Harmony Township Supervisor Meeting on Tuesday evening, October 20 in Mapleton, ND. Photo: KFGO News
MAPLETON, N.D. (KFGO) – The legal battle over proposed energy bans in Harmony Township reached the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday, as an attorney alleged the township violated state open-meetings laws and failed to provide legally required notice for Thursday’s vote.
Fargo attorney Joel Fremstad released an affidavit showing notice for Thursday’s public hearing was published in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead on Oct. 9. North Dakota law requires at least 15 days of published notice in the official county newspaper before enacting township zoning restrictions, leaving Thursday’s proceeding two days short of compliance. Published notices also listed conflicting hearing times.
In a formal complaint to the Attorney General, Fremstad alleged supervisors committed multiple open-meetings violations during a Tuesday night meeting. Board Chairman Dustin Burchill barred former chairman Tom Roden, his wife Jill, and Fremstad from delivering prepared statements, claiming speakers had to submit comment cards before the meeting began. However, copies of the township’s official comment card show no such requirement for in-person speakers. Fremstad said that invited utility representatives were still allowed to speak against the bans.
The complaint also contends supervisors violated state law by using unrecorded voice votes to hire two law firms, including a Minneapolis litigation firm, instead of completing an independent conflict-of-interest review approved by the board in September.
Fremstad gave supervisors until 9 a.m. Thursday to cancel the hearing and demanded the preservation of all board records.
The proposed 24-month moratoria would halt new permits and construction for data centers, solar facilities, wind farms, battery storage, natural gas generation, and electric transmission lines. As of Wednesday afternoon, the township board remained scheduled to convene Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Mapleton Community Center.
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