Jill Schramm/MDN Minot Housing Authority has sought a facade improvement grant for its building, shown Tuesday, Dec. 16, in downtown Minot.

A facade improvement grant request that was rejected on a tie vote at the Minot City Council’s Dec. 1 meeting stayed stuck on a tie vote at the Monday, Dec. 15, council meeting.

The Minot Housing Authority isn’t without other options after the council again turned down its Facade Improvement Program request. However, reconsideration at a council meeting with all members present had been the preference of Tom Alexander, executive director.

Alexander told the council the housing authority deserves to have its facade improvement request heard by a full council. He added there are no rules in the Face Improvement Program that discourage the agency from applying. The property is located in the downtown zone to which the program applies, and its application was approved by the Renaissance Zone Committee, he said.

“Minot Housing Authority has been providing affordable housing for over 56 years in the city of Minot and Ward County,” Alexander said. “We literally have thousands of people walk through our door on an annual basis. I’m not saying we’re the busiest business in downtown, but we’ve got to be one of them. We are very limited on funds for capital improvement needs. We budget very carefully on an annual basis to meet those needs. In many instances, we cannot meet those needs due the funding restrictions and the emergency improvements that are needed. To be very honest, we need your help to improve our office building.”

Council member Mike Blessum recommended the housing authority bring its building needs to the council for city funding, noting the city routinely funds some other nonprofits that assist the city with public services.

Blessum had opposed using facade dollars to assist Minot Housing Authority because it is a quasi-government agency that already accesses tax dollars. Council members Scott Samuelson and Rob Fuller had joined Blessum in rejecting the facade improvement grant.

Mayor Mark Jantzer and council members Lisa Olson and Paul Pitner supported the grant request. The absence of council member Mike Hayes the past two meetings left the two sides stalemated. The council could not muster the votes to bring up reconsideration, so supporters sought to move the item to the Jan. 5 meeting.

“I’m trying to do the work we need to do and a tie vote is not doing the work,” Olson said. “I urge my colleagues to allow seven people to vote on this.”

The motion to move the item to Jan. 5 failed on a 3-3 vote.

In light of that vote, council member Paul Pitner noted another option for the housing authority is to submit a new application and go through the process again in an attempt to reach the council when it has all members present.