00:00:03,070	City. Current. Produced by Dakota Media Access. In-depth discussion with Bismarck and Mandan city officials. Watch on Government Access channel 602 or tune in to Radio Access 102.5 FM. Always local, always current. And coming up on this August 19th edition of City Current will recap last evening's Mandan City Commission meeting. Get an update on the land use code.

00:00:35,770	Multiple construction updates, including what's happening on Memorial Highway on the east side and west side, and take a look at the e-bike ordinance that's under consideration. Thanks for joining us. I'm Tom Gerhardt from Dakota Media Access, joined by Mandan City Administrator Jim Neubauer. Good morning, Tom. Pleasure to be here, as always. Yeah.

00:00:55,530	Great to have you here, Jim. A couple of really interesting and big items were under consideration last night. And but before we get to the land use code and the I know it's more than e-bikes. There's a broader term, but that's the one everybody understands.

00:01:12,800	Let's talk about a number of construction updates that are taking place and kind of how we start every show. And even though we're getting close to the start of school, I think next week in Mandan, a lot of things taking place.

00:01:29,500	And let's start with Memorial Highway and on the West End, where it has to feel pretty good to say, I mean, this is just about put a bow on it. Yep. I think the West End construction is going very well.

00:01:45,500	East end construction, I think there are a few, what we call punch list items left for the contractor to come, come and take care of, but they're also doing some of the haul roads that were used and were damaged during the construction on the east side of Memorial Highway. And so that repair work is going on right now on the west side.

00:02:05,070	Traffic has moved or should have moved this morning, which it's Wednesday, August 19th, I think we were switching traffic over to the north side of the west end of Moral Highway so that they could start doing some work on the Or. I apologize, we're moving traffic from the north side of the highway to the south side of a moral highway, so they can do some utility installation on the on the south side and get that on the north side and get that ready to go.

00:02:23,100	So it's moving along. Yeah. Reasonably well. The east side all wrapped up for the most I mean. For the. Most part 99.7%. And now all the action will take place a little bit this fall and next year on the on the west side. Just get my directions straight here. Little east west action going on here.

00:02:42,870	But a couple of big things on the West End construction you will see on third Street by most folks will refer to it as the trolley area. Big old crane, a lot of sheet piling going on in that area.

00:03:00,930	And that is for a lift station, booster station, really a lift station to take care of the stormwater that moves from the, in essence, all the stormwater west of Midway Lanes area comes rolling to the west. And then we need to find an outlet to the heart River. And that's what's going that is the action that's going on there. We're also doing some dewatering.

00:03:19,400	So if you do see, I think right now over on the east side of Midway Lanes, that water that's coming out, it is not treated city water. It is groundwater. That is we're moving that into the storm sewer.

00:03:38,030	And that, getting rid of the groundwater creates a safe environment for the folks when they're doing the underground utility work. So it's a lot of water. We had questions on earlier this spring, though.

00:03:54,770	There were pipes like that coming out near the McDonald's area, and folks were calling in asking if we had a water line break or why are we wasting all this water? This is really groundwater, and you don't want to drink it. You don't want to play in it, anything like that. But again, it's used to daughter the area so that we can get the underground utilities installed.

00:04:09,470	And I think you mentioned it, but we have a graphic to show for those who are watching on Main Street and Memorial Highway at that intersection, the traffic trap. Traffic switching again. So right now you've been traveling on really, if you're at that intersection, you're on the south side. You will be moving to the south side of Memorial Highway, which they are, which they have concrete.

00:04:29,570	And then done and then again starting on the on the east side of that area too. So again, please slow down, plan accordingly. There's a lot of construction activity going on in this area too. So again, so far things have gone relatively smooth and we're pleased with the progress that's been made.

00:04:47,530	And like I said, as always, if you're traveling that area, take a little extra time to get to point A to point B. And I know that Memorial Highway on the east side is mostly been done since July 4th, but I mean, it's been a long haul. It's got to feel it's got to feel pretty good to have that mostly wrapped up. It does.

00:05:03,830	And, you know, to be honest with you. During this summer, in the spring, there have been very few calls on complaints on road routing and traffic and businesses not being able to get in, customers not being able to get in, get in. We still ask that folks patronize those businesses on Memorial Highway.

00:05:21,930	Traffic is moving quite efficiently and very well. We know it's construction and there are going to be issues. But again, we we want folks to continue to patronize businesses in those areas. I drove through a week ago or so. And I mean, what what a terrific upgrade.

00:05:40,670	It's it's quite a difference once you see, one of the big things everyone said are the power lines coming down, the power lines are down makes the of that corridor much better. We also know that there's been businesses along that strip that have taken the time and taken spent the money to upgrade their their buildings, their facades and things like that.

00:06:00,630	So a lot of good things are happening. And they took that opportunity while things were under construction, to do some construction of their own. So again, big thanks to everybody who out there and their patience has been very good. First street reconstruction.

00:06:16,570	Yeah, this is an area over by running and the rice bowl and Anytime Fitness and hits buildings. So if you've been traveling in the downtown area, which would be downtown and sixth Avenue and a couple blocks to the east, there's some of the concrete work that has been finished and showing that on the screen right now. Again, we are this area has been under construction.

00:06:37,170	Stormwater, new water lines, concrete sidewalks, things like that. Ran into a couple issues, with some of the stormwater lines being stormwater pipes being different than what we had anticipated. So had to order some different types of connectors and things like that. We don't anticipate that happening for the rest of the construction.

00:06:56,600	So again, we've got to that area is right now opened up and we moved down to, I think, areas B and C as we continue this project. And the 48th Street Pavement project, we have a graphic. Third shows asphalt spin down. Asphalt down doing the fog seal chip seal area, some stormwater improvements and things like that.

00:07:18,530	Again, one of those residential neighborhood projects that has been in the works and being worked on, as we have seen all summer long. So again, contractor making good progress and is on time and on budget. And the Lewis and Clark Elementary area, as it says on screen right now, that project is substantially complete. Correct.

00:07:39,730	This is where we installed new water lines. We called it our Monte Drive area for water lines and things like that. So that's been done again, just a few cleanup items or maybe some folks that have yet to have their sprinkler systems player that were in the Boulevard, but again, have patience in this area.

00:07:57,900	We're also out there painting the lines as school gets ready to start in a few. I think in about a week or so, depending on when you're listening or watching. But those crosswalks are being painted.

00:08:18,530	And so, you know, folks have pedestrians and kids and moms and dads and grandma and grandpa and uncles have safe places to take their kids to school. And for all the project updates and websites, there's this handy QR code the city is provided. So if you are watching at home, you can get your phone out and scan this and find out everything. And you want to know about construction.

00:08:34,770	One of the other big changes we've made, we we looked at calling the area of Collins Avenue in 14th Street. We had removed the stop signs on the north south corridor there as kind of a trial run. We had been analyzing that for a while, and we are we found that traffic is moving.

00:08:55,230	It's it's very good for traffic. Right. Gets vehicles from point A to point B in A in a very efficient fashion. But in order to keep that as a two way stop rather than a four way stop, we need to put in some permanent pedestrian safety features.

00:09:11,100	Those are not there right now, so that we are putting that back to a four way stop as of Thursday evening. So again, for the traveling public, we do have some social media posts, some news releases that have gone out saying, hey, this is going back to a four way stop.

00:09:27,570	We know that there are Eagles Park is there for Lincoln School is not for Lincoln, but Lewis and Clark Elementary School is a pretty busy corridor for the walking and pedestrian traffic. So we are putting those stop signs back up again. Sometimes we try something and needs a little further analysis and it may not work so well.

00:09:44,970	And like I said for north south traffic, it move traffic really efficiently, maybe a little too fast as folks would spin around the roundabout and come down and and like I said, we just looked at that and said, okay, we we've got to find a way to make some changes here

00:10:00,530	to protect the people wanting to cross on 14th and Collins. So again, those stop signs are going back up Thursday evening and again in preparation of school starting and things like that. We felt that we need to give the public a little bit of an advance warning. Some people liked it and some people didn't.

00:10:17,970	And so but again, we're looking at for the safety of the entire public and how this intersection operates. Let's talk about the Mandan Land Use Code under resolutions and ordinances. I know this has been talked about now, for I think we visited since year 2023.

00:10:38,800	So it's been in the works, been a lot of opportunities for the public to learn about it. But I thought it's a good opportunity for you to explain a little bit about where things are at right now. Yeah. So I think we started this project in 2023 when we took a look at our current zoning ordinances and regulations, and so they are in need of a serious update.

00:10:54,170	It had been many years. Things had kind of been cobbled together and patched together. So we engaged a firm to help us with that project. And it has been a lot of public engagement with our planning and zoning members.

00:11:13,970	And also asking public for feedback made substantial changes to many areas in that land use code, public hearing, or it went through planning and zoning roughly a month ago, and also then went through the city commission last night with the first consideration. And we'll be back for a second consideration. We did receive some public input on regarding last night's regarding how many trees in a boulevard and things of that nature.

00:11:35,500	So again, we'll take those all into consideration when we present the second consideration. So the big piece about that all whole 900, 800, 900 pages was we pulled out the we had a section on data centers, which is obviously the hot topic of late, and pulled that out for some further revisions.

00:11:55,470	And we'll send that to Planning and Zoning on August 24th. And that meeting has moved and moved from City Hall to the Mandan High School auditorium at 5:30 p.m.. Yeah, we'll talk about that a little bit later, too. But and this you know, I thought this was a really interesting thing.

00:12:14,070	Addressed last night were the frequently asked questions and the data center questions on there. So like you said at this point, not part of the land use code, but, you know, just for people to understand a little bit more, it's like you said, 900 pages. It's comprehensive, but it's really just updates and improvements. Updates, improvements.

00:12:31,130	And for the highlights, I think that if you want to watch the City Commission's meeting from last night, I know that Rachel, look off from interstate engineering. Get a really nice job of explaining here the the big things within that 900 pages.

00:12:48,130	There's a couple of big changes in there, and we encourage folks to take a look at that and comment as they may. And have another graphic that we can show. It's a lot going on. But what are these major changes? I mean, these things could include landscaping right away, widths, zoning districts, I mean park. Dedication. Park dedication. Things like that.

00:13:06,030	And we worked cooperatively with the park district on those changes and things like that. So again, there are some significant changes in there. And we look at, you know, still asking for public input on it. And it's a matter of it's not that this is now set for another 20 years.

00:13:21,230	There can be amendments and changes to this land use code at any point in time, as long as you're doing it following that process to do so, even though you may see something there, you don't agree with it. You think it should be changed.

00:13:37,900	As with everything, if there's something that's not working, we want to make sure that we get it to the best possible place that we can. Be and the timeline from here. This was the first consideration last night. Passed the commission unanimously. And now moves on to the second consideration, which I think would be scheduled for I think our next meeting is September 1st. September 1st.

00:13:56,100	Yeah. Have it written down right. Yeah. So again, this one does not include the data centerpiece. And and that is subject to discussion. And we've got the draft of that ordinance out there on August 6th. And look forward to hearing what people have to say.

00:14:15,930	Another hot topic not only in Mandan, not only in North Dakota, but across the country, are topic of e-bikes. Electric micromobility devices, I think, is one overarching definition of about e-bikes, I think are what people are primarily interested in.

00:14:39,730	And I know Kerry Schmidt sent out a press release this morning, and there's a lot of text on a couple of the pages here that will show momentarily, but I thought it might be good just to kind of go through this. Again. This is under consideration. So what you see on your screen hasn't been passed or anything, but just getting that discussion going on on e-bikes and you know how to keep everyone safe. It is moving forward.

00:14:56,730	They have ballooned, obviously, with the development of lithium batteries and other batteries that are rechargeable. And I think a lot of these mobilities, you may have 20 miles or something like that or 20 minutes of charge or. However they work, but they're becoming an issue. And a lot of those issues relate to okay.

00:15:18,270	There are I remember when I was a kid, I had a mini bike ride and thought that was the greatest thing, but it was loud and you can hear it. A lot of these electric machines are so quiet.

00:15:33,370	You don't hear them there, and they're really fast, and they're moving up and down the sidewalks or walking trails and multi-use paths, and even in the streets where, you know, John Q public, our the folks of us who are driving always have to be cognizant of looking out for them. We want to make sure that that folks who are using these devices are safe, you know, helmets and you're operating at a safe speed.

00:15:55,630	And I know that. I know that Deputy Chief Beer has been working very closely with men and Parks and Rec Director Hagelin, and we looked at other ordinances around the state to try and pick and choose what seems to be working for those entities and what seems to be a good, logical way to implement this.

00:16:14,430	We will have a public education campaign that we're ramping up for to let kids know and parents know, because some of these, some of the penalties may fall back on mom and dad. So if you buy one of these machines, you should be aware of what those rules are.

00:16:31,470	We will also work with the vendors who are selling them to make sure that they understand. Here's where you can and can't operate these. But again, we see just so many I know and even my my neighborhood it is. They're going pretty darn fast. And you don't always hear them, you don't always see them.

00:16:49,000	And we just want to make sure that we're keeping folks safe. And we've learned there are three classes of these e-bikes. And I think the class three can go. We're hearing around 30, 28. Over 28 miles an hour, miles an hour.

00:17:08,530	And like I say, I've seen them myself using on the walking paths or multi-use paths and it's like, holy buckets. They are going really fast and or kids are riding them double. And that's one of the things we want to get rid of, as you can't have a passenger not built for two, they're built for one person should have a helmet on if you're under 12.

00:17:24,370	There's certain regulations and things that have to be done. But encourage folks, please take a look at the press release came out this morning. You can find more information on our website. You can look at the ordinance as it's drafted. Again, like you said, first consideration was held last night at city Commission meeting.

00:17:42,600	And second, consideration most likely would be held on September 1st. But again, we're trying to address some of those issues that we're hearing. It men is not unique. We are right. These things are becoming more and more common. As you know, there's a way to get your child to school. Or maybe you're writing them yourself.

00:18:02,470	And it's it's a pretty convenient and easy way to get to and fro. But again, we might want to make sure that they're done in a safe manner. And I just bumped the screen here. Just a couple of things that may be interesting to pass along right now.

00:18:18,330	Again, this is a proposal where it can and electric scooters be ridden right now. City streets where bikes are allowed bike lanes, bike trails, sidewalks unless signs say they're not allowed.

00:18:35,970	15mph is the speed limit right now on sidewalks, shared use paths and bike trails unless a lower speed is posted but have the right of way, riders must slow down when approaching people and near intersections must actually obey traffic stop signs.

00:18:51,470	I think that's the big thing that we see is that if you're I mean, a lot of people, even on a bicycle, on a you're pedaling your bicycle, a lot of things we see those bicycle riders think they have full right of way and go through a stop signs and go through everything. That is not the case. You need to still obey the rules of the road. And what we see a lot of times are the kids on the.

00:19:05,430	It looks almost like a skateboard with a motor, and they're rolling through intersections and not looking either way for traffic and things like that. And like we just want to make sure that the public is educated moms and dads and kids, if you're under 18, you need to have a helmet on things like that.

00:19:22,800	So and have to be at least 16 to operate the class three bike, which is the bike that can travel faster than others, says riders must be at least 12 to operate an e-bike or electric scooter in public areas, unless they're supervised by an adult. So just some really good information. I think people to kind of catch up on what's happening and then provide some input as you craft this.

00:19:39,830	Yeah, I think that's, you know, we're not out to take anybody's any of their equipment, any of their bikes or anything like that away from them. We want to educate them and make sure that they're obeying because we know that they are very, very popular. We see them rolling up and down the streets as we speak today.

00:19:57,300	And again, we just want to make sure that we're this is not a moneymaker for us. This is a matter of we want to make sure that folks are operating them in a safe manner for both. If you're in a vehicle or if you're on one of these devices, that you are being safe.

00:20:11,170	And there could be or would be fines associated. But we heard loud and clear last night that again, like you said, really the police department wants to educate here. I mean, the fine would be discretionary, but.

00:20:29,670	Yeah, you might get called over by a police officer and, you know, you get the wave of the hand says, let's have a chat and about operating it safe. And you know, the rules of the road. Do you need this or do you not? And they'll probably get a handout that says, here's how you can safely operate these and whether you're legal or not legal.

00:20:44,900	So again, it's a really it's crossing those lines between are you on the street? Are you on a sidewalk or where can you ride this side on a sidewalk? Because I think we've heard from Mayor Freilich last night that he was coming out of an establishment downtown Mandan and almost got smoked by one of these

00:21:01,930	electric bikes that was going on the sidewalk. And you opened the door and there they are. So again, our goal is not to find people, but we have to make sure that they're operating in a safe manner. Well, let's circle back to something you mentioned a little bit earlier in our program.

00:21:18,400	And that's the planning, the Mandan Planning and Zoning meeting that's taking place Monday, August 24th at 5:30. This meeting has been moved from City Hall to the Mandan High School Auditorium.

00:21:37,030	And we just wanted to take this opportunity to remind people, as always, you can watch this from the comfort of your own home, or maybe out on your pontoon if you want to. Yeah. We've made the decision to move it because we know there's a lot of public interest in this and want to make sure that those that those who want to say something have an opportunity.

00:21:54,330	I think we are probably be AA3 minute time limit put in place because we expect a lot of discussion on this. And so this is a public hearing where planning and zoning board members will hear what the public will have to say. It's not necessarily a debate on whether the rules are good or bad.

00:22:11,000	It's just like we, you know, the public is invited to say what they think about the regulations that are being proposed. And like I said, the intent on a public hearing is not to have a debate on the issue. It's to hear what the public has to say. And just for planning purposes.

00:22:24,600	Again, if you want to watch this meeting or listen, you can find us on Medco Channel two. If you have cable Midco, it'll be on our website at DakotaMediaAccess.org under the government tab. We'll also carry it on our Dakota media Access Facebook page.

00:22:41,770	We'll have the meeting live there, and you'll also be able to listen on Radio Access 102.5 FM on your radio dial. So if you can't attend in person, there are multiple options to watch this meeting. Then of course it'll be available on demand after the meeting for people to watch. So should we have a good turnout? We're expecting a lot of people.

00:23:03,030	Yeah, well, I think that wraps up everything we had from last night's meeting. Jim, good to see you again. Thank you. And just a reminder that we probably won't talk before school has started again for the fall. So again, if you're traveling through the school zones, please have your head on a swivel.

00:23:19,600	Be looking for everything and anything, including scooters and bikes, and pick your favorite. Like I said, we're trying to get kids to school and home in a safe manner. And the beginning of schools always exciting for everyone. Yeah, absolutely. Well, until next time for Jim. I'm Tom. Have a great rest of your day.

00:23:38,200	For more information on what was discussed in this episode of City Current, visit CityOfMandan.com or call (701) 667-3215. If you have any suggestions, comments or issues you would like addressed in future City Current episodes, contact us at info@freetv.org. This program airs on Government Access Channel two and 602, and HD or on Radio Access 102.5 FM.

00:24:07,400	It's also available as a podcast on Radio Access and as a video viewing link at FreeTV.org. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of City Current.