Cover story

COVER STORY ‘IT FEELS LIKE A FAMILY HERE’

Fargo Skate Shop kickflips into new downtown DeKalb location

By KATRINA J.E. MILTON

kmilton@shawmedia.com

For Addison Millhorn, Fargo Skate Shop and Indoor Skatepark, 621 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, is more than a place to skate and spend time with friends, it’s home.

Millhorn was first introduced to the skate shop when his grandma stopped in to buy skateboard bearings for him. He soon made friends, became a talented skateboarder – even winning the title from the Guinness Book of World Record for the most ollies in a minute at age 16 – and started working at the skate shop.

“It feels like a family here,” he said. “I only wish more people knew we were here. So many people tell me they didn’t know that the shop or skatepark exist. I want to increase awareness in the community and let others know that learning to skate is achievable, it’s fun. It’s not a crazy impossible thing.”

To increase awareness about the skate shop’s new location, which opened April 1, its new venue space and the indoor skatepark, Fargo is having multiple events during Corn Fest weekend.

An open house with free skating and a fundraiser art sale will be held noon to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, and Saturday, Aug. 28, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29. The “Lost & Found” Art Show, organized by Erin Boyle and Emily Grobe, will be held from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28. All events will take place at Fargo’s new location, 621 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.

Proceeds from artwork sales will benefit the non-profit organization Pushing Together, which provides youth in the community the opportunity to be creative through skateboarding and the arts.

Fargo’s owner Ariel Ries said that the Corn Fest weekend events are the “first real big premiere of the new space.” She described the new skate shop and venue space, which together are about 3,000 square feet, as “a place where everyone can feel welcome, accepted and like they belong.”

“It’s where you can do what you like to do,” she said. “Everything we do is about progress and fostering progress. Just like making art and music, skateboarding is all about practicing and getting better.”

Fargo Skate Shop and Indoor Skatepark is located in the building that once was the Fargo Theatre. The Fargo Theatre was built between 1927 and 1929 as a vaudeville theater. The theater closed in 1952 due to bankruptcy. The floor was filled in with concrete and was renovated to be a roller rink in the 1970′s.

In the early 1980s, the front lobby space was home to a designer clothing outlet before the space was bought by a moving company. The company used the large theater space as a warehouse for 30 years.

Dance Dimensions used the front lobby space until 2018, when it moved to 134 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb and expanded its programming to become Dimensions Dance Academy.

Fargo Skate Shop first opened in 2007 at 229 E. Lincoln Highway. In 2013, the skate shop began using the Fargo Theatre privately for a skate park. In 2015, the skate shop moved to 629 E. Lincoln Highway, and in 2016, the skate park was opened to the public. On April 1, 2021 the skate shop opened its current location, 621 E. Lincoln Highway, as well as its new community meeting space, The Fargo Venue.

“We’ve been wanting space to do events for so long, and now we have a place to do them,” Ries said. “We hold a skateboard art show every year, and we hold workshops and classes. We’d also love to hold music and art-based events as well.”

Ries said that the venue space is “intimate,” with room only for 49 people.

“It’s meant to be a space for the community, we can rent it out for birthday parties or groups,” she said. “We’re accepting ideas and suggestions. We want people to use it to support local artists and creators.”

Future plans for The Fargo Venue include possibly adding plants and a waterfall feature.

“We spent about a year planning and renovating the new shop space and venue, and we’ve put a lot of thought into what we want where,” Ries said. “We want it to be a very peaceful space, so you feel good when you’re there.”

Ries preserved the Fargo Theatre’s original 1929 tile mosaic floor, as well as the building’s historic molding and pillars.

“Our goal is to offer a community space to help people progress, succeed and get better at what they love to do,” Ries said. “Through more events and letting people know we’re here, we hope to keep growing.”

Beginner skateboarding classes are held Mondays and Saturdays. A reservation must be made in advance for $10, and instructors are available to help all ages learn how to skate.

For information about Fargo Indoor Skatepark and Skate Shop, located at 621 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, visit www.fargoskateboarding.com or call 815-756-5555.

Katrina Milton – kmilton@shawmedia.com Daniel Thirtle (center) of Sycamore receives a longboard for his 19th birthday from his mom, Denise Thirtle (left). The family went to Fargo Skate Shop, 621 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, to purchase the gift. Pictured (from left) are Denise Thirtle, sister Natalie Thirtle, Daniel Thirtle and Fargo Skate Shop manager Addison Millhorn.

Pension obligations loom ahead of DeKalb’s fiscal 2022 budget

By KELSEY RETTKE

krettke@shawmedia.com

DeKALB – DeKalb city leaders took their first public stab at the proposed 2022 city budget Aug. 16, highlighting federal aid provided because of the COVID-19 pandemic, property taxes and pension obligations.

“I am assuming that there will be no further COVID-related restrictions on business,” DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said as he presented plans for the city’s 2022 spending and projections for what the city expects to get in tax revenue in the coming year.

Federal aid from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and the American Recovery Act provided needed money to make up a $4.2 million fiscal 2021 budget shortfall felt by the loss of revenue brought in when the economy came to a halt last spring, Nicklas said. That money went to pay for overtime costs associated with police, fire and public works costs, and is expected to help once again in 2022.

“It also gives us an opportunity to do some things we’ve been kicking down the road for years,” Nicklas said. In the past year, both the city of DeKalb’s police and fire departments have since made new hires, a first in recent years, which have necessitated cuts due to budget constraints.

There remains, however, stresses on projected city spending, including payments obligated to local police and fire pensions, Nicklas said.

None of the city’s revenue that comes from property taxes was used for general operations this past budget year, according to city documents, and that trend is expected to continue into 2022, with funds levied from property taxes going to pay down the City’s pension obligation.

According to budget projections, there will be a shortfall of about $1.2 million between what the city plans to levy for 2021 property taxes, payable in 2022, which is needed for pensions. That’s a trend that has continued, Nicklas said, for years, with no end in sight.

“If we don’t get relief in the next five years, this is going to happen as much every year,” Nicklas said, referring to talks in Springfield to bring pension debt relief, and state pension law that requires pension plans to be funded up to 90% in about 20 years.

“It’s intolerable. It cannot be borne,” Nicklas said. “Is there a quick fix? I wish there was.”

City documents show about 10.4% of the city’s General Fund – the pool of money generally put aside to pay for citywide daily operations such as police, fire, public works and other staffed departments – was dedicated to pay police and fire pension contributions. In 2022, that number is projected at 20.23%, documents show.

Additional property taxes are expected to come into play in 2022, however, with most coming from significant development occurring on the city’s south side. Based on 2021 property assessments, Ferrara Candy Company’s distribution center is expected be valued at $17.5 million, and Ferrara’s packaging center an additional $5.8 million, documents show. Facebook’s Data Center will not yet go on the books, since construction is still ongoing, Nicklas said.

As part of the incentive package to lure Ferrara to DeKalb, the company will have its property taxes abated by 50% for the next 15 years, according to agreements signed by multiple surrounding municipalities, including DeKalb.

The city council is expected to vote on a property tax levy toward the end of October, documents show, when assessed value information becomes available from the DeKalb County Assessor.

Mark Busch – mbusch@shawmedia.com DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas presents the first look at the fiscal 2022 city budget last week to the DeKalb City Council and the city’s Finance Advisory Committee.