The City of Minot plans to reopen talks with Ward County on relocating municipal court after a review showed that a new home in the county Courthouse is the city’s best option.

The Minot City Council on Monday, May 4, voted to direct city staff to engage in those conversations with the county.

City Assessor Ryan Kamrowski presented an internal committee’s review of the site options for municipal court, which the city believes isn’t functioning optimally in its current location in the Minot Municipal Auditorium. Security and safety have been a significant concern.

The city review included the current location, the Ward County Courthouse, Ward County Administration Building first or fourth floor, City Hall’s third floor or shared use of council chambers, police station and Renaissance parking ramp.

The alternative that rose to the top was co-locating with the district court in the Ward County Courthouse, which could be implemented quickly and would provide one central location for courts in Minot. The existing security system for the building and available parking also were listed as advantages.

“It’s the most appealing to us for a myriad of reasons,” Municipal Judge Ashley Beall told the council. “It’s very cost effective. You have security there. There’s no need to transport prisoners via a vehicle.”

She added the district court typically doesn’t have all courtrooms simultaneously in use and when that does occur, municipal court has the flexibility of scheduling around those circumstances.

Council member Mike Blessum voiced his leaning toward the Ward County Courthouse.

“There seems to be a pretty strong reason to co-locate with the district court, in our case in particular, because the jail is so close by. There’s just a lot of logistical things that help, but I don’t know that necessarily has to be in an existing courtroom,” he said.

Council member Lisa Olson said conversations with the county need to include county commissioners as well as district court judges and staff, which is where conversation fell apart previously.

City Manager Tom Joyce called Monday’s presentation informational at this point. More discussion is needed, but action eventually will be required, he said.

“We have a lot of priorities, and we can’t fund everything, and we know that, but it’s all about racking and stacking priorities, and this is an important priority that maybe, over the years, may have gotten lost a little bit,” Joyce said.

He noted the city has addressed the most immediate and short-term concerns with municipal court at the auditorium.

“But the other mid- to long-term concerns, they’re not going to go away without more than likely changing the location or putting some significant resources into the current location,” he said.