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Grand Forks officials brief council on state bills; council president urges Air Force participation in local planning
Summary
City staff summarized the status of several state bills affecting Grand Forks and Council President Sandy proposed adding an Air Force representative to the city’s planning and zoning commission to improve coordination with Grand Forks Air Force Base.
City staff on Tuesday briefed the Grand Forks City Council on the status of multiple state bills that could affect the city and discussed local steps to coordinate development near Grand Forks Air Force Base.
The legislative update, presented by staff member Burnstrom and City Attorney Joshua Gossett, covered a property-tax measure (House Bill 1176), an egg-processing incentive (House Bill 1332), a multiyear water-agreement bill discussed as “$15.37” in the presentation, public-transit funding proposals, a casino bill that failed in the Senate, and an amended encroachment bill under Senate Bill 2398. Gossett said some amendments left existing statutes largely unchanged but could leave the city’s pending litigation unaffected. "There was a lot of disbelief, that a technicality that exists with the City of Grand Forks ... would spawn litigation between two political subdivisions," Gossett said.
Council President Sandy responded to the discussion of the encroachment legislation and asked the council to pursue stronger, ongoing coordination with the Air Force Base. "I would like to see us add next official, whether it's the wing commander or his designee ... adding someone from the Air Force to our planning and zoning commission so that they're involved and are able to hear and provide narrative, to us as we grow is important," Sandy said, urging the matter be placed on next week's Committee of the Whole agenda for further discussion.
Burnstrom said the encroachment bill had been heavily amended and that the 25-mile radius originally proposed was removed; in its place the bill would require an interim study and alter membership of a proposed military impact commission. He also summarized that the casino bill tied to a letter of intent with Turtle Mountain had failed in the Senate.
Gossett noted that some amendments now provide that agreements made prior to Jan. 1, 2025, would be voidable only by the public finance authority with 30 days' notice, and that litigation started before that date would be excluded from the new subsection, a change that leaves the city’s own litigation posture effectively unaffected under current language.
Council and staff agreed to place the proposal to consider Air Force participation on the next Committee of the Whole agenda; staff was asked to review whether ordinance changes or a city policy would be required to add an ex officio member to the planning and zoning commission.
The council did not take a formal vote on any state bill at the meeting; the presentation summarized current status and options for follow-up with the state legislature and with local legal counsel.
