10-17-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

Metro Flood Diversion Authority—October 17, 2018 1 METRO FLOOD DIVERSION AUTHORITY OCTOBER 17, 2018—1:44 PM 1. MEETING TO ORDER A special meeting of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority was held Wednesday, October 17, 2018, at 1:44 PM in the Fargo City Commission Room with the following members present: Moorhead City Mayor Del Rae Williams; Clay County Commissioner Kevin Campbell; Clay County Commissioner Grant Weyland; Fargo City Mayor Tim Mahoney; Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn; Cass County Commissioner Mary Scherling; Cass County Commissioner Chad Peterson; Cass County Commissioner Rick Steen; Cass County Joint Water Resource District Manager Dan Jacobson; and West Fargo City Mayor Bernie Dardis. Moorhead City Council Member Chuck Hendrickson; Moorhead City Council Member Joel Paulsen; and Fargo City Commissioner Tony Grindberg were absent. Also present were U.S. Senator John Hoeven; Major General Scott Spellmon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations; Colonel Sam Calkins, Commander of the Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District; Judy DeHarnais, Corps of Engineers Deputy District Engineer; Terry Williams, Corps of Engineers Project Manager; and Michael Bart, Chief of Engineering, Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District. 2. AGENDA ORDER MOTION, passed Mr. Weyland moved and Mr. Steen seconded to approve the order of the agenda. Motion carried. 3. WELCOME Ms. Williams, Mrs. Scherling, and Mr. Mahoney provided opening remarks regarding the project and thanked Senator Hoeven and Corps of Engineers staff for their efforts. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT UPDATE Colonel Calkins said the Corps of Engineers has been working on a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEAS) since February, which is needed to certify Plan B. A public meeting was held on September 13th on the draft SEAS and draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). There was a public comment period from August 27th to September 27th. The Corps received 65 comments and the MDNR received around 400 comments regarding Plan B. Colonel Calkins said Corps staff continue to work with Diversion Authority staff, MDNR and Houston-Moore Group (HMG) to release the final SEAS by the end of November. 5. PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP UPDATE Attorney John Shockley provided an update on the Public Private Partnership (P3) for financing and construction of the project. A P3 is a contractual agreement between a public agency and a private sector entity. He said the Metro Flood Diversion Authority approved a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) on July 11, 2016. The PPA established a split delivery plan for the channel and infrastructure to be handled by the non-federal sponsors (Diversion Authority and P3 procurement); and the southern embankment, associated infrastructure, and mitigation to be handled by the Corps of Engineers.