Grand Forks City Council Holds Preliminary Vote That Ends In Tie, Council President Sande Issues Apology

Councilman Mike Fridolfs was not at the Committee of the Whole meeting; as Dana Sande, Tricia Berg and Danny Weigel voted for the request, but Angela Salentiny, Rebecca Osowski and Ken Vein voted against it.

The tie is considered to be a vote of no recommendation. It will be discussed again at the next city council meeting.

Some concept evaluations for the plant development project could include three options. One option is five story apartments that have a public plaza. A second is seven story apartments including a plaza. A third would feature five story apartments, townhomes and a plaza. The estimated costs for the project are between $95 million to $162 million.

Meanwhile, City Council President Dana Sande talked about comments he made on a Facebook post by the Grand Forks Public Schools Accountability Project. He made an apology for the comments and said that he didn’t mean to offend anyone.

Sande said in a since deleted post that 20 percent of Grand Forks Public Schools students are considered special needs, and that is the most “alarming statistic” he has heard in years. He also added that having a child considered to be special needs “takes pressure off parents from doing their job of helping their children learn.” 

You can hear Sande’s full apology below.