President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 12:00 PM.
Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Gulmon, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Bishop
Members absent: Commissioner Erickson
Others Present: City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Deputy Auditor Johnson, Police Chief Horner and Administrative Assistant Hintz
NEW BUSINESS
2025 Summer Storm Update:
Mayor Dave Carlsrud called the meeting to order. He then shared a few words of Thanks and blessings for all who were affected by the storms last Friday night.
City Administrator Crawford continued the Meeting/Press Conference sharing that Valley City experienced a very severe and fast-moving couple of storms that resulted in significant damage throughout our community. Our Crews, with support from Emergency Responders, have been working around the clock to restore power, clear debris and insure safety. Thank you for your dedication and to the Residents for your patience.
Electrical Superintendent Senf shared that Residents of Valley City were out of power from ½ hour to a handful still out today. Those remaining without power do need a certified Electrician to repair the wiring and then Public Works should be able to turn their power on. There are lines still down, if a downed line or trees on a line are noticed, you are asked to call into Public Works to report it. There are 16 known, broken poles as of right now. If you have not done so and you do not have power, please call in to report it.
Street Department Operations Supervisor Klemisch reported that his Crew has been concentrating on clearing debris and branches/trees from roadways. They will start alleys as soon as possible. The Transfer Station has received a Burn Permit and have already started trying to burn some of the piles that have been hauled out. Reminder that the 24/7 You Haul Area is open. His crew did clear out quite a bit today to make more room. If you find an extra Garbage Container, please call into Public Works with the serial number to report it so we can get it to the right home. For those who are not able to haul your trees and branches out to the Transfer Station, Crews will be going around and picking them up. They should be on your boulevard stacked and ready for the grapple forks to grab. We are still planning on the branch pickup on July 24th for any remaining branches.
Sara Miller with Barnes County Dispatch gave a summary of the storm and the notices from Friday evening. She reported that they answered 1386 calls, 103 911 calls, 538 for service throughout the weekend. They took 214 calls for power outages after the storm for Valley City. Her team did an amazing job and took calls for several other agencies throughout the weekend. Keeping the agencies alerted at all times. If you are having a hard time dealing with the aftermath of the storm, please do not suffer alone. Call or text 988 or 911. Someone will answer and be able to talk to you.
Fire Chief Scott Magnuson explained how his team and other agencies covered a grid search from Highway 1 to Fingal. Every farmstead in the path of the tornado was checked for possible injured or trapped residents. They did assist in two rescues. Thank you to MDU for assisting the Fire Department with gas leaks in the area.
Jessica Jenrich, Barnes County Emergency Manager, updated all on the two National Weather Service’s confirmed tornados as well as the high winds. She reiterated the 988-hotline number as we mentally recover from these storms.The Red Cross will also help with assistance including food, tangible items and lodging.
City Administrator Crawford sent out a sincere to the City Staff, Fire Department & Police Department who went above and beyond to help get through this weekend. The number of hours that were spent making sure that everyone is OK and then clearing trees and debris to get the roads open. The Electrical Department for getting power back on as soon as possible to the residents. Making our residents the number one priority.
We will continue updating the cleanup efforts on our website & social media pages. Valley City is strong and we will get through this together.
ADJOURN
Meeting was adjourned at 12:25 PM.