Council approves special-assessment district for Ultra Sports Complex after debate over funding and bidding timeline

The Grand Forks City Council voted to create a special-assessment district for Project 8933, the Ultra Sports Complex, after extended discussion about who will pay the assessments and whether the city should bid an early procurement package before final design estimates are complete.

Council President Sandy led the motion to form the district; Councilmember Berg seconded. Councilmember Osofsky registered dissent before the final vote.

Council members and staff spent more than an hour on the item, focusing on the project’s funding formula and procurement timeline. City staff said roughly $8.7 million of the project will be covered through special assessment mechanisms identified on the district map; that figure is the sum of two line items described in the staff packet (4.467 and 4.238 on the district summary). The city plans to use a three-quarter percent sales tax to pay the portion of assessments that benefit the Ultra Sports Complex building and an economic-development sales tax to pay portions that benefit adjacent common areas. Staff said the remainder of the project will be paid with cash on hand, primarily from utilities, and other identified sources including the Street Infrastructure Fund for a related Seventeenth Avenue South extension.

Councilmembers pressed staff for schedule clarity. Design-development (DD) documents were delivered Feb. 25, and staff said a DD-phase sign-off is scheduled for March 21. Staff proposed advertising the first procurement package March 20–April 25, receiving bids the week of May 12 and returning to council with recommendations on May 19; procurement package 2 would be considered later in May and early June. Several council members warned that authorizing early bids before the city receives the DD estimate could leave the city with bids it cannot afford or require redesign.

Project manager and construction-management staff emphasized trade-offs: delaying bidding could push construction into later months when escalation increases costs, while early bid packages can capture potential savings but carry the risk of scope or budget mismatch. Finance staff (identified in the packet as Maureen and Mike) will present the interim financing strategy and an updated estimate at the Community Hall meeting the week following the council meeting.

Councilmember Bean (questions) and other council members asked whether public entities or facilities located within the district (the transcript referenced BMX land and the children’s museum) would be assessed; staff said those annual assessments will be paid from the city’s designated sales-tax funding sources so the special assessment will be fulfilled by the city rather than by those entities.

Council President Sandy said the council expects to see updated DD estimates on April 21 and again in May before making a final decision on accepting any bids. The council voted to create the special-assessment district; the motion carried with one recorded dissent by Councilmember Osofsky.

The council directed staff to return with updated cost estimates and the interim financing plan at upcoming meetings so members can compare the DD-level cost estimate against bids when they arrive.

The council’s approval sets the district formation in motion but leaves open later decisions about accepting bids or changing scope based on final DD estimates and interim financing results.

Ending: Staff will present a DD estimate update April 21 at the Community Hall session and return with recommended actions on bid awards in May; the council’s vote on May 19 will determine whether to accept phase‑1 bids and move forward with construction.