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City. Current. Produced by Dakota media access. In-depth discussion with Bismarck and Mandan city officials. Watch on government access channel 602 HD or tune in to radio access 102.5 FM. Always local. Always current.

00:00:25,801	S2:
Coming up on this Mandan edition of City current will tell you when to look forward to the grand lighting and Santa's arrival. Tell you about a new feature this Christmas season, the Military Tribute Tree and back with another update on Memorial Highway. Thanks for joining us. I am Tom Gearhart, executive Director at Dakota media access, joined as always by Jim Neubauer, city administrator in Mandan. Good to see you, Jim.

00:00:53,000	S3:
Good morning, Tom, and thank you very much.

00:00:54,467	S2:
It's boy, it seems like we were just talking about the 4th of July a couple of weeks ago, and now we're talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas.

00:01:01,367	S3:
Time flies very fast. And yeah, we're looking forward to the upcoming holiday season. So we, uh, I think we talked a little bit about last time, if you see some public works trucks out there with the snow plows on the front, we're doing a little practice runs and some new operators, and thankfully we have not had to utilize the full force so far this year. And we'll take that as long as we can get it.

00:01:24,467	S2:
Well, we're noticing a lot of other things in Mandan nowadays, but going to the City Commission meeting last night, let's start with some beautification program winners before we get to all the good Christmas holiday season stuff. And you had a couple of, uh, folks, one business, one home, right, that were recognized.

00:01:44,667	S3:
Yeah. We tasked the Beautification Committee members to come up with, um, I think we split up into three teams of 3 or 4 and said, go out and find us some homes and some businesses that you are very think have taken great pride in what they do. And so they did. That beautification Committee is making recommendations on awards. And last night for the residential. We have a property at 210 Third Avenue Northwest, downtown Mandan, that nominated by one of our committee members, Ruth McDonald. And to read what she said is that the overall appeal of this property has always stood out to me. And I feel like there's subtle 4th of July decor pairs nicely with their manicured lawns. So I think Kathy and Laura ballet last night are doing a great job taking care of that property, and even the previous owners did a good job of decorating. And the house, I believe was built in 1916. So just a great piece of downtown architecture and always fun because they do. Again, a phenomenal job of decorating.

00:02:47,367	S2:
That lawn looks fabulous too, and almost looks like the our flag. And on a breezy day, the way the stripes are mown in there. So fantastic job there. And then the local business was bucking been.

00:03:00,300	S3:
Bucking been and again this was nominated by Michela Renaissance. She was one of our community beautification committee members. And Chelsea or Chelsea and Toby Severson are the owners of the Buck and bean. And so the comments that Michaela wrote were since bucking Bean was built, I've always been impressed at the fresh, appealing aesthetic that it brings to Mandan. And from the building itself to the patio to the fresh summer landscaping that they do and do a great job of keeping their business looking sharp. So again, congratulations to them. It's always fun to present these awards because it's like you're recognizing folks are kind of going above and beyond, and they're very proud, um, owners of the property. They take great care of them. And again, thank you to our community beautification members for doing. There's a number of nominations and that I think Commissioner Schulberg mentioned last night. This is not just a one year thing. If you are out in the holiday season and you're finding businesses or homes that do a great job of decorating, please, there's a nomination form on our website. You can find it, fill it out, turn it in, and it comes into our beautification committee, and they will review it and we'll go from there. But again, encouragement goes out to all those folks that are doing that. In fact, we've got a couple of contests coming up for the best snow removal job done by downtown ers in their in their sidewalks and things like that. And it's a good thing to do. That's the Golden Shovel Award. And we've got another one for the best decorating. And normally we'll put those out for votes. And one you get a golden shovel. Of course, it was highly valuable today with the price of gold.

00:04:40,067	S2:
Yeah.

00:04:41,067	S3:
Yeah. That spray paint on the black shovel is holding in there. And we've got the beautiful leg lamp for the beautification award on those two.

00:04:49,667	S2:
So nothing says holidays Christmas. Like the leg lamp.

00:04:53,567	S3:
That is.

00:04:53,868	S2:
Right. Congrats to them. Uh, those green lawns. Could have been those photos. Could have been taken a couple of weeks ago. The way this fall has been going. Absolutely. Uh, also, I think just talk about Memorial Highway construction will wrap up here. It sounds like next week. Where are we at? It looks like a lot more pavement stuff.

00:05:12,667	S3:
A lot more concrete has gone down in the last few weeks. They will start. You know, there has to be a you have to call it an end at some point in time at this time of the year. And we're contractors in North Dakota, Department of Transportation, city folk are all working on getting this project to a place where winter transfer of driving on the north lanes to the south lanes and then entrances will be constructed going from the south lanes into those businesses on the north side. We continue to encourage folks to Memorial Highway still open, right? Please patronize those businesses and do everything that you can to help them out. The FDA gift card program is still available through the Man in Progress organization, and as far as winter goes in, traffic will be moved to the south side. Driving lanes got to come shortly.

00:06:02,100	S2:
As we can show here that that's.

00:06:04,901	S3:
Uh, intersections.

00:06:06,267	S2:
From the north looking south or southwest.

00:06:08,968	S3:
Intersections at 40th um, which runs by Kist Livestock and Lonesome Dove in that area. And then also on 32nd. That intersection should be opened up very soon or it is open already. So again, transitioning from south from the north side, driving to the south side. And then, um, they will work as long as they can on the north side on the underground utilities and preparation of. I'm pretty sure that paving isn't going to happen until next spring based on, again, overnight temperatures and things like that, but we'll continue to work as long as possible throughout the winter.

00:06:44,400	S2:
Tell us about the snow removal plan we heard last night. The D.O.T. will be coming in and clearing snow.

00:06:51,767	S3:
Yep. Again, this is a Dot highway in North Dakota Department of Transportation. And generally they have been the ones who've been moving snow streets. We've been in patching and all that good things after. And up until this point in time, when the project is completed fully, they will turn those activities over to our city staff. During this transition period between now and the spring. There will be driveways constructed from the south side into the north side. It will be hard surfaced and Ddot then will be cleaning those entrances so that again, people can continue to shop and it's not putting an extra burden on those businesses on the North side that need to then move another 25 or 30ft of snow in the wintertime. Department of transportation will be doing that.

00:07:38,267	S2:
And it sounded like next week, maybe right before Thanksgiving is kind of the last day for major work?

00:07:47,501	S3:
Correct. I think November 23rd is the was the so-called completion date. And like I said, they'll be transitioning things prior to then. But again, our message is please continue to patronize those businesses. They're still open. They need your help and do everything we can. But again, traveling public has been really good. You know, from this summer's activity. We always joke about the wavy bacon, the roller coaster ride on there. Now that is absolutely not the final, final product. And, uh, well, some people really like it. It is? Yeah. Not the best driving service for the way.

00:08:22,901	S2:
We got to Raging Rivers or something, right?

00:08:25,200	S3:
Absolutely. And again, please, um, even during the construction phase, slow down 25 speed limit the concrete barriers and all those things will be coming off and, um, getting ready for, for real winter.

00:08:40,100	S2:
I wanted to bring up one other project that's the the Collins Avenue reservoir, because people are going to be noticing some demolition ultimately this winter. But I also want to provide an update on where things are out there.

00:08:51,467	S3:
Yeah, right now they're doing testing. So they built the reservoir. There'll be water testing to make sure nothing's leaking and all that good stuff. And when they finish those tests, they will transition towards the end of November to utilizing that reservoir in full capacity. Um, during the time that we transition over the you will see demolition on the old reservoir occur this winter and so their activity will not stop. And then a lot of people have expressed concern over the intersection and the sight line distance on the.

00:09:22,868	S2:
And that's what we're seeing there.

00:09:24,267	S3:
On the southeast corner of that intersection of Division and Collins. That retaining wall will be pulled back. And so that making those sightlines a lot cleaner and a lot safer for the traveling public. So that activity will happen next spring, along with some other construction projects we have going on in the Monte Drive area and other areas where there's some final cleanup work. Landscaping and putting people's yards back and things like that. A lot of that is moving now, transitioning into the spring projects, and they're all on the list. And that will be taken care of in the spring.

00:09:56,400	S2:
Like you said, at some point, we've got to call it quits.

00:09:59,100	S3:
At some point, you're hearing, yep, you got a caller. It's a day. And at this time of year, a lot of those projects are okay. It's we just need to wait until spring when we can move in and finish those.

00:10:08,567	S2:
Well, let's talk about all the the holiday activity that's kicking off right after Thanksgiving. And a couple of new things we learned about last night that be able to check out and Mandan. And one that really caught my attention was the military tribute tree.

00:10:25,167	S3:
Right. Two new displays in the park. The military tribute tree, I believe is just on in the Heritage Park area. If you know where the water fountain or the fountain is and, um, to the east of the Mandan depot. Um, that is a pretty impressive military training. I've they obviously they've been testing the lights and everything else. So I had the opportunity to see it a couple of times when it's been lit up. And I'm going to leave that thing lit up all the time. Um, but that is very impressive. There's also a new tractor. I think Farmers Union Insurance has put in a new tractor in the park, and that is over near the library, the Morton Manor Public Library. And so again, they're always trying to freshen things up. And new new photo ops and new selfie spots and grand opening of the park. Grand lighting, I guess we're calling it would be.

00:11:16,868	S2:
Let's let people know.

00:11:18,100	S3:
We'll be on Friday after Thanksgiving, I think at 6:00.

00:11:21,501	S2:
6:00.

00:11:22,067	S3:
6:00 pm. So last year it was a little chilly down there, but there was a lot of hot chocolate flowing and everything else. So again, our our message is fire pits roaring. And please come down and enjoy. We'll have part of your main street will be blocked off for people to come in and transverse freely. We ask that you come down early. Maybe have a pizza. Maybe have a cocktail or shop in downtown Manhattan prior to the opening. And also, you know, you can come back once or twice or three times during when the lights are on. And again, we encourage that we we do things to in demand and progress or nation organization to bring people downtown and then partake and patronize some of the businesses down there, too.

00:12:04,801	S2:
And I think I heard Matt Schneider say at the meeting, over 3000 people last year. And, and I was reminded it was cold last year and it could be again this year. But again, you got that hot chocolate, right? Fire pits.

00:12:17,868	S3:
And again, um, huge shout out to all the sponsors and all the people that volunteers that were out there decorating in the last few weeks and putting the displays up. Big shout out and thank you to all those folks. Um, man in progress. Organization doesn't function without its volunteer base, and it's incredible. And the people and the businesses that sponsor things, um, Do an absolutely wonderful job. And like I said, you can stop down and visit more than once during the holiday season. And like I said, find some new selfie spots, take your pictures, take them with family and just enjoy the atmosphere.

00:12:52,767	S2:
So along with that, ground lighting is Santas arrival. Yes. And just wanted to tie that into another new event, which will take place on Saturday the 29th and that's mingle with the Kringle.

00:13:04,167	S3:
Mingle with the Kringle in the Morton Mandan Public Library. And I think you know the dates and times of that. 10 to 4, 10 to.

00:13:12,467	S2:
4, ten.

00:13:13,100	S3:
So again, mingle with the crinkles. Uh, kudos to whoever came up with that. Very creative and much more creative than I am. But, um, that should be a really fun event in the Morton Man and Public library. So again, trying to add things every year and do some things different. So it's not, oh, it's the same thing year in year. There's some comfort in those things. But again, trying to add some new things every year. And kudos to the folks that are sponsoring the new displays in the park. And kudos to the Morton Manning Public Library for the mingle with the Pringles.

00:13:44,767	S2:
Bring your Christmas list. I think that was said last night to mingle with the Bengals and give it right to Santa. See you see what you get under the tree this year. And finally, I think you've mentioned this already. But just to reiterate, on Small Business Saturday the 29th.

00:14:01,467	S3:
Shop Small Business Saturday is always the again. You have Black Friday, you've got Thanksgiving, you've got Black Friday and you've got shop Small Saturday. And so we encourage folks to partake and patronize those local businesses that you they're not the big box stores. We like you to go to those too. But a day set aside for you. Go to your local shops, to your downtown. We've got several out on Memorial Highway, several up in the northwest part of Mandan. So patronize your local businesses. Those sales tax dollars that are Can spend at those establishments. Stay within your community that you spend them. So we always encourage that. That helps our economic development. It helps our property taxes. It helps all those things be lower by again shopping local.

00:14:47,767	S2:
Semi late agenda last night, but wanted to talk about considering a resolution for street improvements. District 241 Red Trail Elementary. May or may maybe not that in specific, but I guess the project management and there's a new flow chart, so to speak, that you guys came up with kind of walk everybody through where things are at in a given project.

00:15:11,901	S3:
I think it's again, thank you for bringing that up. We've asked our engineering department to put together a flow chart. So, you know, commissioners know and we all know, okay, where are we in the status of a project. Because projects take from the time they're thought of till the time they're completed. Oftentimes many years are involved in that. And then so Gericke and Riley and our engineering department put together a flow chart, and we have circled on that flow chart. We are here or you are here. So we know there's, you know, 15 steps in the project. We're in step three and here's what's coming afterwards. So we think that's very beneficial for our elected officials, for our community members and especially for those that are within that project area. So kind of a nice different thing that we did with this project is we we sat down with and had a public input meeting with the residents in that area and said, what kind of things would you like to see happen? You know your neighborhoods better than we do and tell us, you know, where do we have a pothole? Where do we have some stormwater issues, where do we have some other payment issues? And so we had one of those meetings a few weeks ago, was very well received, very well attended. And so we're trying to get more public input before we go to kind of 30% design on a project. So we've done that. Well received. And now last night was the creation of the resolution to create that assessment district. And again engineers are at will get to 30% design. So we get a good cost estimate and things like that. But again the points that we want to make in this project, we did public engagement.

00:16:51,567	S2:
Early.

00:16:52,067	S3:
Early and asked folks what would you like to see? And I think that when we when that those tables got turned a bit, it's public is not there. What we're welcoming them. We are welcoming welcoming them into the project and saying how can we do this better? And we got great feedback. And so again, this flowchart as part of the agenda packet, if you haven't seen it, we encourage you to look at it. And he's got some high level steps in there. And I think there's 10 or 15 steps from, you know, the creation or the public input meeting like we did the other night to when when we would expect the project to be complete and those special assessments may hit then your property tax statement. So it's kind of from beginning to end. And here's the high points in between. There's probably a thousand steps in between there. But um for a big picture look again this this chart really maps that out quite well.

00:17:49,200	S2:
And I thought just from my perspective, it also with multiple things happening and you know, two meetings a month year round, you can lose track of where a particular project or maybe not remember it quite right where something's at. So for me, it was helpful to know that, you know, this, you could apply this to, to multiple projects.

00:18:06,300	S3:
Right. And I think this is we set the standard here now so that all projects will have this accompanying them. So that again it's a big picture looked. And to know where we are in the midst of that project is very beneficial for myself. And I think for everybody that looks at it says, you know, what else do we have to do when we even talk about a water reservoir project? We're going. Okay. It's built. Now what? Well, okay. In the wintertime, you'll see demolition of the old one. Um, because we've tested and made sure that new one is up and ready to go. You'll see outside coatings. And we've talked about that on what do we want to put on the outside of this water reservoir. Maybe there's some mural things that we can do, um, with that.

00:18:49,467	S2:
Finally, some perhaps unintended levity in the resolutions and ordinances where they talked about establishing the rates and changes for cemetery services that went off without any debate.

00:19:02,901	S3:
But there was a question.

00:19:04,567	S2:
There was a question? Yes.

00:19:06,501	S3:
And I think Commissioner asked. And, and, uh, you know, with the number of cremations always increasing and which is on one hand, it's a different way of doing things. Not that it's new way, it's just different. And we're seeing more and more of those. We do have half grave sites and full grave sites. Gravesites, obviously. Commissioner Rohrer asked the difference. And and our public Works director, Shane O'Keefe, was on his game last night and explained clearly that, you know, the half grave site is about half of a full grave site, and that's why they're that way. But really the good levity, but it really accounts for cremations and things like that. And cremations extend the life of the land that you have on your cemetery. We have a columbarium out there that is starting to pick up and use. And therefore, even when we do in the winter time and the ground is frozen, we will do burials. But it's much easier to buy a columbarium space where we don't have to, you know, go through thawed ground and or go through frozen ground and things like that. So again, those rates are increasing. And part of that is, you know, it's I think the public sometimes thinks that, well, we're paying for the opening and closing of a grave, and then we're done forever. Well, there's the maintenance and that cemetery. Over the past several years. We've gotten many compliments on the care that we take out there. We do take great pride, and I know our employees that work at the cemetery are very prideful of their work and want it to look nice, because we want to be respectful. And and this is a place where people come to remember their loved ones. And we want to make sure that we are top notch in that. And that doesn't come without cost. And so that's why we need to adjust the rates.

00:20:59,868	S2:
Well, with that, the meeting adjourned. And the next city commission meeting Amanda, on December 2nd.

00:21:06,767	S3:
Yeah, it's December 2nd and then December 16th. And then we are done until the first Tuesday in January. So there will be a little bit of a break and we'll move into 2026, which is, you know, like we talked earlier, time is really flying when you go from 4th of July to. I think we had Labor Day in there somewhere. Yeah.

00:21:26,467	S2:
And it.

00:21:27,167	S3:
Happened. You're hitting Thanksgiving and the holiday season, and we I know that, um, commissioner or commissioner, Mayor Freilich and also Police Chief Zeigler were on a radio show this morning talking about the holiday season is a time when you need to be safe with yourselves and shopping and things like that, and and make sure that, you know, we're not putting a big warning out there that it's not safe to shop, but be mindful of your surroundings. And we encourage everyone to shop local.

00:21:56,367	S2:
If you happen to miss the meeting last night, you can go to Dakota Access and watch it on demand. You can also check out our DMA app and watch it wherever you are. And if you need some entertainment, please check out our Radio Access 102.5 app. If you're not listening to us on your FM dial, you can check out all of our great radio producers and podcast hosts that we have there. Jim, thanks for joining us. Until next time, thanks for watching City Kern.

00:22:27,167	S1:
For more information on what was discussed in this episode of City Current, visit city of Mandan. Com or call (700) 166-7321 five. If you have any suggestions, comments or issues you would like to address in future City Current episodes. Contact us at info at free TV. This program airs on Government Access channel two and 602 in HD or on Radio Access 102.5 FM. It's also available as a podcast on radio access and as a video viewing link at free TV. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of City Current.