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Water district vote sought

Petition circulates asking for NPRWD board election

Concerns over the operation of North Prairie Regional Water District have led to a member’s petition drive for a special election affecting three of the board’s seven positions.

Crystal Hendrickson has started an online petition that calls for an election to fill a Max-area position, a Minot-area position and an at-large position on the district board.

Hendrickson said her goal is to obtain 250 signatures, which is slightly more than the 5% of the 4,800 members needed, according to NPRWD’s bylaws. Her online petition at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X7WXSHY had 80 signatures as of the end of September.

Hendrickson said the petition targets three board positions that she and other concerned NPRWD members believe were filled without the required vote by the membership.

The petition seeks a special election for directors in units 1D, which includes an area east, west and south of Minot, and 5D, which includes an area from Max west to Makoti and Ryder and for an at-large position. The petition states the 1D and at-large positions were last elected to three-year terms in 2017 and the 5D director was last elected to a three-year term in 2018. The petition asks for the board to call a special meeting to hold elections “for the aforementioned terms which are expired.”

NPRWD General Manager Teresa Sundsbak said the merger of North Prairie Rural Water and North Central Regional Water District had created a new board with new term expirations. The former North Prairie and North Central boards approved the merger in May 2020. There was no annual membership meeting or election in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Sundsbak said bylaws did not require a member vote on the merger.

North Prairie had been electing board members by areas, with a representative from each of seven areas. North Central’s board representation was entirely at-large. The merged organization established six districts, with one at-large position.

Sundsbak said the new board was formed by bringing on three members from each of the two pre-existing boards to represent the six districts. The at-large position was filled by a North Central board member.

Board members who transferred to the new board were given initial staggered terms, ranging from one to three years. Terms going forward run for three years.

The current 1D (Minot-area) representative who had served on the North Prairie board before the merger, had a term set to expire in 2020. On the merged organization board, NPRWD, that term now continues to 2023.

The 5D director previously had been on the North Prairie board with a term set to expire in 2021. In moving to the new board, the term was extended to 2022.

Sundsbak explained the extension was made to accomplish the staggering of initial terms. The 5D position was extended to allow for an open 3D (Velva area) position to be filled by election at the 2021 annual meeting while maintaining the staggering.

The movement of existing board members to the new board without considering term expirations or holding of an election has been an issue for Henrickson and some other district members.

It is one of a number of concerns Hendrickson said she has regarding the NPRWD operation. She launched a Facebook page, North Prairie Water Watchdogs, to post information from her queries and meeting attendance.

In July, in response to a complaint filed by Hendrickson, the North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem determined NPRWD violated the North Dakota open meetings law in improperly noticing a nominating committee’s special meeting and failing to create adequate meeting minutes. In a second opinion, the Attorney General determined the district board did not violate the open meetings law during discussion of the executive director’s job performance and compensation.

Hendrickson said she has other concerns, including questions about the financial operations of the district. However, NPRWD has denied or placed financial roadblocks in front of her efforts to access records that might address her questions, she said.

“All I want to do is look at the public records. I just want to know what’s going on,” she said.

Sundsbak said NPRWD has followed the open records laws.

“We have provided her with lots of information,” Sundsbak said. “But if the record isn’t there, I can’t provide it.”

Hendrickson said she began taking interest in North Prairie’s operations after a rate increase at the end of 2020. She started attending meetings and has indicated an interest in serving on the board.

Her petition, which will remain online for another two to three weeks, demands the NPRWD nominating committee advertise for an election and meet within 45 days of the receipt of the petition, in accordance with NPRWD bylaws.

The petition instructs that nominees for Units 1D and 5D be allowed to request to have their names placed on the ballot for the at-large position as well. After the winners for Units 1D and 5D are determined, the candidate for the at-large position with the most votes who has not already won a seat in 1D or 5D shall be elected. Terms for 1D and the at-large position shall expire in 2023, and the term for 5D shall expire in 2024.

The petition states there should be a two-hour window to cast ballots, and no other business may be discussed or conducted. There shall be no markings on the ballots that link the identity of the voter to the ballot. Ballots shall be counted in a public location, and anyone who wishes to observe the counting may do so.

Anyone interested in the petition who is not able to view it online can call 389-0355 for a copy.

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