Oct. 28—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks City Council considered its proposed budget for the Community Development Block Grant and Community Service Grant programs for 2025 during its Committee of the Whole meeting Monday evening.

The City Council annually reviews and approves how the City will allocate funds for these capital and operating grants. This year, there is less money overall than last year, about $455,000 less, with most of the decreases coming from the Community Development Block Grant – or CDBG – money the city receives from the U.S. Department of Housing and of urban development.

“Staff recommends that the Community Advisory Committee and City Council emphasize the relative readiness of projects to ensure their timely completion,” said Collin Hanson, community development director. “This has posed a challenge for us in recent years.”

The problem was particularly acute with CDBG funds, as the amount available was higher than usual.

This is due to the sale of the Corporate Centers, which were financed by the program; when they were sold,

the money is returned to the CDBG program. A higher amount available under the program, combined with project delays, means the city has not met timely spending requirements set by HUD. Failing to meet this requirement could lead to future problems with what the city receives from HUD.

“Right now, I think we’re under a bit of a microscope,” City Administrator Todd Feland said. “We need to give it to organizations that can actually execute and they don’t just hope they can.”

Another change this year was an increase in the amount awarded under the Community Service Grant program for operating grants. The maximum amount increased from $30,000 to $50,000. This year’s applications will prioritize homelessness prevention and assistance. The council will also

receive updates on its next consolidated five-year action plan at its meeting next week,

according to Hanson. Plus, staff, the community advisory committee and city council agree more than they think.

This was the case last year, when they all had different recommendations regarding the budget.

During the meeting, the council also discussed an amendment to

the RAISE grant advisory contract.

The grant request for rebuilding American infrastructure with sustainability and equity,

which would help fund planning and environmental documentation for any new Red River crossings in the Grand Forks metropolitan area,

is led by East Grand Forks in partnership with Grand Forks, Grand Forks County and Polk County. The last request was unsuccessful and East Grand Forks would like to be able to reapply for assistance and potentially be more competitive.

The Grand Forks City Council voted 3-2 to move up approval to next week. In their dissents, council members Tricia Lunski and Ken Vein disagreed with the council’s previous decision to limit their support to just one bridge on Merrifield Road.

“We can’t afford to go from Point Bridge to Merrifield Road without having an intercity bridge,” Vein said. “I’m not inclined to want to move forward if the fact is we’re not looking at something other than this because it doesn’t solve the intercity bridge problem.”

In 2023 and early 2024, the council was divided by discussions over the intercity bridge and location on the Grand Forks side of the river. Additionally, East Grand Forks and Grand Forks leaders have

disagreed on location, and no official location was named in current planning documentation.

Grand Forks-East Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Stephanie Halford recommended that the Interurban Bridge can never be completely erased from the historical record.

“You can never take it back completely because it’s been presented to committees. It’s been presented to different boards. It’s been presented at public input meetings (and)

we have received feedback,” Halford told the Herald in 2023.

“(If deleted), what do (the comments) refer to? I wouldn’t be surprised if the transport ministries wanted an updated presentation as the document would look different.”

The grant helps pay for costs that would need to be made regardless of a bridge’s location. A bridge over Merrifield Road would also mean the project would likely have to be run by Polk County or Grand Forks County, since the location is outside the city limits.

Furthermore, the advice:

* Approval recommended

a change order for the Columbia Road overpass project.

City Engineer Al Grasser said the lane closures are expected to end this week, but a full closure of the bridge to rehabilitate the structure’s supports will likely occur next year.

* It is recommended to approve a license agreement with Everynet for

allow the city to remotely monitor the new water meters it installs.

Many cities,

including East Grand Forks,

use a similar system. This means that a municipal employee does not need to travel to collect water meter data.