Mayor Mahoney on His Hope for Fargo in 2018

When looking at the city of Fargo, you could say words like new, exciting and growth come to mind

FARGO, ND — On New Year’s Eve we spoke with the mayors of West Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth about their 2017 accomplishments and what they would like to see in 2018.

We had the chance to sit down with Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney to hear about what’s ahead for the city.

“What you’ll see is the city of Fargo will be more efficient next year. We’re going to be doing some things that need to be done and hopefully carry forward,” Mahoney said.

When looking at the city of Fargo, you could say words like new, exciting and growth come to mind.

“What do people want, need and what will they do,” Mahoney said.

The goal is to answer these questions for that progress to continue.

The state of the art technology at the new Sanford Medical Center is bringing people from all over the world.

“A couple patients I’ve had have had unique diseases and before we would send them to Mayo and now they’re getting their care here,” Mahoney said.

The Flood Diversion Task Force is working to provide possible answers to permanent flood protection.

“I’m looking forward to ’18 to start finally getting into the build and once we start to build, it’s about 6 1/2 years it will take to do the project,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney also wants to focus on affordable housing.

“We may have to redefine that and look at what people can afford,” Mahoney said.

Mayor Mahoney says in order to continue the positive growth we need to focus on each and every one of the communities.

“Satisfy the needs of the community. Rich, poor, in between. Try to make it so we take care of our people,” Mahoney said.

He says the Downtown InFocus Plan will expand the surrounding areas but that’s not the only thing the mayor is hoping it will accomplish.

“I think it is time for the city to address the issues we have within the city,” Mahoney said.

It will provide more options, like a center for those homeless and in need.

“City Hall will be completed in ’18, and then what we can do is do the plazas. Start to finish out the plaza. Let’s repurpose the Civic Center and see what we’re going to do with that,” Mahoney said.

Mayor Mahoney says 2018 will be another year of change making Fargo a more prominent name on the map.

“I think that we’re going to find a variety of different areas where the city will be a leader in the nation,” Mahoney said.

State of the Cities will be held on Thursday and Mayor Mahoney says he is excited to show some insight on what his departments have been working on.