I’m turning 60 soon, so it seems like a good time to take stock. I’ve worked in downtown Fargo for more than half my life, so I’ll start there.
I started working downtown in the early 90s and it was a little depressing. I remember when the Danz brothers moved in and renovated the old Leeby’s Food Market on Broadway. Zandbroz was cool and it was the beginning of hipsters calling Fargo cool.
Warren Ackley and Randy Thorson, Jim Lauerman, the Stern brothers, the Olsons and the Wimmers were in downtown Fargo way before most, and they say downtown just needs to be rediscovered. These guys survived all attempts at downtown revitalization and discovered its potential before anyone else. Remember crazy, winding Broadway?
Soon after I started working downtown, I was on a committee that was trying to revitalize it. We hired a top consultant from the Twin Cities. After a few years of meetings, it became clear that there weren’t enough signs to show people how to get downtown. What? Signs were the solution?
Downtown, baby! Fast forward to the early 2000s and Karen Stoker opened the HoDo and downtown became really cool. Hipsters flocked there. With or without signs, downtown was the place to be, eat, drink and be merry. The OB, Lauerman’s, The Hodo, Rooter’s, Juano’s and The Bismarck. Could it get any better? Everything was safe and fun.
Did I mention I’m turning 60? (No, I’m perfectly fine. I was just curious if I mentioned it because it doesn’t really concern me.) Anyway, downtown Fargo should be better today. Doug Burgum, Ron Offutt’s RDO Tower, and Bell Bank have made huge investments, but still, something is wrong.
I read in our letters to the editor that there is a perception problem in the city centre: people think that the city centre is actually safe, but something has to be done because people don’t see that.
I work downtown and have done so for 33 years. I am not a politician and have no reason to hide the truth. Yes, I have an interest in it: our company’s headquarters are in the city center. I want things to get better for me and our employees.
Last week I walked with my 8-year-old son to the post office downtown, just a few blocks from our offices. Before I reached the Radisson hotel, my son grabbed my arm and said he was afraid of all the bad people. I counted. Twelve people, all addicted to varying degrees, were acting strangely. I felt threatened walking with my young son. My wife met us at the post office, coming from the west side of downtown, and she saw similar people who were not doing well.
This is not a police problem. After publishing countless editorials asking the city for a stronger police presence downtown, I’m finally hearing what our cops are saying: This is beyond their capabilities. The people causing the problems downtown are addicts or need mental health help.
We can’t just arrest everyone and tell them to behave. We need a concerted effort – a task force – to find solutions. This problem is getting worse.
You think I’m making this up? Come downtown for five minutes. See how many walking dead you see. Every day it’s the same. A friend of mine almost got a needle stuck in his face while walking. The forum cleaned up poop in our parking lot twice this summer. Almost every day when I go to lunch someone yells at me.
Taking stock of life is good for us personally and will also be good for the city centre. Let’s rethink our direction for the city centre. A lot of work has been done and we should all be proud of it. I am. But it’s time to make it safer for everyone. Because today it is not safe.
Marcil Jr. is president and CEO of Forum Communications Co. and publisher of The Forum.
