Dozens of Fargo leaders collaborate on the city’s future at newly opened Fargo Parks Sport Center – InForum

FARGO — The spirit of collaboration was all encompassing inside the Fargo Parks Sports Center when leaders from the city of Fargo, Fargo Public Schools and the Fargo Park District met to discuss the future of Fargo on Wednesday, October 30.

After a lengthy discussion these top officials toured the newly opened sports complex at 6100 38th St S.

Ongoing construction could be heard throughout the meeting as the second phase of the sports center — boasting pickleball courts, ice rinks, an indoor playground and additional hardwood courts — marches closer to its January completion date.

“I think this facility is going to be attracting people from all over the region,” Fargo Park District Executive Director Susan Faus said, and will be a “positive addition to the community.”

Conversation flowed freely as Fargo’s leaders grabbed the opportunity to have face-to-face check-ins with their respective government counterparts and provided updates to the group on both their ongoing work and how to align future goals.

It’s been a busy few years for the Fargo Park District, Faus said, focused on planning and construction projects.

While on its surface Wednesday’s packed meeting was to showcase the Park Districts’ work on the sports center, park officials also sought feedback from those in attendance on the

Fargo Parks System Master Plan

that will guide the next 20 years of park and activity development in Fargo.

That plan is just starting out, she said, and is set to be completed in late 2025. It will involve extensive community outreach to get feedback and ideas from the public.

“This is a really, really significant facility,” Fargo City Administrator Michael Redlinger said of the Fargo Sports Center.

Recently, the city of Fargo has been busy embracing the

city’s new growth plan

that will guide development for the next 20 to 30 years, he said.

During those decades it will be vital to collaborate with the park district, the school district and the county government to make the best use of their resources as Fargo grows, he said.

Lake Fargo, a stormwater retention pond located on 243 acres at 5636 and 6056 Veterans Boulevard South, was recently annexed into the city of Fargo.

This land will be an ideal location to showcase the collaboration of the various government agencies that serve Fargo residents, Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said.

There are no concrete development plans announced, however Mahoney envisions this land built up into an “ideal neighborhood.”

Public schools, likewise, are looking at some big changes in the decades to come with the recent

long range facility plan

that will reshape the physical presence of the school district, according to Fargo Public Schools Superintendent Rupak Gandhi

In addition, the public school system works with the state Legislature to advocate for the needs of students in a shifting world.

“Education is on the prediction of major change,” Gandhi said.

In a world where learners have all the information they could ever need just a few button pushes away, teachers are shifting teaching students how to process it all, he said.

Ensuring that growth is equitably and intentionally divided among a geographically expanding city will be key in the years to come, attendees agreed, as will continued public input.

Reporter working the night shift . I cover Fargo city government, Cass County government and underserved populations in the area.