The Bismarck City Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 10 on Ordinance 6691, which would spell out in city code that snow and ice from public sidewalks can't be pushed into the street outside posted street-cleaning areas, according to the meeting agenda and packet. The meeting begins at 5:15 p.m. in the Tom Baker Meeting Room of the City/County Office Building, 221 N. 5th St., the agenda shows.
The city's existing ordinance already prohibits placing snow or ice from private property onto public streets, alleys or rights-of-way, according to a memo from City Attorney Julie Mees in the agenda packet. The amendment "clarifies that the prohibition against putting snow or ice onto public streets, alleys, or rights-of-way also includes snow or ice from public sidewalks in areas that are not designated and posted as 'street cleaning' areas," the memo says.
Posted "street cleaning" areas, such as downtown, would keep their current exception, according to the packet: snow from sidewalks next to those designated streets and alleys could still be deposited onto those streets. The ordinance text in the packet also carries over the existing requirement that owners of property next to a sidewalk remove snow and ice within 24 hours after the snow falls or the ice forms, and notes that sand may be used if removing ice is impracticable.
The ordinance would take effect upon final passage, adoption and publication, according to the packet. The memo recommends that the commission hold the hearing and approve the ordinance as presented.
The city asks residents who want to comment on public hearing items to email bismarckadmin@bismarcknd.gov by 3:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting and include the item number, according to the agenda. The snow ordinance is item 3H. The meeting airs on Government Access Channels 2 and 602HD and RadioAccess 102.5 FM and streams on DakotaMediaAccess.org and Facebook Live, the agenda says.
Also on Tuesday's agenda
City Engineer Gabe Schell recommends applying for state Urban Roads funding to reconstruct Main Avenue between 7th and 12th streets, according to the packet, which says the pavement was built in 1989 and that the NDDOT has indicated about $5.3 million is available through the program for FY31, though that year falls beyond the current federal transportation bill and the amount may change. The same agenda item recommends asking the NDDOT, under its Urban Regional program, to do preliminary engineering on flooding at the 7th Street and 9th Street railroad underpasses, which the packet says become impassable during high-intensity rain until pumps draw the water down.
Public Works is asking to buy two electric work pickups as a pilot to compare against gas trucks, according to the packet, which lists a 2026 price of $45,560 for the electric truck and $44,770 for a comparable gas-powered pickup. One would be used by stormwater crews and the other would take over for the landfill pickup that delivers replacement cans to residents, the packet says.
On the consent agenda, the commission will consider a second and final five-year extension of the city's contract with Bis-Man Transit, running Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2031, and permission to seek State Water Commission cost-share for a 24-inch water main replacement on the Expressway and 2027 cast iron water main replacements, according to the packet.
Sources: Bismarck City Commission agenda, Nov. 10, 2026; Bismarck City Commission agenda packet, Nov. 10, 2026