Family Medicine Physician
Joins Essentia Health-Moorhead Clinic
Dr. Geeta Sakariya has joined the Family Medicine Department at the Essentia Health-Moorhead Clinic in Moorhead, Minn.
Dr. Sakariya earned a medical degree from the Government Medical College in Surat, India. She completed a residency in family medicine at the University of North Dakota Center for Family Medicine in Bismarck, N.D.
Moorhead City Council
Committee of the Whole
Monday, August 18, 2014
*At Committee of the Whole Meetings Council Members discuss City business or other matters of interest as determined by the Council. No official action is taken at Committee of the Whole meetings.
Review of City Ordinances:
· Clean Indoor Act Ordinance: Keely Ihry, PartnerSHIP 4 Health Tobacco Coordinator requested the Council at the June 23 City Council Meeting to consider adding e-cigarettes into Moorhead’s Clean Indoor Air Ordinance. The organization proposes updating the local Clean Indoor Air Ordinance for Electronic Delivery Devices to be prohibited anywhere smoking is prohibited by the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act. The total of local sales of e-cigarettes is not known as well as the effects of usage. The issue will be on the agenda of a forthcoming Council.
· Ordinance Amendment Preview: In the course of administering the Moorhead City Code, some code sections are occasionally found to be obsolete, overly complicated, or impractical to enforce. Neighborhood Services staff identified several such issues in the course of inspection and enforcement services: Technical Changes to Title 3, Public Health & Sanitation; Title 5, Motor Vehicles & Traffic; and Title 9, Building Standards (Revisions). Details are available on the City website.
There was a lengthy discussion on how to discourage stored recreational vehicle on residential property especially in driveways. Community Development Manager Lisa Vatnsdal proposed several changes because the monitoring and policing the current policy is not effective.
· Massage Enterprise Ordinance (Revision)
The proposed amendment will be brought to the City Council at a later date for consideration to eliminate sanitary guidelines set by the environmental health officer and to authorize the City to establish sanitary guidelines. Prior to the approval of any Massage Enterprise, the business must pass inspection of the location and a background check would be completed.
Metropolitan Developer Security Standards Discussion
The Engineering Department and Finance Division staff provided a report on when private developer security is required and the acceptable forms/amount of that security. In general terms, all four metropolitan cities require various acceptable forms of security in projects where the community finances public improvements. Moorhead, Fargo, and West Fargo are quite similar with Dilworth providing a slightly different approach.
Proposed 2015 Operating & Capital Budget Discussion
The City Manager and Finance Director provided information on the goals, objectives, and the planning parameters for the Proposed 2015 Operating & Capital Budget. The presentation provided highlights, opportunities, changes, and challenges in the development of the 2015 Operating & Capital Budget and a 3-year revenue and expenditure forecast. It is the practice of the staff to conduct early conversations on budget planning for the upcoming fiscal year in the summer months preceding budget adoption.
City Manager Redlinger reported that the budget process is going forward and that the City’s financial situation has improved. A streetlight utility fee increase was proposed as well as a tax levy of $28 per capita for an average price home. However, even with these and other increases, it was pointed out that Moorhead would retain its lowest-tax city with more than 30,000 residents.
FM Area Foundation Hosts
Moorhead Community Voices
Gatherings encourage residents to share ideas
FARGO, N.D., August 19, 2014…The FM Area Foundation is conducting a grassroots community research project called Moorhead Community Voices. The purpose of the initiative is to find out from residents what makes the city of Moorhead a great place to live and what areas they’d like to focus on.
The FM Area Foundation will hold three community gatherings this September. The gatherings are open to the public. At the meetings, attendees will share with one another what they feel are Moorhead’s greatest assets and what community projects would most benefit Moorhead.
“There is an opportunity in Moorhead to bring people together,” said Tim Beaton, Executive Director of the FM Area Foundation. “There are a lot of great ideas and excitement surrounding Moorhead. We want to help make some of those ideas a reality.”
The community gatherings will be the same format each night, so community members can choose the one that best fits their schedule.
The gatherings will take place:
Tuesday, Sept. 9, Hjemkomst Center, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, Courtyard by Marriott, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11, Bluestem Center for the Arts, 6:30 p.m.
The project is funded by a grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation.
The FM Area Foundation is North Dakota’s largest community foundation. The Foundation has four focus areas for its grantmaking:
• Arts, Culture and Creativity
• Basic Human Needs
• Community Building
• Education