Fufeng petition decision getting closer

Grand Forks voters could learn the fate of referral petitions on the proposed Fufeng project by the end of the week.

City Attorney Dan Gaustad told the council last night (Monday) he expects to complete a legal review of the petitions in the next day or so. He added it would be nice to wrap things up – soon.

The Finance Department is also analyzing the petitions to determine if they meet the minimum 3,617 signatures. Director Maureen Storstad says the process takes time.  By law the deadline to complete that task is April 11th.

Gaustad says the third party review of the corn milling project – as spelled out in the development agreement – has also stopped.  “The parties conducting the studies…I don’t think they wanted to run the risk of continuing that with the knowledge they may not get paid or compensated for the work because it would be under a potential suspension.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission will review the project plat on Wednesday. The council has also asked P-and-Z to review the annexation after it was determined that legally the task was solely the responsibility of the city council.