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Aldermen: Ordinance could jeopardize future development

Published 12:00pm Thursday, December 17, 2009

Some members of the Fergus Falls City Council say a proposed spending ordinance for major city projects stands to jeopardize future development.

Several council members said Wednesday they are concerned by the ordinance’s broad language, which could tie the hands of city officials indefinitely. Council members also said they are afraid residents upset about the ice arena are supporting the ordinance without a clear understanding of the measure’s long-term impacts.

The ordinance, prepared this fall by a five-member group called the Fergus Votes Committee, would require a public referendum on certain types of major capital improvement projects. These “elective projects” are those which exceed the basic services required by city government and do not show the potential to pay for themselves, according to the ordinance. An elective project would need voter approval before the council could accept bids or authorize the issuance of bonds for the work.

But some city council members say distinguishing between a primary public service and an elective project isn’t always easy. While members of the Fergus Votes Committee maintain the ice arena is an elective project, Jay Cichosz, 3rd Ward, says an arena is a long-standing service provided by parks and recreation.

“My position on the arena would be different assuming we as a city had not provided this for 40 years,” Cichosz said.

The proposed ordinance lists several basic city services that would not be subject to referenda: public safety, streets, bridges, libraries and public parks, among others. Cichosz said he believes an ice arena falls under the parks category.

He’s also convinced the ordinance is “an attempt to stall or thwart the arena project specifically.”

Pat Connelly, 3rd Ward, said he hopes people read the ordinance thoroughly and get their questions answered before contributing their signatures.

“People are initially going to be viewing it as an initiative to stop the arena project,” Connelly said. “It encompasses a lot more than one concept.”

Eric Shelstad, 1st Ward, agrees. He is concerned residents are supporting the ordinance without considering its possible effects on projects like Regional Treatment Center redevelopment or incentives to new businesses.

“It certainly handcuffs the city (on) a lot of things,” Shelstad said.

City Attorney Rolf Nycklemoe said the proposed ordinance would have consequences for “innumerable public improvement projects” in the future, with Regional Treatment Center development among them.

Meanwhile, Harold Stanislawski, director of the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission, doesn’t see the ordinance as a hindrance to traditional forms of economic development: industrial parks, loans and grants for business recruitment, retention and expansion, for example.

Stanislawski said he is less certain how the ordinance could affect non-traditional forms of economic development — for example, amenities with cash flow that pay for themselves.

He said the college plan for the Regional Treatment Center will ultimately need to be a bankable project, with the process straightforward enough that the ordinance would have little effect.

Greg Stumbo, 1st Ward, has spoken with ordinance supporters, as well as Nycklemoe, about the proposal. He said he thinks it has some good points and likes to see citizens participating in government.

The full text of the spending ordinance is available at fergusvotes.wordpress.com.