Committee Minutes

Minutes/Growth Fund Authority (JDA)
Monday, March 27, 2006 - 7:00 p.m.___

The city council of the City of Grand Forks sitting as the Growth Fund Authority met in the council chambers in City Hall on Monday, March 27, 2006 at the hour of 7:00 p.m. with President Gershman presiding. Present at roll call were Council Members Brooks, Hamerlik, Glassheim, Kerian, Kreun, Gershman, and Mayor Brown - 7; absent: Council Member Christensen - 1.

AUTHORIZE CO-SIGNING LOAN WITH CIRRUS
FOR PURCHASE OF GENERATOR

The staff report from the Office of Urban Development relating to generator for Cirrus expansion, with recommendation to authorize the JDA to co-sign a loan with Cirrus to borrow $352,499.00 through Nodak Electric Cooperative for the purchase of a 2-megawatt generator.

Greg Hoover, director of Urban Development, reported they have a request for the JDA to co-sign a loan for generator at the Cirrus expansion project in the Industrial Park, that this a $9 million project and that staff and Cirrus have worked extremely hard in keeping this project in budget and on time; that sometime back they added $180,000 to the project to take care of site for the expansion because of left over infrastructure from flood housing; and that the goal for Cirrus has been to try to get some things that they pared out of the budget back into the plant, this generator which will allow them to keep working should there be any power outages or to do some extra savings with the generator, that Nodak has agreed to provide this generator to them for a loan of approx. $350,000 and rather than taking the savings that Cirrus would realize from the use of that generator, the savings amount will go back to Nodak until the loan is paid off and because this is in the City's building Nodak is asking the city to co-sign the loan.

Council Member Hamerlik stated that in discussion at the Growth Fund meeting the generator will be installed and be a part of the building and if something should happen that they are no longer needed out there, would be attached to and in our possession and only liability if that should happen and we would have the generator. It was noted that the generator will be paid for in 4 1/2 years.

Council Member Hamerlik moved to approve the recommendation that we co-sign the loan and that Cirrus work out the details with Nodak. Council Member Glassheim seconded the motion. Upon call for the question and upon voice vote the motion carried 7 votes affirmative.

ADJOURN

It was moved by Mayor Brown and seconded by Council member Glassheim that we adjourn. Carried 7 votes affirmative.

Respectfully submitted,



John M. Schmisek
City Auditor