Minot property owners facing sidewalk repair notices will get more time to respond, with no fees or interest if they elect to have the city arrange the work.

The Minot City Council on Monday, March 2, rejected a proposal to add a new administration fee and interest. Instead, the council narrowly voted to give property owners a second construction year to get the work done.

Council member Rob Fuller proposed extending the time to make repairs to Sept. 1 of the following year after receiving a notice. The change would give not just one construction year but two.

“It’s going to give those people an opportunity to fix it themselves without getting extra fees tacked on and interest and everything else that we’re talking about,” Fuller said.

City Engineer Lance Meyer said sidewalk repair orders typically occur following complaints that the city investigates and determines to be actual hazards. Property owners are sent notices to either have repairs made or direct the city to undertake the work. Meyer estimated about half of residents receiving notices for sidewalk repair elect for the city to handle it.

“The entire reason that we’re doing this is because of a safety issue,” Meyer told the council. “My advice or recommendation to you is to look at these and treat them as safety issues that should be addressed sooner rather than later. What we try to do at the Engineering Department is we send out a letter early in the spring. We generally give them till August to let us know what the plan of action is.”

In certain circumstances, such as the owner serving overseas in the military or unavailability of contractors, the city will grant extensions to complete the work, he said. He said if the council’s policy is to allow an extension into another construction season, he prefers the deadline be earlier in the season than September.

“For years, our residents have complained and been concerned that we have not had good enough pedestrian access,” council member Lisa Olson said. “We went through a time in our city where we didn’t require sidewalks, and so, in those areas of the city, pedestrians are in the street. School kids are in the street. Anyone that needs to access place to place using a wheelchair or a walker, they’re in the street. So, we made a lot of improvements in requiring sidewalks, but the sidewalks have to be in good repair.”

The council voted 4-3 to adopt Fuller’s amendment. Fuller was joined by Mike Blessum, Mike Hayes and Scott Samuelson in supporting the time extension.

The proposal from the Engineering Department that sparked the discussion called for new sidewalk repair fees and interest for residents who go through the city to have the work done. Historically, the city assessed sidewalk construction or repairs with no interest, according to information from the department. The city assessed the construction cost, plus 25%. In 2025, the council chose to assess only the construction cost.

The department’s proposal suggested assessing the repair cost to participating property owners over 10 years at an interest rate equal to the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate on Sept. 1 of the assessment year, plus 1.5%. Residents who choose to pay off the assessment in full would not be assessed the interest rate.

A 10% project administration fee was proposed to recoup some general fund costs, such as marking and measuring sidewalks, generating letters, generating information for the contractor and inspecting the work.

“I’m not in the habit of recouping the cost for staff. Our staff are paid,” Blessum said in opposing the fees and interest. “Acting as the bank for those special assessments at least gives me some way of sort of rectifying in my mind with the unfunded mandate that we’re forcing on people – that at the very least, we’re making it as palatable as we can.”

Blessum objected to requiring sidewalks and then requiring property owners to handle snow removal and maintenance.

“It concerns me that we’re bringing extra mandates for people – that we’re not funding them,” he said.

Blessum moved that the city assess only actual costs of sidewalk repair to property owners, not assessing any interest or administrative fees.

Fuller said since the city is using tax dollars and not borrowing to come up with the money to make the repairs for residents, there is no reason to charge them interest amounting to an average of $780 or more to pay it back.

The council voted 6-1 to not charge interest and fees, with dissent from Olson.