FARGO, N.D. – The Fargo City Commission has delayed action on a pair of items.
At Monday night’s first meeting of the commission, the commission was set to act on a request from Fargo Police to install a fence around the police department headquarters and also to assign liaison assignments.
Fargo Police Department fence
The commission was set to approve a $188,000 bid award to Dakota Fence to install a fence around the east parking lot of the Fargo Police Department headquarters.
Commissioner Chad Peterson brought forward some concerns.
“My main curiosity is why we’re doing it,” he said.
Facilities Management Director Bekki Majerus said the request came from the police department.
“We have been looking to vacate the road between where the civilian vehicles are parked and the police department,” she said. “That process has met its delays.”
The project is to be funded by the 2024 bond issue, Majerus said.
She said the vehicles are targets.
“My concern there is that this is no different than any other parking lots our public employees have to deal with,” Peterson said. “I’m not a big fan of fences that don’t do anything.”
He said the fences ‘don’t provide any security other than psychological.’
“This is a security-rated fence,” Majerus said.
On a motion by Commissioner John Strand, the Commission voted to table the decision to the next Commission meeting by a 4-1 margin, with Mayor Josh Boschee voting against the motion.
Liaison assignments
Boschee presented his liaison assignments to the commission at Monday night’s meeting.
“It was my understanding in visiting with former Mayor Mahoney that often what happened was when a new commissioner came in, they just inherited the portfolio of the previous commissioner,” he said. “And after visiting with staff, I decided to create some buckets. Some more themes within the title line, how some of the specific departments align within a commissioner’s portfolio.”
Peterson made a suggestion for a change.
“What we did before in my prior life was we’d get together in a formal planning meeting.And all of us would sit, the five of us would sit together in an open public meeting, which is incredibly important. We all know that,” he said. “And then we discuss sort of our wants and needs, right? And we then push back on each other.”
Commissioner Michelle Turnberg recommended and made a motion that a brown bag discussion be held.
“Instead of reinventing the wheel, and if we’re trying to make a cultural shift, why don’t we have a brown bag, sit down and do exactly what Commissioner Peterson brought up,” she said. “Because we each have strengths, we each have weaknesses.”
The motion prevailed 3-2, with Boschee and Strand voting against the motion.
