Assistant city clerk Kelle Jenkins, along with Madison Puttbrese and Shawna Krogen, welcome visitors to the temporary City Hall and connect them with staff from the departments upstairs. (Photos/Nancy Hanson.)

Moorhead Public Service is now accepting payments at its new location at 2901 South Frontage Road on Highway 10.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The Moorhead city staffers who cleared out of City Hall last month have settled into their new temporary quarters.
October’s exodus saw most of the departments headquartered in the city’s 50-year-old facility – widely known as “the sugar cube” – move into the first, fifth and seventh floors of the FM Center. The classic multistory building at the corner of Center Avenue and Fourth Street was constructed in 1950 as the Frederick Martin Hotel. After it closed in 1972, it accommodated professional offices and, until earlier this year, US Bank.
“The move has gone really well,” assistant city manager Mike Rietz reports, “though we’re still figuring a few things out.” That includes electronic controls on doors and, until last Monday, installation of the window at which visitors are greeted inside the front door. That essential window was slow in arriving; in the meantime, a residential-style portal took its place.
The staff of the city clerk’s office are tasked with helping residents who come in to take care of business. Assistant city clerk Kelle Jenkins explains that many of their requests can be fulfilled on the spot, including providing permit forms and processing licensing requests. “When they need more information or more help, we call upstairs to arrange for a staff member to meet them downstairs here in the lobby,” she explains.
The clerk’s office occupies the west half of the first floor; it houses Kelle’s department, assistant city manager Mike Rietz, and the mailroom and workroom.
Fifth-floor offices include the departments of finance, prosecution and information technology. The top floor, once the site of the elegant Tree Top Restaurant, is occupied by engineering and community development. The latter handles planning and zoning, building codes and neighborhood services.
Moorhead Public Service, which occupied the third floor of the old facility, has moved farther from downtown. Its office is now located in the small strip mall west of Target and Tires Plus on Highway 10 – suite 2 at 2901 S. Frontage Road. After business hours, payments can be made in the secure drop box outside.
Kelle says two questions come up most often when first-timers come through the main entrance on Center Avenue: “Where can I drop off my utilities payment now?” and “What happened to the DMV?”
Her staff has prepared two small fliers with driving directions to the temporary MPS location and Clay County’s new Department of Motor Vehicles on 15th Avenue North west of Walmart. She also reminds visitors that, along with the busy parking lot beside the FM Center, on-street parking is available on the north flank of Center Mall outside.
The set-up at the FM Center – with all visitors assisted on the ground floor – is a precursor of what’s planned for the remodeling of the old City Hall. “It will be pretty much the same model,” Rietz comments. “Interaction with customers will take place in the first-floor lobby. Conference rooms will be available for talking to staff when they’re called downstairs to talk to you.”
The city signed a 23-month lease with Sterling Development for the FM Center spaces in August at a cost of $29,000 per month. The city offices will return to City Hall after top-to-bottom remodeling and renovation, expected to be complete in Autumn 2026.