Is it reasonable to expect city officials to choose a longterm flood protection plan without the benefit of at least a cost estimate for each option?
Project engineers told Minot aldermen Tuesday that they need a decision on which option is preferred by the middle of next week, so the firm can stay on schedule to produce a preliminary engineering report on Feb. 29.
Aldermen and Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman told representatives of Barr Engineering, which is working for the State Water Commission on the flood plan from Burlington to Velva, that cost estimates would be nice to have when considering flood protection options. They were told that with only a small portion of design work completed, any estimates would have such a large margin of error that all alternative would fall into the same cost range.
The discussion and apparent must-be-met deadline puts the city in a tough spot.
City residents need to know as soon as possible what direction the city intends to take, and how whatever plan is chosen will affect which residents can rebuild and which properties will be purchased by the city. At the same time, this isn't a decision to be taken lightly, and aldermen should not be forced to make a rushed decision. Granted, the cost shouldn't be the only factor in determining which plan is ultimately chosen, but it must be part of the discussion. The overriding factor must be a plan's effectiveness in protecting Minot from future catastrophic flooding.
Engineers said Tuesday that construction of a flood protection project is expected to take between eight and 10 years to complete. If that's the case, then waiting another month or so to have a reliable cost estimate to use as part of such a monumental decision doesn't seem to be unreasonable.