MINOT CITY COUNCIL

SCHEDULED MEETING

DECEMBER 21, 2020 AT 5:30 P.M.

Members Present: Evans, Jantzer,

Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Ross, Sip-

ma

Members Absent: None

Mayor Sipma presiding and led the

City Council in the Pledge of Allegi-

ance

Following the Pledge of Allegiance,

the Mayor announced that Congress

passed the year-end funding bill au-

thorizing federal funding for Phase 4

of the Mouse River Enhanced Flood

Protection Project. He thanked Se-

nator Hoeven and the rest of the

Congressional delegation as well as

City staff who worked to secure the

funding. He said they also approved

a one-year extension for the Nation-

al Disaster Resiliency grant, adjust-

ing the deadline to September 2023.

He thanked Congressional staff, par-

ticularly Senator Hoeven, for all of

their effort and emphasized the im-

pact to Minot and the region.

Olson moved Ross seconded and

was carried unanimously to approve

the minutes of the December 7,

2020 regular City Council meeting;

place and pass ordinance 5544 on

second reading to change the zone

from AG to P on NE 1/4 NE 1/4 of

Section 10-154N-83W; place and

pass ordinance 5549 on second

reading to change the zone from C1

to R1 on Mellum’s Second Addition,

Lots 1 & 2; place and pass ordi-

nance 5550 on second reading to

amend the 2021 annual budget for

the FY2021 grant award from the

U.S. Department Of Justice’s JAG

program for the Domestic Violence

Crisis Center; place and pass ordi-

nance 5551 on second reading to

amend the 2020 annual budget for

the grant award from the U.S.

Department of Defense’s Defense

Community Infrastructure Pilot Pro-

gram to the Magic City Discovery

Center; place and pass ordinance

5552 on second reading to amend

the 2020 annual budget for the

FY20-21 Traffic Safety grants

awarded by the NDDOT; place and

pass ordinance 5553 on second

reading for homeowner sprinkler

repairs required for 31st Ave SE

reconstruction and approve the

transfer from Highway Reserves/

Capital Infrastructure to General

Fund; place and pass ordinance

5554 on second reading to amend

the 2020 annual airport budget to in-

crease the Airport capital expenses

for additional costs for the wetland

delineation and culture report; place

and pass ordinance 5555 on second

reading to amend the 2020 annual

for the purchase of an integration

software to be use with the citywide

asset management software; place

and pass ordinance 5556 on second

reading to amend the 2020 annual

budget to increase the sales tax im-

provement and engineering plans,

designs, and reviews expenditures

using sales tax improvement cash

reserves; place and pass ordinance

5557 on second reading to amend

the 2021 annual budget for the addi-

tional full-time position in the City

Attorney’s Office; ratify the adminis-

tratively approved requests; approve

the 2020 Interest Distribution sheet;

approve final payment of $2,323 to

Hanson’s Excavating, Inc. for the

2019-2020 Nuisance Abatement

project; approve final payment of

$27,904.38 to Keller Paving &

Landscaping, Inc. for the 2020 Side-

walk, Curb, and Gutter Replacement

project; approve final payment of

$50,016.28 to Keller Paving &

Landscaping, Inc. for 2020 Street

Patching Phase 1; place and pass

ordinance 5558 on first reading

amending the 2020 annual budget

for the Storm Sewer District #123

watermain replacement portion;

place and pass ordinance 5559 on

first reading amending the 2020 an-

nual budget to increase the Fire

department operation supplies reve-

nues and expenditures for the dona-

tions funding from local businesses

to be used to purchase exercise

equipment; grant approval to allow

the police department to hire 4 off-

icers and exceed the allocated

number of sworn officers budgeted

for the department in 2021; approve

the gaming site authorization for

NDAD to install electronic pull tabs

at The Drop Zone; approve the al-

coholic beverage license renewals

for the period of January 1, 2021

through December 31, 2021 for all

applicants who have submitted all

application materials and passed

background checks and inspections;

receive and file the Ward County,

ND Hazard Mitigation Plan Annual

Progress Report; appoint Planning

Commissioners to align with the pro-

posed expiration dates as provided

in Attachment ‘A’; approve the con-

tract in the amount of $327.356 with

Houston Engineering for design, wa-

ter model update and construction

services for Broadway water main

from 19th Avenue to 36th Avenue;

approve the task order, in the

amount of $75,000, with Apex En-

gineering to conduct a seepage

study of the existing lagoon ponds.

Podrygula moved Evans seconded

and after discussion, carried unani-

mously to approve the contract in

the amount of $30,000 with Houston

Engineering for yearly water model

update and flow analysis assistance

of the Minot water system.

Podrygula raised concerns about

water quality issues that were

brought to his attention by a

resident. He said City staff had been

helpful regarding the issue but it

raises a larger systemic problem

with water related issues. He won-

dered if the study could include the

engineer’s opinion of water quality

and problem areas. He specified

that the area he was referring to is

near the location of the new Fire

Station on 25th Street NW, between

2nd and 4th Avenue. He said it is

important to identify the problem

areas and get some idea of how

long it may take to fix some of the

deferred maintenance.

Public Works Director Jonasson ex-

plained that the information is al-

ready available. As new issues pop

up, they flush the surrounding area

right away. He said the problem is

that there are areas with old six-inch

cast iron pipe that needs replaced. It

is an ongoing situation hey have

dealt with for years since cast iron

pipe was used until the 1970’s. He

said, they plan to address the issues

but there are 86 miles of cast iron

pipeline to replace throughout Minot

so it could take several years.

Podrygula said the Council may

need to allocate more funding and

resources to address the problem

and consider it a higher priority.

Lisa Clute, Director of First District

Health Unit, provided the latest CO-

VID statistics available for Ward

County. She said, the 14-day posi-

tivity rate is 36.3 per 10,000 which is

in the orange risk category. The

demand for tests has decreased but

they are still available, including ra-

pid testing at Minot Public Schools.

The positivity rate has substantially

improved to 7.7% which is in the

moderate risk category. She

thanked the community for following

the recommendations set by the

CDC and the Governor to help drive

the numbers down. She said they

continue to monitor hospital capacity

which is currently tight but still avail-

able. Ms. Clute reiterated the impor-

tance of continuing the mitigation

strategies to keep moving in the

right direction.

She then provided an update on

vaccinations by saying, the Pfizer

vaccine has been utilized by hospi-

tals and their employees. The

Moderna vaccine was approved and

is coming to First District Health Unit

to be given to emergency

responders and those identified as

priority 1. A shipment of the Moder-

na vaccine will be delivered the

week of December 28th and the

week of January 4th and are going

to long-term care facilities. Out of

the 210 doses that will be allocated,

the first 30 will go to the vaccinators.

The next shipment will be the week

of January 11th and will go to Minot

Fire Department and Police Depart-

ment as well as Trinity Ambulance.

She then cautioned that the Moder-

na vaccine is for individuals over 18

and there have been instances of

anaphylactic reactions. They will

proceed with caution and will not ad-

vise the Moderna vaccine for people

with a history of allergic reactions.

She concluded by describing the

Federal recommendations for priori-

tizing vaccination categories but said

they are still waiting for State-level

recommendations.

The City Council held an Abatement

Hearing to consider a request by

Hudye Group, LP for a reduction in

the 2018 True and Full Valuation for

92 vacant lot parcels in Prairie Wynd

Fourth & Fifth Additions. The City

Assessor recommends denial of all

2018 abatement requests.

City Assessor, Ryan Kamrowski ex-

plained that property owners have

the right to appeal through a formal

abatement according to the North

Dakota Century Code. The applica-

tions for property abatement for the

tax year of 2018 were not filed in ac-

cordance to North Dakota Century

Code, therefore denial is the only

applicable decision the City Council

has for the 2018 abatements. He

stated, the application for abatement

must be filed with the County

Auditor’s Office on or before No-

vember 1st of the year following the

year of which the tax had become

delinquent. The applications were

filed with the County Auditor No-

vember 20, 2020, therefore there is

no action other than denial for the

2018 abatement.

Evans moved Jantzer seconded and

after discussion was carried unani-

mously to deny all 2018 abatement

requests by Hudye Group, LP.

Ben Hudye, Chairman and President

of Hudye Group, LP, came before

the Council and said they have been

addressing the issue since 2016.

They met with City staff in August,

2020 to work toward a solution for

an amicable agreement. He stated,

they purchased Prairie Wynd in

2011 and their taxes were about

$252 per acre for 95 acres of agri-

cultural land. Over the next eight

years, the rate went up to $2,835 per

acre which is over 1000% increase.

Since 2012, including 2020, they

have been billed and paid $1.7 mil-

lion in taxes and special assess-

ments on 95 acres. He said, it is

agricultural ground which grows al-

falfa and is leased to a local produc-

er for $45 an acre. He stated that in

their meeting in August, they were

told by Damon Druse, from the City

Assessor’s Office, that he would do

a site visit to confirm whether any

improvements had been made and

he would get back to them with a

proposed valuation. Mr. Druse pro-

vided them with the abatement

forms but they did not receive any

revised numbers. Mr. Hudye con-

firmed that they mailed the applica-

tions October 28th but due to a

storm and because offices are

closed on Sunday, it was not

delivered until Monday, November

2nd. He then received a response

from the City Assessor November

12th. Mr. Hudye requested the

Council allow them to address the

applications from 2018 and 2019.

Evans pointed out that the informa-

tion provided by Hudye Group in-

cludes a receipt stating the applica-

tion was received by the Ward

County Auditor November 20th. She

asked if there is proof the package

was received by the deadline of No-

vember 1st.

Rick McCann, a representative from

Hudye Group, said there is a receipt

that the City Assessor received the

abatement documents November

2nd.

Pitner asked why they waited until

the last day to mail the applications

when they were aware the deadline

was November 1st.

Mr. Hudye said they had met with

Damon in the City Assessor’s Office

who wanted to deal with it internally

and they were waiting for informa-

tion from the Assessor’s Depart-

ment.

Pitner then asked what zoning the

property is designated and if any im-

provements have been made, to

which Mr. Hudye explained, the land

is used for Agricultural use and there

have been no improvements other

than a special assessment for a

street in front of Ramstad School.

Mr. Kamrowski clarified, the proper-

ties are zoned M1, Light Industrial

and R4, Planned Residential. He

then said, he sent an email to Mr.

Hudye October 26th, 2020 where he

provided his recommendations

2018, 2019, and 2020. He reiterated

that the application was received at

the City Assessor’s Office, not the

County Auditor’s, on November 2nd.

He further explained, he would re-

view the 2018 with the property own-

er but there is no legal standing for

the City or the County to hear the

2018 abatements.

Pitner asked if properties are taxed

based upon zoning or by use.

Mr. Kamrowski said, as appraisers

and assessors they look at the

highest and best use of the property.

They take zoning, use, overall mark-

et, and comparable sales into their

overall analysis. He confirmed that

since it is M1 zoning, it would be

held to the M1 standard, not Agricul-

tural.

Evans pointed out that the applica-

tion was not sent to the Ward Coun-

ty Auditor’s Office by the deadline as

required by Century Code. There is

no exception for snowstorms or in-

correct addresses.

Pitner asked if an appeal could be

filed while discussion continues re-

garding valuation. Mr. Kamrowski

said, yes, there are emails included

in the documentation provided to

Council. The applicants have two

years to file the request and they

can continue to gather information.

As a City and as a County they have

no ramification to hear this abate-

ment since it was not received by

the deadline.

The Mayor reminded the representa-

tives from Hudye Group, LP that

after the City Council votes on the

issue, they have an opportunity to

appeal the request to the County.

Whereupon a vote was taken on the

above motion by Evans, seconded

by Jantzer and carried by the follow-

ing roll call vote: ayes: Evans,

Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula,

Ross, Sipma; nays: none.

The City Council held an Abatement

Hearing to consider a request by

Hudye Group, LP for a reduction in

the 2019 True and Full Valuation for

92 vacant lot parcels in Prairie Wynd

Fourth & Fifth Additions. The City

Assessor recommends partial ap-

proval of the abatement request for

Residential and Light Industrial

zoned lots.

City Assessor, Ryan Kamrowski, ex-

plained that he recommends a par-

tial reduction in the 2019 true and

full value as described in the docu-

mentation provided to the Council.

Rick McCann, representing Hudye

Group, LP, read a statement in sup-

port of their application. He provided

documents to the Council and

described several comparable pro-

perties which they felt better

represented the value of the proper-

ty. He said the vacant agricultural

land use does not warrant the

amount of taxation.

Mayor Sipma asked if the compar-

ables were located within City limits,

to which Mr. McCann said, they

used close proximity, zoning and

size to compare properties.

Mr. Kamrowski said he recommends

denial of the abatement request

since they are asking for a property

value less than market value. He

continued by saying, it is the

Assessor’s opinion that the highest

and best use for the property is as

Residential and Commercial proper-

ty, as applicable. His recommenda-

tion for Prairie Wynd fourth Addition

is a value of $1.50/square foot and

Prairie Wynd fifth Addition a value of

$1.00/square foot. He said, in their

analysis of the 2019 valuations, they

pulled comparable sales and com-

parable assessments to ensure they

are equalized across all assess-

ments. He explained the comparable

sales they used and why the

applicant’s comparable sales were

not valid. He then stated, the

applicant’s entire property is listed

for sale for $18.6 million but they re-

quested a valuation reduction in the

amount of $364,000.

Upon further questioning, Mr. Kam-

rowski said, all of the properties

used as comparables are un-

developed, have the same zoning,

and have no improvements.

Jantzer moved Pitner seconded and

was carried unanimously to accept

the recommendation by the City As-

sessor for partial approval of the

abatement request for Residential

and Light Industrial zoned lots.

The City Council held a public hear-

ing to consider input on the City’s

policy regarding special assess-

ments. No one appeared to submit

public comment.

Pitner moved Olson seconded and

was carried unanimously to close

the public hearing and adopt the up-

dates to the City’s special assess-

ment policy.

Pitner moved Olson seconded and

after discussion was carried unani-

mously to approve an Enterprise

Agreement with Minot Convention

and Visitors Bureau, Inc; place and

pass ordinance 5560 on first reading

to amend the 2021 annual budget to

increase the Sales Tax Economic

Development expenditures for the

Tourism Recovery and Resilience

Project.

Stephanie Schoenrock, Executive

Director of Visit Minot, said they

worked closely with City staff to

develop measurable outcomes for

the project. She intends to come

back to City Council in February to

show how the recruitment fund

would be allocated. The agreement

includes the framework but there will

be more detail added later. She ex-

plained that they are committed to

providing a 10-million-dollar impact

over three years.

Ross raised concerns about giving

an entity money before asking for

benchmarks. He said the plan is too

vague and they need regular reports

to determine success. He moved the

City Council table the Agreement

until further information is provided.

City Attorney Hendershot stated,

there will be two reports to the City

Council each year. There are also

specific requirements for events that

are built into the agreement. The

funding is set up for the three com-

ponents Ms. Schoenrock described,

including development of the three

components. As an Enterprise

Agreement, there are requirements

for the City to have a public purpose,

specific goals, and oversight by the

City which is why they worked in an

approval process for certain aspects

of the project.

Podrygula seconded the motion to

table which failed by the following

roll call vote: ayes: Ross; nays:

Evans, Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Po-

drygula, Sipma.

Pitner shared his frustration over the

idea of tabling the Agreement. He

said, they worked with staff to create

an airtight enterprise agreement that

goes above and beyond any previ-

ous agreement. The staff at Visit

Minot are competent individuals who

have come up with actual, measur-

able impacts to the community.

Evans asked Jonathan Rosenthal,

Economic Development Adminis-

trator, to provide his input. Mr.

Rosenthal presented an article from

the Minot Daily News which

describes the economic impact that

COVID-19 has had on hotel revenue

and the hospitality industry. He said

the procedural aspects of the project

will come later but the metrics are in-

cluded and it is a well-crafted agree-

ment. He said he believes this is a

great idea that involves substantial

economic and fiscal impact to the

community.

Olson moved Podrygula seconded

and after discussion was carried to

approve the task order, in an amount

not to exceed $565,226, with CPS

Engineering to design the recycling

transfer station, design a new landfill

entrance and provide construction

management services during con-

struction, authorize the Mayor to

sign the agreement on behalf of the

City, and approve the Reimburse-

ment Resolution in order to preserve

the option of the City to finance the

costs of the projects with tax-exempt

obligations.

Evans explained how they are mov-

ing step by step toward a curbside

recycling program. This step in-

volves design and engineering of a

transfer facility and relocating the

landfill entrance. The engineer will

come back with the design in the

spring of 2021. She said, funding is

available in the Landfill budget. She

also commented that 65% of the

community supports recycling

whereas many City projects do not

have that amount of support.

Podrygula asked for a timeline and

corresponding costs for the projects.

Assistant Public Works Director, Ja-

son Sorenson, prepared a presenta-

tion of the information which

described each step of the projects

beginning with approval of the Task

Order under consideration and end-

ing with the implementation of the

recycling program at the end of

2022. He also broke down the costs

of the total project in the amount of

$4,560,226 which includes the

Transfer Facility, New Landfill En-

trance, Engineering, Compactor,

Compactor Trailers, and containers.

Finance Director, Dave Lakefield,

further stated, funding has been set

aside for the Task Order and the

Reimbursement Resolution is in-

cluded in the motion as an option if

they want to consider bond funding.

The Mayor also pointed out, there

were funds approved for the project

by the Community Facilities Fund.

Mr. Sorenson said, there is about

$766,000 from Community Facilities.

Pitner said he still believes the issue

should be discussed in conjunction

with the larger Landfill discussion

which was postponed until July.

Jantzer commented that since they

are opening a new cell at the current

landfill, and the likelihood of getting

a new landfill would take years,

leads him to conclude this is not a

bad investment at this time. He ex-

pressed support but mentioned con-

cerns about blending the transfer

station and recycling project with the

relocation of the landfill entrance. He

said it is important to keep in mind,

they are separate projects and

should considered appropriately.

Ross asked if the counties who

currently use the landfill would be re-

quired to participate in recycling.

Mr. Sorenson said, they have held

discussions on the issue and the

transfer facility opens the opportunity

for smaller communities to imple-

ment a program. They can also dis-

cuss incentive programs to promote

recycling.

The Mayor said EPA permitting for a

new landfill could take a decade and

he believes this is a good utilization

of their investment. He ack-

nowledged comments about recy-

cling markets and the decreased

profitability but said he thinks it’s the

right move given the timeframe.

A vote was taken on the motion and

carried by the following roll call vote:

ayes: Evans, Jantzer, Olson, Po-

drygula, Ross, Sipma; nays: Pitner.

Scott Burlingame, President of the

Minot Alliance of Nonprofits read a

prepared statement to the Council.

Mayor Sipma asked if the Alliance of

Nonprofits has reached out to the

state for assistance, to which Mr.

Burlingame said, yes, and they are

reaching out to raise community

awareness.

Evans reminded the community to

think of local nonprofits when con-

sidering year-end giving. She said,

many nonprofits in Minot have con-

tinued to provide services

throughout this difficult year.

John MacMartin, Acting Executive

Director of MADC, provided a sum-

mary of the MADC report. He spoke

about Business Expansion and Re-

tention, the One Brand Campaign,

executing contract training, the Inter-

modal Facility, media coverage, and

the merger with the Chamber of

Commerce.

Pitner asked about their financial si-

tuation, to which Mr. MacMartin

said, the Department of Motor Vehi-

cles, under the Chamber of Com-

merce, was affected by state regula-

tions however, they were able to

keep all six of their employees.

Podrygula asked about recruitment

for the head of the organization. Mr.

MacMartin said he would continue in

the position for about the next 15

months. He will work to put the or-

ganization together and assist the

Board in finding his replacement.

Mayor Sipma elaborated on the sig-

nificant impact the Intermodal Facili-

ty will have on the community.

Liaison Reports: Podrygula attended

the Commission on Aging meeting

and brought up issues regarding the

elevator that wasn’t working. He

raised concerns about the larger is-

sue for facilities that do not have a

backup in those types of situations.

He also spoke about the County

Planning meeting which continues to

work on the zoning code revisions.

Olson attended the Souris Basin

Planning Council virtual meeting.

Evans also attended the County

Planning meeting and said the zon-

ing revisions should be completed in

2021. She attended the Library

Board meeting and said the exterior

of the building should be completed

soon. The Library is working on stra-

tegic planning including implement-

ing their vision and mission. They

continue to provide programs to the

community.

Mayor Sipma met with the Ward

County Weed Board and discussed

UAV and the impact COVID had on

spraying throughout the county. He

attended the Task Force 21 Omaha

trophy presentation and said there is

noticeable involvement by the Minot

community.

Ross said the zoning ordinance up-

dates are now available on the City

website for public comment until the

end of December.

Jantzer had no report.

Pitner attended a Renaissance Zone

meeting and said investors are tak-

ing advantage of the program in

place which is exciting.

Evans took a moment to recognize

David Lakefield for filling in as City

Manager over the last several

months.

There being no further business,

Evans moved Pitner seconded and

was carried to adjourn the meeting

at 7:51 pm

APPROVED: Shaun Sipma, Mayor;

ATTEST: Kelly Matalka, City Clerk –

PURSUANT TO NDCC 40-01-09.1,

THESE MINUTES PUBLISHED

SUBJECT TO THE COUNCIL’S RE-

VIEW AND REVISION.

(January 5, 2021)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Probate No. 51-2020-PR-233

IN THE DISTRICT COURT,

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA,

COUNTY OF WARD, NORTH

CENTRAL JUDICIAL DISTRICT

In the Matter of the Estate of

Reverend Henry W. Schneider,

Deceased.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that

the undersigned has been appointed

personal representative of the Estate

of Reverend Henry W. Schneider.

All persons having claims against

Reverend Henry W. Schneider are

required to present their claims

within three (3) months after the date

of the first publication of this notice

or said claims will be forever barred.

Claims must either be presented to

Mary Allard,personal representative

of the estate, at P.O. Box 998,

Minot, ND 58702-0998,or filed with

the Court.

Dated this 17th day of December,

2020.

/s/Mary Allard

Mary Allard,

Personal Representative

(December 22-9, 2020; January 5,

2021)