Feb. 23—GRAND FORKS — Negotiations to trade a county-owned parking ramp to the city of Grand Forks fizzled for the second and likely last time in a Tuesday meeting of the Grand Forks County Commission.

Commissioners instructed County Administrator Tom Ford to cease negotiations with city staff after the latest round of talks yielded little change on the city’s demand the county pay for the whole of the millions in projected repair costs for the ramp and Ford brought new, dispiriting estimates on the cost to lease ramp parking spaces back from the city.

The vote was 4-1 to retain the ramp and end negotiations. Commissioner Mark Rustad was the commission’s sole holdout.

“We have the control,” commissioner Bob Rost said. “We can do what we need to do to satisfy the employees and the constituents that use that facility.”

Throughout talks between the city and county, the city has maintained the county would have to pay for all of the repairs to the ramp. The bill for those repairs has been estimated to range from $1.8 million, per City Administrator Todd Feland, to the $3.56 million most recently projected by county contractor AE2S Engineering.

The cost of the initial repairs was reportedly a factor in killing the

first round of negotiations between the city and county

to trade the parking ramp for a city-owned vacant lot at Fifth Street and Kittson Avenue, which began in January 2023.

Ford on Tuesday provided subsequent estimates of the continuing annual cost to the county to lease up to 200 spaces on the ramp from the city, which ranged from between $49,000 per year to more than $80,000.

A lower annual cost would come with tradeoffs on the number of parking spaces held by the county for employees and jurors and in particular low-income residents who visit the county office building, who commissioner David Engen in particular has worried would struggle to access parking as the city pushes for further development south of DeMers Avenue.

Since 2020, the county has budgeted $81,624 for parking ramp maintenance, but that was paid for via parking ramp permits, Ford said.

“Whether we owe the city $50,000 per year or $80,000 per year, we’d need to find a place to offset these payments,” Ford said.

Rost, who in recent weeks has turned sour on the city-county deal, expressed frustration with the city’s terms.

“We’re going to have all the cost to fix this ramp, and we’re going to be limited in what we can do within that ramp,” he said.

A potentially protracted public auction of the ramp required under North Dakota law also irked Rost.

Kimberly Hagen, who

voted with Rustad against moving forward with repairs

two weeks ago, also indicated the deal had lost her favor.

“The more that we talk with the city, the less I feel like we should be giving up the parking spaces,” she said, also citing the impact on employees and social services clients.

Rustad continued to push for further negotiation, arguing the ramp posed a potential financial burden that could dog the county long past the current commission’s terms.

He had previously told the Herald he was skeptical the city would offer a better deal, but was still hoping for an option that would relieve the county of its long-term responsibilities to the ramp.

Documents show the county has spent more than $270,000 in maintenance costs since 2018.

The county expects to pay more than $170,000 per year in maintenance costs going forward, a cost Ford said the county will either have to subsidize or raise parking rates to close the gap.

“I still feel like there’s a deal to be made,” Rustad said as he issued his vote.

Commissioners subsequently unanimously approved a $3 million project management agreement with AE2S Engineering. AE2S will serve as the project engineer, put out a request for proposal for contractors and oversee the project; the $3 million covers both AE2S’s fee and the construction budget.

Jay Kleven, senior project manager at AE2S, had previously told the commission that the bulk, though not all, of the repairs on the parking ramp could be completed in 2024 to the tune of $3 million. The remaining repairs are expected to take place in 2025.

In other news,

* Card Care Systems, Inc. offered to donate as much as $1,400 a year to the Grand Forks Deputies Association as the latter group seeks to take over a contract for the ATM in the county office building currently held by Care Care. The Deputies Association has said it wants to use the ATM as a revenue source for its charitable endeavors; representatives from both groups are expected to meet privately to hash out a deal.

* The county received a cybersecurity grant from the Department of Homeland Security for a $386,000 project to update much of its information technology infrastructure over the next 3 years. The county will chip in $59,637; the state will pay $17,563.

* Commissioners voted to approve a bid for two Mack snow plow trucks for purchase at a total cost of $621,634. The trucks are expected to be delivered in April 2025, due to supply shortages.

* Commissioners also approved a boot reimbursement policy for some county highway department employees at County Engineer Nick West’s suggestion. West pointed out that such a policy could help reduce injuries caused by wearing inappropriate footwear and was a common industry practice. The policy goes into effect Mar. 1 with an estimated maximum cost of $6,750; it is not expected to exceed the highway department budget.

* The commission also voted to accept a bankruptcy payout from pharmaceutical company Endo International, a plaintiff in an opioid lawsuit to which the county is party. The lawsuit would pay out $273 million to an unspecified number of political subdivisions, or $460 million if paid out over eight years. Endo is notable as the manufacturer of Percocet.