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In the Health Department, Rachael Johnson has been promoted to public health

12/17/2018

The Mayor's Message - 12.17.2018

In the Health Department, Rachael Johnson has been promoted to public health nursing coordinator at Fargo Cass Public Health. She first worked in the FCPH clinic before moving to the nursing division where she worked in the maternal child health program, adult health program and school nursing. That’s been promotion for her.

In Finance, Kent’s group did it again - The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the City of Fargo Finance Department by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. This is the 20th year in a row this recognition has been granted to the department staff, which includes Jenica Flanagan, Jamie Bullock, Megan Zahradka and Jess Hoium. You guys have been doing this all the time; right, Kent? Do you want to change it once in a while? It’s a good mix. Good job.

The Library has added children’s board games to its circulating collection. The games, which are geared for children ages 12 and younger, can be checked out the same way as a book or DVD by anyone with a valid Fargo Public Library card. There are several interesting programs and events happening at the Library in the next couple of weeks including the Northport Classics Book Club to discuss Patricia Highsmith’s classic “The Talented Mr. Ripley;” the Choose Your Own Book Club for kids will discuss “The Cardboard Kingdom” by Chad Sell; yoga classes; the annual LEGO Mania Design Contest for Kids; and an open writing session for teens and adults at the Northport Library as part of the Northern Narratives Writing Project. So you’re doing stuff up north right, Tim? Getting everything going. Now you have entertainment at the main Library with City Hall being demolished.

Members of the Police Department rang the Salvation Army kettle bell last week and on Sunday, several officers took part in the Cops & Kids Holiday Shopping event, helping children shop for gifts for their loved ones. Chief Todd said he can see how much it means to the children and their families who otherwise would not have much of a Christmas and the community truly benefits from these types of initiatives.

In Planning, the Fargo Project and the City’s Public Arts Master Plan are highlighted, along with Oklahoma City and Indianapolis, in the December issue of the National American Planning Association Magazine. The article will be posted on the City of Fargo website. Nicole tells me this is a very prestigious magazine to get into, and not many cities do. It highlights all the hard work on that project. The Planning and Inspections departments are working with a consultant on new permit management software, which integrates the intake, review and case management processes for the City’s building permits and development cases. The software is expected to be implemented by mid-2019. This means it will have speedier purpose and the process will be much quicker.

With the expansion of the Wastewater Treatment Facility, total power consumption is expected to significantly increase, which has resulted in a change in how electricity is distributed within the plant. A Central Generation Station will be built to focus on conserving power and reducing long-term operating costs. The station will allow the facility to operate with favorable utility rates and incentives by eliminating peaks and establishing a consistent, predictable electrical demand. The new station will house four natural gas powered electric generators and during an electrical outage or disaster, the plant will be able to run at full capacity on three of the four generators and will be connected to the natural gas distribution system, thus providing reliability. The generators are also capable of running on biogas or methane, which are byproducts of the wastewater treatment process, resulting in additional reductions in operating costs. On completion of the expansion, the plant could see up to $350,000 a year in electrical cost savings. That’s significant. The new electrical system will be constructed in phases and will be operational by the fall of 2019. The team did a good job on this.