00:00:03,500	Are you able to hear me? It’s 5:15 on November 25th. and this will be the board of City Commissioners uh meeting, uh, in a moment, um, but before we start, we’ll have Chaplain K K Kalis come forward if he can lead us in. um. prayer and the Pledge of allegiance please. on behalf of Crisis Chaplats and.

00:00:39,730	There we go. Got it. On behalf of Crisis Care Chaplaincy for Bismarck Burley County. Thank you for the opportunity to open the commission with a prayer. Uh, would you stand with me as you’re able and remain standing for the Pledge of allegiance, please. Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and for this evening.

00:01:00,700	Thank you for granting safety to each one gathered here as this winter season presents challenges to our travels and as many will be gathering with family and friends this Thanksgiving week. We covet your grace for those traveling. We’re reminded during this week of Thanksgiving just how much we have to be thankful for in this state and nation.

00:01:23,600	Thank you for the freedoms we enjoy. Thank you for your ever present love for us. and thank you for family and friends and the opportunities to serve you and each other right here where we live.

00:01:44,530	Thank you for the privilege of being part of this city of Bismarck for the many blessings and opportunities that this local community offers for those of us who live here. I pray for those who are in the offices that govern this community and I ask that your spirit would guide as they make decisions and plans for the benefit of the community.

00:02:02,600	Thank you too for the freedom citizens have to speak up and be heard and be involved, and for the ideas brought forth I pray for our Mayor and those who work in that office and for each Comm as well as other elected officials and city workers and I ask that each one would be blessed by You, God, as they carry out their responsibilities.

00:02:22,870	I also pray for our first responders, those who put themselves in harm’s way to protect the citizens of this community. Law enforcement, firefighters, EMS workers. dispatch healthcare workers, and others. Please protect them in their line of duty so they might protect those of us who have placed our trust in them.

00:02:43,600	So Father God, we trust in your love and guidance for everything said and done this evening. I am thankful for each and every one of these blessings, and Jesus’ name I pray. Amen Say the pledge of allegiance together, please.

00:03:03,470	I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Yes, you’re welcome. Um. If we can call the meeting in order, please. Call roll. Comm Risch, Comm Zenker, here, Comm Connelly, here, Comm Cleary, here. Mors Smith, here.

00:03:30,600	first item, um, we have a proclamation and on a ward of a certificate of achievement, and I don’t know how much, if she even knows, but, uh, it’s a bit of a surprise. That’s why it wasn’t announced. Sister Kathleen today we’re going to award you a certificate of achievement from the City of Bismarck.

00:03:52,000	So it’s my honor and privilege to award our second certificate of Achievement this evening. The particular recognition comes with a special twist. as it was a surprise, I believe.

00:04:13,000	Um, so sister we hope you will forgive us for being a little bit sneaky, uh, along with all those who, uh, suggested you, who were also a little sneaky tonight. We’re recognizing you for your extraordinary leadership and the unwavering compassion through your work with Ministry on the margins. This ministry was born from Sister Kathleen’s deep understanding of the challenges faced by individuals preparing to reenter society after encourage in ah incarceration.

00:04:36,330	She saw the gaps, those critical spaces where people fall through. She stepped in to fill them. The spirit of responsiveness and care has defined her work ever since. To understand the scope of her impact, considered just two of the many programs that gave growth. that have grown under her guidance.

00:04:58,730	In January of 2022 during dangerously cold temperatures, Ministertan the margins launched a pilot coffeeho program. That first night, it offered warmth and safety to about 10 individuals. Today, at that same coffee house it welcomes an average of 62 guests each evening. Offer not just shelter, but dignity and community.

00:05:22,900	In December 2013, the food pantry distributed 581 pounds of food to 22 households and serving 46 individuals. Fast forward to this past October. That same pantry distributed over 25,000 pounds of food to 1,792 households reaching 4,846 individuals. That’s not just growth, that’s transformation. The sister’s legacy isn’t just measured in numbers.

00:05:53,370	It’s felt in the way that people are treated when they walk through the doors of Ministry on the margins as one board member has shared. Sister Kathleen has deeply impacted the lives of those served by the ministry. People feel respected and seen. not as homeless but as children of God. Families take comfort knowing their loved ones have a place to go for food, shelter, and compassion.

00:06:12,470	She and her team are mentors, connecting people to jobs, housing, clothing, even haircuts. As she opens the eyes of the broader community, volunteers, students, donors. who leave with a grateful heart and a renewed sense of purpose. Sister Kathleen, your investment in this community and in the lives of many cannot be measured.

00:06:35,330	As you prepare to walk, you prepare to you well-earned retirement at the end of this year. I hope you take a moment to reflect on the legacy you’ve built. one that continued to grow and inspire long after you have stepped away from your leadership.

00:06:55,370	and I hear there may be a book in the works, sharing the story of ministry on the margins. I, for one, can’t wait to see it and read it. I hope I get a copy On behalf of our city, thank you. And if you would like to say any words, you’re certainly welcome. The floor is yours if you choose not to, we’ll understand. I’ve never really been too hesitant to speak.

00:07:28,270	as you well know. and many, many times I’ve been here. never so deeply touched as to say thank you. Bbe is home I’ve been blessed with Atkinson family nunciation monastery, leaders, churches, uh, community members. Bismarck is good and recently past dozen years or so.

00:08:00,330	Be blessed by being embraced by the poor and people who are struggling and people who are raising families in great challenges in our community. So Minister on the margins. has been a great opportunity and grace to be able to come together with that which I love most. us as a city the people who are being challenged and the people who are the leaders who are responding to that challenge.

00:08:26,970	So I just say thank you very much in all the different ways that you’ve done that. It has been gift I will be retiring, um. I have a few more issues and agenda items that I’m gonna be putting my passion into.

00:08:51,630	and especially watching that amazing people from Ministry on the margins and the board and the team and how they and you work together into the future. It’s just an exciting thing to be able to watch and to say I’m very honored. and thank you for this recognition. You’re welcome, and we’re not quite done. So we have a proclamation as well.

00:09:17,100	Whereas Sister Kathleen is a Benedictine sister from the Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck. who spoke her life vows in 1985 and has dedicated her life service to compassion, justice, embodying the highest ideals of faith and action through her work in the community and beyond.

00:09:37,330	Therefore, be it resolved that I, Michael Schmitz, Mayor of the city of Bismarck, on behalf of this city commission, do hereby proclaim December 10, 2025, his sister Kathleen Atkinson Day. and urged the community to join in celebrating Sister Kathleen’s remarkable heart and find ways to build a more just and compassionate world locally, regionally, nationally, and abroad in her honor.

00:09:57,170	signed today, the 25th of November 2025. So, if we can get a photo, I would love it. size. Thank you. I think there’s a OK.

00:11:35,900	I think it’s just a great thing that, you know, we’re heading into Thanksgiving here a few days, and we just get to say thank you to a very special person in our community. Again, thank you. All right, we’ll move on to public comment, uh, public comment would be restricted items on the consent agenda, the regular agenda that is not a hearing. public hearing, or the prior city commission meeting agenda. Anyone who wished to speak, please come forward.

00:12:02,070	A second call for public comment. A 3rd and final call for public comment. Public comment period is now closed Commissioners, before we have the consent agenda action, I would like to pull item 30 and item 3J1 only because I have conflicts of interest involved, so I wish not to vote on those two particular items Um

00:12:34,070	E1 and G1 J and J1 E1 and J1. yep I’ll make a motion to approve uh, with removing E1 and J1 from the consent agenda. Any discussion? He and done we’ll call a roll on that.

00:13:03,530	Ker? Yes, Comm Connelly? Yes, Comm Cleary? Yes, Comm Risch, Mayor Schmitz, yes, uh, Vice Chair Cleary, would you handle those other two items, please. All right, uh, E1 is consider the request for approval from the Bismarck Airport for the following Amendment of Executive air Taxi Corporation Development and Agreement. Any discussion I’ll make a motion to approve items E1 and J1. Second. Of a motion and a second.

00:13:29,730	Any other discussion on either? I mean, he’s just remodel. Cause of Conflict. So. Wait, wait a minute, J1 or J1 and 2? Just. Just J1. Just J. Which is the permission to award the architectural services for the city county remodel to Endeavor North Design architects, so there’s a motion on the table for both. Any discussion on either topic.

00:13:48,900	Go ahead and call roll Comm Connelly, Comm Risch, Comm Zener, Comm Cleary, yes. OK thank you Moving to regular Agenda item A. Consider request to authorize the issuance and award acceptance of bids for the 2025 refunding and Improvement Bond series.

00:14:15,600	uh U Eric, are you going to at least introduce this? We’re putting you on the spot, man. I am. Well, you know, uh, two commission meetings on Methopodium, the second one, so Major League Baseball, I’d make a lot of money, right? you hit a home I, I think it’s a home run, yeah.

00:14:38,630	Uh, excuse me, good evening, Mayor Commissioners, um, for you tonight, we have two separate, uh, authorizations um for the bond, annual bond issuances for our special assessment bonds. The first one being Series U, which covers our street and stormwater improvement projects, um, and sidewalk curb and Gutter 2024.

00:15:00,370	Um, I have with me tonight, uh, John Lundy from Call Your Securities, and we also have our bond consul John Schockley on the phone. Um, but just before I bring John up here, I’d like to touch on some part of this process is going through a ratings call with Moody’s annually. Um, again, this year’s City Bismarck got a doubleA1 rating. I think it’s something that we should note.

00:15:18,530	and be very proud of as um city employees as an organization. What this does is it, it shows the creditworthiness of the city of Bismarck and reduces our interest cost for our citizens that help to pay for these improvements. To my knowledge, that’s the highest rated political subdivision in North Dakota.

00:15:38,330	um just to note, in part of the credit rating, the factors that could lead to a downgrade in our credit rating is our reserves reaching or starting to fall below 40% reserve policy we’re we’re right there. We’re good. Um, our long-term liabilities ratio in terms of our debt capacity in our revenue stream.

00:16:02,900	and then also our fixed costs where they look at what our annual debt service requirements are on an amortization over about 20 years, and that’s in relation to our revenues, um. if that the long-term liability ratio starts to approach 250 250%, um, that’s where we start to look at a downgrade.

00:16:24,430	We’re at about 130% right now, so we have, we have, we’re in a really good spot. And then our fixed cost ratio, they look at 15%, we’re at about 8.6%, so we’re, we’re very strong financially. We’re doing a very good job.

00:16:41,800	Um, I just think that should be noted that we’re in a good spot for the city Um, with that, I’ll bring John up to talk about the details of today’s bond sale. Good evening, Mayor Schmitz and fellow commissioners. Uh, it’s a pleasure to be with you again tonight.

00:17:04,870	Uh, again, my name’s John Lundy with Collier Securities out of Bismarck here, um, and here to present the results of the two public sales that we conducted this morning for the city, one being their funding improvement bonds of 2025 Series U, um, we’ll discuss that issue first. Uh, it was a financing, permanent financing for an IM improvement districts, and please report that both sales went very well.

00:17:22,370	The first one with the rib, um you know, all recent market volatility, uncertainty in the markets of tariffs and, uh, thankfully the, the current economic climate we’re in a declining rate environment as of lately. The winning bid for the rib issue resulted in a true interest cost of 3.135% of the city on a 15 year maturity.

00:17:45,100	The bonds are callable in 8 years or 2033, and the final Palmo of the issue was $15,295,000 as shown in your updated resolution. Uh, we saw a total of 9 bids, uh, from across the country with this issue. Firms located in New York City, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Dallas, and Philadelphia.

00:18:05,430	It’s a very strong response from the market with very tight competition between those 9 bids, and it’s a direct correlation to the strength of the city of Bismarck. A second sale was the sidewalk curb and gutter warrants, uh, series SCG 2024, which was permanent financing of one district.

00:18:22,430	This is a, this being a smaller of the two issues, it carries a 10-year maturity, and we, there were 4 bids received for the sale, and the winning bid came in at a true interest cost of 3.2035% with the bonds being culable in 6 years or 2031. The final paramount of that issue was 1,835,000 as shown in that updated resolution Uh, I also handed out a credit credit report from Moody’s.

00:18:42,470	I won’t regurgitate what Eric said because he said it perfectly, but very strong, something to be recognized and to be proud of, um, for sure. Einstead Twitchell is your bond counsel has prepared the bond resolutions before you tonight with your approval, we’ll move forward to finalize all documentation for timely closings on December 9th, um, and just a point of order that

00:18:58,500	the two issues will need two separate motions. And, uh, I just, in final saying thanks, I’d like to thank the Commission again, Eric Dimitri Page, for all the work. It’s been tremendous to work with the city once again, and I appreciate it. Um, and I’d like to ask if there are any questions at this time.

00:19:13,970	Comm, Comm Connelly Um. either one, if Eric or yourself, there’s in the news lately, Fargo’s kind of getting themselves into the rating questions. So when you say that we’re rated the best, what’s getting them into trouble where we’re not getting into trouble, just as a point of clarification.

00:19:39,100	The, um one of the main factors in Moody’s, uh, downgrade this year. They actually warned, they put the city on a negative outlook last year, if you remember, they maintained the AA2 rating last year but put out a negative outlook and it was that there primarily that the reserve policies were starting to encroach on that 40% or go below that 40%.

00:19:55,630	Part of that was obviously city commission driven. Um, I believe that reserve levels were starting to creep down towards 25%. You fast forward to this year, they were below or at 25%, don’t quote me on that, but I’m pretty sure that was the main reason for the, the, the downgrade to the AA3,

00:20:13,230	but Moody’s also maintained the negative outlook on that one because it seems like the city has intention to further reduce those reserves. I appreciate that cause a lot of people compare us. Yeah, the like Eric said, the, um, Bismarck is the only city that maintains a doubleA one in the state.

00:20:32,100	The only other entity in the state that has a AA1 would be the state of North Dakota itself as an issuer. Any other questions Mr. Escher Mayor, I just want to thank Eric and your team for, and John for the excellent work you’re doing up there in finance. Complicated stuff, but you figure it out, figure it out. So, thank you.

00:20:52,230	What are your wishes, Commissioners? We have two resolutions we need to approve. Um, the first one is presented number 4. A. Well, uh, no, you? Well, there’s two different bond resolutions, so we have to break the, we have to break the memal apart I can move to award the bids for the 2025 refunding

00:21:15,170	improvement Bond Series U for approximately 15,295,000 for the special assessment Improvement Districts. Second. Any further discussion Here and done we’ll call roll Miss Cleary? Yes. Comm Risch? Yes. Comm Zenker? Yes. Comm Connelly? Yes. Mayor Schmitz, yes.

00:21:53,100	And then I will also move to approve our award for the series SCG 2024 for approximately 1,835,000 for a total of 17 million,130,000. Uh, is there any discussion I, I think the motion would only be on the 1,835, the $17 million is the total total for the total. OK. Do you want me to just reread that? Would that be best? K K should we just, can we ret I’ll retract my motion.

00:22:17,070	I retract my second. OK. Then I’ll motion to award the series SCG 2024 for approximately 1 million,835,000. OK, any discussion hearing no we call role Comm Rich? Yes. Comm Zenker? Yes. Comm Connelly? Yes. Comm Cleary, Yes, Mayor Schmitz, yes, thank you, sir, for your efforts on securing those for securing the good rates.

00:22:45,500	Those are nice rates. Yeah, very strong response today. Thank you. Thank you, thank you All right, item B is consider request to receive a report from the downtown Bismarck Community Foundation or the Downtowners relating to economic development services ate. Well, good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. My name’s Kate Herzog.

00:23:14,330	I’m with, uh, the Downtown Bismarck Community Foundation. With me, Dr Karl Sloak. He’s going to present a few slides as well. I wanna talk about the partnership that we have with you all and kind of get some end of the year numbers of some of the things that we’ve been up to.

00:23:28,800	um I just wanna, just a reminder that we have this partnership with you all, as does the Bismarck Man and Chamber EDC and do specific parts of the request for proposal that you all had put out. Um, these are kind of the three pieces that I’m going to touch on tonight.

00:23:43,600	And I always want to start with this is probably the bulk of a lot of our work, but these are all the committees and the groups that we sit on and assist the C of Bismarck with, so the transportation steering committee was Dawn in our office. Um, I am on the North Dakota Opportunity Fund loan board as well as vice president of the loan board steering Committee.

00:23:59,270	We are at the parking authority. We are at Renaissanceonen, Bismarck, uh, Event Center, we helped with, um, some of the consultant selections there. We’re part of the Bismarck Land Development Code steering Committee. So we spent a lot of time in, in this room, for sure. um We’re working with the Bismarck Parking Authority on a future parking ramp.

00:24:18,870	We’re part of the, the, uh, forestry advisory Board with Comm Zenker, Dawn in our office is on the, uh, arts and culture plan, uh, and helped with that. Um, we are working on the America 250 celebration. That’s going to be citywide.

00:24:34,430	Uh, we’re part of the Bismarck Fourth of July Committee. Um, so anything with fireworks we’re going to be a part of. Um, we have supported your urban grant Road program, um, for a number of years, uh, with letters of support to the state, and we help you with uh recruitment for your appointed boards and citizens academy.

00:24:49,330	So wanted to touch on a few things in the RFP that we’ve been working on, um, as you all know, we, uh, worked with your planning department as well as some financial institutions in the city of Bismarck to launch what’s called a Nehood reinvestment initiative.

00:25:08,000	This essentially offers low interest loans to older homes under a certain dollar amount to keep them in good condition. We know housing affordability is a is a big issue right now. So, um, the partners you can see here. after he said 3.1% interest.

00:25:25,600	Now these, these interest rates don’t look as great, but they’re much lower than what you’d get on a home equity loan. So for, uh, year one these were the criteria that we had laid out and we found that the $250,000 maximum value on a home was difficult. Um, there’s just not a lot that is, you know, below 250.

00:25:44,470	So, uh we met with the financial institutions in Lauren Oster in the planning department as your primary staff person that we work with here. We raised that max value to $300,000 and with kind of similar, um, other criteria for people who could be a part of the program.

00:26:05,100	So in 2025, we had 13 applications that amounted to almost $400,000 in improvements, the average was about $30,000. Average property value of those that applied was about 221,000 and about 75 year old Holmes really is what the, the average was, um, as well as anything from 1913 to 1984.

00:26:26,100	So, um, we’ve broken them down, um, by zoning district as well, so you can see R5, which is your basic single family zoning in the community here R10, which has, can be a duplex or triplex area and then RM30 had two properties.

00:26:44,230	So when we look at the program overall for the two years that we’ve been able to offer it to the citizens of Bismarck. We’ve had 33 applications, and we’ve broken them down, um, how many are each in each zoning district. Uh, we’ve had $1.3 million in applications that we’ve been able to forward on to the two financial institutions are a part of it, which is Gate Citibank and Capital Credit Union.

00:27:02,330	Um, the rates for 2025 were lower than 2024, and so, um, the rate for this year was like 4.5 to 5%. and that home equity right now kind of on the market is between 6 and 9%.

00:27:18,800	So it gives them that um lower interest rates so that they can make improvements to these older homes in our community to keep them functional. Um a couple of things may be coming up for 2026 that we’d like to do with the, the NRI Nehood and, uh, reinvestment initiative, um, there is a 3 year remodel tax exemption that the city’s had on the books for

00:27:36,900	a long time. And so I think it might be helpful for us as we’re going through the application process for NRI to let people know that there is this other exemption there, um, and that’s just an exemption on the increase in the value after the improvement. So it might help them with financing, yeah, Comm.

00:27:56,100	So any home under the value of $300,000 that are in the city limits would be eligible to apply for one of the loans. And it has to be 30 years or older, the home does, yep, yep. There’s a couple other, uh, I mean, you have to be creditworthy and things like that.

00:28:13,800	The bank will take them through that whole process. But yep, that’s, it’s, there’s no boundary to it, so it’s not, um, any specific location within the community. So we’d like people to kind of be aware of that.

00:28:32,070	I don’t know how well it’s been used and um it might help if there is a 3-year exemption on the, um, the value after the, either the remodel or the expansion that might help them with their financing over, over the life of that. I’m gonna call it home equity ity loan, but it’s not exactly what it is.

00:28:48,900	Um, and then we meet, uh, Lauren Oster, myself, and the financial institutions we meet usually in February just to figure out what the rates will be for the year. So the rates change every year and they agree on and set those rates and as well as the timeline that they’ll take applications. This year we expanded it for an extra month, so it closes.

00:29:01,730	uh in a few days at the end of November. Um, and that’s been helpful. We’ve gotten quite a few in, in the, in the month of November. And when you have any questions on that, I’m going to fly through this.

00:29:17,170	I know I’m standing between you guys in a short meeting so I’m gonna, I’m gonna move um, we are also part of um the Lewis and Clark Development Group, a part of the North Dakota Opportunity Fund. So we represent Bismarck as one of the 38 consortium cities that are part of this loan fund.

00:29:32,170	And essentially what it does is it helps um it helps kind of get businesses over the line, I would say in some capacity. Um, it could be loans, it could be real estate, um, it could be providing the community match to access lower interest loan programs through the Bank of North Dakota.

00:29:50,900	So um, just a breakdown of, of that this year. And just a reminder that there are 38 communities that are in the consortium and the city of Bismarck is able to utilize that revolving loan fund. Um, I’m the vice chair of the, the steering committee.

00:30:07,470	These are the things we can use on North Dakota Opportunity Fund for, um, and then in 2025 we approved six projects, 4 of those projects were the interest rate buydown program, the local match.

00:30:22,630	So what the North Korea Opportunity Fund does is we at the fund will provide the match so that the vision fund of the city of Bismarck maybe doesn’t have that money. It doesn’t fit the criteria. We can still access that program through the Bank of North Dakota. We did one interim SBA 504 loan, and then we did one, real estate financing loan as well. Happy to report that um we are accepting applications at the North Dakota Opportunity Fund.

00:30:40,170	So if you know anyone and we’ve got money to lend so if you know anyone who’s in expanding their business daycare, anything like that, please do send them forward.

00:30:57,170	Usually they bankers will send them forward, but, um, just so you know that is a great option and that way we can kind of keep Vision fund dollars. If we need to, there’s another opportunity to, to make the local match. Um, one of the RFP goals that we work on is a talent recruitment and workforce retention with the the Chamber EDC.

00:31:15,270	We have been doing what we call multicultural welcome events, welcomes new Americans, people new to the community, um, and we just get together and show them something awesome in our community. So we’ve taken them on the riverboat. Um, we’ve been at the Heritage Center and had the exhibits open. Um, we’ve had rooftop parties and, uh, we’ve had lots of folks, lots of languages that are spoken.

00:31:31,230	Um, next week is our next one, which will be, uh, at Gateway to Science, and we’ll be inviting, um, those new American friends as well. Heather May, who is a part of your staff as your community integration, uh, person is also helping us with that and finding the right folks to get to these events so that we can

00:31:49,070	plug them into the community. Um, we’re also helping with, with Vinterfest, which is a multicultural winter slate of events, which has been, uh, really fun. And here’s just some pictures from our, one of our last ones, which was learn to curl.

00:32:09,700	Um, we do a lot of community engagement for you all plus, uh, for the community in general. We do our neighborhood welcome programs, um, I wanna mention that we have Burger Slam coming up, which is an effort to get people into the restaurants in the colder months, usually in January with the slowest month for a lot of the restaurants in

00:32:23,730	the community, so we’ve been doing that with the help of First Western Bank. We have small business Saturday coming up this Saturday, which again urge everyone to shop local as um a part of their holiday spending.

00:32:42,900	We work with the forestry department, um, on the Downtown Pollinator program, which you see in the top middle, we plant a number of different beds downtown that require less maintenance, so it’s not as costly. Commercial Clery, I put a picture of you there setting up on Street Fair.

00:33:00,470	Appreciate that and your brother wearing a shirt that says, yeah, no, which was helpful for setup, um, and then we also um bring volunteers down, downtown 3 times a year to help us put up banners, uh, downtown seasonal banners and things like that, folks from Dakota Community Bank usually help us with that 3 times a year. And there’s those guys on their ladders.

00:33:15,900	Um, I’m gonna have Karl talk about a few things and then I’m going to come back up and talk about a couple more things, and then we’ll wrap up with any questions, but I want to introduce, uh, Dr Karl Sobach.

00:33:29,900	He is a partner with us as we are a partner with you, um, and handles some of our, um, I would say more educational-based things that we’re doing uh for the city and we’ve got something that we’d like to pursue in 2026. So, Dr Professor Karl, thank you, Mr. Mayor and Commissioners.

00:33:47,470	Um, one of the things that we were, we brought to our students’ attention was succession planning, and, uh, we had a group out to our school. We found out this very interesting stat of almost 8000 business owners aged 55 or older, uh, 80,000 employees, um, $3 billion in payroll, that’s a B $17 billion in revenue, and this is from Project Equity in, in what I want to point out here is

00:34:06,730	that in Burleigh County, um, or I’m sorry, in Bismarck, yeah, Burleigh County. 828 businesses and it’s estimated there might be over 1000 businesses, and what we want to provide in the first quarter is succession planning to let business owners who may not have an exit strategy put together, uh, some

00:34:25,870	series of workshops so that we can meet those. They’ll both be face to face and virtual, which will allow them to have an understanding so they don’t just close the doors and leave some vacant buildings alone.

00:34:38,370	Um, Le employees without something We want them to have some options and know what those options are. And if they choose that they want to go further, we’ll make sure that there’s some legal and accounting individuals for them to uh make some decisions on their strategies moving forward and so that’s going to be coming up here in the 1st quarter and we’ll report back in our next

00:34:54,970	session to you, how well that went. We’re hoping to get as many of those individuals into those sessions and we’ll make as many of those sessions available to, to reach as many as we can. We’ll work through our, um list. We’ll work through the chamber list.

00:35:08,700	We’ll ask the city to post those meetings, and again, we’ll just make those opportunities available for them and uh come back to you with, with what those numbers might be. And it’s all designed to to help those businesses continue to thrive, uh, rather than just closing the doors. Any questions on that? Thank you Excellent.

00:35:29,000	I’ll turn it back over to Kate, I believe. Did she leave? Oh, I’m still here and I don’t. Thanks, Karl. Um, that’s one of the things we’re seeing as a challenge in the community in general is, um, a lot of folks don’t have success uh succession plan or how to turn that business over to maybe their employees and things like

00:35:47,000	that. So they might just retire and close. And so we want to help them, um, understand what their options are and and plan for the future.

00:36:02,100	I didn’t want to put this up here and I, I have a couple other slides, but this is um something that you might hear about a lot. And I did want to point it out. A lot of people ask us, and how are things going? How are things going in the economy? It absolutely depends on what sector or industry you in, you’re in, or, you know, how you’re attached to maybe certain federal things.

00:36:16,370	And so, a lot of people call this a K-shaped recovery, and you’ll see it, that it makes a K shape. Some people might call it a bifurcated economy, but there’s certain sectors that are doing really well in the community, right? Um, technology, retail, uh, health is doing, is doing pretty well. They’ve mostly recovered from COVID.

00:36:37,900	Um, we’re definitely seeing that the industries that are needing some assistance are still those ones that were affected by COVID and that might be affected by either a certain tariff or employee type things, that’s primarily retail restaurant, entertainment, things like that that haven’t really um some have bounced back, but some haven’t.

00:37:00,170	And so I just wanted to make that these two kind of terms aware if you’re not aware of the K-shaped recovery and a bifurcated economy because that there’s definitely something we’ll see locally, um, you know, some folks will be doing great and some are really, you know, could still really be struggling.

00:37:16,870	Um, we had a conversation with one of our restaurant owners who, um, fish prices went up 30% and it’s like bing bang, boom. You have to really adapt and you have to continually iterate.

00:37:33,730	And so, um, I think that’s some of the struggles that are happening with the industries that are needing assistance as there’s things happening outside of their control, but they need to react and figure out how to deal with, um, you know, either federal policies or things like that. So I just wanted to to put that up here because I think you’ll hear more and more and more of that.

00:37:52,000	Um and now you have a word or a letter for it, like Sesame Street. Um, wanted to just provide, again, a few other things that uh we track downtown. Um, we use our placer data as well as work with our property owners, um, in the downtown area to talk about, uh, how they’re doing overall housing occupancy, especially for new construction downtown is basically completely full,

00:38:12,270	which is fantastic. Uh, it does mean that we need to add more housing units within the downtown as there’s really no additional capacity. Um, our 55+ new construction building is also completely full, which is on, uh, first and Main.

00:38:33,070	Um, even some of our renovated buildings like the Prince Hotel, all of the, the smaller micro units are very affordable that have kitchens have all rented out. And so they’re adding kitchens to the rest of them, um, in order to, I think, rent those out. So definitely need some more housing within the downtown area.

00:38:52,370	Again, stronger sectors that we’re seeing our professional services, service providers, health, those kind of mixed sectors, retail and food service. And then that entry-level housing affordability is still pretty low, even though we have NRI and some other programs that’s just a, a larger issue that everyone is aware of.

00:39:16,270	We have also, uh, been using our placer data, which is the locational visitor data, um, to help some of the departments within the City of Bismarck. Um, we’ve pulled, we continue to pull very updated Bismarck Event Center reports and send those to your consultants, um, that are helping you work on that.

00:39:33,870	We’ve also pulled reports for federal, state, and private grant programs so we can get some numbers, uh, help you all to get those, those grants if possible. Um, we pull reports for commercial real estate We’ve pulled some reports for the parking ramp, which has been kind of fun to see who’s in it and how, how long they stay there, where they’re coming from, um, and then just regular property insights.

00:39:50,430	uh, for the Bismarck Land Development code, um, as you remember in, in earlier this year, we facilitated a finance roundtable discussion. Daniel was a part of that and some others wanted to get the bankers and the people who make loans in front of the planners and see where the new, um, land

00:40:08,100	development code Ho interacts with with financing and lending and makes that easier. We also invited them to the street fair to get some feedback from the community and, and our cor corn dog folks. So I went through it really quick, but I know you got a short agenda.

00:40:25,630	Happy to answer any questions or, or chat about anything else. Wanted to give you some end of the year reports, um. and, and let you know where we’re at with some programs. Any questions, Comm Zenker? Mayor, Comm, um, first of all, thank you for the presentation.

00:40:42,730	I do got one thing and it’s gonna, I’m, I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s gonna catch you off guard because you don’t even know anything about it. But part of our Moody’s, uh, uh, ratings, one of the credit challenges that they put on here, uh, was the GDP growth legs the nation.

00:41:03,530	So from your um presentation about economic development, how are you increasing our GDP? Yeah, I think that’s primarily the couple of programs that we’re talking about with North Dakota Opportunity Fund and, and, um, Les Clark development. So those are specifically attached to creating additional jobs in Kurdish additional capacity through those programs.

00:41:22,270	So I would say that’s probably the biggest piece of where we create capacity in jobs and, and GDP growth would be through those loan programs, and that essentially allows them to access more financing, more funds, purchase real estate so they can expand. OK. All right. So, um, in your next presentation when you come back, can you bring some data that shows that? Yeah.

00:41:40,370	That’d be fantastic. And then the second thing, if you could put the the K. Yeah. Um deal back up on the gizmo thing there. Yeah. So I understand that’s a snapshot of, of national scenarios, right? Because our travel is pretty much if I’m sure if I airport’s doing well here.

00:42:01,370	We’re off the charts, right? We’re bursting at the seams. Some of that stuff that’s up there in the food services, Hoity thing. I think that’s a people issue, right? for us locally? It can be, um, I mean, because I’ve tried to hire people the last 90 days or so, and it’s really difficult to

00:42:18,330	find someone that kind of fits in our niche, right? We have a specific task type thing, no different than if you need an accountant, you know.

00:42:32,630	So I would, I would, um, I would like to see the second part of your data that you bring with the GDP growth is what you’ve done to bring people to the city. Sure. Cause that’s, it’s critically important. I think there’s one other piece of data that we can pull that our placer license gives us, and it’s actually a, it’s called COVID recovery and it tracks like certain business and property sectors essentially and seeing how they’re recovering pre-COVID,

00:42:53,630	post COVID as well. But yeah, we can also see return to work, which I think would be interesting for your numbers if, if folks are still working here, but they might not be living here, but they’re full time, so we can pull some of those numbers for you too. OK, perfect. Thanks.

00:43:06,330	er Connelly Sorry, I trying to get back to the back one there. Just, uh, comparison things Yeah, just comparison things for me. When you mentioned how many boards you’re on and things. How many boards were you on before the agreement? Oh boy, that’s a good question.

00:43:27,730	I’ve seen you in boards even prior to that. Yeah. So, um I’d say maybe half of those have been added to our slate. Yeah, or 50%.

00:43:51,270	And then, um when it comes to recruitment to advisory boards and things, um why does that have to cost the city more? It doesn’t actually have to cost the city more. That’s just one of the things that we do to help find folks to fill those, uh, volunteer roles for you all.

00:44:04,270	So that might be people that have a specific skill set, so if it’s planning and zoning someone who kind of understands that, um, that we’re able to get that information out to our membership, um, so that those folks can apply and, and serve the community. Yeah Any other questions Thanks, Kate. Thank you. Thanks, Dr Kosovo. I regular agenda item C is public hearing and approval of special assessment policy. Uh, good evening, Mayor and Commissioners.

00:44:48,530	I have a couple of slides relating to the changes that we are proposing for a special assessment policy at the conclusion, I would recommend holding the public hearing and come back up if you have any questions.

00:45:06,530	Um, so with that uh, the first one are some just some terminology type things, uh, within the sections, I guess within the the agenda memo included a track changes version of the entire document as well as a clean version I’m just gonna highlight some of those things here is what what the intent of this presentation, um, Being property language, we added some language talking about, uh, usually our uh assessments for for streets in

00:45:23,870	particular is where this section comes from is bringing in property based on some level of adjacency or proximity to the improvement, um, so if we’re doing a a street on the south side of town. We’re not bringing in a property in the north side of town or vice versa.

00:45:35,900	Uh, so generally it is some, some very close proximity or even adjacency to it and then we just want to note that A access is not a prerequisite for determining benefit.

00:45:49,430	Um, these are some elements that have been brought up in the course of discussion we’ve had with citizens and so we thought it’d be beneficial just to clarify that piece as part of of the policy. The goal is not to um narrow the scope or narrow the the purview of what this commission or the Special Assessment Commission can use, but we are at least setting the table of providing some guidance to the public as to

00:46:03,600	what types of properties we bring in, uh, into the benefiting area. Uh, another uh terminology change is in locations where we previously called out reconstruction. We meant that reconstruction to mean areas where we were reconstructing the pavement section, but without throughout the document it was kind of unclear as to using that same word and having

00:46:25,000	it mean different things in different places. So when we are talking about a, a reconstruction of just the pavement section that word has been removed. It has been replaced with a full depth rehabilitation in those instances you’ll see a lot of changes, but really it’s just that word is being swapped out for a different phrase.

00:46:42,000	Uh, we added a section, uh, for the local and collector streets for new pavement and right of Way quarter reconstruction, uh, the right of wayy corridor reconstruction section has existed before, but it’s been a subsection of the arterial streets because we’ve never reconstructed from right of Way line to right of Way line, a local street or collector

00:47:02,370	street. Now we will be doing that when we start our Ottawa Street reconstruction project that’s not an arterial, um, so but every other product we’ve worked on has been an arterial.

00:47:13,730	So this, we thought it was prudent to add this section, uh, so that it’s clear to the public that we don’t subsidize the new pavement and any new construction, uh, you know, new, new developments in the outskirts of town, uh, and that the subsidy for any right of way court or reconstruction projects are on a case by case situation as you have with your Ottawa Street reconstruction, as well as you’ll have on, on

00:47:28,630	future projects and into the future as well. The continuous district is a process that we use after property is annexed into the city where the city can charge that particular pro property for the infrastructure that was constructed that benefited that property um before they were annexed into the city.

00:47:51,100	So there’s there’s an entire section on trunk infrastructure fees that was related to our pre-2019, uh, policies, and we’ve kept it in the policy in case there was a change or a a reallocation that needs to be made for uh uh a parcel or a spli t ting of of an existing cost, um, but because we really

00:48:06,530	haven’t used it since 2019. The recommendation is just to remove that section from the the policy moving forward. uh, the last item for changes is the concept for the adjustments that we use on oversized or undersized lots, uh, so on the residential parcels only if a parcel’s really, really small or really, really large, uh, it gets a

00:48:28,870	different treatment than a typical type parcel. Typically in our current policy, we would calculate the median lot of that group. So if we have um 100 lots, it’s, it’s the 50th largest or 50th smallest me a lot is the median, and then we compare all of the parcels to that

00:48:44,800	median to make it then make our calculations uh in the policy it kind of laid out what the the the ranges are, but in lieu of calculating a median lot for each unit or for each district, uh, we would propose just using a 10,000 square foot number as

00:48:58,870	the baseline, uh, so that any parcels, uh, it was we apply that oversized or undersized concept or just uh tied back to a steady number that doesn’t change over the course of time.

00:49:16,270	Uh, what we found is, I know one of our projects last year is if we had a pro a property that had to consider a a district that has a consistency of very of a lot of really, really, really small parcels or a lot of really, really large parcels.

00:49:30,730	It was kind of a policy buster for using calculating the median, uh, because it ended up being the median could be a a condo sized lot which made it very difficult for us to apply the oversized and undersized concept because it was capping the oversized parcels, uh, prematurely in, in some ways that you could look at it.

00:49:46,530	So our goal here is to just use a static 10,000 square foot number uh so that we can not have to have another calculation, would be another opportunity for an error in our spreadsheets, uh, but PET is using a 10,000 square foot number. We can just apply that consistently um throughout the district.

00:50:04,100	So with those changes, uh, our recommendation is that these changes would be effective immediately for all new districts, so anything that we haven’t created yet, we’d want to just supply these concepts or these changes to as well as the districts that we have created, but they’re not under contract yet, so it might be that we’ve created a lighting district like we have here for 2026 lighting, but we haven’t sent out letters to the landowners.

00:50:17,730	We haven’t, uh, got anything under contract. That’d be one that we’d still want to apply these changes to. But those projects that we’ve awarded that are under contract that we’ve already sent letters out to, we’ve already communicated with the public what they’ expected special assessment might be.

00:50:30,530	We don’t want to have all of these policies cha or that that in particular that median lot change take effect because that could change their formula and their, their dollar amount based on if they’re on the, the wrong side or the right side of, of one of those dividing lines.

00:50:43,330	So our recommendation would be, um, any of the projects that are under contract but not, you know, completed and and bonded would follow the these new policy changes except for that 10,000 square foot residential lot comparison component. So with that I’d take any questions you may have and encourage a public hearing. Our recommendation would be to approve the special assessment policy as presented.

00:51:00,970	Are questions before we enter public hearing. OK Yep, we’re gonna, we’re doing it right now. I’m gonna open the public hearing now, so this will be the public hearing on the special assessments policy, and you will wish to speak to that, please come forward. A second call for a comment A 3rd and final call for comment.

00:51:34,000	Seeing nor hearing anyone, public comment period’s now closed. Commissioners, any further questions for Gabe or what are your wishes? Move to approve is presented. Second, any discussion? He none will call roll Mr Connelly? Yes. Comm Cleary, Yes, Comm Risch, Comm Zenker.

00:52:01,000	Yes, Mayor Schmitz, yes, where to other business, does anyone have other business? I have one item, but. go ahead. I just, uh, the snow has finally arrived, and I just want to commend our professionals on the plows and the graders across the city.

00:52:17,870	Um, it looks somewhat easy, but I see those guys and they’re coming around those cars close and not hitting them and going right down the road so I just want to give a shout out for their good work and, uh, thank them for what they’re doing to clean up the city. They’re out there right now, so.

00:52:31,630	Anybody else have anything I used to have one plug for uh for us as a city, the end of the month we’re closing applications for all boards and committees in the Citizen Academy, so you have those people who are interested, we certainly would love to receive your application so we can fill the positions and, and fill the citizens’ academy. There being no other business