July 9, 2025 • 31 mins
Tom Gerhardt talks to Jason Tomanek about the Bismarck City Commission meeting that took place on 7/8/25.
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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 correct.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome the City Current, the Bismarck Condition. I'm Tom Gerhard
from Dakota Media Access and Jason Toamonic, Bismarck City Administrator,
is here following last night's City Commission meeting and Fourth
of July festivities. We've got a lot to get to
but first off.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Welcome, Thank you. It's always a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, we've got a lot of things to talk about today,
starting with what was a really somber moment last night's
commission meeting, but honoring Sergeant Steve Kenner, who we lost
in the line of duty in eleven years or fourteen
years ago ago, thirteen years ago now, so the police
chief had a nice moment of silence for Sergeant Kenner.
(01:04):
We'll talk about the pavement management report and you can
pop that up on the screen, which sounds really boring
when you just say it out loud, but I found
it really interesting studying the city and the streets and
so we'll talk about that as well, opioid settlement funds
with the health really public health and see what happened there.
(01:26):
And then an update to the public comment policy which
will affect all boards, committees and commissions and spurred by
legislative action.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
This past sin, so all cities across North Dakota will
be implementing some type of public comment policy.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, well, we'll get to all that in just a moment,
but let's start with Sergeant Steve Kenner. We mentioned he
was lost in the line of duty fourteen years ago,
and as we were talking ahead of time, I was
working in broadcast television at the time, and that was
the year of the flood as well, which we all remember.
But then in July, sergeant Kenner lost his life in
(02:07):
the line of duty, and the police chief last night
a very somber moment, as I mentioned, but a very
touching moment as well.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Yeah, he shared with everybody that he was the shift
commander at the time, which means he had a very
critical role within the police station as far as the
operations of the activities at night. I remember the night
very well. It was hot, it was July, obviously, but
one of the things that the Chief mentioned is that
over these fourteen years he had not participated in a
(02:35):
city Commission meeting that actually fell on July eight, which
was the anniversary day. And so when Dave had reached
out a couple of weeks ago and said, hey, you know,
we have this opportunity to recognize one of our own,
and I said, absolutely, the time is yours. You do
what you need to do, and I think he did
a very as you mentioned, somber memorial.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
But also it's appropriate to remember these things.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
And recognize the the sacrifices that some will to ensure
the safety of our community.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
So we have a photo of Sergeant Kenner Chief Drevitch
last night two. You could tell that obviously still very
emotional for him, but he also displayed I think a
lot of strength and class by stepping to the podium
for that moment.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, Chief Drevich doesn't care for the spotlight. I think
he'd probably be the first one to tell you that.
But at the same time, he is very much willing
to raise up other people for their accomplishments and the
work that they do as well and being a good leader.
It's nice to know that he has feelings and he
has empathy and sympathy for the family and has his
own memories of that entire situation, not just that evening,
(03:47):
but then the course of events had transpired for the
days and weeks afterwards as well, And so just appreciate
the humanity that he brought forward and again the professionalism,
but also recognizing the sacrifice that the Kenner family gave
for our community.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Didn't want to let that opportunity pass. Just to remind
everyone and again to honor Sergeant Kenner. So a very
very nice moment last night. Well, moving on to the
actual nuts and bolts of the commission meeting. On the
consent agenda, a couple of things were pulled pretty uneventful,
but you mentioned this is a very busy time for
(04:24):
the city with renewal season.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
For city administration, the office that I work from every
day we are responsible for processing all the renewal applications
for charitable gaming and for alcohol licenses and so charitable
gaming all their licenses and permits expire at the end
of June, and then all the alcohol licenses that we
issue expire at the end of July. So these back
(04:49):
to back months are very busy for our front office staff.
There's a somewhere between one hundred and twenty five and
one hundred and fifty alcohol licenses, and then a tremendous
number of gaming site locations and renewals as well, and
so we sometimes run in seasons, and this is one
of those seasons for us. That is it's all hands
on deck, and we realize that we have a critical
(05:11):
role in this process because if we are not able
to successfully renew their applications, that can cost them revenue
and operations in the future. So we work very closely
with some of the businesses and appreciate all of their support,
but then also hand off part of the process to
the state because there's another step for the gaming and
then later in the year there's a renewal process for
(05:33):
the alcohol licensing at the state level as well.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
On the regular agenda, the pavement study, the pavement Management report,
I guess that was given last night. As I mentioned,
I've found very intriguing, even though it doesn't sound like
a lot on the top, but we have a map
that we can pop up that shows and the green
is adequate throughout the city, yellow needs some work, and
(06:00):
the red unsatisfactory. But tell us the details of this report.
I think everybody was really appreciative to receive it, and
it's important because ultimately it can save the city a
lot of money. Staying on top of.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
It, it absolutely does. It helps us have a plan
for addressing pavement conditions, and so we're not just throwing
a dart at the board. We're not just driving around
and looking at which streets need the most attention. We
are actually analyzing through technology the subsurface and the condition
of the pavement as well. And some of the little
nuggets I always like tidbits of information. And one of
(06:33):
the little pieces that I picked up on referring to
the map on the screen, So the city of Bismarck
has about three hundred and sixty center lane miles. So
that's if you just drove down the middle of every street,
it'd be three hundred and sixty miles total. Three hundred
and four of those miles, which are represented by the
green on the screen. Three hundred and four of those miles,
as you mentioned, are adequate. So that's about eighty four
(06:54):
percent of our roadways are inadequate condition. That's pretty good.
Fifty three miles are considered degraded. There's about fifteen percent,
and then we have four miles that are in unsatisfactory condition,
so less than one percent of our total street network.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
So do we have work to do? Absolutely without a doubt.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
What were some of the takeaways Beyond that, we have
five year projected costs of fifteen million dollars annually. What
the report tells us is if we continue to invest
in the maintenance of our street through a variety of techniques,
whether it be a chip seal, a millan overlay, which
is when we grind off the pavement surface and come
back with fresh assphalt in certain locations, or in a
(07:31):
worst case scenario, we end up doing what we call
a full depth reconstruction, where we end up going all
the way down to the subsurface, in some cases actually
pulling out that soil, putting in engineered soil, putting in
drain tile, helping with the subgrade water, things like that.
Between those three different types of asphalt treatment, if we
continue to maintain our street network as we have, we'll
(07:55):
have a projected pavement index of eighty by twenty two overall.
That's a pretty good score. That means that our network
is in good shape. We don't have a ton of blowouts. Sure,
we've got potholes, We've got things that need addressing, no
question about it. But if we continue down this path,
we will see investments that are recouped because we're maintaining
(08:19):
payment rather than waiting for it to just completely deteriorate
and then have to go to the most expensive next step,
which would be that full depth reconstruction.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Really interesting question asked by a commissioner Rish at the
end of the presentation about the technology involved. And I
forget the name of the presenter, forgive me, but you
talked about the three D cameras and you mentioned getting
being able to use those three D cameras to get
that perspective and get under the surface a little bit,
to see depths of degradation to use the term whatever
(08:49):
the appropriate term is, but I found that fascinating. We
have on screen some examples of pavement conditions around town,
and you know, they're literally driving you set all those
miles taking a look at the conditions.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Yeah, and it's great information for us. It's a program
that we've been using for quite some time now, probably
the last ten years or so, and it has really
helped guide the decisions of the areas that need attention,
and it's also exposed to areas that we may not
have seen with our own eyes because of that ability
to essentially scan the subsurface.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, well, who knew pavement could be so interesting?
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I'm sure the engineers knew well.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Of course, of course they know.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
This came from the Engineering department, and they've done a
great job of working with these consulting firms that have
this technology. It's not something that we the City of
Bismarck have, We contract with them to do this service,
but then they provide us with the data and the
tools to manage that information and make those informed decisions
going forward.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
This passed by quickly without any conversation with the event Center, amenity,
the MOLU with Nelson and Peterson. We are going to
maybe talk about that briefly, but just the MoU and
what that means moving forward with the potential amenity development.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Certainly, so, it was kind of the end of the
discussion that we saw. Beginning back in April of this year,
we had a one firm come forward with a proposal
for an amenities development project at the event Center.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
What does that mean?
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Essentially, what it means is that we're looking for somebody
to come in and build a hotel and some of
those missing pieces in that entire Bismarck Event Center complex.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
What the request.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Was back in April was to enter into an exclusive
agreement with the City of Bismarck to basically work on
our behalf this development firm.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
We'll be working on our behalf.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
To assemble a team that has the means to come
forward and support a development project of this type. There's
no talk of incentives, there's no talk of anything other
than the exclusive opportunity to work for the next year
towards the fulfillment of that project. There's no expense to
the city whatsoever. Now, as staff, we would be available
(10:58):
for help and support resources, those types of things. But
ultimately the team of Adolson and Peterson Construction, JLG Architects
and you Will Design Group. Those are the three private
sector entities that are aligned on this project. Collectively, they
will be spending the next twelve months working as much
as they can towards bringing this project forward and coming
(11:20):
back with more than just a concept, by coming back
with an actual brick and mortar project that we're all
hoping to see.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, exciting, and we'd seen an example just an example
a few weeks back, but it'll be exciting to see
now moving forward what comes out of the MLU Bismarck
Burley public Health pro may step to the podium looking
for some funding to help with the triage center down
(11:48):
the road, just from a technical assistance I think was
the term she used, so not for an actual building,
but she was looking for fifty thousand dollars from opioid
settlement money and that actually ended up doubling and passing unanimously,
I believe, but filling the details on what happened there.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
So the request came as a result of some of
the changes that we've seen from Washington d C. So,
if we back up three four months, public Health had
one hundred thousand dollars in grand funds that was going
to be used for this project. And what is this project.
It's essentially a feasibility study for the community Triage Center.
What is the Community Triage Center? Well, it's a milestone
(12:27):
project that public Health has been working on since twenty seventeen,
and it was a concept that was originally started by
then Mayor Mike Seminary. The group was called the Mayor's
gold Star Community Task Force. It has evolved into the
Burly Morton Behavioral Health Task Force. What that group has
identified is that there are people in need in our
(12:48):
community with mental health, behavioral health, and addiction, no question
about that. What they've discovered is that there are a
number of services for people once they get past that
initial crisis scenario, and so the Community Triage Center would
really work to help address people's needs when they're in
crisis at that time. And what does it mean for
(13:11):
law enforcement? When law enforcement gets called to a location
for a disturbance, if somebody is under the influence, if
they need to be removed from that site, if they're
arrested for any reason, before they can go to jail,
they need to be cleared medically, if there's any sort
of condition or ailment that appears to be impeding their abilities.
Jail can't take them until the hospital clears, and the
(13:32):
hospital doesn't really want to have to deal with some
of those situations, and so our law enforcement officers oftentimes
end up waiting in the waiting room with people before
they can be seen by doctors and then ultimately taken
to jail. This Community Triarch Center would be that location
instead of taking someone to the emergency room. Instead of
(13:52):
taking someone to jail, you take them to this community
triar center where they can be assessed medically. But then
also so if they're willing and ready work their way
into these recovery programs, which is that next level, and
there's a number of programs at that next level of care.
So Public health a little bit of background there. Public
(14:12):
Health is now requesting, through opioid settlement funds, the ability
to replace that federal grant that was dissolved earlier this year.
Renee Mock, our public health director Bismark Burley public Health director,
made the same request at the Burley County Commission on Monday.
The commission did not support. The Burley County Commission did
(14:34):
not support her request, and so when the request came
to the Bismarck City Commission on Tuesday, Commissioner And Cleary,
who holds a portfolio for public health, noted that Renee
Mock had made the request and it was not supported.
Commission Cleary made the motion to use one hundred thousand
dollars of the city's opioid settlement funds, and we have
about two hundred and eighty thousand dollars that need to
(14:56):
be spent on these types of activities, and so that
is the motion that was unanimously supported, is that the
City of Bismark will be funding the study to support
the feasibility on the community triarge Center, which again is
a project that public health has been working on for
the last six or seven years.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
And ultimately a triage center would help our first responders.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Absolutely, department our hospitals.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Some burden off of the emergency rooms. We've heard about
businesses that have people congreating premises, congregations. The idea, I
mean number one is to buy health options for these
people mental, physical, or whatever. But it also just really
ripples out in so many different directions.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Correct Some might say, well, how does it really help
law enforcement, Well, it frees up our officers to do
the work that they're trained to do, to do professional
law enforcement work. They're not necessarily and of course they're
trained to help people when they're at their worst and
in distress. But I, as a city administrator, would much
rather know that our officers are out on the street
protecting this community as opposed to sitting in a waiting
(16:04):
room with somebody.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
That is at their worst at that time.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
So lots of help that is needed throughout and kudos
to Renee and her team and the entire coalition that
has been working on is I think the question came
to Renee. You know how many partners have been a
part of this and over the years, it's numbers in
the hundreds by far, and it just speaks to the
volume of organizations that are here. But it also really
(16:31):
shines a light on what a gap this really is. Right,
You've got all these other services that are there, but
probably the most critical step for some people, that first step.
We are missing that opportunity. And so through this work,
through this study, we'll have more information about the location,
the feasibility, how does it function, who are the partners,
(16:51):
how is it funded, who's operating it. All of these
answers need to come forward so we can make an
informed decision and start making a difference in that particular area.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Another regular item on the agenda last night public comment
policy and update there and that was spurred from legislative
action this past session. Talk about some of the details
of what not to be confused with public hearings. This
is public comment policy.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
Correct, So a public hearing would be different a public
hearing to us the distinction there is that it is
tied to a specific action, generally with an alcohol license
or an ordinance adoption, a zoning change, something like that
that works its way through the Planning Commission. Public comment
is any comment at the onset of now any public
(17:41):
meeting that is part of the City of Bismarck, and
so it will certainly impact the City Commission, but then
it also impacts every advisory board and committee that meets
on a regular basis. And so Senate Bill twenty one
to eighty was passed with this legislative session, so all
cities in North Kota now have to provide some form
of public comment. Being a partner of the North Cota
(18:03):
Lega Cities, the league took a template and basically made
it available to all the communities to say, if you
want to use this great The backbone for that, of course,
was the legislation that was passed. Now, if cities would
choose to augment or enhance the policy, that's theirs to do.
What they could not do is do anything less than
the state law says, but they could do more, meaning
(18:26):
one of the phrases in the state law references public
comment must be available for that meeting and at least
one meeting prior. At least one meeting prior. Well, commission,
a council, a committee could decide, you know what, we're
going to open it up to any comment.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
That's their decision.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Our Commission has chosen to limit it to the one
meeting prior, one regular meeting prior, and I can appreciate
that it gives the public an opportunity to come back
and ask a question on something that was dealt with
at the prior meeting. But at the same time, from
the staff perspective, we're always ready. We hope to have
the answers. If we don't, we'll try and find them.
(19:06):
But to try and be responsive to a question that
six months ago, you guys passed this ordinance and tell
me what it's all about, Well, it would take some
time to get to that answer, but at least this
way it puts a few bookends the.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Commission be prepared.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
It does as staff, we're happy to find those answers,
but to try and find them on the fly take
time out of the meeting, I think that could be
disruptive in some cases, so I appreciate that the Commission
limited it to the one meeting prior in the current meeting.
The other thing that there was a little bit of
discussion at the table was should there be a time
(19:42):
limit on each individual and then also should there be
a total amount of time allocated throughout the entire meeting?
And I think what I heard consensus was is that
five minutes seems to be a comfortable amount of time. However,
the chair has discretion, and I think that's the key
item at the chair. The mayor in the case of
the city Commission, who's ever running the meeting, has the
(20:04):
ability to say, Godam or sir, you have great information.
You're providing new information that we weren't aware of. Please continue.
I don't see us putting a shot clock up in
a buzzer or anything like that for calling out five minutes.
But I can also see when this will be helpful.
If we do have a topic that generates a lot
of public input or a lot of public interest, I
(20:25):
should say having some means to facilitate that process is appropriate.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It's easy to get off topics sometimes when someone comes
up with passion about a particular.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
Definitely too yeah, and I do need to mention the
city Bismarck City Commission particularly has had public comment for gosh,
probably the last six or seven years, and it has
been very similar to what the state improved. The difference
is that we required the comments to be from that
meeting's agenda only, and they had to be things that
(20:58):
were not otherwise described as a public hearing.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
So basically you could speak to.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Any item on the agenda. You didn't need to check
in ahead of time. You could come to the meeting,
sign it at the roll call sheet or the signing
sheet just for record keeping, and so we were very close.
The practice at the City of Bismarck has been engaged
and it was very close to what the state law
was implementing or it will be implementing on August first.
The biggest difference, I think for us is that it
(21:24):
now requires all boards and committees to do this, and
I'm not certain that every board and committee has a
public comment opportunity today, but at their August meeting they
will will.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Well, let's talk about something fun, not public comment, but
public comment. Well, that's true.
Speaker 5 (21:42):
Let's talk about a very great event on July fourth
up at the Community Bowl, the Bismarck's Red, White, and
Boom celebration first year after it was rescued from the
Capitol grounds and why it had to move everybody that
we've talked about in the past, but just focusing on
this July fourth event. I've heard a lot of great
(22:02):
comments about particularly the fireworks, but it sounds like you
were really happy with the way thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. This
event filled my cup. And not that this was about
me by any means, but I'll be honest, I was
a little nervous that the turnout was going to be underwhelming.
I was worried we were going to have just a
few hundred people there, And thank you Bismarck for coming
(22:26):
out and showing your support. Estimates across the BSc campus
somewhere around eight thousand people. That is staggering to know
that on the first year, eight thousand people trusted a
group of us to pull off something that was fun,
family friendly.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
It was free entertaining. The symphony sounded great. Ben Suki
did a wonderful job. Chuck Suki did a great job
when he joined the symphony, and I need to mention
his name, Jim Keller with J and J fireworks, And
so when we started this discussion several months ago. I
got to know Jim really well, and Jim assured me
(23:03):
that for the same amount of money that the city
had contributed to previous fireworks shows, if we were to
move the location to the Community Bowl and he was
able to shoot fireworks off from that South bluff where
he was on Friday last week, he assured me that
the firework show would be more than we had experienced
at the Capitol in the past, and Jim did not disappoint.
(23:25):
There was a period of time where I think people
were looking at their watch and saying, are you We're
still going, And so it was somewhere between twenty five
and thirty minutes of fireworks. I've spent most of my
life in Bismarck. I would go so far as to
say it's probably the best fireworks show that I can
remember in my lifetime in Bismarck. And it was a
great kickoff to a new tradition, and I think just
(23:48):
talking with other people, I heard wonderful remarks. Of course,
people had some complaints. Sharking was a challenge. I know,
we've got things to work on for next year. We've
got a meeting coming up with the planners, We're going
to get together, we're all going to talk about what worked,
what can we do better, what can we do differently,
And obviously next year, with it being the two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary, people are expecting a little bit more,
(24:09):
and so with all of that in mind, I just
think it was a wonderful community experience. The thousands of
people that showed up demonstrated to us that they want
these types of things to happen in Bismarck, and I
just am so thankful for the sponsors, for the partners
that went along on this journey with me and said
(24:30):
we can pull this off. We need to make something happen.
We can't just roll over and play dead. We're the
capital city. And I'm so proud, so pleased, and looking
forward to next year.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I think it's just going to be great.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
And not to doctor Beverly Everett. You mentioned the symphony
photo of them and some events leading up to the
fireworks show as well, but food trucks like long games
you mentioned, and then I happened to have plans, I
was out of state, so I wasn't able to make it,
which bums me out.
Speaker 5 (24:59):
So next year, for sure, but there were pole vaulters,
which somebody said, oh.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The pole vaulters were amazing, So it's just some unexpected
entertainment and some different things.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
There were seven inflatables, bounce houses, but yes, there were
people there demonstrating.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Their ability to vault over a pole and it.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Was getting the crowd cheering, people were clapping, it was
it was great it all in all, and the weather cooperated.
I mean, everything was just a wonderful, wonderful experience. So
thanks again for everybody that showed up, everybody that trusted
us that this was going to be a good time.
Were more next year improvements, certainly things to do better
(25:40):
in differently, but well, let's.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Mention that Red, White and Boom survey that that's out
right now, and as the screen says, it's a chance
for you to tell the committee what worked, what didn't,
what they could do better in the future. That'll be
up until July twenty first, so you have some time,
and it's the Bitley link slash biz the number four July,
and that'll lead you directly to the survey. You can
(26:03):
also find it on the Bismarck.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
City You're the City of Bismarck Facebook page. And then
I believe the host of the survey is actually the Fanatics.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Fun at That's right, they host.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
So the Fanatics helped with activating that space, came in
and brought their talent and their their team of people,
organized the volunteers, all that type of stuff. But yes,
Fanatics have that survey available through social media. If you
don't do social media, you can still get to the survey.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
I know it's available.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
I took it.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
So, Uh, summer road construction update, I wanted to talk
about that as well, and we do have a street
construction map that we can show and this you can
go to the Bismarck ND dot gov slash streets and
find out what's happening.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Read our closures. You can explain the rest, but it
gives you an idea up to date every day update.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Daily we're forever putting out new press releases, closing streets,
reopening streets, bringing new water lines to people. But obviously
we've got some pretty significant projects in the community. For
those of you that find yourselves on the east side
of town, you're impacted by Et Century Avenue, that's the
City of Bismarck project. You're also impacted by Exit one
(27:20):
s one which is in North Kota Department of Transportation Projects.
So I realize I drive these corridors too. It can
be challenging in the mornings, but please continue to be
patient and just remember once this is done, things are
going to be much better than they were when they started.
We're connecting parts of the community with East Century Avenue
that we haven't been able to open up in the past.
(27:42):
That extension of ec Century Avenue is being paid for
using the have sent sales tax and so no special
assessments along with that project. So that's an important distinction
on that one. But then also there's a lot of
regular maintenance projects, as we just talked about with the
pavement condition in your neighborhood, in your quieter streets, there's
still construction going on in those areas as well, and
(28:04):
so be mindful of the workers, be mindful of the
traffic and the signage, put your phones down, pay attention
when you're driving. Please, everybody wants to go home at
the end of the day. But if you have questions,
as you mentioned Tom Bismarck, in gov slash Streets or
you can call our city Engineering department. They generally have
a good handle on what's going on and where it is.
(28:26):
You can reach them directly at three five five five
zero five.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
All right, I'm looking at that map. I couldn't help
noticing the golf courses and the zoo and all the
parks two which not a better time to enjoy those
than July and August in North Dakota. Wasn't on the
agenda last night, but I just wanted to get an
update on the search for a new police chief. What's
the update there?
Speaker 4 (28:48):
So we are in the process you mentioned we spoke
about Chief Dave Dreevich. Dave's last day with the City
of Bismarck will be July thirty first, twenty twenty five,
after nearly thirty five.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Years the city.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
We are going through the process now and there were
a good number of initial candidates and we've had a
few steps along the.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Way to limit those.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
In the end, there will be a face to face
interview with an interview committee that is composed of the mayor,
Commissioner John Risch, who holds a portfolio for the police department,
our Human Resources director Lianne Schmidt, excuse me, our fire
Chief Joel Basflu, and myself. The five of us will
be doing that final face to face interview and then
(29:31):
using all the other steps as part of the assessment
to come forward with a recommendation. We hope to have
a recommendation for our City Commissioners at the next meeting,
which would be July twenty second.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
All right, Yeah, that's going to move along fast. July
is going to be over before we know it.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Back to school specials are out there. I even saw
some Halloween things at one of the big box stores.
I don't even know what season it is anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So, as you mentioned, it's never slows down, which is
a good thing. Yes, well, and you can take us
with you wherever you are by downloading our code to
media access app or end or our radio access one
oh two point five apps. So I've said it before.
If you're out on a sandbar or out of park
or at the zoo and you want to check on
(30:14):
the Bismarck City Commission or any other local meetings, you
can do so. Or check out our community programming or
our radio station which features great DJs and podcasts. So
find us wherever you are whenever you can. And thanks
for joining us on another edition of City.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Current 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
(30:53):
two and six oh two in HD, or on Radio
Access one oh two point five FM. It's all so
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.
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 correct.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome the City Current, the Bismarck Condition. I'm Tom Gerhard
from Dakota Media Access and Jason Toamonic, Bismarck City Administrator,
is here following last night's City Commission meeting and Fourth
of July festivities. We've got a lot to get to
but first off.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Welcome, Thank you. It's always a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, we've got a lot of things to talk about today,
starting with what was a really somber moment last night's
commission meeting, but honoring Sergeant Steve Kenner, who we lost
in the line of duty in eleven years or fourteen
years ago ago, thirteen years ago now, so the police
chief had a nice moment of silence for Sergeant Kenner.
(01:04):
We'll talk about the pavement management report and you can
pop that up on the screen, which sounds really boring
when you just say it out loud, but I found
it really interesting studying the city and the streets and
so we'll talk about that as well, opioid settlement funds
with the health really public health and see what happened there.
(01:26):
And then an update to the public comment policy which
will affect all boards, committees and commissions and spurred by
legislative action.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
This past sin, so all cities across North Dakota will
be implementing some type of public comment policy.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, well, we'll get to all that in just a moment,
but let's start with Sergeant Steve Kenner. We mentioned he
was lost in the line of duty fourteen years ago,
and as we were talking ahead of time, I was
working in broadcast television at the time, and that was
the year of the flood as well, which we all remember.
But then in July, sergeant Kenner lost his life in
(02:07):
the line of duty, and the police chief last night
a very somber moment, as I mentioned, but a very
touching moment as well.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Yeah, he shared with everybody that he was the shift
commander at the time, which means he had a very
critical role within the police station as far as the
operations of the activities at night. I remember the night
very well. It was hot, it was July, obviously, but
one of the things that the Chief mentioned is that
over these fourteen years he had not participated in a
(02:35):
city Commission meeting that actually fell on July eight, which
was the anniversary day. And so when Dave had reached
out a couple of weeks ago and said, hey, you know,
we have this opportunity to recognize one of our own,
and I said, absolutely, the time is yours. You do
what you need to do, and I think he did
a very as you mentioned, somber memorial.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
But also it's appropriate to remember these things.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
And recognize the the sacrifices that some will to ensure
the safety of our community.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
So we have a photo of Sergeant Kenner Chief Drevitch
last night two. You could tell that obviously still very
emotional for him, but he also displayed I think a
lot of strength and class by stepping to the podium
for that moment.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, Chief Drevich doesn't care for the spotlight. I think
he'd probably be the first one to tell you that.
But at the same time, he is very much willing
to raise up other people for their accomplishments and the
work that they do as well and being a good leader.
It's nice to know that he has feelings and he
has empathy and sympathy for the family and has his
own memories of that entire situation, not just that evening,
(03:47):
but then the course of events had transpired for the
days and weeks afterwards as well, And so just appreciate
the humanity that he brought forward and again the professionalism,
but also recognizing the sacrifice that the Kenner family gave
for our community.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Didn't want to let that opportunity pass. Just to remind
everyone and again to honor Sergeant Kenner. So a very
very nice moment last night. Well, moving on to the
actual nuts and bolts of the commission meeting. On the
consent agenda, a couple of things were pulled pretty uneventful,
but you mentioned this is a very busy time for
(04:24):
the city with renewal season.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
For city administration, the office that I work from every
day we are responsible for processing all the renewal applications
for charitable gaming and for alcohol licenses and so charitable
gaming all their licenses and permits expire at the end
of June, and then all the alcohol licenses that we
issue expire at the end of July. So these back
(04:49):
to back months are very busy for our front office staff.
There's a somewhere between one hundred and twenty five and
one hundred and fifty alcohol licenses, and then a tremendous
number of gaming site locations and renewals as well, and
so we sometimes run in seasons, and this is one
of those seasons for us. That is it's all hands
on deck, and we realize that we have a critical
(05:11):
role in this process because if we are not able
to successfully renew their applications, that can cost them revenue
and operations in the future. So we work very closely
with some of the businesses and appreciate all of their support,
but then also hand off part of the process to
the state because there's another step for the gaming and
then later in the year there's a renewal process for
(05:33):
the alcohol licensing at the state level as well.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
On the regular agenda, the pavement study, the pavement Management report,
I guess that was given last night. As I mentioned,
I've found very intriguing, even though it doesn't sound like
a lot on the top, but we have a map
that we can pop up that shows and the green
is adequate throughout the city, yellow needs some work, and
(06:00):
the red unsatisfactory. But tell us the details of this report.
I think everybody was really appreciative to receive it, and
it's important because ultimately it can save the city a
lot of money. Staying on top of.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
It, it absolutely does. It helps us have a plan
for addressing pavement conditions, and so we're not just throwing
a dart at the board. We're not just driving around
and looking at which streets need the most attention. We
are actually analyzing through technology the subsurface and the condition
of the pavement as well. And some of the little
nuggets I always like tidbits of information. And one of
(06:33):
the little pieces that I picked up on referring to
the map on the screen, So the city of Bismarck
has about three hundred and sixty center lane miles. So
that's if you just drove down the middle of every street,
it'd be three hundred and sixty miles total. Three hundred
and four of those miles, which are represented by the
green on the screen. Three hundred and four of those miles,
as you mentioned, are adequate. So that's about eighty four
(06:54):
percent of our roadways are inadequate condition. That's pretty good.
Fifty three miles are considered degraded. There's about fifteen percent,
and then we have four miles that are in unsatisfactory condition,
so less than one percent of our total street network.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
So do we have work to do? Absolutely without a doubt.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
What were some of the takeaways Beyond that, we have
five year projected costs of fifteen million dollars annually. What
the report tells us is if we continue to invest
in the maintenance of our street through a variety of techniques,
whether it be a chip seal, a millan overlay, which
is when we grind off the pavement surface and come
back with fresh assphalt in certain locations, or in a
(07:31):
worst case scenario, we end up doing what we call
a full depth reconstruction, where we end up going all
the way down to the subsurface, in some cases actually
pulling out that soil, putting in engineered soil, putting in
drain tile, helping with the subgrade water, things like that.
Between those three different types of asphalt treatment, if we
continue to maintain our street network as we have, we'll
(07:55):
have a projected pavement index of eighty by twenty two overall.
That's a pretty good score. That means that our network
is in good shape. We don't have a ton of blowouts. Sure,
we've got potholes, We've got things that need addressing, no
question about it. But if we continue down this path,
we will see investments that are recouped because we're maintaining
(08:19):
payment rather than waiting for it to just completely deteriorate
and then have to go to the most expensive next step,
which would be that full depth reconstruction.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Really interesting question asked by a commissioner Rish at the
end of the presentation about the technology involved. And I
forget the name of the presenter, forgive me, but you
talked about the three D cameras and you mentioned getting
being able to use those three D cameras to get
that perspective and get under the surface a little bit,
to see depths of degradation to use the term whatever
(08:49):
the appropriate term is, but I found that fascinating. We
have on screen some examples of pavement conditions around town,
and you know, they're literally driving you set all those
miles taking a look at the conditions.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Yeah, and it's great information for us. It's a program
that we've been using for quite some time now, probably
the last ten years or so, and it has really
helped guide the decisions of the areas that need attention,
and it's also exposed to areas that we may not
have seen with our own eyes because of that ability
to essentially scan the subsurface.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, well, who knew pavement could be so interesting?
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I'm sure the engineers knew well.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Of course, of course they know.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
This came from the Engineering department, and they've done a
great job of working with these consulting firms that have
this technology. It's not something that we the City of
Bismarck have, We contract with them to do this service,
but then they provide us with the data and the
tools to manage that information and make those informed decisions
going forward.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
This passed by quickly without any conversation with the event Center, amenity,
the MOLU with Nelson and Peterson. We are going to
maybe talk about that briefly, but just the MoU and
what that means moving forward with the potential amenity development.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Certainly, so, it was kind of the end of the
discussion that we saw. Beginning back in April of this year,
we had a one firm come forward with a proposal
for an amenities development project at the event Center.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
What does that mean?
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Essentially, what it means is that we're looking for somebody
to come in and build a hotel and some of
those missing pieces in that entire Bismarck Event Center complex.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
What the request.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Was back in April was to enter into an exclusive
agreement with the City of Bismarck to basically work on
our behalf this development firm.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
We'll be working on our behalf.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
To assemble a team that has the means to come
forward and support a development project of this type. There's
no talk of incentives, there's no talk of anything other
than the exclusive opportunity to work for the next year
towards the fulfillment of that project. There's no expense to
the city whatsoever. Now, as staff, we would be available
(10:58):
for help and support resources, those types of things. But
ultimately the team of Adolson and Peterson Construction, JLG Architects
and you Will Design Group. Those are the three private
sector entities that are aligned on this project. Collectively, they
will be spending the next twelve months working as much
as they can towards bringing this project forward and coming
(11:20):
back with more than just a concept, by coming back
with an actual brick and mortar project that we're all
hoping to see.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, exciting, and we'd seen an example just an example
a few weeks back, but it'll be exciting to see
now moving forward what comes out of the MLU Bismarck
Burley public Health pro may step to the podium looking
for some funding to help with the triage center down
(11:48):
the road, just from a technical assistance I think was
the term she used, so not for an actual building,
but she was looking for fifty thousand dollars from opioid
settlement money and that actually ended up doubling and passing unanimously,
I believe, but filling the details on what happened there.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
So the request came as a result of some of
the changes that we've seen from Washington d C. So,
if we back up three four months, public Health had
one hundred thousand dollars in grand funds that was going
to be used for this project. And what is this project.
It's essentially a feasibility study for the community Triage Center.
What is the Community Triage Center? Well, it's a milestone
(12:27):
project that public Health has been working on since twenty seventeen,
and it was a concept that was originally started by
then Mayor Mike Seminary. The group was called the Mayor's
gold Star Community Task Force. It has evolved into the
Burly Morton Behavioral Health Task Force. What that group has
identified is that there are people in need in our
(12:48):
community with mental health, behavioral health, and addiction, no question
about that. What they've discovered is that there are a
number of services for people once they get past that
initial crisis scenario, and so the Community Triage Center would
really work to help address people's needs when they're in
crisis at that time. And what does it mean for
(13:11):
law enforcement? When law enforcement gets called to a location
for a disturbance, if somebody is under the influence, if
they need to be removed from that site, if they're
arrested for any reason, before they can go to jail,
they need to be cleared medically, if there's any sort
of condition or ailment that appears to be impeding their abilities.
Jail can't take them until the hospital clears, and the
(13:32):
hospital doesn't really want to have to deal with some
of those situations, and so our law enforcement officers oftentimes
end up waiting in the waiting room with people before
they can be seen by doctors and then ultimately taken
to jail. This Community Triarch Center would be that location
instead of taking someone to the emergency room. Instead of
(13:52):
taking someone to jail, you take them to this community
triar center where they can be assessed medically. But then
also so if they're willing and ready work their way
into these recovery programs, which is that next level, and
there's a number of programs at that next level of care.
So Public health a little bit of background there. Public
(14:12):
Health is now requesting, through opioid settlement funds, the ability
to replace that federal grant that was dissolved earlier this year.
Renee Mock, our public health director Bismark Burley public Health director,
made the same request at the Burley County Commission on Monday.
The commission did not support. The Burley County Commission did
(14:34):
not support her request, and so when the request came
to the Bismarck City Commission on Tuesday, Commissioner And Cleary,
who holds a portfolio for public health, noted that Renee
Mock had made the request and it was not supported.
Commission Cleary made the motion to use one hundred thousand
dollars of the city's opioid settlement funds, and we have
about two hundred and eighty thousand dollars that need to
(14:56):
be spent on these types of activities, and so that
is the motion that was unanimously supported, is that the
City of Bismark will be funding the study to support
the feasibility on the community triarge Center, which again is
a project that public health has been working on for
the last six or seven years.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
And ultimately a triage center would help our first responders.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Absolutely, department our hospitals.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Some burden off of the emergency rooms. We've heard about
businesses that have people congreating premises, congregations. The idea, I
mean number one is to buy health options for these
people mental, physical, or whatever. But it also just really
ripples out in so many different directions.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Correct Some might say, well, how does it really help
law enforcement, Well, it frees up our officers to do
the work that they're trained to do, to do professional
law enforcement work. They're not necessarily and of course they're
trained to help people when they're at their worst and
in distress. But I, as a city administrator, would much
rather know that our officers are out on the street
protecting this community as opposed to sitting in a waiting
(16:04):
room with somebody.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
That is at their worst at that time.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
So lots of help that is needed throughout and kudos
to Renee and her team and the entire coalition that
has been working on is I think the question came
to Renee. You know how many partners have been a
part of this and over the years, it's numbers in
the hundreds by far, and it just speaks to the
volume of organizations that are here. But it also really
(16:31):
shines a light on what a gap this really is. Right,
You've got all these other services that are there, but
probably the most critical step for some people, that first step.
We are missing that opportunity. And so through this work,
through this study, we'll have more information about the location,
the feasibility, how does it function, who are the partners,
(16:51):
how is it funded, who's operating it. All of these
answers need to come forward so we can make an
informed decision and start making a difference in that particular area.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Another regular item on the agenda last night public comment
policy and update there and that was spurred from legislative
action this past session. Talk about some of the details
of what not to be confused with public hearings. This
is public comment policy.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
Correct, So a public hearing would be different a public
hearing to us the distinction there is that it is
tied to a specific action, generally with an alcohol license
or an ordinance adoption, a zoning change, something like that
that works its way through the Planning Commission. Public comment
is any comment at the onset of now any public
(17:41):
meeting that is part of the City of Bismarck, and
so it will certainly impact the City Commission, but then
it also impacts every advisory board and committee that meets
on a regular basis. And so Senate Bill twenty one
to eighty was passed with this legislative session, so all
cities in North Kota now have to provide some form
of public comment. Being a partner of the North Cota
(18:03):
Lega Cities, the league took a template and basically made
it available to all the communities to say, if you
want to use this great The backbone for that, of course,
was the legislation that was passed. Now, if cities would
choose to augment or enhance the policy, that's theirs to do.
What they could not do is do anything less than
the state law says, but they could do more, meaning
(18:26):
one of the phrases in the state law references public
comment must be available for that meeting and at least
one meeting prior. At least one meeting prior. Well, commission,
a council, a committee could decide, you know what, we're
going to open it up to any comment.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
That's their decision.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Our Commission has chosen to limit it to the one
meeting prior, one regular meeting prior, and I can appreciate
that it gives the public an opportunity to come back
and ask a question on something that was dealt with
at the prior meeting. But at the same time, from
the staff perspective, we're always ready. We hope to have
the answers. If we don't, we'll try and find them.
(19:06):
But to try and be responsive to a question that
six months ago, you guys passed this ordinance and tell
me what it's all about, Well, it would take some
time to get to that answer, but at least this
way it puts a few bookends the.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Commission be prepared.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
It does as staff, we're happy to find those answers,
but to try and find them on the fly take
time out of the meeting, I think that could be
disruptive in some cases, so I appreciate that the Commission
limited it to the one meeting prior in the current meeting.
The other thing that there was a little bit of
discussion at the table was should there be a time
(19:42):
limit on each individual and then also should there be
a total amount of time allocated throughout the entire meeting?
And I think what I heard consensus was is that
five minutes seems to be a comfortable amount of time. However,
the chair has discretion, and I think that's the key
item at the chair. The mayor in the case of
the city Commission, who's ever running the meeting, has the
(20:04):
ability to say, Godam or sir, you have great information.
You're providing new information that we weren't aware of. Please continue.
I don't see us putting a shot clock up in
a buzzer or anything like that for calling out five minutes.
But I can also see when this will be helpful.
If we do have a topic that generates a lot
of public input or a lot of public interest, I
(20:25):
should say having some means to facilitate that process is appropriate.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It's easy to get off topics sometimes when someone comes
up with passion about a particular.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
Definitely too yeah, and I do need to mention the
city Bismarck City Commission particularly has had public comment for gosh,
probably the last six or seven years, and it has
been very similar to what the state improved. The difference
is that we required the comments to be from that
meeting's agenda only, and they had to be things that
(20:58):
were not otherwise described as a public hearing.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
So basically you could speak to.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Any item on the agenda. You didn't need to check
in ahead of time. You could come to the meeting,
sign it at the roll call sheet or the signing
sheet just for record keeping, and so we were very close.
The practice at the City of Bismarck has been engaged
and it was very close to what the state law
was implementing or it will be implementing on August first.
The biggest difference, I think for us is that it
(21:24):
now requires all boards and committees to do this, and
I'm not certain that every board and committee has a
public comment opportunity today, but at their August meeting they
will will.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Well, let's talk about something fun, not public comment, but
public comment. Well, that's true.
Speaker 5 (21:42):
Let's talk about a very great event on July fourth
up at the Community Bowl, the Bismarck's Red, White, and
Boom celebration first year after it was rescued from the
Capitol grounds and why it had to move everybody that
we've talked about in the past, but just focusing on
this July fourth event. I've heard a lot of great
(22:02):
comments about particularly the fireworks, but it sounds like you
were really happy with the way thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. This
event filled my cup. And not that this was about
me by any means, but I'll be honest, I was
a little nervous that the turnout was going to be underwhelming.
I was worried we were going to have just a
few hundred people there, And thank you Bismarck for coming
(22:26):
out and showing your support. Estimates across the BSc campus
somewhere around eight thousand people. That is staggering to know
that on the first year, eight thousand people trusted a
group of us to pull off something that was fun,
family friendly.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
It was free entertaining. The symphony sounded great. Ben Suki
did a wonderful job. Chuck Suki did a great job
when he joined the symphony, and I need to mention
his name, Jim Keller with J and J fireworks, And
so when we started this discussion several months ago. I
got to know Jim really well, and Jim assured me
(23:03):
that for the same amount of money that the city
had contributed to previous fireworks shows, if we were to
move the location to the Community Bowl and he was
able to shoot fireworks off from that South bluff where
he was on Friday last week, he assured me that
the firework show would be more than we had experienced
at the Capitol in the past, and Jim did not disappoint.
(23:25):
There was a period of time where I think people
were looking at their watch and saying, are you We're
still going, And so it was somewhere between twenty five
and thirty minutes of fireworks. I've spent most of my
life in Bismarck. I would go so far as to
say it's probably the best fireworks show that I can
remember in my lifetime in Bismarck. And it was a
great kickoff to a new tradition, and I think just
(23:48):
talking with other people, I heard wonderful remarks. Of course,
people had some complaints. Sharking was a challenge. I know,
we've got things to work on for next year. We've
got a meeting coming up with the planners, We're going
to get together, we're all going to talk about what worked,
what can we do better, what can we do differently,
And obviously next year, with it being the two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary, people are expecting a little bit more,
(24:09):
and so with all of that in mind, I just
think it was a wonderful community experience. The thousands of
people that showed up demonstrated to us that they want
these types of things to happen in Bismarck, and I
just am so thankful for the sponsors, for the partners
that went along on this journey with me and said
(24:30):
we can pull this off. We need to make something happen.
We can't just roll over and play dead. We're the
capital city. And I'm so proud, so pleased, and looking
forward to next year.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I think it's just going to be great.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
And not to doctor Beverly Everett. You mentioned the symphony
photo of them and some events leading up to the
fireworks show as well, but food trucks like long games
you mentioned, and then I happened to have plans, I
was out of state, so I wasn't able to make it,
which bums me out.
Speaker 5 (24:59):
So next year, for sure, but there were pole vaulters,
which somebody said, oh.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The pole vaulters were amazing, So it's just some unexpected
entertainment and some different things.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
There were seven inflatables, bounce houses, but yes, there were
people there demonstrating.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Their ability to vault over a pole and it.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Was getting the crowd cheering, people were clapping, it was
it was great it all in all, and the weather cooperated.
I mean, everything was just a wonderful, wonderful experience. So
thanks again for everybody that showed up, everybody that trusted
us that this was going to be a good time.
Were more next year improvements, certainly things to do better
(25:40):
in differently, but well, let's.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Mention that Red, White and Boom survey that that's out
right now, and as the screen says, it's a chance
for you to tell the committee what worked, what didn't,
what they could do better in the future. That'll be
up until July twenty first, so you have some time,
and it's the Bitley link slash biz the number four July,
and that'll lead you directly to the survey. You can
(26:03):
also find it on the Bismarck.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
City You're the City of Bismarck Facebook page. And then
I believe the host of the survey is actually the Fanatics.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Fun at That's right, they host.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
So the Fanatics helped with activating that space, came in
and brought their talent and their their team of people,
organized the volunteers, all that type of stuff. But yes,
Fanatics have that survey available through social media. If you
don't do social media, you can still get to the survey.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
I know it's available.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
I took it.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
So, Uh, summer road construction update, I wanted to talk
about that as well, and we do have a street
construction map that we can show and this you can
go to the Bismarck ND dot gov slash streets and
find out what's happening.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Read our closures. You can explain the rest, but it
gives you an idea up to date every day update.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Daily we're forever putting out new press releases, closing streets,
reopening streets, bringing new water lines to people. But obviously
we've got some pretty significant projects in the community. For
those of you that find yourselves on the east side
of town, you're impacted by Et Century Avenue, that's the
City of Bismarck project. You're also impacted by Exit one
(27:20):
s one which is in North Kota Department of Transportation Projects.
So I realize I drive these corridors too. It can
be challenging in the mornings, but please continue to be
patient and just remember once this is done, things are
going to be much better than they were when they started.
We're connecting parts of the community with East Century Avenue
that we haven't been able to open up in the past.
(27:42):
That extension of ec Century Avenue is being paid for
using the have sent sales tax and so no special
assessments along with that project. So that's an important distinction
on that one. But then also there's a lot of
regular maintenance projects, as we just talked about with the
pavement condition in your neighborhood, in your quieter streets, there's
still construction going on in those areas as well, and
(28:04):
so be mindful of the workers, be mindful of the
traffic and the signage, put your phones down, pay attention
when you're driving. Please, everybody wants to go home at
the end of the day. But if you have questions,
as you mentioned Tom Bismarck, in gov slash Streets or
you can call our city Engineering department. They generally have
a good handle on what's going on and where it is.
(28:26):
You can reach them directly at three five five five
zero five.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
All right, I'm looking at that map. I couldn't help
noticing the golf courses and the zoo and all the
parks two which not a better time to enjoy those
than July and August in North Dakota. Wasn't on the
agenda last night, but I just wanted to get an
update on the search for a new police chief. What's
the update there?
Speaker 4 (28:48):
So we are in the process you mentioned we spoke
about Chief Dave Dreevich. Dave's last day with the City
of Bismarck will be July thirty first, twenty twenty five,
after nearly thirty five.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Years the city.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
We are going through the process now and there were
a good number of initial candidates and we've had a
few steps along the.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Way to limit those.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
In the end, there will be a face to face
interview with an interview committee that is composed of the mayor,
Commissioner John Risch, who holds a portfolio for the police department,
our Human Resources director Lianne Schmidt, excuse me, our fire
Chief Joel Basflu, and myself. The five of us will
be doing that final face to face interview and then
(29:31):
using all the other steps as part of the assessment
to come forward with a recommendation. We hope to have
a recommendation for our City Commissioners at the next meeting,
which would be July twenty second.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
All right, Yeah, that's going to move along fast. July
is going to be over before we know it.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Back to school specials are out there. I even saw
some Halloween things at one of the big box stores.
I don't even know what season it is anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So, as you mentioned, it's never slows down, which is
a good thing. Yes, well, and you can take us
with you wherever you are by downloading our code to
media access app or end or our radio access one
oh two point five apps. So I've said it before.
If you're out on a sandbar or out of park
or at the zoo and you want to check on
(30:14):
the Bismarck City Commission or any other local meetings, you
can do so. Or check out our community programming or
our radio station which features great DJs and podcasts. So
find us wherever you are whenever you can. And thanks
for joining us on another edition of City.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Current 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
(30:53):
two and six oh two in HD, or on Radio
Access one oh two point five FM. It's all so
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.
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