Moorhead City Council Meeting
October 13, 2014
Moorhead Manufacturers Week Proclamation
The City Council passed a Manufacturer Week Proclamation to indicate the economic importance of the industry to the City and State. Manufacturing is critically important to the economy. For generations, the strength of our country rested on the power of our factory floors—both the machines and the men and women who worked them. The following statistics were presented to support the importance of the manufacturing sector. Minnesota Manufacturers Week, an annual event that celebrates the important role that manufacturing plays in the state economy. Manufacturing accounts for more than 316,000 jobs in Minnesota, making it the second-biggest employer in the state. Healthcare is number one with just under 400,000. Retail trade is third.
Manufacturing in Minnesota
•directly and indirectly provides more than 826,000 high-skills, high-wage jobs: Average $46,978
•produces $43.7 billion in state economic impact or 16 percent of our gross domestic product.
•exports bring nearly $20 billion into Minnesota’s economy and are a significant economic engine for our community. More than 8,600 companies throughout MN had export sales.
According to netstate.com, Minnesota manufacturing also includes
•Computer and electronic products (medical devices, computer components, and communications equipment) are the primary manufactured products of Minnesota.
•The manufacture of machinery (agricultural machinery, metalworking, heating and cooling, machines for making microchips) ranks third in the manufacturing sector.
•Other manufactured products in the state include weapons and ammunition, cans, stampings, paper products (adhesive tape), printed materials (commercial print shops, newspaper and book publishers), transportation equipment (automobiles, trucks, and buses), aircraft parts and wood products (plywood).
Sex Offender Ordinance
Citizen participation in their local government was in full display at the October 13 meeting. The City Council once again demonstrated that it listens to the citizens. Three residents spoke regarding the safety of their children and neighborhoods. They spoke in response to previous law enforcement testimony that sex offender residency restrictions are not only ineffective but makes tracking them more difficult. The Council voted to revisit an ordinance prohibiting Level III sex offenders from living near schools, bus stops and other locations where children gather. The ordinance would have banned Level III sex offenders from the city limits.
Public Hearing
The City Council held a public hearing to receive public comment for the adoption of special assessments for public improvements. It included a mixture of new development projects (such as Johnson Farms 3rd and Horizon Shores 6th additions), and previously deferred assessments for older infrastructure projects (such as 34th St and the interceptor sewer projects) that were brought forward in accordance with the City’s Special Assessment Policy.
Assessment Hearing notices were sent and only one was returned. The City will finance the improvements through the PIR fund and will issued General Obligation Improvement Bonds to cover the project cost. The revenue from the special assessments will be used to pay debt service on the bonds that were issued by the City to finance the original improvements.
Budget Adjustment
The Council approved $20,000 of General Fund Reserves to provide resources for legal services relating to a tax court petition filed by Menards challenging the assessed value for the store in south Moorhead and the surrounding lots that are owned by the company. The company has filed challenges with several Minnesota cities. The challenges include both the City and County taxes and amounts to several million dollars of assessed valuations.
Happy 40th Birthday
Early Childhood Family Education
Moorhead ECFE celebrating with party Oct. 23
Moorhead’s Early Childhood Family Education program, a Community Education program of Moorhead Area Public Schools, is joining the statewide celebration of the program’s 40th birthday. On Oct. 23 from 4:30-6:30 p.m., local ECFE staff will host a party at Moorhead Center Mall. People are invited to share in early childhood activities and learn more about parenting children under the age of five.
Ahead of its time, the 1974 Minnesota Legislature funded the piloting of six Early Childhood Family Education programs. Today, ECFE is available statewide and serves thousands of parents and their children ages birth to five each year. This October 20-25, 2014, ECFE celebrates 40 years of educating Minnesota’s families.
ECFE understands the importance of the early years as learning years. Right from birth, parents shape the child’s development, strengthen the parent-child relationship, and set the stage for future learning.
“ECFE supports families by offering a variety of classes to provide education, encouragement and support for both parents and young children,” said Lauri Winterfeldt, Moorhead Community Education director.
ECFE classes are taught by licensed teachers and have three components: parent-child activity time to enhance the child’s language and math skills, parent education time, and child only playtime when children continue to play and learn while parents attend parent education time.
Adult Volleyball Open Gym to Begin
A free open gym for adult volleyball teams to practice begins Tuesday, October 14.
Adult volleyball teams looking to practice before league play begins are invited to participate in Moorhead Parks and Recreation’s Adult Volleyball Open Gym. Open gym will be held on Tuesday nights starting October 14 through November 11 from 7:00 to 9:30 pm at Ellen Hopkins Elementary school in Moorhead for ages 16 and older. There will be no charge to participate.
For more information, call Moorhead Parks and Recreation at 218.299.5340.
Bergquist Cabin Reception
The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County (HCS) invites the public to an open reception celebrating the completion of new interpretive signs at the Bergquist Cabin. The reception will be held at the Cabin located at 1008 Seventh Street North, on October 17 from 1-3pm; refreshments will be provided.
The Bergquist Cabin is the oldest house on its original site in Moorhead. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned and maintained by the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. John Gustav Bergquist built the cabin in 1870.The Swedish homesteader worked on the railroad, farmed, sold milk door-to-door, and later became a maker of bricks, using local clay. One sign provides details from his life while the second one traces the evolution from log cabin to modern home and back to cabin once again.
For more information, call 218-299-5511 or visit www.hcscconline.org. The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is located in the Hjemkomst Center at 202 First Avenue North in Moorhead.