Progress - Public Growth by MinotDailyNews

Minot builds infrastructure to handle growth, Page 4.

The place to be: South Minotʼs growth continues, Page 9.

New terminal to bring back hassle-free flying, Page 11.

Minot Daily News

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015

Public Growth

Jill Schramm/MDN

Construction progresses on the Ward County office building on Third Street Southeast March 12.

Look future to the

Construction to bring changes to county offices By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com A county office building under construction signals changes coming soon for W a r d C o u n t y employees and the public W a r d County vote r s approved Larson bonding in 2012 that enabled construction to begin. The office building was 65 percent complete as of early March. Because of complications with soil conditions and utility work, the completion date was pushed back from September to November, project architect Don Davison with JLG Architects in Minot said. Once the building is ready for move in, it will take time to transition offices from the courthouse into the new building. Davison said the hope is to move the technology department early because it could take more than a month to set up the computer network in the new building. The office building will offer a much different environment than the courthouse, built in the 1930s. “We tried to bring a lot of natural daylight into the space. That’s one thing that they don’t have now,” Davison said. “We are giving them a more efficient operation with probably a few more square feet.”

Don Davison, with JLG Architects in Minot, displays the various drafts and designs for Ward Countyʼs jail expansion, office building and Courthouse renovation March 12. Jill Schramm/MDN

The 75,000-square-foot office building compares to 63,000 square feet in the courthouse, but the efficiency of the space will be the biggest advantage in the new building, he said. The building will be served by fiber optic connection with improved computer network and technology capabilities and a more efficient heating and cooling system. Like the courthouse, the building’s main entry will be on the west side, although there also will be an eastside entry off a parking lot. An open stairway will lead from the main lobby, and an elevator also will service that

area. The north side of the main floor will house the Ward County Library, which Davison estimated will be 25 to 30 percent larger than the existing library, located in a small building near the courthouse. The new library will include a board room and workroom. At present, no decision has been made regarding where the bookmobile will be housed. The Veterans Service Office also will be located in the north section of the main floor. A multi-purpose meeting room with removable

dividers for smaller gatherings will take a large share of the main floor’s south side. The room will be set up with communications equipment to serve as the emergency operations center during disasters. At other times, it will be open for public use and will be available to Emergency Management and the Ward County Extension Office, both located in that section of the building. “We are providing more common spaces rather than spaces for every department,” Davison said. Common spaces can serve to bring employees together

rather than cluster them in departments, he said. The second floor will have the skyway connecting the courthouse to the second floor of the south section of the office building, where the public will find the auditor/treasurer’s office, superintendent of schools, human resources and commission chambers. The north side of the second floor will house the county recorder, tax equalization office and a lounge/meeting room with kitchenette. The third floor of the office building will house Ward County Social Services. The lobby or pub-

lic entrance will be on the north side. A meeting/lounge area with kitchenette on the north side has been downsized due to a recent determination that more office space is needed. The south side of the third floor will have offices, four visitation rooms with outside viewing rooms used during certain child visitations in divorce situations or for some interview purposes. Eligibility workers with Ward County Social Services will be located on a north-side fourth floor, along with meeting space and a conference room. The south side will not have a fourth floor. Davison said an aesthetic decision was made to avoid having the office building taller than the courthouse. The north side of the building sits at a lower level and can accommodate a fourth floor without achieving the courthouse’s height. However, building the fourth floor at this time eliminates the expansion option that was included in the original design for three stories. Davison said the fourth floor added about $1 million to the cost, increasing the construction expense to $16.3 million. With contingencies, engineering, architect fees and other “soft” costs, the total cost is around $19 million. Davison said the building cost came in under budget during bidding. The cost did rise some afterwards, though, because of building alternatives commissioners elected to add. A portion of the building that is not likely to get much visitor traffic is the basement. Only the north side of the office building will have a basement. See COUNTY — Page 3

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Pu b l i c G row t h

Firms engineer Minot region’s growth By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com As Minot has grown, Houston Engineering has grown with it. “The city of Minot has done a good job keeping the engineering companies in Minot relatively busy,” said Dave Schwengler, Houston Engineering’s Minot office manager. “They do keep us busy.” Infrastructure improvements in Minot and other developments locally and around the region have generated a tremendous demand for engineering services, prompting local firms to scramble for more employees and new companies to seek out opportunities. Houston Engineering, a multi-office firm headquartered in Fargo, put its toe in Minot’s water about 13 years ago when it landed the contract for the Northwest Area Water Supply project. That led to the opening of a oneperson office in 2004. By 2011, Houston Engineering had increased its workload and its Minot staff to six. Last fall the firm moved into a newly remodeled building downtown, where it now accommodates 13 employees, and according to Schwengler, is looking to hire more. “With the growth in town, the unemployment rate is so low, there’s not a lot of local people that are looking for work, especially professional engineers, and even experienced technicians,” Schwengler said. “One of the biggest challenges is being patient enough to find the right person to fit the role you are looking for to best serve our clients. That’s the key to the whole thing is best serving our clients.” Houston Engineering’s Minot staff includes only four with a North Dakota background, although there are some others from neighboring states. Engineering firms are eager to hire North Dakotans or others who can easily adapt to the local culture. Alan Estvold, a partner in Ackerman-Estvold in Minot, said his company looks nationally for that type of employee, competing with all the other local firms for those people. Founded in 2003 by Minot natives, Ackerman-Estvold has seen its workforce in Minot and Williston grow from 20 people in 2010 to 51 people as of last month. The company had a dozen job openings in March. Estvold said plans are to add at least 30 more employees this summer, about half as interns. Ackerman-Estvold’s growth has come largely from existing clients, Estvold said. The firm has long worked with a number of small communities such as Tioga, Stanley and New Town, which are seeing huge infrastructure needs due to oil activity. “In the old days, we had one project in those cities every two or three years. Now we have three projects every year,” Estvold said. Moore Engineering opened a one-person Minot office in 2011 to help service the oil growth occurring in western North Dakota. Today, Moore Engineering employs 14 engineers in a new, larger location in northwest Minot. The growth didn’t come without challenges, including finding the right employees, office manager Brock Storrusten said. Kent Indvik, manager of the Minot office of Wold Engineering, said in late March that his company has added a couple of employees in its Bottineau office but would hire one or two more people if it could find them. Wold Engineering has seen its biggest demand for its services in highway infrastructure, particularly with the increased roadwork being done by the state. EAPC, based in Fargo, understands the significance of having employees with a cultural connection to the

Dave Schwengler, Minot office manager for Houston Engineering, and Katie Smelden, with the office staff, look over a set of plans from the office files on March 24. Jill Schramm/MDN

Michael Mieyr, an engineer with Houston Engineering, works in his office in Minot March 24.

Jill Schramm/MDN

Engineers Joe Reiter and Dave OʼShea confer over a project at Houston Engineering in Minot March 24. Jill Schramm/MDN

area. The firm built its Minot presence through the trust built on employees’ local ties. After winning a multiyear contract at the Peace Garden, EAPC tapped an employee who wanted to move back home to the Stanley area to handle the project from a new Minot office in 2006. Alan Dostert, a Berthold native and now EAPC president, also began spending more time in Minot. It didn’t take long to start building rapport in the region, he said. That led to projects such as inspecting the 5,000 flooded homes after the 2011 disaster, designing the Minot State University wellness center and working with Trinity Health on building code matters. Today, EAPC has clients as far west as Williston, where it has a small office. It has several school projects to

keep staff busy in years ahead. The Minot office, now up to seven employees, provides a base of support for the activity in the west. The office also continues to depend on employees who are area natives to lead the way. “There’s a certain need to share the cultural values and the walk of life to work out there. It’s tough to come in from out of town – to say nothing about out of state – and try to relate and try to be trusted,” Dostert said. “The fact that we were there before this became such a harried pace was a big thing because we were never there to just maximize profits on the oil. We were there to build a sustainable, viable presence into the future.” Another established Minot firm, Mercer Engineering, focuses on structural engineering,

which owner John Mercer said deserves more attention on the front end rather than on the back end, where his company is seeing the increase. With the amount of rapid construction in recent years, Mercer Engineering has been doing more forensic engineering in troubleshooting after a building is completed. In response to the need for better engineering, Mercer has developed a tool for pre-engineered wood basement stud selections that it just recently made available on its website. Mercer said there has been increased interest in wood basements instead of concrete, particularly with the desire for more affordable housing. By making the tool available, anyone can enter a building’s information and receive instructions for the proper basement engineer-

ing. Along with the new demands on established firms, there has been room for newcomers to North Dakota in Minot’s market as well. In 2010, John Kornfeld, the principal in Rhino Engineering in Grand Junction, Colo., was hard pressed for projects in western Colorado due to the ongoing recession there. He became one of the first out-of-state engineers to gravitate to Minot when he joined a group of individuals involved in constructionrelated fields who ventured into North Dakota. Most of the group established Williston as a base. Kornfeld was one of the few who selected Minot, where he saw opportunities outside of just oil-related projects. “It took about a year to really get my feet on the ground,” Kornfeld said. He has traveled back and forth between Colorado and his one-man downtown Minot office on a regular basis. The latest oil price slump has more developers in a waitand-see mode, but Kornfeld said he doesn’t regret opening his Minot office. “I enjoyed the projects in North Dakota because they were such a different type of project than I am used to in Colorado,” he said. He has worked on wastewater facilities for worker camps and

recreational vehicle parks. He’s worked on motels, restaurants and other commercial projects. He’s developed a number of stormwater management reports, which have been necessary for developers to obtain their construction permits. Storrusten said the future for engineering firms will depend on the economy in coming years, but the current slowdown with lower oil prices allows a chance to regroup. “There will be a little bit of re-focusing on sustainability. Growth is still happening, especially if you go farther out west. There’s demands in our local area, too, but it’s at a probably more manageable pace now,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean that we are not still looking at opportunities to help people and provide our expertise and give people advice.” Estvold said most engineering firms have a full plate for the next two years. Where the oil industry will be after that time is an unknown, he said. Schwengler said Houston Engineering expects to be busy for some time with the infrastructure development in Minot. Because its focus has been on municipal infrastructure, Houston Engineering has had limited involvement in private development, although it has worked on housing subdivisions in southeast Minot. It also has used its experience with water projects to obtain oil-field contracts for supply lines for fracturing water. Houston Engineering is working on the three-year downtown infrastructure project that gets started this year just outside its doors. The firm is a member of the Downtown Business & Professional Association and believes strongly in being involved in the community. “Being part of the community is huge,” Schwengler said. “In my opinion, one of the biggest keys to success is relationships. It’s all about relationships. People don’t necessarily just hire you because of your company’s background. There’s a trust level. ... It’s not just a business relationship. It’s a personal relationship. It’s a community.” Schwengler sees Houston Engineering having an ongoing relationship with Minot. “We are definitely here for the long term,” he said. “We are not going anywhere. We have our roots set. We want to be a member of this community for a long time to come.”

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Saturday, April 18, 2015

County

Continued from Page 1

“We knew we were going to run into some poor soil and some underground water,” Davison said of the decision to not have a basement on the south side. The lower level underneath the main entry will serve as headquarters for the technology department. The remainder of the basement will be used for a mechanical room and for storage of voting machines, records and other county items. There also will be an entry for deliveries. Remodeling of the courthouse will begin this summer with the $1.9 million renovation of the lower level into a juvenile detention center. Currently, juveniles are housed in their own section of the jail, but a greater separation from adult inmates is necessary. The four cells now used for juveniles will revert back to the jail. The new center will have a section of three cells and another section of four cells, to provide space for up to 14 youth and allow for separation of girls and boys. In addition to cell space, restrooms will be rebuilt and a recreation room, control room, booking area and office will be added. The county received Court Facilities Improvements Grants totaling $307,596 from the state toward the remodeling. A later phase of construction will involve remodeling additional space into offices for juvenile probation officers, a conference room and moving the existing juvenile courtroom. Renovation of the remainder of the courthouse will begin after the office functions move out. Afterwards, the courthouse will house only court functions, including North Central District Court, the clerk of court and state’s attorney’s offices. All the offices are cramped and have not been

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adding the staff as they need to because there is no place to put them, said state’s attorney Rozanna Larson. Her office should add three more support people and another employee to serve as victim/witness advocate, she said. Her office already gave up a conference room just to make space for staff to work. A shortage of space for meeting with witnesses or victims or with people seeking involuntary commitments is another problem, she said. “That’s been the case for a long time,” Larson said. The proposed renovation would move the state’s attorney’s office from the first floor to the second floor to join the clerk of court’s office. The recorder, auditor/treasurer and tax equalization offices and commission chambers will no longer be on that floor, allowing the other two offices to take over and remodel that space. The final renovation phase will redesign the main floor for court administration offices and other court uses. The tentative design calls for two new hearing rooms with access to the jail so inmates do not need to enter public areas. The first floor currently houses the Extension Service, veterans services and state’s attorney. There are no plans to make changes to the ExServicemen’s Room on the main floor. Nor are changes planned on the third floor, used by the courts. Currently there are two jury courtrooms and two other rooms suitable for hearings or jury use on the third floor. Courtroom 100 on the first floor also is used for hearings. Larson said Courtroom 100 has been used when a third jury room is needed, although it is not really conducive to that purpose. Situations in which three concurrent jury trials are in session aren’t common but have occurred, she said.

Construction workers work on siding on the county office building March 12. Jill Schramm/MDN

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Minot Daily News PROGRESS

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Jill Schramm/MDN

A million-gallon water tower, shown March 18, was erected in recent years in southeast Minot. Similar towers are needed in northeast and southwest Minot.

Minot builds infrastructure to handle growth By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com Minot’s infrastructure has had to stretch to accommodate a growing population in the past five years. A number of projects to expand the street, water and sewer systems Meyer have been occurring in various parts of the city and will continue to occur. “We have been successful with obtaining a lot of federal funding to help with those costs. That’s taken us a long ways. Otherwise our impact to the citizens from some of these things would be a lot larger,” city engineer Lance Meyer said. “It’s very important for us to find outside funding and we continue to pursue that every day.” However, Minot has exhausted the federal transportation funding that

comes through the state until after about 2017, he said. The U.S. Corps of Engineers has provided some funding to offset storm sewer improvement costs. Other funding from the state, such as the surge funding or oil impact grants, is needed to avoid putting a heavy burden on local taxpayers. The focus going forward will be on growth areas in southwest and northwest Minot, Meyer said. Following are some of the projects undertaken and ongoing.

SOUTHWEST The city has conducted a series of expansions to the Puppy Dog storm sewer system. “We are on phase six, with additional projects to follow,” Meyer said. Last year, the city connected the Puppy Dog Sewer to the new Southwest Sewer trunk system. Capable of handling 1,700 acres of drainage, the project is providing plenty of capacity for

Jill Schramm/MDN

A vehicle approaches 16th Street on 37th Avenue Southwest March 18. Design work is to begin this year to turn the avenue into five lanes to support a proposed hospital and commercial development. current and future growth. “We probably have enough capacity in that line now for the next 40 years of growth,” Meyer said. Another Puppy Dog project is moving forward to replace overwhelmed and under-sized pipes, Meyer

said. It will include a box culvert under 16th Street Southwest. The project will include much of southwest Minot, including Dakota Square Mall. The $12 million project is scheduled for 2017. The project will be special assessed, but the city

west Minot is water storage. “We are doing pretty good for water capacity but we are short on water storage in south Minot, so within the next couple years we will need to build a new water tower in southwest Minot,” Meyer said. A major street project also is planned. The city is hiring an engineer this spring to begin the design on a five-lane improvement on 37th Avenue Southwest from 16th to 30th streets. The $15 million project may be built in two phases, with the first phase in the area of the proposed new hospital facility. “Our goal is to make sure we have a road open and ready to go when Trinity Hospital opens its doors. That will also support all the new commercial (development) that’s being built and proposed along 37th Avenue,” Meyer said.

typically picks up half the cost, Meyer said. “We have a concept of what has to happen there, but we will have to hire a SOUTHEAST consulting engineer to help The city’s road upgrades us with that one. It’s so big,” started in 2009 with 20th Meyer said. See MINOT — Page 5 The other issue in south-

MADC prepares for more value-added industry By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com Minot Area Development Corp. continues to develop its agricultural complex in east Minot and expects to see plenty of site work this construction season. By fall, there should be 20,000 new linear feet of rail in place, said MADC president Stephanie Hoffart. MADC received a MAGIC grant for nearly $4.3 million in 2014 for site work and associated costs in the development of land in the Value-Added Agricultural Complex/Port of North Dakota expansion. As the available land is sold, the MAGIC Fund will be reimbursed. The rail improvements will accommodate United Pulse Trading’s expansion and Midwest Milling’s new construction into an oats and barley plant, similar to its existing plant in Stanley that has been trucking products. A modular home builder also is looking at setting up in the park. United Poly Systems and Crop Production Services had

considered coming but refocused their plans. MADC is going ahead anyway to prepare the properties and install the rail before making them available to prospective companies. There’s potential for further rail expansion since this first phase includes only 180 acres of the 800 acres owned by MADC, Hoffart said. “We are still getting interested companies asking questions about what’s available,” she said. Some of the interest has come through the Telemark Trade Office, which has visited with European companies about Minot. In addition to ag-related companies, MADC is seeking out companies that want to capitalize on byproducts of the oil industry. That might include plastics plants, refineries and ethanol facilities. A couple of refinery developers have shown interest. MADC’s Great Plains Energy Park is full, although Hoffart said there is a possibility of acquiring additional land for another phase since companies Jill Schramm/MDN continue to inquire about space AGT Foods is one of the companies to have found a home in MADCʼs Value-Added where they would have room to Agricultural Complex. expand.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Minot

Continued from Page 4

Avenue Southeast. The fivelane expansion tied into 13th Street and added safety improvements at 13th Street and the U.S. Highway 2 & 52 Bypass. In connection with the 13th Street improvements, the city built out 37th Avenue Southeast. That project will finally be completed this spring. “We are getting to the point now where we built out southeast Minot almost completely,” Meyer said. He estimated it could be at least another 10 years before more improvements are needed because development will have to jump a coulee for growth to continue on. “We have no roadway infrastructure over there. That would be a very expensive endeavor,” he said. “We are picking the low-hanging fruit and making the development happen where we have the infrastructure built.” The storm sewer in the southeast will see an upgrade in the next phase of the Puppy Dog project, which involves up-sizing the pipeline from the new Country Club to an existing lift station and overhauling the lift station near Eastside Estates.

NORTH The city continues to build out its northside sewer system. A sanitary sewer pipeline that runs through the eastern side of the city is the backbone of that system. The 30-inch pipe is one of the largest sewer lines in the city, Meyer said. By the time the entire system is in place, it will have cost over $50 million. “We are designing the last pieces of it now, and it will be built over the next couple of years,” Meyer said. The city made several improvements to get by until the upgrade is completed. Once completed, the system will be large enough to serve the northern portion of the city even if growth continues for another mile and a half, Meyer said. “We have plenty of capacity built into this system to serve the future needs,” he said. As for street projects, the city plans to extend 36th Avenue Northwest to provide for better traffic flow around Erik Ramstad Middle School. Construction will occur in 2016. Further into the future, the city wants to improve 30th Avenue Northwest, which Meyer said is in rough shape from construction traffic in recent years. Additional plans are to extend 21st Avenue in 2016 or 2017 across the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass. A signalized intersection would be constructed, which the city hopes to do at the same time as the North Dakota Department of Transportation fourlanes the northern portion of the bypass. Eventually, the plan is to construct an interchange at that intersection, Meyer said. The primary, upcoming improvement for the water system consists of a one million gallon storage tower in northeast Minot, similar to a tower erected in southeast Minot in recent years.

DOWNTOWN A major downtown infrastructure project will get started this spring. The three-year project will include replacing underground utilities, repaving, new street lights and other above ground improvements. The project will begin at the east end of the downtown and finish on the west side, with Main Street and Second Avenue on the schedule for 2016. Another project being conducted with the state transportation department is the replacement of the Broadway Bridge, expected to be done in two phases in 2016 and 2017. Meyer said both the bypass and bridge projects will incorporate the necessary elements to fit into the flood control project.

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Minot Area Chamber of Commerce To our 758 members: Thank you for all you do to make Minot’s business community and the City of Minot strong! Check out our website at www.minotchamber.org and learn more about our mission.

10 North Main 1st Minot Management A & B Tours, LLC A & R Roofing A-1 Septic Tank Service Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership Mr. Lynn Aas Accounting Solutions Ackerman Surveying & Associates Ackerman-Estvold Acme Tools Advanced Business Methods Ae2s (Advanced Engineering & Environmental Services) Affinity First Federal Credit Union AFLAC - Cassie Loard Aggregate Construction Inc AGT Foods Ahern Rentals & Sales Alamo/National Car Rental Albertson Consulting, Inc. Albertson Rentals Alive Signage All America City Glass All American Trophies & Screen Printing All Saints’ Episcopal Church All Western Mortgage Alliance Real Estate All-State Contracting Allstate Insurance Company, The Kim Albert Agency Alternative Health Solutions AMEC American Bank Center American Family Agency American Insurance Center American Legion American Truck & Trailer Ameripride Linen & Apparel Services Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Anchor Realty & Management Inc. Anderson, Wade & Whitty, PC Anne Carlsen Center Anytime Fitness API Bakken Chapter Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar Ardent Investments, LLC Arrowhead Ace Hardware Artco Promotional Products, Inc. Artistic Floors & Lights Inc. Ascentia Federal Credit Union Ask Performance & Fitness, Inc. ATA Martial Arts Automated Maintenance Services Inc. Avis Rent A Car-Meier & Company B & D Market Badlands Grill House & Saloon Batteries Plus Bulbs Baymont Inn & Suites Behm Energy Best Buy Best Western Kelly Inn Beyond Shelter, Inc. BHG-Northern Sentry Advertising Bierschbach Agency Bishop Ryan Catholic School Black Butte Communications and Consulting Blind Duck/Dae Udder Place Blue Beacon Truck Blue Cross Blue Shield BodyBrite Boot Barn Boppre Law Firm Border States Electric Supply Boston’s Plumbing & Heating Bourgault Industries Ltd Boy Scouts of America - Northern Lights Co Brady, Martz & Associates, P.C. Braun Intertec Corporation Bray’s Saddlery Bremer Bank Brick Studio Brite-Way Window Cleaning, Inc. Broadway Bean and Bagel Co. Broadway Family Dentistry Brock White Brokers “12” Real Estate Marketing Brown & Saenger Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wings & Rings Burdick Job Corps Center Burger King Burlington Northern Santa Fe C&C Plumbing & Heating/Miller Sheet Metal Cal-Dak Cabinets, Inc. Mr. Dean Caldwell Candlewood Suites Capital Financial Holdings, Inc. Capital RV Center Captain’s Cove Cash Wise Foods CDJ Opportunities Cellular Communications, Inc. Center for Family Medicine Central Avenue Variety Central Machining & Pump Repair Inc. Central Michigan University Central Power Electric Coop., Inc. Century 21 Action Realtors, Inc. Century Eyewear Checkers, Inc. CHI St. Alexius Medical Clinic ChiroCare Family Center, PC Chiropractic Arts Clinic, P.C. Chiropractic Health & Wellness CHS SunPrairie Classified Directories Clean Harbors Environmental Services Clean Tech Clute Office Equipment Coca Cola Refreshment Cognizant Coldwell Banker Cole Papers Colonial Life Comfort Inn Comfort Suites Command Center, Inc. Community Action Partnership - Minot Region Community Ambulance Service of Minot, Inc. Community Options, Inc. Companions for Children, Inc. CompuTech, Inc. The Computer Store, Inc. Concrete Mobile, LLC Congregational United Church of Christ Conlin’s Furniture Connecting Point Computer Center Connole & Somerville Plumbing, Heating & A/C Inc. General Scrap Inc., Continental Metal Products & Dakota Pipe & Steel Cookies For You, Inc. Cool Fish Refrigeration, Heating and Air Copperhead Corporation Cornerstone Bank CornerStone Chiropractic Coughlin Construction & Development Country Inn & Suites Craft Builders, Inc. Crane Johnson Lumber Co. Creative Cabinetry Creative Printing Crown Corporate Housing CTS Properties, LLC Culligan Water Conditioning Cummins NPower, LLC Curves Dacotah Bank Dairy Queen West Dakota Agronomy Partners Dakota Baptist Church Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch 2nd Chance Store Dakota Boys Ranch Dakota CDC Dakota College at Bottineau Dakota Concrete Construction Dakota Dave’s Steakhouse & Saloon Dakota Dental Health Center Dakota Fence Dakota Fire Extinguishers, Inc. Dakota Hope Clinic Dakota Inn Dakota Kids Dentistry Dakota Midland Grain, LLC Dakota Outdoor Advertising Dakota Square Dental Dakota Square Mall Dakota Supply Group Dakota Tax & Accounting, Inc. Dakotah Rose Bed & Breakfast Dakotah Rose Delights Dale Carnegie Business Group/Eide Bailly LLP Days Inn Dean Foods/Land O’Lakes DeLisimo Cafe & Catering Denny’s Restaurant Designs On Broadway, Inc. DFC Consultants, LTD Dickeys Barbecue Pit Digital Office Centre DLA/JLG Architects Domestic Violence Crisis Center, Inc.

Domino’s Pizza Don Bessette Motors, Inc. Donovan Insurance Agency Downtown Business & Professional Association Dude Walker’s Music on Wheels Dufner Construction, Inc. Eagles Wings Community Fellowship EAPC Architects Engineers Easter Seals Goodwill of ND, Inc. Ebeneezer’s Eatery & Irish Pub Edgewood Minot Senior Living, LLC Brenda Cook - Edward Jones Mark Kohlman - Edward Jones Ginger Neshem Quam - Edward Jones Dean Rubbelke - Edward Jones Darin Scherr - Edward Jones Jessie Seideman - Edward Jones Greg Tschetter - Edward Jones Mr. Jerry S. Effertz Eid Passport, Inc Elite Real Estate EmbroidMe Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University Emeritus at Brentmoor Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve (ESGR) Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC Enerbase Cooperative Resources Epitome Coaching and Consulting Esoterica Evergreen Neighborhood Development eVision Evolution Salon Excavating Inc. Experience Works EZ PARK Fairfield Inn by Marriott - Minot Faith United Methodist Church Fargo Glass & Paint Co. Farm Credit Services of North Dakota, ACA Farmers Insurance Latendresse Agency Farmers Union Ins/Marquardt Heilman Agency Farstad Oil Inc. Federal Express FedEx Office Fiancee’ Fiberglass Specialties Fire Equipment Company Fire Extinguishing Systems Inc. First Assembly of God Church First Baptist Church First Choice Physical Therapy, Inc. First Command Financial Planning First Dakota Title First International Bank & Trust First Western Bank & Trust First Western Insurance Fisher Car Care Center Flower Box, Inc. Flower Central The Flower House Garden Center FMC Technologies Completion Services Food Management Investors, Inc. Food Services of America Forward Communication, Inc. 4 Bears Casino and Lodge Four Points by Sheraton Minot Fuddruckers Gaffaney’s of Minot, Inc. Mrs. Pat Gagnon Gate City Bank Gateway Apartments Gateway Building Systems, Inc. GCR Tire Center GEM Federal Credit Union GENCO Bakken Development Group, LLC Gerdau Ameristeel Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons Glass Doctor Global Commodity LLC Golden Valley Grooming Gooseneck Implement Gourmet Chef, Inc. Graham Construction Services Grand Hotel Gratech Company, LTD Gravel Products Greater Northwest Publishing, Inc. Tecta America Dakotas Grizzly’s Grill & Saloon Ground Round Grow With Me Gutter Topper of North Dakota Team Resources Inc--dba H & R Block Habitat for Humanity - Northern Lights Hampton Inn & Suites Minot Airport Hanson-Maves Co / Bekins Van Lines Harley’s Arrowhead Harry’s Tire Service/Dakota Truck & Farm Service Hartland Mutual Insurance Hatfield, Wass and Associates HD Supply Waterworks Health Care Solutions, LLC Health Unlimited, LLC HealthSource Chiropractic Heartland Ag Showcase Heartland Payment System Hedahl’s Parts Plus Senator Heidi Heitkamp Helgeson-Norton Agency, CLU Inc. Heritage Baptist Church Heritage Insurance Services Hertz Licensee-Minot Rent A Car, Inc. Hess Corporation Hight Construction LLC U.S. Senator John Hoeven Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites The Home Depot Home of Economy Home Sweet Home Homesteaders Restaurant Hometown Elegance Catering Horace Mann Houston Engineering, Inc. Mr. Darrel Hovde Howard & Associates, P.C Huettl Consulting, Ltd Humphrey Law Office, PC Humphreys Insurance and Surety, Inc. Hyatt House - Minot ICON Architectural Group iHeart Media Independence, Inc. Indigo Signworks Infinite Vapor ECig and Supply Inspired Interiors Integrity Viking Funds Interiors Plus Intervention Energy, LLC Investors Mgmt. & Marketing, Inc. Investors Real Estate Trust IRET Properties iWerx Advertising Jack Doheny Companies The JBRL Group – Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Jeff Stremick - Signal Realtors Jerome’s Collision Center Joan’s Hallmark Shop Job Service North Dakota Jobbers Moving & Storage Company Johnson Eyecare P.C Mr. Pat Jones Jerome C. Jorgenson, CPA Jost Masonry Construction, Inc. Juice Plus K2 Properties, LLC Kalix Karl’s TV, Appliance and Furniture Karvakko Engineering I. Keating, Inc. Furniture World Keller Paving Kemmet Dental Design Kemper Construction Co. Ken Petersen’s Milestone Events KeyCare Medical Kiwanis Club of Minot KK Bold KLJ KMCY-TV - ABC KMOT - TV, Channel 10 Knife River NC Knowles Jewelry of Minot Kopper Creek Building Blake Krabseth Comedian/Magician Karen K. Krebsbach, State Senator Krill Appraisal Services Dr. Curtis Kumpf KXMC CBS13 Lafarge Dakota, Inc. I.F. LaFleur & Sons Landing Bar & Bottle Shop Dr. Tyrone O. Langager Larson Law Firm, P.C. Dr. Lowell Latimer Judge Gary Lee Lee’s Hallmark Leingang Home Center Liberty Business Systems, Inc. Liechty Homes Lien’s Jewelry

Locomotive Service Inc. Longhorn Steakhouse Lowe’s Printing Lulu Lane Lutheran Social Services of ND Lynx Construction Mac’s, Inc. Magic City Apartment Association Magic City Beverage Magic City Financial Group, L.P. Magic City Garage Door & Awning Magic City Harley-Davidson-Minot Magic City Implement, Inc. Magic City Networking Magic City RV Main Electric Construction, Inc. Mainstream Boutique Mainstream Investors, LLC Maintenance Plus Inc. ManorCare Health Services Marco Inc Margie’s Art Glass Studio Market Pharmacy Marketplace Foods Mary Me Bridal & Formal Wear, Inc. Material Testing Services LLC/National Home & Building Inspections Mattress Firm Mattson Construction Co. Judge Douglas L. Mattson Maxson Law Office, P.C. Mayer Electric McDonald’s Restaurants of Minot McGee, Hankla, Backes & Dobrovolny, P.C. McLean Electric Cooperative The Medicine Shoppe Menards Mercer Engineering P.C. Mi Mexico Microtel Inn & Suites Midcontinent Communications Mid-Town Chiropractic Mile One Running Shop Mindt Construction Minot Air Force Base Minot Area Community Foundation Minot Area Council of the Arts Minot Area Development Corporation Minot Area Homeless Coalition Minot Association of Builders Minot Automotive Center Minot Builders Supply Minot Commission on Aging, Inc. Minot Country Club Minot Daily News Minot Electric Minot Health Clinic Minot Hockey Boosters Minot Housing Authority Minot Lumber & Hardware, Inc. Minot Milling Minot Multiple Listing Service Minot Park District Minot Paving Co., Inc. Minot Plumbing & Heating Co. Minot Public Library Minot Public School District #1 Minot Public School Foundation Minot Restaurant Supply Co. Minot Sash & Door Inc. Minot State University Minot Symphony Association Minot Veterinary Clinic Inc. Minot Welding Company Minot Winnelson Co. City of Minot Minot’s Finest Collision Center Miracle-Ear MLT Vacations Monarch Products Company Montana Dakota Utilities Company Montessori of Minot Moore Engineering, Inc. Moore’s Martial Arts Mouse River Players Community Theatre Mowbray & Son Plumbing & Heating, Inc. MSI Service & Solutions Mu Sigma Tau Murphy Motors Next to New, Inc. Muus Lumber and Hardware Mr. Richard Muus MWH Americas My Place Hotel National Residential Mortgage ND Asia ND Division of Vocational Rehabilitation ND Guaranty & Title Co New Testament Baptist Church New York Life Insurance Co. NewKota Services & Rentals Newman Outdoor Advertising Niess Impressions Nite Train Pizza Noble Inn Nola’s Lounge Norsk Hostfest Association North Central Feed & Seed North Central Human Service Center North Central Research Extension Center North Country Mercantile North Country Sportswear/School & Office Supply North Dakota Army National Guard North Dakota Envelope Co. North Dakota Living North Dakota Port Services North Dakota Society of CPAs North Dakota State Fair North Highlands Apartments North Hill Bowl, Inc. North Hill Properties, LLC North Prairie Rural Water District North Winds Truck Accessories Northern Bottling Northern Brake Service Northern Plains Children’s Advocacy Center Northern Tier Federal Credit Union Northland Bus Service, Inc. Northland Community Health Center Northstar Steel Inc. Northwest Building Improvement Northwest Contracting Northwest Music & Sound Northwest Projector Northwest Tire & Auto Service Northwestern Electric, Inc. Northwestern Mutual Financial Network The OBASA Group - Silver Springs Development, Inc. O’Day Equipment, Inc. Odd’s Mobile Home Park Odney Off Broadway Laundromat Off the Vine, LLC OfficeMax Olson & Burns, P.C. Dr. David C. Olson- Dentist Open Gate Church Otis & James Photography Our Redeemer’s Christian School Outback Autobody, Inc. Overhead Door Company of Minot Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza Paradise Spas & Motorsports Park South Holdings, LLC Park University Party City PATH ND, Inc. JC Penney Peoples State Bank of Velva Perkins Restaurant & Bakery Pietsch Aircraft Restoration & Repair, Inc. Pinkerton Animal Hospital Pinnacle Financial Group The Pita Pit Pizza Ranch Power Fuels Poynter’s Ag Supply The Prairie Bistro Prairie Engineering, P.C. Prairie Federal Credit Union Prairie Supply PRAXAIR Distribution, Inc. Preferred Minot Real Estate Preferred Travel Inc. Pringle & Herigstad, P.C. PROCollect Professional Answering Service, Inc. Professional Hearing Services Professional Transportation, Inc. ProIT Psychological Services, P.C. PUMPCO Services Pure Honda Quality Health Associates of North Dakota Quality Inn & Suites Quality Landscaping, Inc. R & J Fuel and Service, Inc. R & K Contractors, Inc. Rainbow Photo Lab, Inc. Mark B. Rasmuson - Rasmuson Law Office Raymond James Financial Services Hayhurst & Erickson Financial Advisors LLC

Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. RDO Equipment Co. Ready Builders, Inc. Real Builders, Inc. American Red Cross Mid-Dakota Chapter Red Deer Ironworks Refrigeration Equipment, Inc. Rehab Services, Inc. Reiter Oil & Gas, Inc Resirkulere U.S.A. Riddles Jewelry Ringoen Financial Group Ritter Family Dentistry Rockin’ Horse Roger Ward North American Rolac Contracting Rolling Thunder Games Ron’s Transmission & Auto Repair Roosevelt Park Zoo/Minot Zoo Crew Roosevelt Plaza Rotary Club of Minot Roughrider Campground RSVP+ Ryan Chevrolet Ryan GMC/Buick/Cadillac Ryan Honda of Minot S & S Promotional Group Salon 18 Sammy’s Pizza Pasta & Chicken Sanford Health Sanford Health HealthCare Accessories Satori Skin & Body Center Satrom Travel Saunders Chiropractic Health Schatz Crossroads Truck Stop Minot Dakota Square Scheels Scherr’s Cabinet & Doors, Inc. Schlehr Utility Construction, LLC Schock’s Safe & Lock SCORE Chapter of Minot SecurScreen Select Ford / Mercury Select Inn Sertoma Club of Minot ServiceMaster of Minot Sevens Bar & Restaurant Shaw-Lundquist Associates, Inc. SHC, Inc. Sherwin-Williams Company Shoe Carnival Sierra Inn Minot Signal Management Corp.-SMC Signal Realtors Signal Realtors - Donna R. Foster Signs Today Inc. Greg & Pam Simonson Simonson’s Station Stores Ms. Doris Slaaten Slumberland/Tollefson’s Carpetland/Carpet Garage Small Business Development Center Smith Farms, LTD Snap Fitness Soltis Sportswear Jim & Vicki Soltis Mr. Dean Somerville Sommers Orthodontics Son Management Company Sons of Norway SOS Image Souris River Designs & Home Improvements Souris Valley Animal Shelter Souris Valley Apartments Souris Valley Dental Group Souris Valley Ready Mix Souris Valley Suites Spare Key SpartanNash Spherion Staffing Spicy Pie MSU Sprung Instant Structures, Inc SRF Consulting Group, Inc. SRT Communications, Inc. St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation Stantec Staples, Inc. Star City Golf Course Michael E Braun - State Farm Insurance Jessica Declercq - State Farm Insurance Kellie Thorman - State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance - Paul Siebert Staybridge Suites Sterling Optical Stone Crafters, Inc. Strata Corporation, Construction Division Strata Corporation, Ready Mix Division Ms. Lila Striefel Sublime Aesthetic Professionals Subway Sundre Sand & Gravel, Inc. Super 8 Motel Superior Auto Repair Superpumper, Inc. Sweet & Flour Patisserie Swenson RV & Equipment Synergy Medical Massage Taco John’s Taney Engineering Target Lillian & Coleman Taube Museum of Art Taylor Motors, Inc. Tecta America Dakotas, LLC Telemark Trade Office Terhorst Manufacturing Thomas Family Funeral Home Thompson Larson Funeral Home Thorsrud Supply Co., Inc. Thrivent Financial Tires Plus Total Car Care Titan Machinery Mr. Duane Tollefson Total Transformation Clinic Total Workforce Solutions Town & Country Center Town & Country Credit Union Town & Country Insurance Agency, LLC TrainND Northwest TriMedia Environmental & Engineering Svcs Trinity Health Trinity Homes Trinity Mental Health Services TSC Farm Home Auto Store Tuff Trucks Tutti Frutti Minot United Blood Services United Community Bank of ND United Leasing, Inc. United Mailing Services Inc. United Parcel Service Souris Valley United Way The UPS Store US Bank Vallely Sport & Marine Val’s Cyclery, Inc. Vardon Golf Club The Vegas Motel & Casino City of Velva Vercon, Inc. Verendrye Electric Cooperative Veterans of Foreign Wars The View on Elk Drive The Village Family Service Center Vision Source-Minot Visit Minot Wallwork Truck Center Wal-Mart Super Center Ward County Ward Warehousing & Distribution Co. Waste Management of ND - Minot Watne Realtors WE Integrate The Welcome Table The Wellington Assisted Living Wellness Images Wells Fargo Wendy’s West Dakota Fox Minot West Oaks Animal Hospital Western Agency Inc. Western Steel & Plumbing Westlie Motor Co. WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio White Drug Whiting Systems, Inc. Wilbur Ellis Company Wild Bill’s Motorsports Wildwood Golf Course Winston-Noble Adjustment Co. Wired Wold Engineering, P.C. Wood Group PSN WPX Energy Williston, LLC The WriteDesign Xcel Energy Minot Family YMCA YWCA of Minot Zaback Roise Wealth Management Zaderaka Transport, Inc. Zarr Financial Services Zimny Consulting, LLC Membership as of 3-26-2015

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Sheriff Steve Kukowski holds a draft of a floor plan for the proposed jail expansion March 3.

Jill Schramm/MDN

An architectural drawing of the Ward County property in downtown Minot shows how the complex will look with completed construction. Buildings shown counterclockwise from top left are the jail, jail expansion, north and south sections of the county office building north and the courthouse.

Expansion will improve jail operations By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com Congestion relief will be on the way when ground is broken this summer for a $40 million Ward County Jail expansion. When voters approved additional county borrowing in a Feb. 24 election, it kicked the planning for the facility into high gear. The expansion will add 100 cells to the existing 52 cells and turn the entire facility into a more manageable operation. Sheriff Steve Kukowski said it starts with the intake area, which will be more than twice the size of the existing intake. The vehicle sallyport will accommodate two vehicles rather than one. As inmates enter the facility, there will be three holding cells and a booking area offering a level of privacy that has been lacking. “It will make the transition much smoother. We will process them much quicker,” Kukowski said. “We will be able to do more than one at a time.” A single control room will manage the entire operation, including the juvenile detention area in the courthouse. The jail expansion will have four floors, each with 25 cells. The second and fourth floors will be open to the floors below. That will allow staff working at a central, elevated control desk on one floor to oversee cells on that floor and the tier above. “It’s going to be much easier to monitor the inmates,” Kukowski said. He added it will reduce the need for significant more staffing. He expects to add about six correctional officers, who will be hired and trained before the new jail opens. The improved facility will upgrade the work environment and help retain employees, he said. The new jail also will include recreation areas for inmates on both floors. The jail’s existing recreation areas are the roof in the summer and basement in the winter. The new facilities would be able to offer more recreational options, such as exercise equipment and basketball hoops. The indoor facilities could be made outdoor facilities through opening louvers in the walls. The proximity of the recreation areas to the cells

will increase the safety because staff will not have to escort inmates on elevators or stairs as they do now, Kukowski said. Administrative functions for the jail and sheriff’s office also will be moving. The public entrance for the sheriff’s department will move to the building expansion, where the department will be located in the northwest side of the new building. The jail administration will relocate to the current sheriff’s office. The existing jail also will keep its kitchen but there will be a larger infirmary for medical staff. The existing 52 cells will remain available for housing inmates. Kukowski said the county has begun appropriating money to gradually repair the cell showers, which have shown deterioration with age. Once the expansion is completed, there will be more flexibility for emptying cells for renovation, he said. The 152 cells creates a capacity for 304 inmates, although rules for separation of inmates typically prevent full capacity. At 85 percent capacity, which is the standard, the jail could hold 258 inmates. Even with some sentencing efforts to keep the population down, the jail held up to 154 before relocating inmates to reduce overcrowding. Kukowski said the county is investigating the possibility of establishing a halfway house in Minot for inmates allowed work release during the day. Currently, those inmates are housed in the jail and they would continue to be housed there if a halfway house is determined not to be feasible. The county hopes to break ground in July and finish the jail expansion in two to 2-1/2 years. In the meantime, the county continues to pay other facilities to house inmates elsewhere. As the correctional facilities in Rugby and Bismarck have filled up, the county has been housing some inmates in Washburn. After the expansion is completed, Ward County would have space to relieve other jails. “Once we get a larger facility, we will be able to handle federal inmates. It will help that we can add a little revenue,” Kukowski said.

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Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Saturday, April 18, 2015

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A house is under construction in southeast Minot March 18. Minotʼs home construction has slowed from its peak but remains strong. Jill Schramm/MDN

Year 2006 Homes sold 594 Avg. price $127,367 Median days on market 66

2007 658 $128,111 63

2008 690 $144,225 57

2009 663 $165,446 60

2010 724 $172,712 63

2011 760 $190,843 66

2012 926 $210,823 74

2013 849 $222,990 86

2014 848 $235,084 80

Construction, home supply begins to meet demand By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com The tight housing supply and mad rush to build more homes in Minot after the 2011 flood appears to have been a wave that passed. However, construction remains a solid industry, and home sales indicate a strong market. Building permits totaled $182.9 million in Minot in 2014. The total was lower than the previous few years. Still, it included 181 new single-family residences and considerable commercial, office and bank development. Building permit comparisons for the past four years show: ® 873 permits for $204.6 million in 2011. ® 1,872 permits for $304.9 million in 2012. ® 1,064 permits for $261 million in 2013. ® 777 permits for $182.9 million in 2014. Through February in 2015, the city issued $14.4 million in building permits, which compares to $14.3 million for the same two months in 2014. Ward County issued 68 building permits worth nearly $6.35 million in 2014. That was a significant drop from $13.64 million in permits in 2013, which county building inspector Mike Larson said largely is due to greater jurisdiction by cities in the county. As cities have expanded their extraterritorial jurisdiction, the commercial growth that used to be recorded by the county now is reflected in city totals, he said. The number of townships that do their own permitting also is now up to about a dozen.

Jill Schramm/MDN

A sale sign hangs outside a house in newer southeast Minot development March 18. The number of home sales stabilized last year, but the average price was higher. The county still is seeing residential growth and not just around Minot, Larson added. Kenmare, Berthold, Sawyer, Des Lacs and Logan areas have been among communities seeing rural growth. Minot Realtor Bruce Walker said the commercial market remains fairly strong, and since it tends to follow residential development, it is occurring in various locations around the city. “There’s no question the grocery store and the middle school have helped that north end,”

Walker said. Two banks and a clinic also are giving a boost to north Minot. A strip mall is being constructed, but as far as major development, nothing solid is coming into play. The wildcard is whether Walmart ever decides to build a second store on North Hill, Walker said. The construction of a Walmart store always generates more commercial interest. Presently, much of the commercial interest is in south Minot, particularly along 16th Street and

37th Avenue southwest. Joel Feist of Real Builders, who has been involved in hotel developments, said the hotel market overbuilt in responding to shortage of housing and need for more visitor accommodations. However, he believes demand will eventually meet up with supply. “Over a period of time, I think it will kind of take care of itself in that I am pretty confident the city of Minot is going to see continued growth over the long term,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a sta-

ble growth period for at least the next 10 years or so.” On the housing front, Beth Mayer, association executive with Minot Multiple Listing, said the number of home sales in 2014 was mainly flat from 2013. The peak year for sales was 2012, but prices were higher in 2013 and the highest ever in 2014, she said. Within Minot city limits, the average sale price last year was $235,084, or about $10,000 higher than 2013. “I think the new construction is catching up with the demand,” Mayer said. “There’s a perception that things really slowed down. Overall for 2014, I can’t say that it did. Our prices were up. The number of homes sold were almost exactly the same.” However, she said the market appears to be leveling. “People are spending more but they are able to be more selective,” she said. The number of active listings on the market in January was 77, which compares to 106 in January 2014. New single-family homes permitted for construction since 2011 total 1,025 through February 2015. There also have been 480 permits for townhomes, with most of those in 2011 and 2012. A price adjustment is expected in the apartment market with all the new units being built, Walker said. So far, apartments seem to be filling as they become available, he said. No one really knows when the market will tip the other way, but expectations are that it could happen this year. Walker said rents could come down 10 to 25 percent from the 2012 peak once supply fills demand.

Minot has seen tons of change and miles of growth By JILL SCHRAMM

A Minot city water truck sprays down 13th Street Southeast, south of the U.S. 2 & 52 Bypass. Improvements to 13th Street have been part of a larger street project in southeast Minot that has created roads for development and added to the cityʼs street maintenance.

Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com Minot’s growth in the past several years can be measured in miles and tons. The miles of city streets have increased 50 percent and the volume of municipal waste has more than doubled. The Minot Public Works Department feels the impact of that growth in maintaining the expanding infrastructure and handling the additional workload. It now has more than 600 miles of streets to snowplow instead of the 400 miles it had in 2006. The city’s growth also can be measured in dollars and cents. The city used to have a $1 million budget for street patching, public works. The city council increased the budget to $1.5 million while adding another $2.5 million for street repairs. Public works director Dan Jonasson said the city still has fallen behind on its street work as a result of flood damage in the valley. The city has set aside Community Development Block Grant money for an $11 million project this year to repair roads in the flood area.

Jill Schramm/MDN

Minot has expanded from 16 square miles to about 27 square miles. With that expansion has come hundreds of miles of new water and sewer lines. The number of sewer lift stations nearly doubled from 23 to 45. “You don’t think of a sewer line needing much maintenance, but we still have to flush some of them once in a while and maintain the manholes around them,” Jonasson said. The lift stations also must be flushed and maintained, preferably once a month, and fully inspected once a year. The city water and sewer depart-

ment also conducts inspections when new houses and buildings are connected to utilities. “It pretty much takes two to three of our guys full time just to do that,” Jonasson said. The number of calls for utility locations before digging increased from 3,000 a year to about 9,500. The city has received as many as 75 to 100 calls in one day, Jonasson said. These calls require staff members to go out to locate and mark city utility lines. See CHANGE — Page 8

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Change

Continued from Page 7

The amount of storm sewer also has increased, affecting the work load of employees who keep the lines jetted and cleared. The landfill has increased its take from 40,000 tons of municipal waste a year to 85,000 tons. Residential garbage pickup in the city is up about 40 percent. Minot collects about 15,000 tons a year of waste from residences. The number of sanitation accounts has increased from 10,000 to 13,000.

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Pu b l i c G row t h The city opened its fifth cell at the landfill last year. It has property enabling it to expand to seven cells, which means 12 to 13 years worth of space left, Jonasson said. The city hasn’t been successful in trying to acquire additional land in the area for more cells. Jonasson said plans are to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of removing municipal and inert waste from an old, nearby landfill and reburying it in the current landfill. The city then could bring the old landfill space up to current waste disposal standards, and by increasing the depth and using new landfill techniques,

gain another 35 to 45 years of space for additional waste. The city also plans to expand some of the systems in its existing lagoon and wetlands, used for treating sewage. “That will hold us over,” Jonasson said. Once the city reaches a population of about 57,000, or if federal and state standards get stricter, the city will need to build a wastewater treatment facility. City officials estimate Minot’s population at around 50,000. “We are waiting to see how the growth continues before we start the design,” Jonasson said. The

design and construction phases are each expected to take about two years. Jonasson said the design work could start in 2017. The first phase of construction on a wastewater treatment facility is estimated to cost $55 million. A $22 million expansion is anticipated afterwards. By the end of next year, the city will have a new sanitary sewer trunk system that will serve twice the population. The system being built in the northern part of town includes three large lift stations, together expected to cost about $17 million.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

In the next few years, the city will have to consider construction of bigger lift stations in the southeast near Eastside Estates, Jonasson said. The city has plans for a new one million gallon water tower in the northeast, a $2.5 million project. Another water tower may be needed later in southwest Minot, Jonasson said. “By the end of next year, I think we are going to be sitting real good as far as our sewer needs. Hopefully, we will address some more of our water needs and we can concentrate more on the roads,” he said.

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Page 9

Pu b l i c G row t h

Jill Schramm/MDN

The Flats at Southwest Crossing, a development of 12-plexes shown March 18, includes units already opened and more under construction just south of 37th Avenue Southwest.

The place to be: South Minot’s growth continues By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com

Minot’s growth has been pushing against all the seams, from industrial development in the northeast to commercial development in the southwest and residential construction in all sectors. The biggest draw for developers, though, continues to be southwest Minot. Southwest Crossing, a master-planned community with commercial, apartments and single-family homes, had been proposed before the 2011 flood, but a lack of sewer infrastructure held up construction. However, the city now has infrastructure in place, and the first phase of the project is taking shape. The development is located south of 37th Avenue Southwest, west of 16th Street. Developers have opened or are finishing five 12-plexes and are starting on six more 12-plexes within the segment known as The Flats at Southwest Crossing. The finished units are being rented. “We are filling faster than we expected,” said Dee-o Whitehead with KDAK Builders. “We were really surprised how fast they are going.” The location near the site of Trinity Health’s proposed new hospital creates some unique opportunities, Whitehead said. Once the hospital opens, plans are to turn some of the groundlevel apartments into extended-stay units to accommodate patients’ families. The ground level of the buildings includes apartments that are handicappedaccessible or are adaptable for people with disabilities. All units are two-bedroom, two-bath for $1,295 a month, which includes Internet and 250-channel cable. Renters also will be able to lease garages or petfriendly units. The development includes a dog run, along with a community building with a fitness area, meeting room, kitchen and office. The apartments also have a different floor plan than people will find in other units in town, Whitehead said. Apartments are built around a central open area rather than along corridors. A future construction phase calls for another 132 units in another set of 12plexes. Long-range plans include a 55-and-older com-

Jill Schramm/MDN

A furnished model home in Southwest Crossing gives prospective homeowners a sample of life in the new development being built at the southwest edge of Minot.

The Highlander office park, shown March 18, is providing some of the first commercial growth along 37th Avenue Southwest on Minotʼs west side. Jill Schramm/MDN

munity that would include about 185 units of resortstyle living with additional facilities to allow people transition to assisted living or later to nursing or Alzheimer’s care. KDAK also has built some single-family homes in the $200,000 to $500,000 range in Minot, although the market for pre-built homes in that price range is slow at this time, Whitehead said. Southwest Crossing will have 70 single-family lots and 70 townhome lots once fully built out. Fourteen lots have streets and utilities in

place. Hunter James Construction and Luma Vista each already have constructed a home in the development. The remainder of the streets and infrastructure will be built this spring, said Carrie Montoya, Realtor with Watne Realtors. Construction also has started on a dental office. The Church of the Latter Day Saints is expected to break ground for their new building this spring. The development includes areas of green space, with plans for fitness

trails down the road. The location is ideal for a mixed-use development of this type, Montoya said. “It’s so close to shopping and you have the Y right there and you have stores and restaurants. There’s easy access to the oil field from that side of town,” she said. The area also is in South Prairie School District, which is building a new high school and will be providing bussing from Southwest Crossing. Across 37th Avenue from Southwest Crossing is a separate development featuring

the Highlander Office Park. A flooring and lighting store and an insurance agent already have space in one of the new buildings erected in the park. Minot Realtor Jeff Stremick with Signal Realtors said a financial business, trucking company and medical services are among potential new tenants. He said the two two-story buildings currently being erected together will provide 28,000 square feet. Plans are to construct additional buildings in the future, with ground-breaking occurring possibly as soon as this

spring. “South Minot has always been a hot spot,” Stremick said, adding it’s become especially attractive since the announcement of a proposed new hospital. The high traffic, proximity to other businesses and newness of the area are just what commercial developers are looking for, he said. Future Builders plans to complete a 13,000-squarefoot strip mall for offices just south of Dakota Square this summer. Leasing is to begin once the construction is further along, said Duane Johnson, a partner in the company. Future Builders also is finishing a 52-unit apartment building in southeast Minot in mid-summer. Future Builders has been building homes in the Bluff and Woodside Developments in the southeast for the past few years. Most of the new homes are being custom-built, although the company continues to build some speculation homes to sell, Johnson said. “Last year was a busy year for us. It looks like this year will be even more busy,” he said. Many of the custom homes are upgrades for people selling their existing homes while the market for existing homes remains strong. “For a couple of years there’s been a lot of homes on the market, but even with that, we really haven’t had trouble selling specs we built, and we haven’t had trouble not having customs to build,” Johnson said. “We have seen a shift toward the custom homes,” added Matt Geinert, a partner in Future Builders. “We have been seeing people looking for their ‘forever home,’ their dream home.” That has led to the larger, more expensive homes, but there also has needed to be some price-consciousness as the cost of materials continues to rise, he said. “That’s what’s really driving the price of homes. It’s not the lack of inventory on the market,” Geinert said. As the economy in the rest of the nation has improved, more building is occurring and there’s greater demand and price pressure on the materials supply, he said. In addition, developers who purchased property a year and half ago at the peak of the market now have to include that cost in prices quoted on new homes, he said.

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

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Airport director Andrew Solsvig holds a rendering March 6, showing what the interior of the new Minot airport terminal will look like.

Jill Schramm/MDN

New terminal to bring back hassle-free flying By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com Minot International Airport plans to reclaim its slogan of “more flights, fewer hassles” when a new $41 million airport terminal opens to the public early next year. When a sudden growth spurt caused boardings to soar past 220,000 a year, the airport wasn’t quite so hassle-free. The frustrations of congestion and lack of parking will be coming to an end with the airport improvements currently in progress, airport director Andrew Solsvig said. “We will have adequate parking for reasonable rates and plenty of room to breathe in the new terminal building. I don’t think people will notice congestion at all,” Solsvig said. “Just traveling in general, when you don’t have that kind of congestion, it reduces stress.” The new terminal is designed to accommodate about 600,000 passengers passing through its doors annually. It is expected to comfortably handle the next 30 years of operations and growth. Minot saw 222,144 boardings in 2014, while 221,345 people disembarked. The peak year in Minot was 2012, which saw 224,421 boardings and 220,500 arrivals, both 49 percent increases over 2011. The new terminal’s 124,000 square feet will dwarf the existing terminal’s 34,000 square feet. “It would make Minot the largest terminal building in the state,” Solsvig said. The terminal is being built with six departure gates, although not all are expected to be put into immediate use. The airport recently took bids on the jet bridges and could install between four and six, depending on the cost, Solsvig said. One gate is capable of allowing ground loading if a jet bridge is not installed. Solsvig said that would be a viable option for a smaller, regional jet. The layout of the building takes a visitor from the front door to the ticketing area, where each airline will have a kiosk and station booths. Minot currently is served by Delta, United and Allegiant. The main floor will have two conference rooms, one that would be used for security training and another that would be used by air-

Submitted photo

This rendering from Coover-Clark and Wenjie Studios shows the look of the future Minot International Airport commercial terminal, expected to open in early 2016.

‘We will have adequate parking for reasonable rates and plenty of room to breathe in the new terminal building. I don’t think people will notice congestion at all. Just traveling in general, when you don’t have that kind of congestion, it reduces stress.’ — Andrew Solsvig, director, Minot International Airport

lines or rented for public use. The baggage office and claim area also would be on the main floor, near the rental car booths. The terminal is designed for five rental car operations, although only four are expected to operate initially. Out of sight, behind these public areas on the main floor, will be secured areas, used by the airlines, the Transportation Security Administration and airport operations staff. The terminal’s secondfloor security area will accommodate two screening lines feeding into several hold rooms. The north side of the terminal will be glassenclosed, allowing people to look out over the airfield from the hold rooms. A gift shop on the second floor will be available to shoppers both pre- and postsecurity. Solsvig said details still are being worked out, but the hope is for the second-floor restaurant and bar to also serve both pre- and post-security areas. The main floor will have space for a possible coffee shop and deli. Solsvig said the airport will take bids this summer for a concessions operator. The airport’s preference is for an umbrella company

that would run all the food services in the building, but individual operators also are a possibility. The airport’s administrative offices will be located on the upper level. Solsvig said the administrative area will have a conference room as well as office spaces. “We have to look at future personnel needs,” he said of the extra space set aside for offices. The entire terminal is being built with room for potential new airlines and more passenger traffic. Should Minot ever out-grow such a large facility, it can be expanded at its present site. Solsvig said he doesn’t

expect any increase in flights by existing airlines or any new airlines this year. The drop in oil prices have aviation officials watching to see what impact that might have on air travel in western North Dakota, he said. New airlines also are likely to wait until the new terminal is built rather than face the cost of moving later. Solsvig said he expects boardings may be down somewhat this year, but he suspects 2016 could be a banner year. “People are going to be really excited and want to travel out of here,” he said. Terminal construction is to be completed by the end

of the year. The transition to the new building would take place in January, with ribbon cutting and start of operations in February. Separate from the terminal is a $16 million apron and taxiway project on the north side and major parking expansion on the south side. An 800-space economy parking lot has been partially completed and is open for overflow parking. The remainder of the lot will be

finished this year. In addition, a second, smaller lot to the west will be built. The new and existing parking will give the airport between 1,600 and 1,700 parking spaces. The maximum parking demand experienced by the airport has been just over 1,200 spaces, Solsvig said. The existing parking lot will be designated for longterm parking following the transition. The future of the existing terminal is uncertain. It may be torn down or repurposed for another use, such as a rental car wash and fueling station. Having a facility for rental car companies is a goal, regardless of whether it utilizes the existing terminal or another building, Solsvig said. It would provide revenue to the airport while eliminating the need for companies to go off site for those services.

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Pu b l i c G row t h

Minot residents carry more debt By JILL SCHRAMM

Staff Writer jschramm @minotdailynews.com The amount of debt per person has more than tripled for Minot residents in the past five years, according to statistics provided by the city finance office. The borrowed spending on airport terminal con-

struction and other improvements and the amount of special assessed improvements, along with school and county borrowing for building construction, accounts for much of the debt increase since 2010. In 2010, the debt per capita was $888. Even with a nearly 9 percent estimated population increase, the current debt per capita is about

$3,021. At the end of 2014, Minot residents were carrying nearly $140 million in debt, compared to $37.75 million of debt in 2010. Details of the current debt include: ® Minot Public School District had $23.9 million in debt, of which nearly $23.7 million was assessed to residents within the city of Minot.

® Minot Park District carries $10.4 million in debt, all assessed to city residents. ® Ward County has $34.6 million in debt, of which $23 million falls on city residents. ® The city of Minot has nearly $15.3 million in general obligation debt, essentially for street projects. ® The city of Minot has almost $23.2 million in debt

for improvements paid through special assessments placed on those residents who benefit from the improvements. ® The city of Minot has $23.3 million in water and sewer revenue debt. ® The city of Minot has $19.2 million in airport revenue debt. The city also has added about $2 million in debt for

updates to the All Seasons Arena, to be paid by lodging tax. The county debt is to be paid with sales tax. The school and park district rely on property taxes, as does the city. However, the city also generates income at the airport and from residents’ water and sewer payments that are used to pay for debt incurred in those special funds.

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