Fargo officials consider moving downtown engagement center, weigh regional funding and prevention strategies

FARGO — City officials and outside consultants discussed plans to replace the downtown engagement center with a larger, regional community service center and asked staff to return with a concrete plan and financing options.

The meeting centered on findings from Bloomberg Associates consultant Linda Gibbs, who visited Fargo’s engagement center and downtown and recommended a service-driven, easily accessible center that prioritizes low-threshold shelter, mental-health and substance-use treatment connections, and coordinated outreach. "The issue of homelessness is itself homeless," Gibbs told the commission, describing the problem as diffuse and shared among many agencies.

The city’s planning director, Nicole Crutchfield, outlined the local history of homeless services and the city’s role. She said the city currently manages HUD CDBG and HOME funds and has reduced direct service roles to focus on coordination. Crutchfield said she had budgeted $75,000 in 2024 for early project planning and that Bloomberg Associates’ pro bono work is supplementing that effort.

Gibbs summarized practices that have worked in other cities: multidisciplinary outreach teams that include social workers and behavioral-health clinicians, an array of shelter types including low-threshold options, 24/7 or extended drop-in operations that perform quick screenings and individualized referrals, and site selection proximate to transit and other services so clients will use the center.

Commissioners voiced repeated concerns about who will pay and whether Fargo is carrying a disproportionate regional burden. One commissioner said the model currently places the cost on Fargo property taxpayers and called for county and neighboring-city participation and for the Gladys Ray Shelter and Cooper House to be explicitly included in any regional approach. The mayor said he plans to seek state and private funding — mentioning a state request of $5 million and private fundraising in the mayor’s remarks — and urged staff to develop a plan quickly to meet funding windows.

Staff and commissioners discussed siting criteria: walkable access to transit and downtown amenities, an indoor/outdoor area to reduce street spillover, space sized to local needs (not too big, not too small), and the ability to convert quickly and affordably. Gibbs noted that moving an engagement center too far from where clients are served can undermine use; conversely, keeping the current center two blocks from the main commercial corridor has contributed to perceived harm to downtown businesses.

Prevention strategies drew sustained attention. Commissioners and Gibbs discussed eviction-mitigation programs and targeted prevention services that can be cost-effective when focused on households at highest risk of homelessness. Public-health enrollment also came up: staff said existing navigators and partners (including Family Healthcare and other providers) help clients enroll in health coverage and that co-locating prevention and enrollment services at a regional center could add impact.

No formal vote was taken. Staff proposed returning to the commission with a recommended site map, a five-year program and financing strategy leveraging public, private and philanthropic sources, and authorization to establish a cross-department team led by public health and administration to continue project planning. Staff also said consultant Gibbs and her team would continue community outreach with business leaders and service providers.

The discussion included requests that staff pursue regional conversations with Cass County, Clay County and neighboring Moorhead, Minn., and press for clearer cost-sharing commitments. Commissioners also asked staff to report back on program costs and operational sustainability before committing city staff or capital resources.

The commission scheduled additional outreach: small-business and larger-business meetings were planned at Sky Commons to gather downtown merchant input, and staff encouraged commissioners to meet individually with the Bloomberg Associates team.

A next formal step identified by staff was a return report to the commission with a recommended program, site options and a proposed funding plan to allow pursuit of state and philanthropic funds during the current legislative and fundraising windows.