Residents tour new city offices
Minot cuts ribbon on City Hall
Jill Schramm/MDN Members of the public gather to enjoy refreshments outside the council chambers, shown behind the large window, during tours of the new Minot City Hall Thursday.
Jill Schramm/MDN Mayor Tom Ross holds a commemorative wall hanging that he presented to City Engineer Lance Meyer, who oversaw the renovation of the new City Hall, at a ceremony Thursday.
Jill Schramm/MDN Terry Krzebetkowski looks over building renderings on display on the third floor of City Hall while touring the new facility Thursday.
Jill Schramm/MDN Members of the public gather to enjoy refreshments outside the council chambers, shown behind the large window, during tours of the new Minot City Hall Thursday.
Jill Schramm/MDN Mayor Tom Ross holds a commemorative wall hanging that he presented to City Engineer Lance Meyer, who oversaw the renovation of the new City Hall, at a ceremony Thursday.
Jill Schramm/MDN Terry Krzebetkowski looks over building renderings on display on the third floor of City Hall while touring the new facility Thursday.
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An open house Thursday gave a number of Minot residents their first look inside their new City Hall.
Terry Krzebetkowski, who was quite familiar with the building as a bank where his wife once worked, said the renovation was more than he expected.
"There's a lot of natural light," he said. "Very well done. It's not gaudy but it's definitely not boring."
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, City Manager Harold Stewart spoke of the intention that went into the building's redesign.
"We truly wanted this to be a building of the people, for the people. We designed this to be a space not only to come in and pay your water/sewer bills and ask questions about your property taxes and occasionally attend a council meeting. We truly wanted it to be a space where the public can come and interact while they are enjoying our downtown. So there's a lot of public space built in here," Stewart said. "We really, truly want the public to come and engage with us in this facility and use this facility as their own."
"We are so excited to have a building in the heart of downtown," added Brekka Kramer, president/CEO of Minot Area Chamber EDC. "I look back over the last couple of months. We, on South Hill, had a ribbon cutting for Trinity. We were on North Hill with the Magic City Discovery Center. Now in the heart of downtown Minot, we have an accessible building for the residents and citizens of our community. What an amazing day."
Col. Dan Hoadley, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, said Kramer's comments nailed what is happening in Minot. The changes that are occurring create a welcoming community for new airmen, he said, and the accommodations made for the public in the new City Hall enhance that.
"It's amazing," he said after taking the building tour. "This is excellent."
Mayor Tom Ross recognized City Engineer Lance Meyer with a commemorative wall hanging for the lead he took in overseeing construction for the city. Meyer credited the architect, JLG, and contractor, Rolac Contracting, as well as others involved in the building's renovation and decor for making his job easy.
The renovation of the former Wells Fargo building is under budget, although some costs are still outstanding because Central Dispatch has not yet moved into the lower level. That is expected to happen this summer.
The city budgeted $7.75 million from National Disaster Resilience grant funds, $1 million from city sales tax and $7.23 million from general fund reserves and interest but might not spend the full amount.
The city began moving offices into the building in April, fully transitioning by May 1. The new City Hall also accommodates some offices that were located in city buildings other than the former city hall, due to the lack of space in that building.