May 28, 2025 • 28 mins
Tom Gerhardt talks to Jason Tomanek about the Bismarck City Commission meeting that took place on 5/27/25.
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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 FM, Always Local, Always Current.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome to City Current. I'm Tom Gerhart from Dakota Media
Access along with Bismarck City Administrator Jason Tamonic and Sunshining.
And right off the bat, you reminded me today's a
pretty special day in the area.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
It is a special day if you're a baseball fan.
It's opening day for the Bismarck Larks. So congratulations on
season nine. Wow for the Larks.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So time's flown by. It's hard to believe it's almost June,
but State track meet wrapped up and school's.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Out, graduation, summer schools already in session.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Back to summer, so or welcome somehow, decushould say well.
Coming up on this edition of City Current multiple topics
from last night's City Commission meeting, but just a few
we'll be talking about include encroachment agreements at the Jousting
Lemur and Cathedral Church. We'll also talk about the ETA
(01:17):
discussion that happened last night and we'll recap a meeting
from earlier this month that talked about amenities at the
Bismarck Event Center that include the possibility. We want to
make sure these everybody understands is just kind of potential
right now, but potential for a hotel. And we'll show
your rendering of design that just to give people a kickstart,
(01:40):
I guess, and imagining what this conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Conversation starter it's a concept, it's an idea, but we'll
get there. Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
That's right. So let's start with the consent agenda, which
was one of the few things last night that the
Commission was able to zip right through. But I thought
there was some interesting topics they're including, as you mentioned,
the encroachment for Jousting Lemur and for Cathedral church. So
(02:12):
what's happening when people are looking for encroachment agreements?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
So typically these agreements are to address what we would
consider to be private property and it's either placed or
installed within the public right of way. And what is
the public right away? To us, it is the area
that is the road, but then in many times also
the boulevard and the sidewalk, and so public right away
(02:39):
really translates to public property. It's under the city's responsibility
for managing those rights of way. And in the case
of an encroachment agreement, we are recognizing that a private
business owner is placing an object or materials.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Or in this case, they want outside seating.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Outside seating, a jousting Lemur, And in the case of
Cathedral Church, they're looking to install devices to heat the
sidewalks along the east side of the church along I
believe it's Raymond Street, to help with just snow removal.
And obviously, for anybody that's been to that area, you'll
(03:18):
know that those sidewalks there's a bit of an incline
to them as well, and it just helps make the
traveling public a little safer. And so because these private
entities are utilizing public right of way, there needs to
be an agreement between the city and that agency with
an understanding of what is it, why is it here,
(03:38):
what is the length of it. In the case of
the jousting Lemur and many other businesses downtown that have
outdoor seating, it's a seasonal agreement. We have this as
a policy that the items can be on the public
right of way until a specific date and I want
to say it's October first, or maybe it's October third,
(03:58):
two That job thirty first sounds right, and then not
before I think it's April first annually. And the reason
there is obviously snowy mobil but also part of the
encroachment agreement process is to review the applications to understand
how the right of way will be preserved, because the
primary function there is to help pedestrians move back and forth. Now,
we recognize downtown very ample sidewalks in many cases, and
(04:23):
so there is a way to temporarily play seating in
some barricades in a lot of cases out there to
court off those areas so people do have the opportunity
to be outside, enjoy a meal, enjoy a beverage, enjoy
the just the activity of downtown. And so for a
business like Jousting lemur great to see that, great to
see them embracing the sidewalk and providing a little more
(04:45):
experience for the customers. In the case of Cathedral, we
understand that if in fact that there would ever be
maintenance to those sidewalks, that the city would be responsible for.
We now have a document reminding us that there is
something else below that concrete surface rather than just the
traditional Class five and compacted gravel and things that we
(05:06):
would expect to find.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So jousting lamber too. I read that you need to
have six feet of clearance for eightya, so they will
be putting up, if approved, barricades for that outdoor seating,
but also maintaining at least six feet of clearance I guess,
for lack of a better term, for the pedestrian traffic
or eighty eight compliance exactly.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And that's the role from the city staff perspective, is
to ensure that that six photo clearance is maintained. Obviously,
we've got a lot of street signs, street lighting, there's
different street furniture that we are responsible for, and making
sure that a pedestrian or someone with a device can
safely and adequately move through that corridor. That's our that's
(05:47):
our focus.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And we have a couple of photos from the cathedral
area that we can show folks to give an idea.
So the outline of the red is the proposed area
of heated sidewalk which is right in front of Cathedral Church,
and then you can see the area of transition and
here's a little closer street view look, and I think
(06:09):
one of the issues they brought up if you see
the area that says where the joint is, that that
was a tripping hazard and I think there was maybe
an injury within the last year, so they want to
I guess. Yeah, heated sidewalk in North Dkota sounds like
a pretty nice thing in the winter. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I think the drawing that you showed earlier showed about
one hundred and ten feet north to south and then
the width of the sidewalk there is about ten feet.
So a significant project. But Commission approved everything as presented
last night, no questions asked, so both groups can move
forward with their plans.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Also, we wanted to talk about a pole sign that
Railway Credit Union is looking to put up, and we
have an image of that too, But again just to
provide a little more context, this is something that a
business just can't go out and do. There's a little
bit more to it.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Correct and in an encroachment agreement like this, oftentimes with
a sign there could be a portion of the signs
foundation that is extending into a utility easement or in
this case, a stormwater and drainage isment. Sometimes we'll actually
see an encroachment agreement if the sign is placed close
(07:21):
to the property line, but it extends over the property
line in a vertical case. So again here a new
business coming together with their plans for a new office space,
a new bank, and obviously new signage comes with that.
So here again no concerns from the Commission, just another
(07:42):
process to identify that we know there's something here and
both sides have an understanding of what the expectations are
going forward.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Another item from the consent agenda. Again all the consent
agenda items were sent through, but just wanted to remind
people about the block party on Fourth There will be
a street closure on September sixth, and the top of
your screen shows Fourth Street and to the left and
(08:09):
right of your screen those will be the barricades with
some food trucks and things. But this also again went
through the consent agenda. Son can move forward yep.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So here again need commission approval to close the street.
And so we see this several times throughout the year,
most commonly with street Fair we'll have this process. But
in this case, the business owners along Fourth Street have
gotten together again and are providing an opportunity for the
community to come out and have a good time. Food
(08:39):
trucks will be involved. I think I saw somewhere that
there might be a dunk tank and some other activities
for kids. All right, So the date on that one
again I believe, was September sixth, from three thirty to
seven thirty Fourth Street between Rosser Avenue and Avenue A
Downtown Well.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Among the many items on that map, I do see
dunk tank to the in the parking lot just north
of the Mojo Big Rig building with glans and craft kates,
so that I'm not interested in participating in the dunk tank.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Just for the record, I should note also that the
proceeds raised here will be donated to the Out of
Darkness or Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness And thanks
to Andrea Burst and her neighbors at Fourth Street for
champion this and leading the effort.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Good point, good point on the regular agenda also sailed
through but public hering on All Star Nails and Stabled
Studio looking for complimentary alcohol licenses.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
We've seen a number of these licenses since they became available.
This was in response to a lot of businesses that
were providing complimentary alcoholic beverages to their customers with the service,
and you would find this any salon or a spot
h occasionally jewelry stores and other similar similar places of business.
(10:06):
Here again, we've got two newer businesses in the community
that are just looking to provide a complementary alcoholic beverage
and that's really all this license allows them to do.
It becomes it's not mandatory by any means to have
these licenses, but if if you are currently providing cocktails
without one, we would encourage you to give us a
call at three five five thirteen hundred. Now the process is,
(10:29):
it's not too cumbersome. It's just a couple of City
Commission meetings. Of course, there's an application fee and then
there is an annual renewal fee once the license has
been approved. So if you have any questions, feel free
to stop by the office or you can look up
some of the information on our website as well.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Bismark Events Center operating model was on the regular agenda
last night, and I guess we ultimately it was decided
that the Commission needed a little bit more time to
look at some resource is that made it into the
packet a little bit late due to the holiday and
some other factors, so that'll be pushed to the next meeting.
(11:08):
But what we heard was the idea of an authority
board kind of starting the conversation last night. And I
guess there are kind of two things to look at
with the event center. On one side, we're talking about amenities.
On the other side, we're talking about operations.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
And in the case of the authority board, that would
be more on the operational side. And so the purpose
of an authority board is to function as the fiduciary,
in other words, helping to build a budget and drive
the department moving forward. We have a similar model with
(11:49):
an authority in the case of our downtown parking structures.
We have a Bismark Parking Authority and their charge is
to manage and operate the public parking facilities downtown. And
by manage and operate, that also means take care of
the maintenance that comes along with these projects. We have
a one particular building, the Parkade parking structure, that also
has tenant space. We have some retail and office tenants
(12:13):
in there, so they provide services to those businesses and
work through the leasing when those spaces come open. So
the idea of having an authority isn't unfamiliar to us.
It really becomes more of the hands on group that
helps guide the operations and that it prevents or doesn't prevent,
(12:34):
but it keeps the City Commission from having to get
into the daily operational features of those things. Having an
authority for the Bismarck Event Center is a new concept,
but I think it's one that seems to gain some
attention and there seems to be some consensus around that
at the table from the commissioners composing those individuals, making
(12:56):
sure that the right professionals from the community, the right
people that are part of that operation are on the
ground floor working to make sure that it moves forward
and it has the guidance that it needs. I should
mention Fargo Dome. Of course, we were not unfamiliar with them.
They've been operating with the Fargo Dome Authority since its
(13:16):
conception the late nineteen eighties, and so lots of different
models of how that could work. So the consultants shared
some information about that. But to your point, yes, the
commission received the information quite late, and I was Commissioner's
anchor that remarked that given the information that is there,
there's a big decision that needs to be made moving forward,
(13:38):
and everybody needed more time and I can appreciate that
and understand that. So on June tenth, this will be
back on the agenda. At that point it would be
the Commission's opportunity to make a direction, make a decision,
and a direction on how to move forward. If they
require more information, by all means, we'll continue to do
our best to provide that to them. We look forward
(14:00):
to whatever decisions are made after that.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Also, talking about public transit last night, I know there
was a Transportation Steering Committee I believe May thirteenth, and
the recommendation that came out of that meeting, a recommendation
was to expand transit services. So the Commission didn't take
any action last night on this issue, but did provide
some guidance I guess for Dedre from Transit to kind
(14:28):
of move forward with this plan to potentially expand services.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Correct. And so this is a result of the citizen
election that was held in November, an additional half cent
sales tax, with a portion of that half cent going
to public transportation. And so the Transportation Steering Committee has
met several times over the last few months and came
back with the recommendation to increase funding up to one
(14:55):
point one million dollars to be spent to increase service
times as well as routes, and then open up services
to the general public on Sundays as well. So that
was part of the discussion. I think what got a
little more attention at the table last night was also
the discussion of how to offset the potential revenue shortfall
(15:17):
in twenty twenty five, And what I believe the general
consensus at the table was is that once that point
in time is known that there will be a budget shortfall,
there would need to be a budget amendment for twenty
twenty five, most likely utilizing the sales tax dollars that
began collecting in April first of this year, and so
(15:39):
there would be funds accrued at this point at the
point at the end of twenty twenty five to potentially
cover that loss or that shortfall and operating expenses.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
So again we have two items on the table. One
is the revenue shortfall budget shortfall for twenty twenty five,
and the other side of it is looking down the
road to expand services and how to pay for that.
Correct the Bismarck ETA discussion drew several folks to the
(16:09):
podium for during public comment period, and Commissioner Conley had
asked for a discussion on the ETA, and his idea,
I believe was to bring the Bismarck City Commission and
the Burley County Commission together for a discussion for a
public input meeting.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Correct And in the end, ultimately the Commission voted against
that on a split vote, not to call for that
joint meeting. But you're right. We heard from about a
dozen people at the onset of the meeting, many of
them encouraged the Commission to request a meeting with Burley
County and supported that idea. Ultimately, the Commission chose not
(16:52):
to move down that path, but we did hear some
questions from the commissioners also asking specifically what were their
exact concerns or what were the direct concerns of those individuals,
And we also had a commissioners anchor clarify a few
things from staff as well. There were comments made about
(17:13):
the Bismarck Police Department having jurisdiction within the ETA, and
the Commissioner's anchor had requested Chief Dreevich to understand what
is that mutual agreement that we have with Burley County
and recognizing Bismark is part of Burley County, so the
Burley County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction throughout the county, But
where is the line for the City of Bismarck. Police
(17:35):
and Chief Dreevich informed the commission that there are times
when our officers do leave city limits, whether it be
in pursuit or whether it be part of a case
that they're working. But oftentimes if they are outside city limits,
they will make sure that the Burley County Sheriff's Department
is aware of their activities. So there's very much mutual
(17:56):
communication going on between the two departments. Gabeesell was asked
some questions about projects in and around the ETA from
a city engineering perspective, and then of course, our Community
Development Director Ben Erth, which his department kind of gets
the brunt of this conversation because it is the Planning
(18:17):
Division and the Building Inspections divisions that are operating in
the extra territorial area and so a lot of discussion,
a lot of comments. Ultimately, it was shared that at
the Bismarck Burley Combined Commissions meeting, which i am a
part of. The mayor is a part of Burley County
(18:39):
representation includes Auditor Sponskowski and County Commissioner Steve Bachin. We
are scheduled to meet monthly. We meet in the Tom
Baker Room. Your group provides that meeting on this program
or on this platform, and the purpose of that is
to have these conversations between the two organizations, between the
city and the county. And it was noted that in
(19:01):
the recent past we've had these discussions involving the staff,
both from the City of Bismarck side and from the
county side, whether or not the jurisdictional boundaries of the
ETA should change. And the last time that conversation was had,
all parties agreed that things are good the way they
are going forward. I think there was an understanding that
(19:23):
that type of conversation would happen every couple of years.
We're obviously due for that conversation again, so I would
expect that this won't be the last time we'll be
talking about the ETA. I don't know when it will
be next, but I am certain that it will happen
again in the not too distant future.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Some other items that we wanted to talk about and
switching gears the public libraries. Color our World. Summer Reading
Challenge is May twenty eighth through July twenty seventh. Cool
community thing. Win some prizes, read.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Some books, earn rewards. Chance for prizes is yes. If
you like to read and Summer Reading Challenges your thing,
get after it. It starts today and what a data.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Just sit outside and open up a good book. We
wanted to recap the May twenty first special Board of
City Commissioners meeting and we've mentioned Bismarck Event Center amenities
earlier and that special meeting was really interesting. Earlier this month,
the idea of a hotel was brought up, and we
(20:29):
have that image and again this is just a rendering
of an idea, I think, a concept to give people
just some idea of what could be. And the question
I had for you yesterday, just for clarification, is where
exactly may might this hotel be? And because there is
(20:50):
some open area around the Civic Center, but this would
be essentially attached right to the west entrance in that
which is now parking lot.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
It's a parking lot for about one hundred cars today.
It's one of the few parking lots you have to
pay for parking. But you're absolutely right, this is purely
a concept. This is purely to be able to have
a discussion about the size of shape, what could it
be And the purpose of the special meeting on the
twenty first was to give the commissioners and the team
(21:23):
proposing this project an opportunity to number one, have the
team give their presentation, but number two, have the commissioners
start to visualize and understand what it could take, what
it could look like, what the ask might be. And
in the end, the commissioners were asked by the proposed
(21:45):
development team to enter into a memorandum of understanding an
MoU for a period of maybe twelve to eighteen months
that would give the development team the opportunity to work
very intentionally on this Recognizing there's a lot of time
and energy and resources that go into development of something
like this, that team would like the understanding that those
(22:09):
efforts would be spent in good faith. There is a
zero dollar ask of the city. There is no cash
expectation at this time. They're simply looking for the opportunity
to design and work through the pre construction phases for
the next twelve to eighteen months to further develop this
(22:30):
concept into something that could be realized, and in the
end there were four different potential concepts that were really considered.
I think the one that probably resonates most directly with
the Commissioners right now was the first concept, and that
would be this site would be that of a hotel,
along with some supporting ballrooms or larger conference rooms that
(22:53):
are different and more adaptable than the space is inside
the event center, which offers of thousands of square feet
of meeting room space. This would fit in between some
of those larger room sizes. So where we are today.
The Commission tasked our legal department with researching whether or
not the information that they received on the twenty first
(23:15):
is sufficient to enter into that memorandum of understanding with
this development team to move forward with confidence and hand
in hand, recognizing that there's a lot of work that
needs to be done and it's going to take some time.
But if the Commission is confident that this group has
the ability to pull a project together, then that seems
(23:38):
to be the consensus at the table, and that's the
way we will move forward.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And like with everything, there's a lot of gray area,
but one thing that seems certain to me is it's
difficult for Bismarck to compete with places like Fargo and
ground Forks and maybe some other regional cities that don't
have a hotel connected with a convention space to dry
and larger groups for meetings and things like that.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Right, And the convention industry is a very important one
when it comes to tourism. And we've talked about this
a lot tonight, I'll say it again. The value for
us as a community for hosting a convention is tremendous
because it brings a captive audience to our community. They
have to stay in a hotel, they'll be dining in restaurants,
(24:24):
they'll be entertaining, they will hopefully be shopping and doing
a number of things that have them have a wonderful
experience in Bismarck. But also it infuses our economy because
they're bringing their resources, their dollars to Bismarck and leaving
them here at these places, at these service industries, at
these restaurants, at the hotels, whatever the case might be.
(24:45):
So the tourism industry is very competitive, and it is
very important for us when we have a facility like
this to be able to energize it and activate it
in those ways because it brings people to Bismarck that
might not otherwise have a reason to be here. So
that is a very important feature. Now us as residents,
does a conference mean the same, not necessarily because it
(25:07):
we as residents. We're looking for those fun and engaging
and active things that are going on inside the Bismarck
Event Center as well. I think that was a comment
that Commissioner's anchor remarked in the proposal is that he
was expecting the wow factor, I think was his term,
and I can appreciate that. And I think one of
(25:28):
the remarks back was this is more of a conference hotel,
This maybe not be a family based hotel. Maybe it
ends up being a bit of both, because I think
that comment resonates with a lot of people that as
families in Bismarck, as families with children that are in
sports and activities, we travel all over the place, we
see these things in different areas, and we come home
(25:48):
and we want those experiences in Bismarck as well. And
I think that to Commissioner's anchors comment about the wow factor,
I think the project team understood that took it to
heart and and that will help drive how they approach
this project in the future.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I think Commissioner clearly also made an interesting comment that
the wall factor to her may be what you know,
where she's at in life, maybe more like the Jasper
in Fargo, which doesn't have the water park that the
Canadaan has in Grand Forks. So I think the law factor,
there's a lot, I think for this group to think
about now, given a little bit of direction in perhaps
(26:27):
making this more than a conference center.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah, it'll be an exciting project, but obviously step one,
we've got to work our way through the legal process
to make sure that we as the City of Bismarck,
are doing everything according to Century Code and the expectations
of the citizens and of the law. We will come
back with that information, hopefully at the next Commission meeting
in June, and decide where we go from there.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Yeah, like a lot of things, Stay tuned, right, stay
tuned well. Thanks for joining us on this edition of
City Current. You can download our apps if you want
to take this program or all the other things we
have to offer on DA CODEO Media Access, so you
can find us wherever you are whenever you can.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
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
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(27:34):
and six oh two in HD or on Radio Access
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viewing link at free tv dot org. Thanks for tuning
in to this edition of City Current.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome to City Current. I'm Tom Gerhart from Dakota Media
Access along with Bismarck City Administrator Jason Tamonic and Sunshining.
And right off the bat, you reminded me today's a
pretty special day in the area.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
It is a special day if you're a baseball fan.
It's opening day for the Bismarck Larks. So congratulations on
season nine. Wow for the Larks.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So time's flown by. It's hard to believe it's almost June,
but State track meet wrapped up and school's.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Out, graduation, summer schools already in session.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Back to summer, so or welcome somehow, decushould say well.
Coming up on this edition of City Current multiple topics
from last night's City Commission meeting, but just a few
we'll be talking about include encroachment agreements at the Jousting
Lemur and Cathedral Church. We'll also talk about the ETA
(01:17):
discussion that happened last night and we'll recap a meeting
from earlier this month that talked about amenities at the
Bismarck Event Center that include the possibility. We want to
make sure these everybody understands is just kind of potential
right now, but potential for a hotel. And we'll show
your rendering of design that just to give people a kickstart,
(01:40):
I guess, and imagining what this conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Conversation starter it's a concept, it's an idea, but we'll
get there. Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
That's right. So let's start with the consent agenda, which
was one of the few things last night that the
Commission was able to zip right through. But I thought
there was some interesting topics they're including, as you mentioned,
the encroachment for Jousting Lemur and for Cathedral church. So
(02:12):
what's happening when people are looking for encroachment agreements?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
So typically these agreements are to address what we would
consider to be private property and it's either placed or
installed within the public right of way. And what is
the public right away? To us, it is the area
that is the road, but then in many times also
the boulevard and the sidewalk, and so public right away
(02:39):
really translates to public property. It's under the city's responsibility
for managing those rights of way. And in the case
of an encroachment agreement, we are recognizing that a private
business owner is placing an object or materials.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Or in this case, they want outside seating.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Outside seating, a jousting Lemur, And in the case of
Cathedral Church, they're looking to install devices to heat the
sidewalks along the east side of the church along I
believe it's Raymond Street, to help with just snow removal.
And obviously, for anybody that's been to that area, you'll
(03:18):
know that those sidewalks there's a bit of an incline
to them as well, and it just helps make the
traveling public a little safer. And so because these private
entities are utilizing public right of way, there needs to
be an agreement between the city and that agency with
an understanding of what is it, why is it here,
(03:38):
what is the length of it. In the case of
the jousting Lemur and many other businesses downtown that have
outdoor seating, it's a seasonal agreement. We have this as
a policy that the items can be on the public
right of way until a specific date and I want
to say it's October first, or maybe it's October third,
(03:58):
two That job thirty first sounds right, and then not
before I think it's April first annually. And the reason
there is obviously snowy mobil but also part of the
encroachment agreement process is to review the applications to understand
how the right of way will be preserved, because the
primary function there is to help pedestrians move back and forth. Now,
we recognize downtown very ample sidewalks in many cases, and
(04:23):
so there is a way to temporarily play seating in
some barricades in a lot of cases out there to
court off those areas so people do have the opportunity
to be outside, enjoy a meal, enjoy a beverage, enjoy
the just the activity of downtown. And so for a
business like Jousting lemur great to see that, great to
see them embracing the sidewalk and providing a little more
(04:45):
experience for the customers. In the case of Cathedral, we
understand that if in fact that there would ever be
maintenance to those sidewalks, that the city would be responsible for.
We now have a document reminding us that there is
something else below that concrete surface rather than just the
traditional Class five and compacted gravel and things that we
(05:06):
would expect to find.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So jousting lamber too. I read that you need to
have six feet of clearance for eightya, so they will
be putting up, if approved, barricades for that outdoor seating,
but also maintaining at least six feet of clearance I guess,
for lack of a better term, for the pedestrian traffic
or eighty eight compliance exactly.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And that's the role from the city staff perspective, is
to ensure that that six photo clearance is maintained. Obviously,
we've got a lot of street signs, street lighting, there's
different street furniture that we are responsible for, and making
sure that a pedestrian or someone with a device can
safely and adequately move through that corridor. That's our that's
(05:47):
our focus.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And we have a couple of photos from the cathedral
area that we can show folks to give an idea.
So the outline of the red is the proposed area
of heated sidewalk which is right in front of Cathedral Church,
and then you can see the area of transition and
here's a little closer street view look, and I think
(06:09):
one of the issues they brought up if you see
the area that says where the joint is, that that
was a tripping hazard and I think there was maybe
an injury within the last year, so they want to
I guess. Yeah, heated sidewalk in North Dkota sounds like
a pretty nice thing in the winter. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I think the drawing that you showed earlier showed about
one hundred and ten feet north to south and then
the width of the sidewalk there is about ten feet.
So a significant project. But Commission approved everything as presented
last night, no questions asked, so both groups can move
forward with their plans.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Also, we wanted to talk about a pole sign that
Railway Credit Union is looking to put up, and we
have an image of that too, But again just to
provide a little more context, this is something that a
business just can't go out and do. There's a little
bit more to it.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Correct and in an encroachment agreement like this, oftentimes with
a sign there could be a portion of the signs
foundation that is extending into a utility easement or in
this case, a stormwater and drainage isment. Sometimes we'll actually
see an encroachment agreement if the sign is placed close
(07:21):
to the property line, but it extends over the property
line in a vertical case. So again here a new
business coming together with their plans for a new office space,
a new bank, and obviously new signage comes with that.
So here again no concerns from the Commission, just another
(07:42):
process to identify that we know there's something here and
both sides have an understanding of what the expectations are
going forward.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Another item from the consent agenda. Again all the consent
agenda items were sent through, but just wanted to remind
people about the block party on Fourth There will be
a street closure on September sixth, and the top of
your screen shows Fourth Street and to the left and
(08:09):
right of your screen those will be the barricades with
some food trucks and things. But this also again went
through the consent agenda. Son can move forward yep.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So here again need commission approval to close the street.
And so we see this several times throughout the year,
most commonly with street Fair we'll have this process. But
in this case, the business owners along Fourth Street have
gotten together again and are providing an opportunity for the
community to come out and have a good time. Food
(08:39):
trucks will be involved. I think I saw somewhere that
there might be a dunk tank and some other activities
for kids. All right, So the date on that one
again I believe, was September sixth, from three thirty to
seven thirty Fourth Street between Rosser Avenue and Avenue A
Downtown Well.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Among the many items on that map, I do see
dunk tank to the in the parking lot just north
of the Mojo Big Rig building with glans and craft kates,
so that I'm not interested in participating in the dunk tank.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Just for the record, I should note also that the
proceeds raised here will be donated to the Out of
Darkness or Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness And thanks
to Andrea Burst and her neighbors at Fourth Street for
champion this and leading the effort.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Good point, good point on the regular agenda also sailed
through but public hering on All Star Nails and Stabled
Studio looking for complimentary alcohol licenses.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
We've seen a number of these licenses since they became available.
This was in response to a lot of businesses that
were providing complimentary alcoholic beverages to their customers with the service,
and you would find this any salon or a spot
h occasionally jewelry stores and other similar similar places of business.
(10:06):
Here again, we've got two newer businesses in the community
that are just looking to provide a complementary alcoholic beverage
and that's really all this license allows them to do.
It becomes it's not mandatory by any means to have
these licenses, but if if you are currently providing cocktails
without one, we would encourage you to give us a
call at three five five thirteen hundred. Now the process is,
(10:29):
it's not too cumbersome. It's just a couple of City
Commission meetings. Of course, there's an application fee and then
there is an annual renewal fee once the license has
been approved. So if you have any questions, feel free
to stop by the office or you can look up
some of the information on our website as well.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Bismark Events Center operating model was on the regular agenda
last night, and I guess we ultimately it was decided
that the Commission needed a little bit more time to
look at some resource is that made it into the
packet a little bit late due to the holiday and
some other factors, so that'll be pushed to the next meeting.
(11:08):
But what we heard was the idea of an authority
board kind of starting the conversation last night. And I
guess there are kind of two things to look at
with the event center. On one side, we're talking about amenities.
On the other side, we're talking about operations.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
And in the case of the authority board, that would
be more on the operational side. And so the purpose
of an authority board is to function as the fiduciary,
in other words, helping to build a budget and drive
the department moving forward. We have a similar model with
(11:49):
an authority in the case of our downtown parking structures.
We have a Bismark Parking Authority and their charge is
to manage and operate the public parking facilities downtown. And
by manage and operate, that also means take care of
the maintenance that comes along with these projects. We have
a one particular building, the Parkade parking structure, that also
has tenant space. We have some retail and office tenants
(12:13):
in there, so they provide services to those businesses and
work through the leasing when those spaces come open. So
the idea of having an authority isn't unfamiliar to us.
It really becomes more of the hands on group that
helps guide the operations and that it prevents or doesn't prevent,
(12:34):
but it keeps the City Commission from having to get
into the daily operational features of those things. Having an
authority for the Bismarck Event Center is a new concept,
but I think it's one that seems to gain some
attention and there seems to be some consensus around that
at the table from the commissioners composing those individuals, making
(12:56):
sure that the right professionals from the community, the right
people that are part of that operation are on the
ground floor working to make sure that it moves forward
and it has the guidance that it needs. I should
mention Fargo Dome. Of course, we were not unfamiliar with them.
They've been operating with the Fargo Dome Authority since its
(13:16):
conception the late nineteen eighties, and so lots of different
models of how that could work. So the consultants shared
some information about that. But to your point, yes, the
commission received the information quite late, and I was Commissioner's
anchor that remarked that given the information that is there,
there's a big decision that needs to be made moving forward,
(13:38):
and everybody needed more time and I can appreciate that
and understand that. So on June tenth, this will be
back on the agenda. At that point it would be
the Commission's opportunity to make a direction, make a decision,
and a direction on how to move forward. If they
require more information, by all means, we'll continue to do
our best to provide that to them. We look forward
(14:00):
to whatever decisions are made after that.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Also, talking about public transit last night, I know there
was a Transportation Steering Committee I believe May thirteenth, and
the recommendation that came out of that meeting, a recommendation
was to expand transit services. So the Commission didn't take
any action last night on this issue, but did provide
some guidance I guess for Dedre from Transit to kind
(14:28):
of move forward with this plan to potentially expand services.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Correct. And so this is a result of the citizen
election that was held in November, an additional half cent
sales tax, with a portion of that half cent going
to public transportation. And so the Transportation Steering Committee has
met several times over the last few months and came
back with the recommendation to increase funding up to one
(14:55):
point one million dollars to be spent to increase service
times as well as routes, and then open up services
to the general public on Sundays as well. So that
was part of the discussion. I think what got a
little more attention at the table last night was also
the discussion of how to offset the potential revenue shortfall
(15:17):
in twenty twenty five, And what I believe the general
consensus at the table was is that once that point
in time is known that there will be a budget shortfall,
there would need to be a budget amendment for twenty
twenty five, most likely utilizing the sales tax dollars that
began collecting in April first of this year, and so
(15:39):
there would be funds accrued at this point at the
point at the end of twenty twenty five to potentially
cover that loss or that shortfall and operating expenses.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
So again we have two items on the table. One
is the revenue shortfall budget shortfall for twenty twenty five,
and the other side of it is looking down the
road to expand services and how to pay for that.
Correct the Bismarck ETA discussion drew several folks to the
(16:09):
podium for during public comment period, and Commissioner Conley had
asked for a discussion on the ETA, and his idea,
I believe was to bring the Bismarck City Commission and
the Burley County Commission together for a discussion for a
public input meeting.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Correct And in the end, ultimately the Commission voted against
that on a split vote, not to call for that
joint meeting. But you're right. We heard from about a
dozen people at the onset of the meeting, many of
them encouraged the Commission to request a meeting with Burley
County and supported that idea. Ultimately, the Commission chose not
(16:52):
to move down that path, but we did hear some
questions from the commissioners also asking specifically what were their
exact concerns or what were the direct concerns of those individuals,
And we also had a commissioners anchor clarify a few
things from staff as well. There were comments made about
(17:13):
the Bismarck Police Department having jurisdiction within the ETA, and
the Commissioner's anchor had requested Chief Dreevich to understand what
is that mutual agreement that we have with Burley County
and recognizing Bismark is part of Burley County, so the
Burley County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction throughout the county, But
where is the line for the City of Bismarck. Police
(17:35):
and Chief Dreevich informed the commission that there are times
when our officers do leave city limits, whether it be
in pursuit or whether it be part of a case
that they're working. But oftentimes if they are outside city limits,
they will make sure that the Burley County Sheriff's Department
is aware of their activities. So there's very much mutual
(17:56):
communication going on between the two departments. Gabeesell was asked
some questions about projects in and around the ETA from
a city engineering perspective, and then of course, our Community
Development Director Ben Erth, which his department kind of gets
the brunt of this conversation because it is the Planning
(18:17):
Division and the Building Inspections divisions that are operating in
the extra territorial area and so a lot of discussion,
a lot of comments. Ultimately, it was shared that at
the Bismarck Burley Combined Commissions meeting, which i am a
part of. The mayor is a part of Burley County
(18:39):
representation includes Auditor Sponskowski and County Commissioner Steve Bachin. We
are scheduled to meet monthly. We meet in the Tom
Baker Room. Your group provides that meeting on this program
or on this platform, and the purpose of that is
to have these conversations between the two organizations, between the
city and the county. And it was noted that in
(19:01):
the recent past we've had these discussions involving the staff,
both from the City of Bismarck side and from the
county side, whether or not the jurisdictional boundaries of the
ETA should change. And the last time that conversation was had,
all parties agreed that things are good the way they
are going forward. I think there was an understanding that
(19:23):
that type of conversation would happen every couple of years.
We're obviously due for that conversation again, so I would
expect that this won't be the last time we'll be
talking about the ETA. I don't know when it will
be next, but I am certain that it will happen
again in the not too distant future.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Some other items that we wanted to talk about and
switching gears the public libraries. Color our World. Summer Reading
Challenge is May twenty eighth through July twenty seventh. Cool
community thing. Win some prizes, read.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Some books, earn rewards. Chance for prizes is yes. If
you like to read and Summer Reading Challenges your thing,
get after it. It starts today and what a data.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Just sit outside and open up a good book. We
wanted to recap the May twenty first special Board of
City Commissioners meeting and we've mentioned Bismarck Event Center amenities
earlier and that special meeting was really interesting. Earlier this month,
the idea of a hotel was brought up, and we
(20:29):
have that image and again this is just a rendering
of an idea, I think, a concept to give people
just some idea of what could be. And the question
I had for you yesterday, just for clarification, is where
exactly may might this hotel be? And because there is
(20:50):
some open area around the Civic Center, but this would
be essentially attached right to the west entrance in that
which is now parking lot.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
It's a parking lot for about one hundred cars today.
It's one of the few parking lots you have to
pay for parking. But you're absolutely right, this is purely
a concept. This is purely to be able to have
a discussion about the size of shape, what could it
be And the purpose of the special meeting on the
twenty first was to give the commissioners and the team
(21:23):
proposing this project an opportunity to number one, have the
team give their presentation, but number two, have the commissioners
start to visualize and understand what it could take, what
it could look like, what the ask might be. And
in the end, the commissioners were asked by the proposed
(21:45):
development team to enter into a memorandum of understanding an
MoU for a period of maybe twelve to eighteen months
that would give the development team the opportunity to work
very intentionally on this Recognizing there's a lot of time
and energy and resources that go into development of something
like this, that team would like the understanding that those
(22:09):
efforts would be spent in good faith. There is a
zero dollar ask of the city. There is no cash
expectation at this time. They're simply looking for the opportunity
to design and work through the pre construction phases for
the next twelve to eighteen months to further develop this
(22:30):
concept into something that could be realized, and in the
end there were four different potential concepts that were really considered.
I think the one that probably resonates most directly with
the Commissioners right now was the first concept, and that
would be this site would be that of a hotel,
along with some supporting ballrooms or larger conference rooms that
(22:53):
are different and more adaptable than the space is inside
the event center, which offers of thousands of square feet
of meeting room space. This would fit in between some
of those larger room sizes. So where we are today.
The Commission tasked our legal department with researching whether or
not the information that they received on the twenty first
(23:15):
is sufficient to enter into that memorandum of understanding with
this development team to move forward with confidence and hand
in hand, recognizing that there's a lot of work that
needs to be done and it's going to take some time.
But if the Commission is confident that this group has
the ability to pull a project together, then that seems
(23:38):
to be the consensus at the table, and that's the
way we will move forward.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And like with everything, there's a lot of gray area,
but one thing that seems certain to me is it's
difficult for Bismarck to compete with places like Fargo and
ground Forks and maybe some other regional cities that don't
have a hotel connected with a convention space to dry
and larger groups for meetings and things like that.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Right, And the convention industry is a very important one
when it comes to tourism. And we've talked about this
a lot tonight, I'll say it again. The value for
us as a community for hosting a convention is tremendous
because it brings a captive audience to our community. They
have to stay in a hotel, they'll be dining in restaurants,
(24:24):
they'll be entertaining, they will hopefully be shopping and doing
a number of things that have them have a wonderful
experience in Bismarck. But also it infuses our economy because
they're bringing their resources, their dollars to Bismarck and leaving
them here at these places, at these service industries, at
these restaurants, at the hotels, whatever the case might be.
(24:45):
So the tourism industry is very competitive, and it is
very important for us when we have a facility like
this to be able to energize it and activate it
in those ways because it brings people to Bismarck that
might not otherwise have a reason to be here. So
that is a very important feature. Now us as residents,
does a conference mean the same, not necessarily because it
(25:07):
we as residents. We're looking for those fun and engaging
and active things that are going on inside the Bismarck
Event Center as well. I think that was a comment
that Commissioner's anchor remarked in the proposal is that he
was expecting the wow factor, I think was his term,
and I can appreciate that. And I think one of
(25:28):
the remarks back was this is more of a conference hotel,
This maybe not be a family based hotel. Maybe it
ends up being a bit of both, because I think
that comment resonates with a lot of people that as
families in Bismarck, as families with children that are in
sports and activities, we travel all over the place, we
see these things in different areas, and we come home
(25:48):
and we want those experiences in Bismarck as well. And
I think that to Commissioner's anchors comment about the wow factor,
I think the project team understood that took it to
heart and and that will help drive how they approach
this project in the future.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I think Commissioner clearly also made an interesting comment that
the wall factor to her may be what you know,
where she's at in life, maybe more like the Jasper
in Fargo, which doesn't have the water park that the
Canadaan has in Grand Forks. So I think the law factor,
there's a lot, I think for this group to think
about now, given a little bit of direction in perhaps
(26:27):
making this more than a conference center.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah, it'll be an exciting project, but obviously step one,
we've got to work our way through the legal process
to make sure that we as the City of Bismarck,
are doing everything according to Century Code and the expectations
of the citizens and of the law. We will come
back with that information, hopefully at the next Commission meeting
in June, and decide where we go from there.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Yeah, like a lot of things, Stay tuned, right, stay
tuned well. Thanks for joining us on this edition of
City Current. You can download our apps if you want
to take this program or all the other things we
have to offer on DA CODEO Media Access, so you
can find us wherever you are whenever you can.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
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
(27:34):
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 (28:00):
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