 5:30 p.m. Uh, good evening everyone. I am Mayor Shelley Carlson. The Morhead City Council welcomes public input on issues listed on the agenda or of general community interest. Uh time and council permitting. Speakers will be limited to
three minutes each. If you'd like to address the council during the meeting, please fill out a form provided by the city clerk and I will call you up during the citizens address council item on the agenda. You'll need to state your name and if you are a Morehead resident. 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 and with gratitude acknowledge the
sacred land the city of Mor is built upon. We acknowledge the people have resided here for generations and recognize that the spirit of the Dakota Oji way mati and all indigenous communities permeates this land. With that, could I get a roll call, please? Ryan Nelson >> here. >> Nicole Matson >> here. >> Heather Nissa Meyer
>> here. Emily Moore here. Deb White here. >> Lisa Borggan >> here. >> Sebastian McDougall >> here. >> Chuck Hendrickson. >> Mayor Shelley Carlson >> here. And for those who are able, please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Right.
And city man, do we have any agenda amendments? >> There are no amendments to the agenda tonight, mayor. >> Okay. Um, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So, move Nissa Meyer. >> Second. >> Motion and second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I.
>> Any opposed? That motion carries. We're on to recognitions and presentations. Our first presentation is from the Historical Cultural Society of Klay County. And I will turn it over to the executive director, Laura Fory. Welcome. >> Hi. Thank you. Um, good evening, Mayor
Carlson, members of the city council. Um, as she said, my name is Laura Fordy and I'm the new executive director for the Historical and Cultural Society of Klay County. Um, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this evening and all the support that you have provided throughout the years. Um, I'd
like to say a special thank you to Deb White and Ryan Nelson who both serve on our board and um, Dan Molly and the parks department uh, as they kind of helped me transition to this new position over the last year. I'm very appreciative of the parks uh, department
willingness to work together on several of our programs. So, what is HCSCC? Um, in a nutshell, we help people who live in the community discover their stories. As a former social studies teacher, I understand and truly believe
in the importance of history. With the help of some of our historians on staff, I've had the opportunity to learn more about the rich history of our organization. And I'd like to share a bit of that. For nearly a hundred years, the Historical and Cultural Society of
Klay County through various different organizations has changed to meet the needs of our community. What started as a relatively small historical society has grown to be a primary tourist and cultural destination for our city and county. We are the cultural and
historical hub of the community, working to preserve and share the stories of all who call this place home. In 1932, the Klay County Historical Society was created. Throughout the early decades, it operated in multiple locations
throughout Morehead and featured traveling exhibits across the county. After the Yum sailed to Norway in 1982, momentum grew to house the ship here in Morehead. It led to the creation of the heritage yamumps interpretive center
celebrating both the ship's history and the cultural heritage of the region. The historical society and the interpretive center functioned as two separate entities but were both housed within the yummp center when it opened in 1986. In
the9s the city of Morhead purchased the building and expanded it to support additional activities. In 2009, the Yumumpt Interpretive Center and the Klay County Historical Society merged to form the Historical and Cultural Society of Klay County, which serves as a regional
destination for visitors and a community hub for Morehead in Klay County. Overall, 2025 was a successful year. I came in in the middle of it and uh helped transition between Marine um
Kelly Jonison and myself. Uh we saw rough uh just about 25,000 visitors to the museum and went out into the community to reach about 1500 people and had over a billion million views on social media. The gift shop increased
revenue, which means an increased support of our budget, but also sales tax revenue for the city. These numbers represent more than just visitors, however. They reflect community engagement, educational impact, public access, and a positive impression of
both visitors and community members. One of the things that really sets HCSCC apart is that it's not your average um county historical society. We have unique objects and exhibits from the ship and church to art and local history
exhibits. Our staff and volunteers guide visitors on tours. We have changing exhibits every 3 to six months. And the quality of our research and in-house exhibits is exceptional. As a result, we are considered a must-sea destination
for visitors to the Fargo Morehead area, and we consistently receive strong reviews that encourage others to visit. Besides reaching visitors in the area, we also have a strong role in reaching out and serving our community. We provide tours to primary and secondary
school students, offer internships to area college students, and employ uh members of the community. In May of 2026 alone, there were every elementary school in Morehead brought students for tours. These tours give
young learners the opportunity to engage in local history. I got the opportunity to be on some of the tours and it was fun to see one kid walk in and kind of look at an exhibit and realize that his dad was in the exhibit. And then the
next day, um, another group came in and I heard a kid point to a picture and say, "That's my uncle." So these kids get to see that history is not something that's just in the past. It's something that is with them today. Experiences
like these help spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and create lasting connections to our shared history and deepens their roots in the area. We also have popular programs like Pangia which is a community favorite celebrating many cultures and communities and collaborate
with the city and other organizations for various events throughout the year. The staff also bring educational and cultural experiences out into the community in spaces such as nursing homes, churches, community businesses, civic organizations, and again schools.
One of the most popular community events is History on Tap at Junkyard, which starts in the fall and runs through the winter. If you haven't been there yet, I encourage you to do so, but come at least an hour and a half early if you want a seat. To help ensure that everyone gets a chance to come to the
museum, we offer free admission on Tuesday evenings and often do programming on those same evenings. We've had record high admissions for Tuesdays this year. that we don't get funds directly from the city. The generous inkind rent is
essential to our ability to continue to provide our programming and remain economically viable. In exchange for the inkind rent, HCSCC provides interpretation and stewardship of the city-owned cultural assets of the ship
and church. This includes public access to those objects, maintaining relationships with the stakeholders, developing and installing exhibits, and providing guided experiences. As a result, HCSCC has a significant economic
impact on the city and region. The direct economic impact of out of town visitors is a little over $3 million. We support jobs and we generate about $450,000 in tax revenue both direct and indirect at the city, county, and state
level. The city's investment helps us make this possible. Like many cultural organizations, we continue to navigate rising cost, changes in tourism trends, increasing competition for attention and funding.
We're working diligently to find ways to cut costs without cutting the quality of the experiences that we offer. However, and more importantly, we are also focusing on new and innovative ways to increase revenue with things like improved marketing, paid programming
when um appropriate, sponsorships, and more. We are proud of the work that we are doing today, but we are also looking to the future. Our strategic plan helps provide a clear direction on what is most important, long-term sustainability, expanding community
connections, and preserving the history and culture that continues to shape our community. You should have gotten a um annual report that can give you specifics to that if you would like. And with that, thank you for your time
and your support. And I'd be happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Miss Bordy. Um, are there any questions or comments from council? Council member Borian. >> Well, I just watched a video that I think Oh, what's his name?
>> Marcus. >> Marcus made about Morehead. It was one the first of many apparently. >> I really enjoyed it. I It was a little bit long, but I watched it all the way to the end >> and I learned a I've lived in Morehead my entire life and I learned a lot about
it. I thought it was really well done and I hope that they continue to make some of those videos. And I don't know if maybe our communications team and the city could do something to get those out there more because >> it was really really well done and amazing. And I think maybe you guys got a grant to help with doing these videos.
I >> not those. Nope. Um that was just something that he did with other organizations in town that reached out and said we should do a a history of Morhead. And so we said sure. >> Yeah, it was very well done. So kudos to him and to you. Thank you.
>> Thanks, Council Member White. >> Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to just mention one other thing. Uh, you know, Lord, great presentation. And one of the things I wanted to highlight, too, is just that a lot of times when people hear about the museum, they think about the ship, they think about the, um,
Nordic heritage. And one of the things that we really appreciate is the extent to which the staff really works at creating a space that celebrates the history and culture of all of the people of Klay County. And I just to you know think about two examples we got u from
two of our board members. Martha Castanon I thought thought about one night when we were here for the global market and she was waiting for her granddaughter to come in so she could go down and take a picture because we had an exhibit on migrant farmers and her dad was part of that exhibit and so you
know that important part of our history and Samai who's also on the board um her mom was part of the uh ex when we did one on our Kurdish community and so just having that where as you said you know kids can come in and they can see this
and they they can identify with it. They see parts of their family, parts of their story. I think that that's really important and and just uh a real credit to the work that our staff is doing. >> Yeah, it's very important to us to make sure we get everybody's story recorded.
>> Any else? Um I I just had one well maybe kind of two questions but you know when the FMCT moved in um we saw a a significant increase in the number of people that were coming here and I'm just curious if that um also increase the number of
visitors that you guys had to particularly the ship area that you are able to capture some of those uh visitors and those numbers um to apply for grants and things like that and people you know now are more aware just a proximity coming here and seeing
something else too. >> Sure. Um, we don't have a way to track that. Um, I don't know how many people come in to the museum when they're here for a, you know, an FMCT event. Um, I've
been here once when there are people around and they do wander in there, but I don't have any hard numbers and um, yeah, I'm I'm just not sure. >> Yeah, I I was I was just more curious because sometimes when two entities
colllocate then, you know, there's kind of that cross uh pollination, I guess, with with the visitors and everything like that. and and uh yeah and any possibilities on collaborating with them to do a play about the building of the ship. >> I think that would be a really cool
collaboration. >> I haven't thought about that, but it could be benefits both. >> All right. >> Well, thank you so much and keep up the great work. >> Thanks. >> Right. Our next presentation is a legislative up update from our
governmental affairs director, Lisa Bod. Thank you, Mayor Carlson and members. This is more of a report than a presentation, but um wanted to just um come in. We're just over a week out from when the legislature adjourned um on May
18th. The most significant result for Morehead came in the form of the capital investment omnibus bill which included in town. It included money for flood mitigation for Clay and
Morehead and in town flood mitigation is top on that list. Um the amount was $10 million which the FM diversion has indicated that they will match with another $10 million one which means that
Moreheads in town flood mitigation can be completed after 17 years. So for those of you and our staff who have been around for the floods of 1997,
2009, 2010, 2011, and others, this is cause for major celebration. For those who weren't, we have lots of stories to share. Um, we're really grateful to our delegation, Senator
Coopek, Representatives Keeler and Joy, and to the diversion for putting in a match that I believe resulted in a much larger legislative appropriation than we could have expected than we did expect at the beginning of the session. I
believe it really did make a difference. Um what doesn't get spent on the Morehead projects will be used for county and watershed projects that are next on the priority list um that are necessary for the diversion permits and
FEMA reertification. So that will be really helpful to all the people that pay mandatory flood insurance. They'll be able to still get flood insurance if they need it, but it will be optional and it will be at much lower rates than
they're paying now. People are paying more for flood insurance in some instances than they are for their mortgages. So, it's really been a burden on them for all these years. So, it's really really good. I will say an additional 30 to $32 million is needed
to complete all of the projects. So that's a future future effort um that we'll regroup on as we regroup on so many things um in the interim. The um other major push for us was the
border cities enterprise zone and in the end the um omnibus tax bill did not include the language changes that we had requested. So we'll regroup with the other border cities during the interim to discuss future steps. Um,
another significant legislative accomplishment that affects finances of our residents is the um, additional funds in the property tax rebate program. So, that is helping to offset some of the, you know, increases in
property taxes in Morhead and around the state. Um, we had two bonding requests and you didn't hear much about the wastewater request because the flood request took so much effort. So, there was no hearings on that yet. But, you know,
when the legislature or when the when the city council um discusses legislative priorities for 2027, um, we will talk about that. We had requested $10 million in major wastewater capital needs to offset the
capital investments that we know are going to increase otherwise increase rates pretty significantly for Morehead and for Dworth. So that there's more discussion that's you know it's teed up and then we'll discuss if there are other capital priorities that the
council has. So next year's session begins on January 12th, so earlier than it was this year. Um the landscape will be different with a number of retirements that affect not only the governorship and our delegation, but
also some really key committee leadership with the retirements of Senator Papus and Senator Rest who have been longtime legislators in key leadership positions. Um, we'll begin working with the city council on 2027
legislative priorities in October or November of 2026. And in the meantime, if you have any questions or thoughts or ideas, please let me know. Thank you to Mayor Carlson, Council members Nelson, and Borggan for
making a few trips down to St. Paul um this past year. And um with that, if you have any questions or comments, I'd be happy to hear them. And that's all I have for tonight. >> All right. Thank you. Uh Miss Bodie, I I don't know what you're going to do
without having to lead with a request for flood mitigation since you've been doing that for the last 17 years. >> I don't know anything else. >> It'll be very interesting and people won't know what to think of Morehead anymore. Um any questions or comments from uh council members?
And I don't know if you want to just briefly mention um the uh lobbying efforts that we did in DC last week um to just continue to request um additional assistance. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, actually when the
legislature adjourned, um we were u Mayor Carlson and I were in Washington DC doing some federal um advocacy work for Morehead specifically and also as part of a delegation from
the Chamber of Commerce. And so when I got the text at 1:00 a.m. on the bonding bill passing, I sent a text to Shelley and Dan and Bob Zimmerman and Bob immediately backed out of the
conversation, but he was fine learning the news in the morning. Um so we did have wonderful meetings with our federal delegation um with Morehead specifically and Jason Benson from the diversion was with us on
those meetings. Um and then meetings with the Minnesota North Dakota delegations and um a number of um executive departments on Morehead needs and in fact Senator Clolobashar has put
forth the flood mitiga a flood mitigation request for congressionally directed spending. We don't have an answer yet, but she has is advancing it along the path that might lead to a grant. And if we do get that, then that
would mean even more money to put toward other projects in um Klay County and uh for the watershed district. We just we we're launching our ship in every wave and um we may we may we could receive as
much as another 5.6 6 million, but it also could be reduced. And I will say um the uh we also made a request, a smaller request for I think 2 million or 3 million for um a a smaller element of
the wastewater improvements. and that is being put forth in the House for a smaller amount yet of $850,000, but that has made its way past the appropriations committee so that when
the federal budget passes, it's it's a pretty sure thing that we will get that resource. So that's another little bit that comes and we're patchworking that together as best we can and looking for all the opportunities
for clarification that 850,000 would go uh be put towards the sanitation >> sanitary >> sanitary lift stations. Um you know that whole project >> is about $40 million. So >> that'll be the next one we'll have to continually be chipping away at.
>> Still a ways to go. Thank you, Miss Bod. All right. Uh, moving on to the approval of the May 11th, 2026 meeting minutes. And I also just wanted to clarify for the record that at the last meeting, um, the last vote that we took, I did a a
double negative and I said no, I do not want to and and it should have been a yes. I want to support the motion to not continue the discussion. So, I just wanted to clarify that for the record um with the meeting minutes. And with that, do I have a motion to approve the May
11th meeting minutes? >> So, move. >> Second. >> I have a motion and a second. Uh any discussion? Uh Council Member Nissme. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um I appreciate you mentioning your vote. I did get a number of uh inquiries from residents
who were watching um who were not present during the meeting and were confused by the double negative. So, I appreciate you um commenting and adding that to public record so people who are watching uh can watch tonight hopefully and better understand what they are
reading in the um minutes. I know that it's hard to keep track of all of the things that go on, but even more so when you're at a distance and pausing and starting your uh YouTube video between parenting or eating dinner or all of those things. So, I just wanted to
appreciate you um following up on my request and comment. Um that came from residents and so uh residents keep letting us know when you have questions about anything and everything. So, that is my only discussion point on our minutes. Thank you. There's a motion and
a second. Any other discussion? See none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Um we do have one individual who would like to address the council. Um, Mr. Mark Olenberg, if you want to come to the podium.
>> I was gonna speak. >> Oh, okay. I'm sorry. >> All right. So, do we have any citizens who wish to address the council at this time with an item that's not on the agenda? All right. See none, um, moving on to the public hearing. Um, I will
turn this over to, uh, Tanya Kunza. Uh, and do I have a motion to open the public hearing on the community development block grant 2026 plan and amendments for the five-year plan and program year? >> So, move Nissa Meyer. >> Second. >> Motion and a second. Any discussion? See
none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> Any opposed? That motion carries and we are in public hearing and I will turn it over to Miss Kunza. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Carlson and members of city council. This public hearing is related to goals and planning for expenditure of the federal community
development block grant CDBG. The city of Morehead has been awarded $351,337 in CDBG funds for the program year 2026 and as program income from its revolving loan program that can be reinvested in
eligible activities. Future funding awards are subject to congressional approval. I will summarize draft priorities and projects for the draft 2026 annual action plan. And there's no action required at tonight's meeting. The mayor and council are asked to hear public testimony. And while the comment
period extends to May 31st for the 2026 plan and 5-year plan amendment, you may close the hearing tonight. Final consideration and action will be considered at the June 8th city council meeting. The comment period will end on June 7th for the amendment of the 2024
plan. and no comments have been received thus far. The priorities in the 2025 through 2029 consolidated plan include actions around affordable housing, homelessness, special needs populations, inhousing community development needs,
and under the um amendment to the excuse me, the amendment to the consolidated 5-year plan, the 2025 through 2029 is to include a goal which falls underneath this priority statement. um the priority statement of non-housing community development needs.
Um it's a strategic goal of of public facility rehabilitation and accessibility. This goal will allow rehabilitation work and/or improvements to a publicly accessible facility and eligible activity under 24CF FR570.201C
public facilities and improvements in a low to moderate income area benefit. The draft 26 annual action plan lays out the projects that align with these priorities. The 24 plan amendment um the 24 action plan that was approved by council on
January 8th, 2024, it included an activity for a youth program to be administered by the Afroamerican Development Association, which was not implemented and no funds were distributed. This pro um proposed amendment would allow that the funds of
$8,000 to be reallocated to an existing park and recre scholarship fund for low to moderate income youth. This scholarship fund assists eligible youth to um obtain a pool pass andor enroll in recreational activities. These additional funds will expand access for
families who may otherwise not be able to participate. Comments on the draft 26 plan and amendments to the 5-year plan and program year 24 plan will be accepted through June 7th. Comments can be made over the phone, email, or submitting comments through the website. All this
information is available on the website morehead.gov and then just search for community development block grant. I'd be happy to answer any questions after members of the public have an opportunity to comment on the CDBG planning documents. >> Thank you. And we do have one individual
who would like to speak on that and that's Mark Alenberg. >> Um, good evening. >> I'm Mark Alberg come from the second ward. Um, here to speak on behalf of uh, Hakun Debbar uh, the the former executive director of Afroamerican
Development Association. Um, I gave him a call a couple weeks ago and let him know that this money was going to be reused and he was happy to see that it was going for youth and in parks. He is over in Kenya right now and has been for about the last year and a half. His grandmother who raised him um after his
mom came here died about a year and a half ago. And I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of probate in in East Africa, but I think there's some some things are working through and he's over there. If you want to take a look at medium.com, he's got articles on there about Kenya and taking everything he's
learned here and bringing it over there. Uh he I talked to him last week. He just got a contract to build a um a stadium somewhere in Kenya. So that's his third business he started this this last year. So he's looking forward to getting back, but he's going to um take care of family
first and then and come on back. So what he wanted to say was um in the last 10 years um you guys have been fantastically supportive of what he's done and of the community that's uh come here by the thousands. I think our last census, the the only increase we saw in
the city of Morhead were from African-American folks, many of whom were um Somali or East Africans. So um just a a wonderful example of the city coming together and supporting an individual who um really exemplifies uh
I think what it is that we want to see um with our immigrant community. And he wanted to say thank you um to the city of Morhead and the staff of Morhead uh for all the great work he's done. and when he comes back, he'll come back here and address you guys right away. But that's what I'm here to do. So, thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Utenberg. Are there any other members of the community who would like to um address this item on the agenda during the public hearing? All right, seeing none, I would entertain a motion to close the public hearing.
>> So, move Nissa Meyer >> second. >> Second, Nelson. >> Motion and second. Any discussion? See none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed. All right, that motion passes and the public hearing is now
closed on the CDBG. Um, the resolution will be on the next council agenda. So, thank you, Miss Kunzen, for coming and presenting. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, Council Member Nisser, then Council Member Matson. Sorry, I didn't realize you had questions. >> Uh, council member Matson was first.
>> I was half a second quicker today. Uh, I had a little ice cream before I came because it's like 95 degrees and I now I'm peppy. Um, okay. Thank you for the presentation. Uh, question on proposed 2026 activities. Second item on the table, home rehabilitation loan program.
It says citywide rehabilitation loan program assisting owner occupants of single family homes whose income falls below 80% of area median income. Would that be household income, individual income? >> Um, that is household income. um depending on the number of individuals
living in the house. >> Okay. And then does how I assume I would assume that retirement income is part of the you know factors into how what your household income is. It's not it's not money for a job but it's still income. So >> correct. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep.
>> Matt, I did not have ice cream before I got here. My apologies. Miss KN um you had mentioned the highlights and the amendment that we are looking to add to really just um allow the use and approach to not only have um facility
public facility rehabilitation um and then the reusing of the uh $8,000 for the parks and wreck. I'm going to look for um a couple uh more information on the $8,000. So, if people hear that and it gets approved and passed at
June's meeting, what does that mean for them? How people will access that parks and recre scholarship? I know that's not your realhouse. It's tangentially related. And so, I can see perhaps people getting more excitement because they may have applied for a grant
previously and had been turned away because the pool wasn't very deep or uh that was not a great example. The there were not lots of funds to go around. That's better. We're going to talk about the pool later. Sorry. Um and then my um first is that public facility
rehabilitation ad. Can you give any examples or ideas of if pe people may not know what that means or it might concern and so just a few these would not necessarily be ones that we do but maybe examples um for people who don't
get to hang out and look at our packets the whole time just and they're watching on YouTube. I would appreciate just th those two things, just a few examples and more information. >> Yep. Um I will speak to the $8,000 first that will be going towards um or that's
proposed to go towards the park and rec scholarship fund. Um they have a certain amount of funds that they have available for um youth and families to apply to be able to get um youth recreational activities. um whether it be baseball,
swimming lessons to assist with the cost of that. Um and again, they have to be um fall under the low to moderate income guidelines. And then there's also the option to be able to use that fund for a pool pass. Um and since their
scholarship funds are pretty much depleted for the year and with the opening of Ronkey Park pool and the excitement around that, um we want to make sure everybody that um has applied that maybe didn't get the funds or that is wanting to apply now that they see
the pool is opening um that they'll have um that available to them. And then um addressing um regarding an like an example of what a um a facility a public facility um improvement would
be um like the Rooric Art Museum that is a public facility and it's located within a low to moderate income neighborhood. Um, so it would benefit those um low to moderate income area and it would be if it's a need for um any type of improvement that needs to be
done, whether it be an elevator to make it more accessible for the public to use if there was something that might have um maybe malfunctioned or needs to be fixed. Um that's one example off the top of my head. It would be a a facility
that's open to all and that is in a located within a low to moderate income area and um that would make the improvement more accessible for people to use. >> Excellent. I sincerely appreciate uh both of those follow-up items. Sorry to
give them to you all at once. Um but I really appreciate also you sharing how um people can find that information. I know our website is shiny and new, but just being able to put community development block grant, which I can never say CDBG.
Oh, look, I did just tonight. Um the that acronym is uh it gets buried oftentimes, but that community development block grant. If people did want to provide information, they could do so online just by searching in our website. You don't have to know what
department you work in or where. DG M C DBG funds are located and they can do that. And so I appreciate you um bringing that information. I'm sad to hear that there are zero comments thus far, but I am hopeful that once it's out and in the open um you're able to get a
bunch more um insights and feedback from FA or residents. Thank you. >> Yep. Right. Any other council members have any questions for Miss Kunza? >> If not, thank you. >> Thank you. All right, we are down to mayor and
council reports. Uh, any council members have reports from boards or commission meetings they've attended? Council member Nyer. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, I had just been going around town doing lots of things. Uh, the Caslay Food Commission met on Wednesday, May 13th. Um, and we
had a great presentation um, from the city of West Fargo forestry department in collaboration with West Fargo Parks. Um, I had no idea that the city of West Fargo had so many um, food orchards in their community. Um, but it was nice to hear from their forestry um, director
that their goal as a city has been to have um, a food forest or an orchard um, within walking distance of every neighborhood um, throughout West Fargo. You may or may not know, West Fargo is similarly sized uh to Morehead. And so I
just think that that is a really great way to sort of look at if you are interested in getting more information about the city of Morehead's uh forestry things. Um you can again that shiny new website uh look at tree planting um because that came up on what people
could put on their boulevards. The West Fargo, City of West Fargo only allows one fruit tree, but lo and behold, the City of Morehead includes lots more. They are not only in shade trees, but in small tree options. And so, if you're uh in a new developing neighborhood or you
are an older neighborhood like mine that has some trees that are done being trees um and they are being replaced, make sure to check out the options that um our uh City of Morehead Forester and their department have put together in a beautiful list. Um we also were um had
the Boulevard Garden blueprint updated. So kudos to our staff who um have made some wonderful changes over the last few years and they are now incorporated into the Caslay Food Commission um Boulevard blueprint. And so if you are interested in schnazzing up your boulevard, we do
have um uh rules and regulations about it, but you can find ideas as well as information um in the updated boulevard garden blueprint available through the Caslay Food Commission. My u most favorite thing was an updated list of
community gardens and orchards available metrowide. I know typically there are one or two that people really know about and then they are so crushed when all of the apples or whatnot are gone, but you can find the 2026 um community garden and orchard list
updated. It is currently housed in uh Cass Fargo Public Health's website. Um and they if you see something that you know is a community garden or an orchard that is available, feel free to message um Cheryl. She is a member of the steering committee for the Cast Clay
Food Commission and she will add it and make sure it's up to date in that printable PDF that is accessible to everybody in our metropolitan area. Uh today I met with the Cass or not Cass uh Morehead public housing agency um and we
were able to pass an updated budget for um this year which is 2025 to 2026. Uh we were also able to pass a 2026 and 2027 budget. Those include opportunities to show gaps in HUD funding. Um there
you may or may not know uh uh that the funding for public housing not only in support for those who are currently using public housing is is not enough but also in the number of units that we have available does not meet the need in our um community. And so being able to
reflect that in our budget, we are hopeful that it will mean more to those who make policies and choose where funds go. Um and a fantastic update from um one of our Morehead public housing units, Sharp View. Uh they have had lots
of chaos with plumbing. The plumbing project, which is throughout the entire building, um is on track and is going very well. And what it involves is redoing the plumbing in each unit. So everybody who lives there has to move into another unit, get theirs all shiny
and new, and then move back in. And so it's uh a long sort of process. envision a Gant chart that has lots and lots of pieces going on. Um the downside is that the project was hoped to hopeful to be done in October of 26, but uh December
of 26 is the new updated conclusion of that project. And I think that is going to be a very fantastic thing that all units are going to be more accessible and have plumbing that works. Um which I think is a minimum really for uh all
humans. This Friday, this Thursday, May 28th, um at 8 a.m. we have the solid waste advisory committee. Um and it is at 8 a.m. at the resource recovery center. You're welcome to join us. Um we will be getting stats on this week's um
favorite holiday, which we often refer to as cleanup weeks. Um, and they are metrowide. But really what I want to do is send my sincere sinc sincere thanks to the city of Morehead and the Casplay staff who make it possible. I'll come
back in two weeks with really great stats on not only how much trash um we were able to uh get off the streets, but also how many fires we had. Um, that's always an exciting part of cleanup week. Um, for uh my last tidbit is opening day
for Romke. Romki Park is in the center of Ward 2 and I am absolutely excited that the pool is opening June 4th and so the ribbon cutting and stuff will happen weeks later. Um but I am really excited especially after Miss Kousna um
mentioned that we are offering more scholarships for families and children who wish to get a pool pass all summer long. We're going to have a splash pad. We're going to have new slides and really great opportunities that are centrally located in the city of Morehead. And so mark your calendar and
get ready with your swimsuits. Like our skin might be nice and shiny and white from winter, but uh the pool will be ready for us June 7th or June 4th. My apologies. Thank you. Uh other council members, Council Member Moore.
Thank you, Madam Mayor. You Smire, you stole my thunder. Dang it. So, we had Parkboard on May 14th where we thanks to Sean Burenberg who put on a fantastic tour for us after our parkboard meeting. Um, and gratitude
to Matt Bus for providing us transportation. We were able to visit Matson Field um and the updated grandstands and see Romy Park. So, yes, I can't wait for June 4th. I also wanted just to mention that if you go on to the
city website and look up the youth scholarships under parks and wreck, there is also an option. So if you don't need a scholarship but you think it's a fantastic idea, you can sponsor a child. So um encourage folks that have the means to do that to consider doing that
through our Morhead community fund. And that's all for me. >> Great. Thank you, Council Member Nelson. Thank you, mayor. Uh earlier this afternoon, um both mayor and I attended the Red River Regional
Dispatch Board Authority meeting. Uh last week, I was also part of the finance um subcommittee. Um with that authority board, we've been uh started our um annual discussions on setting their budget. So, we've had some preliminary information on uh what that
looks like and some proposals from the executive director there. Uh so there'll be more information um sometime in the in the near future. Um just some of the little bit of the background there there um there's been some proposals on adding
a few staff members um to that um to the uh dispatch center over there and um one of the proposals um or ideas they want to hire some just specific call takers rather than full uh the dispatchers that does the radio and call taker things. So, um, they would come in at a at a
lower rate, um, than the, uh, than the dispatcher, um, that does the radio and calls. I'm getting way into the weeds here, but, uh, just know that there's a request. We're looking at different proposals and, uh, we're on a different timeline, uh, than we are here with the council with we have to set our budgets,
you know, well, we have preliminary by this fall and then by, you know, December for the final. Um but with the um triple RDC we have to set that budget here essentially by uh before July. Um so we'll be setting that budget and moving forward. So all the entities are
aware of all the um we're very cognizant of the budget constraints that all the entities Fargo West Fargo Morehead um Cass and Clay counties have. So we'll be cognizant of that. But meanwhile also respecting that um there's just been a a I'll say a heavy increase in 911 calls
in the past year. Um they had the numbers um at the finance committee meeting and I don't have the numbers here to share at the meeting but they were um just mind-boggling the number of 911 calls that went up from 20 2024 to 2025. We don't know if that was just an
anomaly or what happened. We'll need more more years of data on that, but um it's just something that uh we should be cognizant of as we uh budget going forward. So more to come on on that in the future. So, um, that's all I have to report on.
>> Thank you. And I'll just piggy back kind of go out of turn a little bit because I want to add to what Ryan was saying about the triple RDC. Um, one of the things that is somewhat mandatory is a software maintenance update. So, that will be something that's required of all
the entities that are part of the joint powers agreement. Um, that cost to Morhead specifically is about 90 9,28974. Um to give you an idea, we're third in
that list of five. Uh Fargo, their portion is $19,258. Um the other thing with the that was discussed at the Triple RDC was that there was an incident that was in Horus recently. Um, one of the things that
they heard, uh, law enforcement and dispatch heard was that the notifications in Cass and Clay County that were being sent out to schools were not being sent out to private schools or daycarees and they the requests that were coming in is that those would be
included. So, um, that information will be collected. So, when there's different notifications going out to our school systems that it goes out to all schools and also all daycarees. Uh, additionally, the dispatch um kind of gave a shout out to
our Metro Fire Council um which is a cooperative working group with all of our uh fire departments within the metro and um the response times have actually increased uh meaning that I'm doing a
double negative kind of thing here. They're responding faster. um and it's because of the mutual aid and being able to work together so well. Um so I wanted to make sure that um that information was disseminated out. So with that um
Council Member White, >> thank you, Mayor. Um I attended the MAT bus meeting on the 20th and um one of two things I'll mention. One is we are in the budget process for next year and it's going much more smoothly this year than it did last year. And I want to
give credit where it's due. Um and just thank our finance director J uh Jennica Flanigan and one of our finance staff members Megan Zarka. They've just been um really helpful as we work through this process of you know how we do budgeting with our different partners
and making sure that it goes smoothly. Um, I also wanted to mention one of the exciting things that we'll have in the budget for next year is that we are planning for the city of Morehead to have a microtransit pilot program. So,
this would be where we have u microtransit that could help people within the city limits to get um transportation to other places where we have our fixed routes. And so we have the opportunity that we've got some um state funding that we can use for that.
And so that will be part of it. So the only other place that has microtransit in the region is NDSU. We will be the first city in the region that is really doing microtransit for their citizens. Um I on the 22nd was had the opportunity
to attend the Metro Fire Academy graduation and swearing in ceremony. Um and it was great to see our uh see and get a chance to meet our four new Morehead firefighters. Um thank you to all of them for s um selecting Morehead
as their place to serve. On the 12th I attended the Habitat for Humanity breakfast and I wanted to thank um Dan Molly for uh helping to get a get us inviting us to be at a table and to city administrator Pton Mastera who was the
host for that table. Um it's obviously a great partner organization trying to work on issues of um are not a sufficient amount of affordable housing in our community and to really see the impact. We were able to meet um someone
who had been a a recipient of a Habitat or purchased a Habitat home quite a while ago and one that is getting ready to and she is a mom of three. um she's widowed and she and her three I think they're all teenagers currently were
living in a one-bedroom apartment. So, this will be life-changing for them. On the 12th, um I attended the age friendly Morehead presentation at the library and um I know that they gave a great presentation here, but wanted to mention that they are looking at the process of
having Morehead designated as an agefriendly community. There are about 22 other communities in the country that do this. I think Alexandria is the closest one to us, but I think that would be a great thing for us to if we're able to achieve that to show that we are a place that really supports
folks at all stages in their life. Uh, and then just wanted to mention that this weekend is the Fargo Marathon and so good luck to all the runners. Um, thank you to all of the volunteers who make this happen. And also, thank you to
all the community members for your patience and trying to get around on that day. Um, it's an exciting event. Um, a great thing that brings in so many people from all over the country and the world to our region and um, hope the
weather is good. Thank you. >> Other council members have reports from boards or committees. All right. Um, so for a mayor report, um, don't have anything else about the triple RDC. Um, was going to also mention the joint fire academy
graduation. I was able to speak at that and welcome the four new firefighters, uh, Dominic Bonichi, uh, Kyle Hunstead, two Matts, Matt McNeil, and Matt Daniels. Um, it's it's an exceptionally wellrun graduation because it is a Metro Fire
Academy. So, West Fargo, Fargo, and Morehead all uh participate. The trainers come from all three fire departments. It's the 14th academy that they have held. And I think that the fact that we have such great relationships and collaboration with our
fellow metro partners um helps with mutual aid um very similarly with our law enforcement and mutual aid. you know, with the SWAT team, we don't have to have a full-blown SWAT team with um within our police department because we can rely on our community partners. That's one of the things that we're
seeing with um the mutual aid between our three fire departments and we're seeing that with our uh Metro Fire Council that response times are much quicker because we have so many more um people when you look at it as a kind of a bigger metrowide collective fire
department. Um just wanted to give a lot of gratitude and appreciation to the trainers who are from the three stations and um for Fargo for continually hosting such a beautiful uh ceremony and their communications department puts together
a wonderful video that's um shared with the family and also it is live stream so family members who can't attend the graduation are still able to participate. Um, and with that, that is all I have for my reports. Uh, city manager Molly, do you have any reports?
>> Yes, thank you, Mayor. Uh, so last week was public works week, and so a huge thank you to the dedicated crews that, you know, work to keep Morehead running smoothly from sanitation to streets to parks and forestry, the team in public works show up every day. Often it's it's
really early and in some of the toughest conditions around um to make Morehead clean and safe. And so just looked into what was going on last week. And for example, for instance, mo mowing crews were in full swing. That's no surprise. Cleanup days were wrapping up. That's a
that was a big deal. Golf courses were bustling. Street crews cleaned and patched potholes and cracks. And then our forestry team was partnered with riverkeepers, local schools, and community members to plant all kinds of new trees across the community. That's
quite a bit. And then now this week they're getting ready for the marathon. It just just rolls from one week to the next and they they keep going and we're grateful for all they do. Uh we talked about uh the Moreheads Municipal Pool and Romy Splash Pad which is opening on
June 4th. There'll be more information coming out out soon about a fun grand opening that'll be happening later in June um for everybody to join. But also the neighborhood waiting pools open for the season on June 1st. So that's that's next week too. Uh the Morehead Farmers
Market next Tuesday, June 2nd, um is kicking off uh 3:30 to 6:30 with live music from 4 to 6. And a thank you to Trinity uh Church who's hosting the Morehead Market this year in the parking lot on a street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues North. So that'll be a real neat
neighborhood and community event. That's it. Mayor. >> All right. And I was just thinking the parks department should have opened on June 7th and it would have been 67. And I think that everybody would have remembered and the kids would have loved that. But we'll go with June 4th. Um we do not have an executive session or a
new business. So with that, we are journed. Good night, Morehead.