Jill Schramm/MDN A strip of green space runs through a parking lot newly acquired by Ward County. The Ward County Administration Building and Courthouse are the background.

Having acquired a parking lot in a lawsuit settlement, Ward County is making plans to spiff up the property and possibly give it an eventual makeover.

The county obtained the parking lot just west of its existing parking lot along Third Street Southeast from Project BEE. The asset came to the county as partial settlement in a legal case related to federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars that the county awarded and later determined were mishandled by the nonprofit.

The Ward County Commission heard Tuesday, Nov. 18, from county Facilities Management Supervisor Brian Vangsness regarding what it will take to optimize the use of that property.

Vangsness said there is a strip of green space that runs through the parking lot. The City of Minot requires green space, although that space can be relocated from its current position. Its current location creates an obstacle for snow removal efforts, he said. There also is a need to fill potholes, do some leveling and address drainage, he added.

Another task is eliminating the current parking occurring in the lot. Most of the vehicles there do not belong to residents of the nearby Milton Young Towers, according to the complex’s manager, and certain cars appear abandoned, Vangsness said. One vehicle has been left in the lot for more than a year, but State’s Attorney Roza Larson said there is an efficient process to have abandoned, unlicensed vehicles towed.

Vangsness said he ordered signs designating the lot for Ward County employees or patrons. In a couple of weeks, once the signs arrive, any Young Towers residents who do use the lot will be asked to discontinue and remaining vehicles will be tagged with removal notices. County employees will be encouraged to park in that area to free up spaces nearer the Courthouse and Administration Building for patrons.

The Ward County Highway Department will be working with Facilities Management to provide materials to help fill in potholes yet this fall.

Into next year, Vangsness said, the county can consider lot upgrades that can be accomplished within the existing budget.

“We’ve been cleaning it up. There was a lot of garbage,” he said. “It would be nice at some point to get that tarred and then to work with the city to move that greenspace to the south end of it.”

County Engineer Dana Larsen suggested developing a broader plan regarding the final parking layout. A plan would spell out whether a guardrail between the county’s existing and newly acquired lots stays or goes, where green space should be and whether the two lots should be combined and laid out differently.