They were topics of discussion at Monday’s council meeting, and more discussion could be forthcoming.

A desire for local preference in bid awards has been suggested by some council members previously, and there was enough interest Monday to request staff draft a policy proposal.

“It can be done,” Utilities Director Jason Sorenson said.

“I don’t know yet that we’ve had a problem with our bidding and there’s a big out of state contractor that’s taking all the business. I haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.”

Jill Schramm/MDN Vehicles park on Terminal Road in front of the terminal at Minot International Airport Wednesday. A consultant’s study is recommending roadway changes to facilitate better traffic flow.

Council member Rob Fuller said there is a concern with Knife River, headquartered out of state.

“This year, they’ve gobbled up a lot of the local work in Minot and some of the other small towns outside of Minot,” he said.

Sorenson responded the company was awarded the city’s watermain project this year but saved the city about $215,000.

Council member Lisa Olson said a local preference policy would stifle opportunities to receive lower bids.

“Quite honestly, this just looks like a solution in search of a problem. We haven’t heard from companies. No one has come up and spoken to us and said that they felt like they had been done wrong or that they didn’t have a fair shake,” she said. “I think that it will hurt us more than help us.”

Council member Mike Blessum recalled three times in the past year that local companies have lost out to nonlocal bidders. Fuller mentioned five businesses that have told him they haven’t had a chance to bid or were passed over for the bid.

“It’s not a solution in search of a problem. There is a concern,” Blessum said.

Blessum conceded going with the lowest bidder saves money but offered a scenario in which a local bidder could match a nonlocal low bid and get the award.

He proposed staff draft a local preference policy for further review that requires companies to be North Dakota headquartered and have substantial operations within a 25-mile radius of Minot to qualify as local. Also, if a local company’s bid is within 5% of a nonlocal company’s winning bid, it would have an opportunity to match that bid. Companies would need to be pre-approved and entered on a local bidders list to have a bid considered local. The policy would not apply to projects receiving federal funds due to federal rules.

“Some of our local companies are paying an immense amount of property tax. They’re driving the economy through sales tax. They’re driving the economy through the people they employ and the property tax paid by their employees. So, I think this is a way for us to go about that in the least intrusive manner to try to give that preference where we can,” Blessum said.

Fuller agreed a bid match opportunity costs the city nothing.

“I don’t understand why anybody would vote against making sure our local contractors and our local businesses have an opportunity to be at the table,” he said.

“My rebuttal to that will be they won’t have to match a low bid if there isn’t a real low bid,” Olson said.

Council member Paul Pitner said he would rather see the creation of more job opportunities for local contractors rather than a preference program to provide them with work.

The council voted 4-2 to draft a proposed local preference policy, with Pitner and Olson voting against.

The council heard from airport consultant Short Elliott Hendrickson regarding problems and fixes related to navigation of airport parking lots and roadways. Some of those problems include too many access points, regular wrong way traffic on the one-way Terminal Road, traffic backups getting to the terminal and snow removal difficulties.

Short-term fixes largely involve better directional signage and renaming parking lots from long-term to economy and from short-term to premium to better indicate that lots aren’t restricted but costs differ. Separate arrival and departure parking zones in the front of the terminal are recommended, along with a designated “cell phone lot,” where motorists can wait for flights to pick up arriving passengers. The report also recommended changes to better facilitate traffic on a slip lane road, which runs on the south side of short-term parking, and the S-curve leading to the terminal.

A medium-term fix includes closing off the rental car lot from short-term parking and redesigning the S-curve.

Long term, the slip lane road would be eliminated and entrances to the economy, premium and rental lots would be appropriately spaced from each other and clearly identified.

The short-term fixes could be implemented this year for about $250,000, according to the consultant. Medium-term fixes potentially could be added next year and long-term fixes would be at least five years into the future.

On the matter of charitable gaming licenses, the council took no action to tighten its policy. The council contemplated requiring charities to have local offices, services, employees or board members. A local requirement could only apply to new applicants, which Olson said creates an unfair playing field.

Gaming operations in Minot typically benefit local charities, although there are some, such as the American Foundation for Wildlife in Bismarck or Beulah Convention & Visitors Bureau, that take gaming money out of Minot.