Mayoral veto stymies East Grand Forks roundabout
East Grand Forks City Council members voted to keep a planned roundabout in the city s long-term transit plans, which kept the project in line for $860,000 worth of federal subtarget funding in 2022. Mayor Steve Gander vetoed that vote last week, and council members failed to override his veto on Tuesday. The roundabout is still in the transit plan and still in line for the federal funding, but, in City Administrator David Murphy s estimation, the failed veto override leaves the city with two options: rush to put a new project in the roundabout s place in time for the 2022 funding, or see if one of three other northwest Minnesota cities in the same program would take East Grand Forks spot in a four-year rotation, which would buy the city time to revisit its decision once again.
● In March, two northwest Minnesota lawmakers submitted proposals for state funding. At the time, state Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said “we need to have that bridge. It needs to be built, and I want to make sure that we’re prepared here on the Minnesota side so that when we get our act together, the funding will be there.”
These are good conversations, and it’s starting to feel like momentum is finally growing to get additional crossings constructed over the Red, further connecting Greater Grand Forks.
As we noted in an editorial in March, the proposals on funding – by people like Johnson and Minnesota state Rep. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston – are a good step to keep the bridge project alive. Others are joining, too. The murmurs are becoming a chorus.
East Grand Forks narrowly picks Bygland roundabout over 10th Street rework grandforksherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from grandforksherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Doug Barrett
Jan 27, 2021 2:52 PM
East Grand Forks officials may enlist the services of a pair of consultants to help plan for future improvements to the city’s aging ice arenas.
Council members last night approved the drafting of an R-F-P for a construction managing firm and a fundraising specialist to help identify dollars for the pending project.
The city has floated the idea of a sales tax to help finance the bulk of the work. Parks Director Reid Huttunen says fundraising will also be a critical part of the plan.
The price of the ice arena projects along could top eleven-million dollars. Although the city was planning to lobby the legislature for taxing approval this year – Mayor Steve Gander says that conversation will likely be pushed into 2022. “It feels like a courtesy to let everyone get back on solid ground before we have that next conversation.”