May 14, 2025 • 36 mins
Tom Gerhardt talks to Jason Tomanek about the Bismarck City Commission meeting that took place on 5/13/25.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
City Current, produced by Dakota Media Access in depth discussion
with Bismarck and Mandan city officials. Watch on Government Access
channel six oh two HD or tune in to Radio
Access one O two point five f them Always Local,
Always Current.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome to City Current.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
I'm Tom Gerhart with Dakoda Media Access, joined by Jason Toamonik,
the city administrator for the City of bismart Good to
see you.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Jason, glad to be here, Tom, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yes, those extra hours at the meeting last night until
about nine thirty I think in that executive session, so
it was a long, a long meeting, but a very
productive one.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
We had a full day, we had a lot of
good items on the agenda last night, a lot of
good discussion.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So well, we'll highlight a few of the things that
we're going to be talking about coming up, including the
Ottawa Street reconstruction project which is up in that plant
Perfect sky Zone area which is Old Highway. Got a
little history lesson last night on that Police Chief Dave
(01:12):
Dreevich is retiring at the end of July. Some future
fire station analysis show you a couple of maps of
where some future fire stations will be and tell you
what happened last night and then Misty Waters. That saga continues,
so we'll get into that as well as a number
of other topics from last night's City Commission meeting. Did
(01:36):
want to let folks know that starting last night, Quinn
from our staff here has produced a nice graphics, so
we'll be starting meetings off. This just had the date
of May sixth, which actually wasn't a City Commission meeting.
This is just a graphic that we were working on.
But we do televise live over three hundred government meetings
(01:57):
a year and then we archive them so you can
always go back and watch them. And we thought a
lot of people We put a QR quote on here
because we thought a lot of people on their pontoons
this summer may want to watch the City Commission meetings.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
From the right.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
We're better to consume municipal government than on the river,
so we're.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
In lockstep thinking that way. On the consent agenda last night,
just a couple of items I thought would be fun
to talk about. One you noted is Bismarck Expressway has
that pedestrian underpass and they're looking to put a mural
in there, and we have a couple of drawings of
what that could look like.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's a place I've used a lot as.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
A jogger and a biker and a walker, so it'll
be fun to see what that could look like here
in the near future.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Definitely will brighten up the corridor. There'll be some obviously,
some work to do ahead of time, some prep work
to get it cleaned up and ready to go. And
I believe the two artists that are working together on
this are Nicole Gagner and painter Nicole and he may
know her as I know she teaches a variety of
classes in the community as some other murals that she
has been a part of, and Mollie McLain as well,
(03:08):
and so Molly is another very accomplished professional local artist.
And so looking forward to the work that those two
women are going to do. It's going to be fantastic
and looking forward to seeing what it's all how it
all comes together at the end.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Yeah, And you know, it just does make such a
difference when you go through those spaces, and usually I'm
just worried about getting done with my ron and I'll
make it to the finish, but that'll be something to
look forward to along the path. Also wanted to talk
about the annual deer and turkey licenses for the bowl hunting,
and you noted that this is a very I think
(03:43):
it's limited to twenty licenses.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
These are sought.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
After they are yes, and so in the past there
have been twenty five licenses that were issued. And what
we're talking about here is, as you mentioned, bow hunting
for either deer or turkey, and this is in within
city limits. There can be years or seasons where there's
troubles with the populations of deer in turkey in that
Riverwood golf Course area, those natural areas where we're kind
(04:10):
of impeding on the river and the corridor as well,
and so annually the Bismarck Police Department has issued licenses
to hunt those critters during certain times of the year.
This year, it should be noted the number of licenses
is limited now to twenty based on the harvest from
last year. The quantities are smaller, so if you're interested,
(04:32):
you better get there early. I believe the sales starts
at six am, and I want to say it was
June seventeenth, I think was the date for that. I'm
not entirely certain, but there will be an announcement from
the Bismarck Police Department when that's going out. So if
you're interested in trying to procure a hunting license in
city limits early, you better get there early.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
And I don't know if it's just me, but you know,
we're both grew up here. The turkeys seem to be
all over lately.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
There seems to be an abundance of that.
Speaker 5 (05:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah, and I've heard reports and I've seen firsthand there's
a few places that feed them which will encourage the
flock to get larger over time.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So well, so yeah, check that out if you're interested.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
The regular agenda was full of items of interest, and
I guess we'll start with the Misty Water zoning map amendment.
And in some ways, I guess this is kind of
a broken record, but in other ways it continues to evolve.
And last night very passionate residents from that area talking
(05:40):
about this zoning map amendment, And so tell us what
happened last night. A lot of like I said, a
lot of passionate people, as you saw at the podium,
worried about their property and the North Coata Supreme Court
ruling and just all these things that go into it,
and then where we stand coming out of last night
(06:01):
and what the city now will be looking to do
in the coming weeks.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Yes, there's definitely a lot of moving parts here, and
there have been a lot of iterations, a lot of
changes over the years. And I think it should be
noted too that there are a number of homes within
the Misty Water Subdivision that are built appropriately. They're within
the setbacks, they're not encroaching in any stormwater easements or
any of the lomar, which is a flood term, a
(06:27):
letter of map revision. It's a line on a map
to avoid. There are a good number of homes out
there that are perfectly fine. There are a small handful
of homes that over the years have had some encumbrances
or some encroachments into these areas, and it comes down
to an interpretation of where are these lines on the
ground where the homes positioned, And unfortunately they as you mentioned,
(06:51):
the saga will continue for a little bit longer. What
we heard last night was testimony on both sides. Some
were proposed to the proposed changes, and the changes were
proposed by City of Bismarck's staff to try and unify
as many of the homes and the zoning district that
applies in place. There were some folks that had concerns
(07:13):
with the proposed changes. There were a good number of
property owners that stood in support of the changes just
to kind of put an ends to the means in
many ways, but as the Commission tries to do in
many cases, it's trying to resolve all the issues. And
although there were many in support of one resolution, it
(07:34):
maybe didn't work for a few others. And so I
think where the Commission's direction was back to community development
to Ben Erith and his staff is to identify these
kind of the one offs, the very unique situations and
find a way to address them so everyone has made whole.
In those situations there are no loss of land. In
(07:55):
one case, a gentleman was referring to the eastment line
moving and it would effectively render about nine hundred square
feet of his property different than it would be today,
and sometimes that term is referred to as a taking.
I'm not going to get into the legal matters of
all of that, but understanding that he wasn't comfortable with
(08:15):
the resolution that many others were, so with the Commission
trying to make the best out of this entire situation,
also looking for an end to these means. I believe
we will see this come back. If I heard mister
Eric correctly, the first meeting in June, Commissioner Connolly had
asked for some more conversations with between staff and the
property owners. I guess, ultimately best case scenario if we
(08:38):
can get to that meeting in June or sometime they'reabout
and everyone that was in the room last night comes
to that next meeting and says we can live with this.
That sounds like the best compromise for all parties involved.
We aren't looking to drag this out any longer, make
it any worse than it has been. I think staff
is very interested in the resolution and then a solid
(08:59):
plan moving forward, because there are still vacant lots that
will have homes built on them in the future.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
And we did have a propos zoning change map up
from last night. I guess in some senses.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Will that's old news now as we're moving forward from that.
But that darker black line was the proposed change, if
I understood correctly last night. Correct now in some senses,
not totally back to the drying board, but as you mentioned.
I think Ben and his staff are going to take
a look at this again and then come back in June.
(09:31):
So hopefully there's some resolution to this in the coming weeks.
Another big project that I guess could start construction not
to jump ahead in twenty twenty six is the Ottawa
Street reconstruction project, which, as we mentioned at the beginning
of the show, is an old part of highway and
(09:54):
basically from plat perfect and sky zones are too well
known pu Stockman's Association. Stockman's Association built that brand new
beautiful building up there as well, and so the highlighted
highlighted portion is what would be under construction.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
And so more engineering came to.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
The podium last night to explain, and it sounds like
from last night's meeting that they've done a tremendous job
with this plan.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
But there's some heartburn here too as well.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
A couple of different concerns brought forward. We've got a
very unique mix of uses along this little corridor, retail
office uses. We also have some residential on the far
north end. We've got some condos that are there, and
so we heard from business owners representative of the Homeowners
Association for the condo and concerns that I heard. First,
(10:50):
this is a common concern and it's an understood concern
in this situation, is the impact through special assessments. The
estimates for the cost of this project four million dollar
billed roughly a little over four point three million. When
you spread that out, we're looking at the percentage of
property those particular individuals own along that corridor, and that's
(11:13):
how the specials get spread. And with a condo situation,
we heard it could impact an individual unit as much
as fifteen to seventeen thousand dollars. We heard from a
commercial property owner that he was looking at an assessment
more like seven hundred thousand dollars for the Plant Perfect site.
And when you think about the size of Plant Perfect
along Outawa Street, it's one of the larger parcels. But
(11:36):
also I heard that particular individual say a good bit
of their business is occupying about thirty days of an
entire year.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I think fifty said.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
So some of the other concerns that he raised, and
we all understand this times of the year, parking is
at a premium, and they currently the roadway section does
not have parking. It's just two lane road with a
ditch on both sides. The two alternatives that were proposed
was a thirty two foot roadway section which wouldn't really
(12:08):
allow for a lot of parking, or two or a
forty foot section which could enable a little more of
that street parking and the parking wouldn't just be on
the street for plant perfect. It was noted that there
are other businesses that often will have events or activities
and will cause people to park in each other's parking lots,
and so sounds like the neighborhood all shares some of
(12:28):
the same concerns, and I think the Commission was listening
very closely last night. We've got a very unique situation
here with an urban corridor that is essentially a rural road,
and so we're recognizing there needs to be some work
done here. I think the ask from most of the
folks that testified were to find another way or find
(12:50):
an additional way to help offset some of the expense
of this particular build out. And I think the commission
that resonates with the commissioners were not looking to cripple
a business owner with a sixty thousand dollars annual special
assessment over fifteen years that's that can be a lot,
and so I'm not going to suggest a different number.
(13:11):
I don't know what that right formula is. That's that's
the role of the engineers and the commissioners to try
and come back with a proposal that is something that
everyone can support.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
And I believe the alternative B the forty.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Alternative A was do nothing to leave it as is.
Alternative B was thirty two feet of roadway, and Alternative
C is a forty foot roadway which could have parking
or a center turn lane.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
And is that my remembering right, that that the forty
foot wide was advanced.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
That's the preferred recommendation.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Recommendation correct with Also, I think the direction as you mentioned,
to find some help with these topset some of the
expense with the special assessments. There would be parking on
one side of the forty foot with the tent for
parking on the other side, if I understood right, and
the potential to a turn.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Lane down the road with that wider width.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
So really interesting presentation last night, and I know that's
that corridor really needs some help sidewalks, wid roads, potholes.
I think what did that The highway goes back to
the twenties.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I believe I heard that the late twenties.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Twenties, right, Yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
It's one hundred years plus that people have been using
that corridor and it's it's definitely time to fix things
up over there.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
We heard a really interesting, pretty brief presentation but on
this methane gas capture project at the city landfill, and
it's essentially a company could come in capture some of
this natural methane gas. The city would get a proportion
of the proceeds for revenue, some additional revenue.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Talk about that project, Yeah, that's an interesting purpose. I
was actually part of the group that evaluated the various
proposals from multiple consultants. Where we're going forward with as
an established company that has a number of other sites
where they're operating currently. And we're not talking about the
active landfill where we're currently filling with household trash. We're
(15:21):
talking about the retired landfills, the old cell sites that
have been capped. There's grass over the top of them,
you know, there's hayland on them. They're talking about coming
in and putting a network of wells throughout that system
and capturing that naturally occurring methane. The methane occurs through
the decomposition of the household trash that is there. The
(15:44):
methane would be captured, injected into a pipeline and pushed
somewhere else for all of its consumptions from there, and
the proposal that it's Teriba Renewables is the name of
the entity that was recommended for approval. A portion of
their revenue between ten and twenty percent, depending on the
(16:05):
quality of the gas, would come back to the City
of Bismarck as a profit share, essentially, is what it
would be. So an interesting way for the city to
capitalize another one of its resources. There's obviously concerns with
decommissioning down the road. What happens if they just abandoned it.
That was discussed by the commissioners. There would be a
(16:27):
surety bond or a reclamation bond that would be posted
at the beginning of the project. If at any time
the company were to dissolve, fail, go away, whatever, that
bond would be then used to extract all those materials
and decommission the site and things like that. So we
are by no means the first community to be doing this.
I believe our friends over on the east side of
(16:47):
the state and Fargo have been doing methane capture at
their landfill for a number of years. But for us,
this is a great opportunity. It's a fun little project
and we'll see how this proceeds.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
And I think the number.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Again subject to change a couple hundred thousand dollars a year,
potentially more so. I mean you're talking about it. A
nice little chunk of money there.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Too, definitely, And the landfill, the collections and distribution, that's
the two divisions within the landfill. What we refer to
the landfill as an enterprise fund, so in other words,
it is not supported through property tax. It is supported
exclusively through the fees that we pay for disposal and
the fees that anyone pays to dump trash at the landfill.
(17:32):
So this would offset, it would become another piece of
revenue for the landfill to continue to operate. It's not
cheap running a municipal solid waste facility, and we have
one of a very limited number of landfills like ours
in the state of North Dakota. So we actually accept
trash from a pretty good sized region around Bismarck, basically
(17:53):
within fifty sixty miles. The next municipal landfill like ours
is going to be Jamestown. So if you're a all
our town and you don't have your own regional landfill
like this, your garbage is coming to Bismark. So this
is another way to just help continue to increase revenue
for the landfill operations.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Future fire station conversation.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
So chief was there last night, and we have a
map that shows the current five stations in Bizmarck and.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
You can see them right there.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
But of course, as our community continues to grow the
need for more fire stations becomes obvious. What I found
interesting last night is, and I won't get all the
terminology right, but the chiefs talking about response time and
how you know, if they can meet criteria can actually
(18:47):
save the city a lot of money. So it's not
just like, hey, let's build fire stations just to build
fire stations that there can be a.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Real savings to the city. And obviously say.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Being the top priority absolutely sidence and property.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
But second is if you can save some money along
the way, that makes.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
A difference too, definitely, And this was a great discussion.
I like planning projects, I like looking forward, and I
really appreciate all the research and the data that Chief
base Fluge and his team pulled together to support the
recommendation that came forward last night. As you mentioned, five
stations strategically placed throughout town. What really drives the conversation
(19:29):
for the next fire station is primarily growth, and then
right after growth, it's response times. And so our fire
department for Bismark Fire Department is an ISO rating of
one and what does that mean. That means they have
excellent response times, but it translates to property owners in
a reduced fire insurance. Reduced property insurance because the response
(19:55):
times are good. The insurance companies say, you've got a
wonderful fire system. You're less of a risk than areas.
So that's a good message for the citizens. What we
heard last night is there are parts of South Bismarck,
particularly Southwest Bismarck, that are getting beyond the comfortable response
times for our fire department. Our comfortable response time is
(20:16):
four to six minutes. We've got areas where the call
times are getting closer to eight nine minutes, and that's
for the first firefighters to show up. There's a second
truck that comes to support an active fire and so
then we're talking maybe twelve minutes. By that time, that's
getting to be a little beyond our comfort level. And
so through an analysis that the fire department did, along
(20:39):
with our GIS staff, our mapping staff, they analyzed a
variety of different sites in south Bismarck that could be
considered for a future fire station. And fortunately for us,
the site that makes the most amount of sense is
along Burley Avenue and it's on property that the City
of Bismarck already owns. It's part of the wastewater treatment
(21:01):
plant system. And it's amazing the graphics that Joel shared
how placing a station in that particular location really alleviates
all of their I shouldn't say all, but many of
their concerns in that southwest portion of Bismarck. And it's
not just rooftops that are being analyzed, it's also the
(21:22):
density other uses in that area. Are their commercial activities,
Are there high hazard or high risk situations that could
cause a fire response, And so looking at all of
that data and information, it became very apparent that the
next station isn't in northeast or northwest Bismark, where we're
also growing, but it's actually South Bismarck and the other
(21:43):
thing it does, so we refer to it as Station two.
Many people realize it's the fire station on Expressway that
would be the first fire station to respond to this location.
Currently with the incorporation of a new station on Burley Avenue,
it actually allows the boundaries of Station too on Expressway
to shift and move further north and it really alleviates
(22:04):
some of the response time concerns in the middle part
of Bismarck as well. So it's amazing what data can
help guide your decisions and really influence the important features
that we are providing as far as services go. But ultimately,
the way we ended things last night, the request was
to put out a request for proposals for an architectural
(22:24):
firm to start to analyze a site, beginst designing some concepts,
and start putting some estimates together. The other request from
the fire chief was to reach out to the neighborhood
and say we'd like to be a part of this
neighborhood and have those conversations. What should the fire station
look like. Should it resemble more of a residential style
(22:45):
of fire station like we have on Tyler Parkway, or
would it be more of a commercial industrial type look
like you would see on expressway. Given the neighborhood to
the south. I have an idea of what that fire
station might look like in the future, but it'll be
fun to go through the process of design and really
look at what did the five fire stations offer today?
(23:05):
What should the sixth pot offer as far as for
the firefighters needs the city's needs. Because each station has
its own kind of area of expertise and its own specialty,
So how does all of that start getting incorporated with
the greater department as a whole.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yes, extraordinarily interesting And something that caught my attention last
night too is Chief Basebook saying, I think that they
try and get to the fire in terms of response
time to maintain to.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Them the room of origin or of.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Origin, which is really an extraordinary response time and an
extraordinary goal. So that kind of provided me with a
lot of perspective of what they're trying to do and
how quickly they need to get there and safely at
the same time. In that map, again really interesting that
Southwest Corner will be the next fire station, But then
(23:55):
you could see up in northeast Bismarck, I believe the
city owns land there already is correctly understood, right and
then not in northwest part of town.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
But the plan is well in action now to I.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Think firefighters have already been hired, a truck has already
been purchased, and so the planning there is all all
in place.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
You're right, and it's interesting you said a truck has
already been purchased. The lead time on a fire truck
is a year and a half to two years, and
so we have been under the impression that there will
be a new fire station in the not too distant future.
For the Commissioner clearly commented on it last night. For
many of us, because of the land purchased in Silver Ranch,
many were under the impression the next fire station would
(24:41):
be northeast and I think for a long time Chief
Base Flugue even was kind of leaning in that direction
just because of the growth that's happening. When you start
applying the data and really looking at how the response
is working, we're going to shift our focus a little bit.
It's not to say we won't be building a fire
station in northeast business, it just won't be the next
(25:02):
fire station in northeast Bismarck.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Well along the lines of serving and protecting our police
chief Dave Dreevich has announced his retirement. I believe he's
hoping to walk out of the police station at the
end of July, and so that obviously opens the question
of who will become the next police chief. Yeah, processes underway,
(25:24):
So tell us what you talked about last night.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Sure, so, Chief Dreevich is last day July thirty first,
that'll be thirty six years of dedicated service to the
city of Bismarck. So thank you Dave for all of that.
Dave started out as an officer and worked his way
up through a number of different leadership roles, and he's
a great person, a very humble guy. He is leaving
a department that's in great shape. He's got two deputy
(25:46):
chiefs in Jason Stugelemeyer and Randy Ziggler, who both have
extensive experience and will do a nice job transitioning as well.
But to your question, how do we get to the
next chief? That's what the cushion was last night, and
so we will. We have a process that we go
through for department director positions and it's fairly extensive. I
(26:08):
personally have been exposed to that and a part of
it a number of times, and for us, we will
also reach out to other leaders within law enforcement, people
like the Burley County Sheriff Kelly Leban. I think Sheriff
Leban has a wonderful perspective of the Bismarck Police Department
and how the two agencies engage and interact. We just
(26:32):
talked about him the fire chief, Joel based Fluke. I
think his perspective on the new chief is very important
because of the way first responders interact and the way
those two departments are so integral to our organization. So
we will lean on the expertise of some others, but
we will also stand behind the process that we have
used to get to other directors. And I trust that
(26:52):
hopefully by mid July, we should have some interviews in place,
and we should have some wonderful candidates. Don't doubt that
we will see a myriad of applications. I know when
Dave interviewed for the chief position in twenty eighteen, the
two other gentlemen that interviewed with him, one was from
Kansas City and the other was from Roswell, New Mexico.
(27:13):
So clearly the police chief in any community is a
very prominent position, a very important position, and I take
this very seriously knowing that that role has an influence
on our community safety, the officers that serve in that department,
and just as a department director within the organization. So
looking forward to this, looking forward to working with the
(27:34):
mayor and Commissioner Rish and Leanne Schmid our HR director
and let the process begin, I guess.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
And you said this job will be posted soon I think,
and then closed in early June.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
Was that right?
Speaker 4 (27:48):
I believe. So generally we'll leave the position open about
three weeks and our HR staff does a really nice
job of putting that notification out there, whether it be
on LinkedIn, our social media, there are their professional platforms
that they partner with to get the message out, so
we won't be just talking to the people in Bismarck.
We do a really broad search when we're looking for
(28:09):
directors because it's an important role and we want to
make sure we attract the best candidates.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Well, just a congratulations the chief.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
I worked with them in my past life at KX
and also in Runners Against Destructive Decisions and just absolutely
a humble guy, really out there to serve the community.
So thirty six years, that's.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
A long time to do anything. That's he's probably been
with the Bismarck Police Department longer than some of the
officers have been alive.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
That's yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
We're all at that point not to.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Humble, emmer or make fun and make light of it.
But I think today in today's workforce, I'll be very
interested to see if those coming into the workforce have
that longevity with an organization. And I think it's a
testament to Todave and his character, but it's also as
a good representation of us as an organization that we
(29:02):
really really rely on that long term dedication because it's
all about delivery of service.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Just a couple other things we wanted to talk about.
Remind folks, the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast is May twentieth, a's
seven am at the Radison, and so suddenly it's mid May.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Mid May. The corner Proceeds from the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast
go to support the Crisis Care Chaplaincy, which if you're
not familiar with what that is, I would encourage you
to check out one of the most recent episodes of
Bismarck Insights, Greg Carr. Mayor Mike Schmidt sat down with
Greg Carr and talked a lot about the chaplaincy and
how they support first responders, families that are in crisis
(29:42):
when there are terrible situations. So it's noble work that
they do, and we often see the chaplains at the
onset of every City Commission meeting. They start with the invocation.
But to Greg and his team with volunteers, thanks for
what they do.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
And general I can't call them General Dorman anymore.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Got Calm hell or Allan I guess, but former adage
in General for North Dkota will be the featured speaker
and his dry sense of humor will be I'm sure
well appreciated.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
And bright and early in the morning. Yeah, it's usually
a great turnout and again a wonderful event to support
the crisis Care Chaplaincy.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
We haven't had time or a chance, i should say,
to talk about Red, White and Boom. I mean we
kind of talked about that. Some plans are in the
works to keep the Fourth of July celebration alive, so
I just wanted to bring that up, and I know
you are a part of making this happen, so thank
you for that. As a citizen of Bismarck, but tell
us a few things about red, white and boom.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
And so this will be the first time, at least
to my knowledge, that a Fourth of July celebration hasn't
occurred at the North Cota Capitol grounds. So for thirty
years plus, the Bismarck mand In Symphony Orchestra hosted thousands
of people annually to an event at the Fourth of
July at the capital, guns, fireworks, full symphony, other musicians, dignitaries.
(31:04):
It was a waterful event. The symphony had decided to
move away from that event and other things happening at
the capitol. Of course, the North goota State Lab construction.
The building that's under construction today used to be the
site where fireworks would be launched. And so a number
of factors came together. And when I was when I
learned that there wasn't a plan for a celebration in
(31:27):
twenty twenty five, I got nervous because my wife and I,
my family and I we have taken that event in many,
many times over the years, and I think it is
such a great opportunity to bring the community together. So
I asked a few other community leaders if they had
concerns without a Fourth of July event, and the overwhelming
response was absolutely, we need to figure out a way
(31:47):
to do something. So I'm very, very fortunate to work
with some influential people that no other influential people and
we can get some stuff done. And I'm very pleased
to say that we will be moving the Fourth of
July event Bismarck, North Dakota to the MDU Resources Community Bowl,
and it will be a family friendly event with lots
of activities, lots of events. There will be some opportunity
(32:10):
for some concessions, snacks, beverages, all of the like, but
we will still have some of the classic features. We
will have the Bismarck Mann Symphony Orchestra playing celebratory music
in conjunction with a wonderful fireworks display. And I would
like to tease the audience to know that the fireworks
(32:32):
display will be using the same vendor that we've used
in the past, but because of the location change, there
are some things that he can do a little bit differently,
and so the fireworks show this year should be bigger
and better than it's been in the past, and I'm
really looking forward to that part.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Too, all right, Well, now, yeah, we're all hooked now,
can't wait. Yeah, my family, we've loved that event, so
really happy to see it alive.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
And you don't change.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
It's one constant, right, so I really look forward to
this event. I mentioned the police auction coming up in May,
just to let folks know they can.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
He said, that's going to be out at the.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
At the mpound just south of the landfill on fifty
second Street, May seventeenth, So this coming Saturday, you have
an opportunity to buy or to bid on vehicles, bicycles,
just some general property. But then I think what often
gets a lot of attention, there can be some firearms available.
If you have an interest in what is on the
(33:30):
bill of sale, I would direct you towards the City
Bismark website Bismark ind dot gov. I believe the auctioneer,
as it has been in the past, is Thompson's Four
Winds Auction. So if that's your preferred site for information,
you can go there too, But it'd be this Saturday,
May seventeenth.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
All right.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
And then finally, if you didn't get a chance to
see the City Commission meeting last night, please go to
Dakoda Mediaccess dot org or download our apps.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Better yet, DMA.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
That's the logo you'll find also our Radio Access one
oh two point five apps, so you can find.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Us wherever you are, whenever you can.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
So if you're out on a sandbar or at the
fourth of July celebration, you can always call it government
or a community access programming.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
I have one more thing. We didn't talk about this before,
but I would be terribly ineffective as my job as
a member of the Bismarck Historical Society, which is something
I do outside of my city work. But I have
to mention today's May fourteenth. Today is Founder's Day, Today's
Bismarck's one hundred and fifty third anniversary. In eighteen seventy two,
(34:34):
this town was first cited as Edwinton and it was
the end of the Northern Pacific Railroad at that time.
So today May fourteenth, the day we're recording this episode at,
is Bismark's one hundred and fifty third birthday.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Well, and I guess i'd be remiss in case my
wife's watching. It's our fourteenth anniversary. We share congratulations some
history with Bismarck, so we both had one more thing
to had, Jason Azalis, appreciate your time and really helping
us get perspective about what happened at last night's meeting.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
It's always a pleasure for watching them.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
For more information on what was discussed in this episode
of City Current, visit Bismarckend dot gov or call seven
zero one three five five one three zero zero. If
you have suggestions, comments, or issues you would like addressed
in future episodes, contact us at info at free tv
dot org. This program airs on Government Access channel two
(35:28):
and six oh two in HD or on Radio Access
one oh two point five FM. It's also available as
a podcast on Radioaccess dot org and as a video
viewing link at free tv dot org. Thanks for tuning
in to this edition of City Current.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Chap Stop the Chaps, inst the Champion, Champion the Change,
Change chap Mus
City Current, produced by Dakota Media Access in depth discussion
with Bismarck and Mandan city officials. Watch on Government Access
channel six oh two HD or tune in to Radio
Access one O two point five f them Always Local,
Always Current.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome to City Current.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
I'm Tom Gerhart with Dakoda Media Access, joined by Jason Toamonik,
the city administrator for the City of bismart Good to
see you.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Jason, glad to be here, Tom, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yes, those extra hours at the meeting last night until
about nine thirty I think in that executive session, so
it was a long, a long meeting, but a very
productive one.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
We had a full day, we had a lot of
good items on the agenda last night, a lot of
good discussion.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So well, we'll highlight a few of the things that
we're going to be talking about coming up, including the
Ottawa Street reconstruction project which is up in that plant
Perfect sky Zone area which is Old Highway. Got a
little history lesson last night on that Police Chief Dave
(01:12):
Dreevich is retiring at the end of July. Some future
fire station analysis show you a couple of maps of
where some future fire stations will be and tell you
what happened last night and then Misty Waters. That saga continues,
so we'll get into that as well as a number
of other topics from last night's City Commission meeting. Did
(01:36):
want to let folks know that starting last night, Quinn
from our staff here has produced a nice graphics, so
we'll be starting meetings off. This just had the date
of May sixth, which actually wasn't a City Commission meeting.
This is just a graphic that we were working on.
But we do televise live over three hundred government meetings
(01:57):
a year and then we archive them so you can
always go back and watch them. And we thought a
lot of people We put a QR quote on here
because we thought a lot of people on their pontoons
this summer may want to watch the City Commission meetings.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
From the right.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
We're better to consume municipal government than on the river,
so we're.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
In lockstep thinking that way. On the consent agenda last night,
just a couple of items I thought would be fun
to talk about. One you noted is Bismarck Expressway has
that pedestrian underpass and they're looking to put a mural
in there, and we have a couple of drawings of
what that could look like.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's a place I've used a lot as.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
A jogger and a biker and a walker, so it'll
be fun to see what that could look like here
in the near future.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Definitely will brighten up the corridor. There'll be some obviously,
some work to do ahead of time, some prep work
to get it cleaned up and ready to go. And
I believe the two artists that are working together on
this are Nicole Gagner and painter Nicole and he may
know her as I know she teaches a variety of
classes in the community as some other murals that she
has been a part of, and Mollie McLain as well,
(03:08):
and so Molly is another very accomplished professional local artist.
And so looking forward to the work that those two
women are going to do. It's going to be fantastic
and looking forward to seeing what it's all how it
all comes together at the end.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Yeah, And you know, it just does make such a
difference when you go through those spaces, and usually I'm
just worried about getting done with my ron and I'll
make it to the finish, but that'll be something to
look forward to along the path. Also wanted to talk
about the annual deer and turkey licenses for the bowl hunting,
and you noted that this is a very I think
(03:43):
it's limited to twenty licenses.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
These are sought.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
After they are yes, and so in the past there
have been twenty five licenses that were issued. And what
we're talking about here is, as you mentioned, bow hunting
for either deer or turkey, and this is in within
city limits. There can be years or seasons where there's
troubles with the populations of deer in turkey in that
Riverwood golf Course area, those natural areas where we're kind
(04:10):
of impeding on the river and the corridor as well,
and so annually the Bismarck Police Department has issued licenses
to hunt those critters during certain times of the year.
This year, it should be noted the number of licenses
is limited now to twenty based on the harvest from
last year. The quantities are smaller, so if you're interested,
(04:32):
you better get there early. I believe the sales starts
at six am, and I want to say it was
June seventeenth, I think was the date for that. I'm
not entirely certain, but there will be an announcement from
the Bismarck Police Department when that's going out. So if
you're interested in trying to procure a hunting license in
city limits early, you better get there early.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
And I don't know if it's just me, but you know,
we're both grew up here. The turkeys seem to be
all over lately.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
There seems to be an abundance of that.
Speaker 5 (05:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah, and I've heard reports and I've seen firsthand there's
a few places that feed them which will encourage the
flock to get larger over time.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So well, so yeah, check that out if you're interested.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
The regular agenda was full of items of interest, and
I guess we'll start with the Misty Water zoning map amendment.
And in some ways, I guess this is kind of
a broken record, but in other ways it continues to evolve.
And last night very passionate residents from that area talking
(05:40):
about this zoning map amendment, And so tell us what
happened last night. A lot of like I said, a
lot of passionate people, as you saw at the podium,
worried about their property and the North Coata Supreme Court
ruling and just all these things that go into it,
and then where we stand coming out of last night
(06:01):
and what the city now will be looking to do
in the coming weeks.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Yes, there's definitely a lot of moving parts here, and
there have been a lot of iterations, a lot of
changes over the years. And I think it should be
noted too that there are a number of homes within
the Misty Water Subdivision that are built appropriately. They're within
the setbacks, they're not encroaching in any stormwater easements or
any of the lomar, which is a flood term, a
(06:27):
letter of map revision. It's a line on a map
to avoid. There are a good number of homes out
there that are perfectly fine. There are a small handful
of homes that over the years have had some encumbrances
or some encroachments into these areas, and it comes down
to an interpretation of where are these lines on the
ground where the homes positioned, And unfortunately they as you mentioned,
(06:51):
the saga will continue for a little bit longer. What
we heard last night was testimony on both sides. Some
were proposed to the proposed changes, and the changes were
proposed by City of Bismarck's staff to try and unify
as many of the homes and the zoning district that
applies in place. There were some folks that had concerns
(07:13):
with the proposed changes. There were a good number of
property owners that stood in support of the changes just
to kind of put an ends to the means in
many ways, but as the Commission tries to do in
many cases, it's trying to resolve all the issues. And
although there were many in support of one resolution, it
(07:34):
maybe didn't work for a few others. And so I
think where the Commission's direction was back to community development
to Ben Erith and his staff is to identify these
kind of the one offs, the very unique situations and
find a way to address them so everyone has made whole.
In those situations there are no loss of land. In
(07:55):
one case, a gentleman was referring to the eastment line
moving and it would effectively render about nine hundred square
feet of his property different than it would be today,
and sometimes that term is referred to as a taking.
I'm not going to get into the legal matters of
all of that, but understanding that he wasn't comfortable with
(08:15):
the resolution that many others were, so with the Commission
trying to make the best out of this entire situation,
also looking for an end to these means. I believe
we will see this come back. If I heard mister
Eric correctly, the first meeting in June, Commissioner Connolly had
asked for some more conversations with between staff and the
property owners. I guess, ultimately best case scenario if we
(08:38):
can get to that meeting in June or sometime they'reabout
and everyone that was in the room last night comes
to that next meeting and says we can live with this.
That sounds like the best compromise for all parties involved.
We aren't looking to drag this out any longer, make
it any worse than it has been. I think staff
is very interested in the resolution and then a solid
(08:59):
plan moving forward, because there are still vacant lots that
will have homes built on them in the future.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
And we did have a propos zoning change map up
from last night. I guess in some senses.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Will that's old news now as we're moving forward from that.
But that darker black line was the proposed change, if
I understood correctly last night. Correct now in some senses,
not totally back to the drying board, but as you mentioned.
I think Ben and his staff are going to take
a look at this again and then come back in June.
(09:31):
So hopefully there's some resolution to this in the coming weeks.
Another big project that I guess could start construction not
to jump ahead in twenty twenty six is the Ottawa
Street reconstruction project, which, as we mentioned at the beginning
of the show, is an old part of highway and
(09:54):
basically from plat perfect and sky zones are too well
known pu Stockman's Association. Stockman's Association built that brand new
beautiful building up there as well, and so the highlighted
highlighted portion is what would be under construction.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
And so more engineering came to.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
The podium last night to explain, and it sounds like
from last night's meeting that they've done a tremendous job
with this plan.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
But there's some heartburn here too as well.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
A couple of different concerns brought forward. We've got a
very unique mix of uses along this little corridor, retail
office uses. We also have some residential on the far
north end. We've got some condos that are there, and
so we heard from business owners representative of the Homeowners
Association for the condo and concerns that I heard. First,
(10:50):
this is a common concern and it's an understood concern
in this situation, is the impact through special assessments. The
estimates for the cost of this project four million dollar
billed roughly a little over four point three million. When
you spread that out, we're looking at the percentage of
property those particular individuals own along that corridor, and that's
(11:13):
how the specials get spread. And with a condo situation,
we heard it could impact an individual unit as much
as fifteen to seventeen thousand dollars. We heard from a
commercial property owner that he was looking at an assessment
more like seven hundred thousand dollars for the Plant Perfect site.
And when you think about the size of Plant Perfect
along Outawa Street, it's one of the larger parcels. But
(11:36):
also I heard that particular individual say a good bit
of their business is occupying about thirty days of an
entire year.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I think fifty said.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
So some of the other concerns that he raised, and
we all understand this times of the year, parking is
at a premium, and they currently the roadway section does
not have parking. It's just two lane road with a
ditch on both sides. The two alternatives that were proposed
was a thirty two foot roadway section which wouldn't really
(12:08):
allow for a lot of parking, or two or a
forty foot section which could enable a little more of
that street parking and the parking wouldn't just be on
the street for plant perfect. It was noted that there
are other businesses that often will have events or activities
and will cause people to park in each other's parking lots,
and so sounds like the neighborhood all shares some of
(12:28):
the same concerns, and I think the Commission was listening
very closely last night. We've got a very unique situation
here with an urban corridor that is essentially a rural road,
and so we're recognizing there needs to be some work
done here. I think the ask from most of the
folks that testified were to find another way or find
(12:50):
an additional way to help offset some of the expense
of this particular build out. And I think the commission
that resonates with the commissioners were not looking to cripple
a business owner with a sixty thousand dollars annual special
assessment over fifteen years that's that can be a lot,
and so I'm not going to suggest a different number.
(13:11):
I don't know what that right formula is. That's that's
the role of the engineers and the commissioners to try
and come back with a proposal that is something that
everyone can support.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
And I believe the alternative B the forty.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Alternative A was do nothing to leave it as is.
Alternative B was thirty two feet of roadway, and Alternative
C is a forty foot roadway which could have parking
or a center turn lane.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
And is that my remembering right, that that the forty
foot wide was advanced.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
That's the preferred recommendation.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Recommendation correct with Also, I think the direction as you mentioned,
to find some help with these topset some of the
expense with the special assessments. There would be parking on
one side of the forty foot with the tent for
parking on the other side, if I understood right, and
the potential to a turn.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Lane down the road with that wider width.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
So really interesting presentation last night, and I know that's
that corridor really needs some help sidewalks, wid roads, potholes.
I think what did that The highway goes back to
the twenties.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I believe I heard that the late twenties.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Twenties, right, Yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
It's one hundred years plus that people have been using
that corridor and it's it's definitely time to fix things
up over there.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
We heard a really interesting, pretty brief presentation but on
this methane gas capture project at the city landfill, and
it's essentially a company could come in capture some of
this natural methane gas. The city would get a proportion
of the proceeds for revenue, some additional revenue.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Talk about that project, Yeah, that's an interesting purpose. I
was actually part of the group that evaluated the various
proposals from multiple consultants. Where we're going forward with as
an established company that has a number of other sites
where they're operating currently. And we're not talking about the
active landfill where we're currently filling with household trash. We're
(15:21):
talking about the retired landfills, the old cell sites that
have been capped. There's grass over the top of them,
you know, there's hayland on them. They're talking about coming
in and putting a network of wells throughout that system
and capturing that naturally occurring methane. The methane occurs through
the decomposition of the household trash that is there. The
(15:44):
methane would be captured, injected into a pipeline and pushed
somewhere else for all of its consumptions from there, and
the proposal that it's Teriba Renewables is the name of
the entity that was recommended for approval. A portion of
their revenue between ten and twenty percent, depending on the
(16:05):
quality of the gas, would come back to the City
of Bismarck as a profit share, essentially, is what it
would be. So an interesting way for the city to
capitalize another one of its resources. There's obviously concerns with
decommissioning down the road. What happens if they just abandoned it.
That was discussed by the commissioners. There would be a
(16:27):
surety bond or a reclamation bond that would be posted
at the beginning of the project. If at any time
the company were to dissolve, fail, go away, whatever, that
bond would be then used to extract all those materials
and decommission the site and things like that. So we
are by no means the first community to be doing this.
I believe our friends over on the east side of
(16:47):
the state and Fargo have been doing methane capture at
their landfill for a number of years. But for us,
this is a great opportunity. It's a fun little project
and we'll see how this proceeds.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
And I think the number.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Again subject to change a couple hundred thousand dollars a year,
potentially more so. I mean you're talking about it. A
nice little chunk of money there.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Too, definitely, And the landfill, the collections and distribution, that's
the two divisions within the landfill. What we refer to
the landfill as an enterprise fund, so in other words,
it is not supported through property tax. It is supported
exclusively through the fees that we pay for disposal and
the fees that anyone pays to dump trash at the landfill.
(17:32):
So this would offset, it would become another piece of
revenue for the landfill to continue to operate. It's not
cheap running a municipal solid waste facility, and we have
one of a very limited number of landfills like ours
in the state of North Dakota. So we actually accept
trash from a pretty good sized region around Bismarck, basically
(17:53):
within fifty sixty miles. The next municipal landfill like ours
is going to be Jamestown. So if you're a all
our town and you don't have your own regional landfill
like this, your garbage is coming to Bismark. So this
is another way to just help continue to increase revenue
for the landfill operations.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Future fire station conversation.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
So chief was there last night, and we have a
map that shows the current five stations in Bizmarck and.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
You can see them right there.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
But of course, as our community continues to grow the
need for more fire stations becomes obvious. What I found
interesting last night is, and I won't get all the
terminology right, but the chiefs talking about response time and
how you know, if they can meet criteria can actually
(18:47):
save the city a lot of money. So it's not
just like, hey, let's build fire stations just to build
fire stations that there can be a.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Real savings to the city. And obviously say.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Being the top priority absolutely sidence and property.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
But second is if you can save some money along
the way, that makes.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
A difference too, definitely, And this was a great discussion.
I like planning projects, I like looking forward, and I
really appreciate all the research and the data that Chief
base Fluge and his team pulled together to support the
recommendation that came forward last night. As you mentioned, five
stations strategically placed throughout town. What really drives the conversation
(19:29):
for the next fire station is primarily growth, and then
right after growth, it's response times. And so our fire
department for Bismark Fire Department is an ISO rating of
one and what does that mean. That means they have
excellent response times, but it translates to property owners in
a reduced fire insurance. Reduced property insurance because the response
(19:55):
times are good. The insurance companies say, you've got a
wonderful fire system. You're less of a risk than areas.
So that's a good message for the citizens. What we
heard last night is there are parts of South Bismarck,
particularly Southwest Bismarck, that are getting beyond the comfortable response
times for our fire department. Our comfortable response time is
(20:16):
four to six minutes. We've got areas where the call
times are getting closer to eight nine minutes, and that's
for the first firefighters to show up. There's a second
truck that comes to support an active fire and so
then we're talking maybe twelve minutes. By that time, that's
getting to be a little beyond our comfort level. And
so through an analysis that the fire department did, along
(20:39):
with our GIS staff, our mapping staff, they analyzed a
variety of different sites in south Bismarck that could be
considered for a future fire station. And fortunately for us,
the site that makes the most amount of sense is
along Burley Avenue and it's on property that the City
of Bismarck already owns. It's part of the wastewater treatment
(21:01):
plant system. And it's amazing the graphics that Joel shared
how placing a station in that particular location really alleviates
all of their I shouldn't say all, but many of
their concerns in that southwest portion of Bismarck. And it's
not just rooftops that are being analyzed, it's also the
(21:22):
density other uses in that area. Are their commercial activities,
Are there high hazard or high risk situations that could
cause a fire response, And so looking at all of
that data and information, it became very apparent that the
next station isn't in northeast or northwest Bismark, where we're
also growing, but it's actually South Bismarck and the other
(21:43):
thing it does, so we refer to it as Station two.
Many people realize it's the fire station on Expressway that
would be the first fire station to respond to this location.
Currently with the incorporation of a new station on Burley Avenue,
it actually allows the boundaries of Station too on Expressway
to shift and move further north and it really alleviates
(22:04):
some of the response time concerns in the middle part
of Bismarck as well. So it's amazing what data can
help guide your decisions and really influence the important features
that we are providing as far as services go. But ultimately,
the way we ended things last night, the request was
to put out a request for proposals for an architectural
(22:24):
firm to start to analyze a site, beginst designing some concepts,
and start putting some estimates together. The other request from
the fire chief was to reach out to the neighborhood
and say we'd like to be a part of this
neighborhood and have those conversations. What should the fire station
look like. Should it resemble more of a residential style
(22:45):
of fire station like we have on Tyler Parkway, or
would it be more of a commercial industrial type look
like you would see on expressway. Given the neighborhood to
the south. I have an idea of what that fire
station might look like in the future, but it'll be
fun to go through the process of design and really
look at what did the five fire stations offer today?
(23:05):
What should the sixth pot offer as far as for
the firefighters needs the city's needs. Because each station has
its own kind of area of expertise and its own specialty,
So how does all of that start getting incorporated with
the greater department as a whole.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yes, extraordinarily interesting And something that caught my attention last
night too is Chief Basebook saying, I think that they
try and get to the fire in terms of response
time to maintain to.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Them the room of origin or of.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Origin, which is really an extraordinary response time and an
extraordinary goal. So that kind of provided me with a
lot of perspective of what they're trying to do and
how quickly they need to get there and safely at
the same time. In that map, again really interesting that
Southwest Corner will be the next fire station, But then
(23:55):
you could see up in northeast Bismarck, I believe the
city owns land there already is correctly understood, right and
then not in northwest part of town.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
But the plan is well in action now to I.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Think firefighters have already been hired, a truck has already
been purchased, and so the planning there is all all
in place.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
You're right, and it's interesting you said a truck has
already been purchased. The lead time on a fire truck
is a year and a half to two years, and
so we have been under the impression that there will
be a new fire station in the not too distant future.
For the Commissioner clearly commented on it last night. For
many of us, because of the land purchased in Silver Ranch,
many were under the impression the next fire station would
(24:41):
be northeast and I think for a long time Chief
Base Flugue even was kind of leaning in that direction
just because of the growth that's happening. When you start
applying the data and really looking at how the response
is working, we're going to shift our focus a little bit.
It's not to say we won't be building a fire
station in northeast business, it just won't be the next
(25:02):
fire station in northeast Bismarck.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Well along the lines of serving and protecting our police
chief Dave Dreevich has announced his retirement. I believe he's
hoping to walk out of the police station at the
end of July, and so that obviously opens the question
of who will become the next police chief. Yeah, processes underway,
(25:24):
So tell us what you talked about last night.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Sure, so, Chief Dreevich is last day July thirty first,
that'll be thirty six years of dedicated service to the
city of Bismarck. So thank you Dave for all of that.
Dave started out as an officer and worked his way
up through a number of different leadership roles, and he's
a great person, a very humble guy. He is leaving
a department that's in great shape. He's got two deputy
(25:46):
chiefs in Jason Stugelemeyer and Randy Ziggler, who both have
extensive experience and will do a nice job transitioning as well.
But to your question, how do we get to the
next chief? That's what the cushion was last night, and
so we will. We have a process that we go
through for department director positions and it's fairly extensive. I
(26:08):
personally have been exposed to that and a part of
it a number of times, and for us, we will
also reach out to other leaders within law enforcement, people
like the Burley County Sheriff Kelly Leban. I think Sheriff
Leban has a wonderful perspective of the Bismarck Police Department
and how the two agencies engage and interact. We just
(26:32):
talked about him the fire chief, Joel based Fluke. I
think his perspective on the new chief is very important
because of the way first responders interact and the way
those two departments are so integral to our organization. So
we will lean on the expertise of some others, but
we will also stand behind the process that we have
used to get to other directors. And I trust that
(26:52):
hopefully by mid July, we should have some interviews in place,
and we should have some wonderful candidates. Don't doubt that
we will see a myriad of applications. I know when
Dave interviewed for the chief position in twenty eighteen, the
two other gentlemen that interviewed with him, one was from
Kansas City and the other was from Roswell, New Mexico.
(27:13):
So clearly the police chief in any community is a
very prominent position, a very important position, and I take
this very seriously knowing that that role has an influence
on our community safety, the officers that serve in that department,
and just as a department director within the organization. So
looking forward to this, looking forward to working with the
(27:34):
mayor and Commissioner Rish and Leanne Schmid our HR director
and let the process begin, I guess.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
And you said this job will be posted soon I think,
and then closed in early June.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
Was that right?
Speaker 4 (27:48):
I believe. So generally we'll leave the position open about
three weeks and our HR staff does a really nice
job of putting that notification out there, whether it be
on LinkedIn, our social media, there are their professional platforms
that they partner with to get the message out, so
we won't be just talking to the people in Bismarck.
We do a really broad search when we're looking for
(28:09):
directors because it's an important role and we want to
make sure we attract the best candidates.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Well, just a congratulations the chief.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
I worked with them in my past life at KX
and also in Runners Against Destructive Decisions and just absolutely
a humble guy, really out there to serve the community.
So thirty six years, that's.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
A long time to do anything. That's he's probably been
with the Bismarck Police Department longer than some of the
officers have been alive.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
That's yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
We're all at that point not to.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Humble, emmer or make fun and make light of it.
But I think today in today's workforce, I'll be very
interested to see if those coming into the workforce have
that longevity with an organization. And I think it's a
testament to Todave and his character, but it's also as
a good representation of us as an organization that we
(29:02):
really really rely on that long term dedication because it's
all about delivery of service.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Just a couple other things we wanted to talk about.
Remind folks, the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast is May twentieth, a's
seven am at the Radison, and so suddenly it's mid May.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Mid May. The corner Proceeds from the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast
go to support the Crisis Care Chaplaincy, which if you're
not familiar with what that is, I would encourage you
to check out one of the most recent episodes of
Bismarck Insights, Greg Carr. Mayor Mike Schmidt sat down with
Greg Carr and talked a lot about the chaplaincy and
how they support first responders, families that are in crisis
(29:42):
when there are terrible situations. So it's noble work that
they do, and we often see the chaplains at the
onset of every City Commission meeting. They start with the invocation.
But to Greg and his team with volunteers, thanks for
what they do.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
And general I can't call them General Dorman anymore.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Got Calm hell or Allan I guess, but former adage
in General for North Dkota will be the featured speaker
and his dry sense of humor will be I'm sure
well appreciated.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
And bright and early in the morning. Yeah, it's usually
a great turnout and again a wonderful event to support
the crisis Care Chaplaincy.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
We haven't had time or a chance, i should say,
to talk about Red, White and Boom. I mean we
kind of talked about that. Some plans are in the
works to keep the Fourth of July celebration alive, so
I just wanted to bring that up, and I know
you are a part of making this happen, so thank
you for that. As a citizen of Bismarck, but tell
us a few things about red, white and boom.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
And so this will be the first time, at least
to my knowledge, that a Fourth of July celebration hasn't
occurred at the North Cota Capitol grounds. So for thirty
years plus, the Bismarck mand In Symphony Orchestra hosted thousands
of people annually to an event at the Fourth of
July at the capital, guns, fireworks, full symphony, other musicians, dignitaries.
(31:04):
It was a waterful event. The symphony had decided to
move away from that event and other things happening at
the capitol. Of course, the North goota State Lab construction.
The building that's under construction today used to be the
site where fireworks would be launched. And so a number
of factors came together. And when I was when I
learned that there wasn't a plan for a celebration in
(31:27):
twenty twenty five, I got nervous because my wife and I,
my family and I we have taken that event in many,
many times over the years, and I think it is
such a great opportunity to bring the community together. So
I asked a few other community leaders if they had
concerns without a Fourth of July event, and the overwhelming
response was absolutely, we need to figure out a way
(31:47):
to do something. So I'm very, very fortunate to work
with some influential people that no other influential people and
we can get some stuff done. And I'm very pleased
to say that we will be moving the Fourth of
July event Bismarck, North Dakota to the MDU Resources Community Bowl,
and it will be a family friendly event with lots
of activities, lots of events. There will be some opportunity
(32:10):
for some concessions, snacks, beverages, all of the like, but
we will still have some of the classic features. We
will have the Bismarck Mann Symphony Orchestra playing celebratory music
in conjunction with a wonderful fireworks display. And I would
like to tease the audience to know that the fireworks
(32:32):
display will be using the same vendor that we've used
in the past, but because of the location change, there
are some things that he can do a little bit differently,
and so the fireworks show this year should be bigger
and better than it's been in the past, and I'm
really looking forward to that part.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Too, all right, Well, now, yeah, we're all hooked now,
can't wait. Yeah, my family, we've loved that event, so
really happy to see it alive.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
And you don't change.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
It's one constant, right, so I really look forward to
this event. I mentioned the police auction coming up in May,
just to let folks know they can.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
He said, that's going to be out at the.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
At the mpound just south of the landfill on fifty
second Street, May seventeenth, So this coming Saturday, you have
an opportunity to buy or to bid on vehicles, bicycles,
just some general property. But then I think what often
gets a lot of attention, there can be some firearms available.
If you have an interest in what is on the
(33:30):
bill of sale, I would direct you towards the City
Bismark website Bismark ind dot gov. I believe the auctioneer,
as it has been in the past, is Thompson's Four
Winds Auction. So if that's your preferred site for information,
you can go there too, But it'd be this Saturday,
May seventeenth.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
All right.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
And then finally, if you didn't get a chance to
see the City Commission meeting last night, please go to
Dakoda Mediaccess dot org or download our apps.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Better yet, DMA.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
That's the logo you'll find also our Radio Access one
oh two point five apps, so you can find.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Us wherever you are, whenever you can.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
So if you're out on a sandbar or at the
fourth of July celebration, you can always call it government
or a community access programming.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
I have one more thing. We didn't talk about this before,
but I would be terribly ineffective as my job as
a member of the Bismarck Historical Society, which is something
I do outside of my city work. But I have
to mention today's May fourteenth. Today is Founder's Day, Today's
Bismarck's one hundred and fifty third anniversary. In eighteen seventy two,
(34:34):
this town was first cited as Edwinton and it was
the end of the Northern Pacific Railroad at that time.
So today May fourteenth, the day we're recording this episode at,
is Bismark's one hundred and fifty third birthday.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Well, and I guess i'd be remiss in case my
wife's watching. It's our fourteenth anniversary. We share congratulations some
history with Bismarck, so we both had one more thing
to had, Jason Azalis, appreciate your time and really helping
us get perspective about what happened at last night's meeting.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
It's always a pleasure for watching them.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
For more information on what was discussed in this episode
of City Current, visit Bismarckend dot gov or call seven
zero one three five five one three zero zero. If
you have suggestions, comments, or issues you would like addressed
in future episodes, contact us at info at free tv
dot org. This program airs on Government Access channel two
(35:28):
and six oh two in HD or on Radio Access
one oh two point five FM. It's also available as
a podcast on Radioaccess dot org and as a video
viewing link at free tv dot org. Thanks for tuning
in to this edition of City Current.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Chap Stop the Chaps, inst the Champion, Champion the Change,
Change chap Mus
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