Grand Forks moves forward with Greenway improvement grant application
Apr. 1—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks City Council approved a grant application that could mean proposed improvements to the Greenway near downtown will have a funding source.
Earlier this year, the council
received the new Greenway master plan.
Proposed ideas for improvements around the Community Green area of the Greenway — the area immediately surrounding the Sorlie Bridge — include an amphitheater, pedestrian bridge and more space for the Grand Forks Farmers Market. The application would focus on the areas of the Community Green south of DeMers Avenue.
This is the initial application to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, which will determine whether the project fits the grant criteria. If it does, then the city will have to submit a more in-depth application to the National Parks System. The funding for the grant is through North Dakota's Outdoor Legacy Program, which is funded by the National Park Service's Land and Water Conservation fund.
The grant is a one-for-one match. The city is applying for $3,489,750, half of the project's total $6,979,500. Right now, the funding for the project would come from flood protection capital funding, but there could be other sources.
"There is a surplus of funding (in the flood protection fund)," said Water Works Director Melanie Parvey. "We can definitely have conversations as we get closer if we do get asked to submit for final application, if there are other funding sources we wanted to look at, or if we want to reduce the amount of money we're looking for all (the proposed improvements)."
The council gave the OK to move forward with the application process.
"I think if you went back in time, there were questions about whether the Greenway should exist in the way that it does," Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski said. "I don't think there are too many people who question that now. It's been a great asset."
The city will know later this year whether its application has made it through the first round.
The council also approved plans for the upcoming rehabilitation of the Columbia Road overpass. The overpass bridges Columbia Road across the BNSF railroad tracks and DeMers Avenue near UND. The 40-year-old bridge's structure and road deck need repairs and instead of spreading out the project over the next decade, the city engineering department decided doing it over two years would be the better option.
That option also limits the amount of time that traffic will be impacted because of the repairs.
This year, the bridge will likely be narrowed
to one lane in each direction. In 2025, the engineering department is expecting a full closure of the bridge to repair the structure.
The total project is expected to cost $10.21 million and the city is spending $3.46 million. The city only has $2.8 million budgeted, but the project has not been bidded yet so costs aren't finalized.
In other news, the council:
* Presented Public Health Champion Awards and declared it Public Health Week. Awardees include Grand Forks Public Safety Answering Point, Grand Forks Police Department mental health liaison officers Troy Vanyo and April Prock, Rosina Appiah of Harmony Haven Therapy, Michael Dulitz from Grand Forks Opioid Response and Mandy Burbank, registered dietitian with Grand Forks Public Health.
*
Congratulated Meredith Richards
on attending her final council meeting as Community Development Director to a round of applause. Richards is retiring from the city after 33 years and helped guide the city through its recovery from the Flood of 1997.
* As the Board of Equalization, received formal protests on property valuations as part of the property tax evaluation process. It will convene on April 15 to decide on the protests.
