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Another chapter begins in the tale of two parking ramps

Minot city councilman Shannon Straight got it right Thursday during the council’s discussion about whether to take control of the downtown ramps from Cypress Development.

“They (Cypress) have had ample time to cure the deficiencies on payments that are sent to us. The time is now to move forward and protect the interests of the community,” Straight said. “Better days are ahead. Hopefully, we can get this right.”

Hopefully Straight is right. Hopefully his is not just wishful thinking. Minot taxpayers and downtown business owners deserve better than what they got over the past seven years from Cypress and the City of Minot.

Concerning Thursday’s decision, though. Of course the City was right to pull the plug on Cypress now, before a bad deal could go further south. Council members need to be commended for finally coming to that conclusion.

Members, including Stephan Podrygula, pointed out that the City had gone the distance with Cypress. “We owe all the citizens to be done with this. It just hasn’t worked out,” Podrygula said. “This has really been a nightmare for the last six or seven years.”

The council also deserves credit for making things right with patrons of the two ramps. In taking over management of the parking structures, the city will honor existing leases and will not change parking fees at this time, City Manager Tom Barry said.

Also wise was the decision to conduct a structural and condition assessment of the ramps.

That said, there is still the City’s lawsuit against Cypress for outstanding bills, and the City will have to find the best way to manage the ramps, either by self-managing or outsourcing them. The City says it is also committed to further developing the ramps for commercial use and residential housing.

All that will take time and surely financial risks will be encountered along the way. No, we have not heard the last of Cypress or the problems they created, nor has the nightmare ended.

But that doesn’t make Straight wrong. There can be better days ahead and the City can make things right – given time.

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