Nancy Edmonds Hanson
hansonnanc@gmail.com

Parents’ dreams of a playground all children can enjoy together, regardless of their physical challenges, took a giant step toward coming true Monday when the Moorhead City Council approved plans to create an adaptive “destination” facility at Southside Regional Park adjacent to Miracle Field, the T-ball sized baseball field for children with special mobility needs.
Now all that remains to be done is to raise a million dollars to fund the proposal.
Public works director Steve Moore sketched out the history of the proposal to council members, starting with a working group including Hope Inc. founder Adair Grommesh and propelled by parents of other children with disabilities, including council member Heidi Durand. Modeled on newer playgrounds across the country, including the universal playground in Mandan, N.D. The Parks and Recreation Department has been working with Dakota Playgrounds of Fargo on preliminary plans for the area, which would be the only one in Fargo-Moorhead fully designed from the ground up to accommodate all kids’ needs – from rubberized surfaces instead of wood chips, rock and turf, to equipment and ramps for wheelchairs.
Moore said the park is envisioned as a destination not only for Moorhead families but for families and groups across the region. He pegged the potential development cost at about $1 million. Some funds are available within the parks budget, he noted, but most will have to be raised from individuals, service clubs and businesses, as was the budget for the Miracle Field, funded by Rotary International.
“The inclusive playground needs to find a community champion,” he said, as well as other supporters. A local construction management firm is already seeking pro bono sponsors among area businesses for the concrete surface, and the Kiwanis Club has pledged $5,000 to kick off the campaign. Gifts can be made through the Moorhead Community Fund (within the F-M Area Foundation) or directly to the Parks and Recreation Department.
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In other business, the council approved the request for a property tax exemption by Thad Thorsness of Luxsun Investments LLC, for two commercial buildings at 1706 26th Ave. S. in the old industrial park. The structures include three and four units to be sold or leased to small commercial businesses such as builders, plumbers or electricians. Their value, when complete, is estimated to be around $1 million, depending on final building specs. The property tax break – again, depending on value of the finished facilities – is projected to be around $46,300 over three to five years.
Andy Bradshaw, operations manager for the Moorhead wastewater plant, brought the council up to date on negotiations with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency over phosphorus levels in the treated water the city returns to the Red River. MPCA regulations address international concern over phosphorus in Lake Winnipeg. Bradshaw pointed out that the contribution of all Minnesota cities accounts for a minuscule amount of the total, estimated at less than 0.5%, with Moorhead accounting for about one-fourth of that. Meanwhile, North Dakota discharges, which do not fall under the Minnesota board’s purview, add up to about 68% of the lake’s total.
Bradshaw noted that the Moorhead plant has reduced the phosphorus level in its treated discharge from about 4 milligrams per liter in 2014 to 1.6 milligrams today. He said cities in the Red River Basin minimal, unmeasurable impact and come at considerable expense, with most of the phosphorus load coming from agricultural applications, erosion and floods. Cities in the Red River Basin group have forged more of a collaborative approach with the state agency since mid-2019.
As part of that new relationship, MPCA requested resolutions expressing good-faith support of voluntarily reducing emissions. The council responded by passing the resolution Bradshaw proposed.
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Director Bill Schwandt presented a detailed account of Moorhead Public Service’s income, expenses and proposed 2020 rates, which the council had requested after hearing an overview in September. The presentation included both good and bad news for the city-owned utility’s customers: No rate increases for electricity for the next five year, but a projected 6% annual rise in what they pay for city water during the same period.
In addition to the 2020 rates being considered by the Public Service Commission, he described a major change in the fees the utility charges for late payments, disconnections and reconnections. “Our staff says that charging higher late-payment fees does not appear to be a deterrent,” he noted. Those fees currently account for about $100,000 in income – what he called “inflow” – each year.
With this in mind, MPS will drop the late-payment fee from the present 5% per month to just 1%. The fee for a first-time disconnection and reconnection – spurred by nonpayment – will go from $35 for each service to zero. Subsequent calls to disconnect and reconnect will be billed at $15 each, compared to $35 in the present rate schedule. The same fee reductions will be applied to both electrical and water services.
The charge for after-hours emergency calls, too, will be eliminated. “It isn’t charged very often anyway,” Schwandt said, noting that it has been on the books for calls that turn out to be the homeowner’s, rather than the utility’s, problem.
Council members expressed concern over prices the city charges its customers going up 6% every year through 2024. Schwandt pointed to substantial infrastructure needs, from replacement of deteriorating cast-iron water mains to addition and renovation on water towers, new pipeline and other necessary upgrades in the city’s extensive water and sewer system. “We’re looking at every alternative we can to reduce the cost and the impact on customers,” he told the council.
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Mayor Johnathan Judd proclaimed Oct. 14 at F-M Trail Builders Day in honor of the volunteers who have maintained the city’s 9 miles of offroad bicycle trails in Gooseberry and MB Johnson parks for more than a decade. Tom Heilman and the other Trail Builders on hand in the City Council Chambers also received an award of appreciation from public works director Steve Moore and the Parks and Recreation Department. Moore cited the thousands of hours of work the volunteers have invested in the trails. He added that his appreciation was both official and personal: “My family and I have a great time biking on those trails.”