Nancy Bommelman, Minot

The Mayor and the city council would like to either renovate or build a new building for city hall. For the first time in my life I think I’m at a loss for words.

I’ll try to sum this up quick. IF the Big M building is used I hope everybody understands there is water in the basement and asbestos that have to be removed. That being said, the city has to come up with money to hire a firm to get all the asbestos out of that building. This means that it’s going to cost millions to get rid of that. I think the only thing that is holding that building up is the glass.

The taxes have not been paid for at least two years, so they are delinquent. It was bought in 2011 by Minot 123 LLC. If taxes aren’t paid it goes into foreclosure and the city can get a really good deal on it. Downtown property scams are quite a realtors dream now.

By the way, all this is public record. So does this mean that ALL of the offices are going to be downtown? So if they have to move the offices, what happens to the buildings that THEY empty? Something to think about. If they move city hall to the old Wells Fargo bank downtown, are the city employees going to use the parking ramps that nobody uses now? Are they going to park in front of the building and NOT use the parking ramps?

If they use the Wells Fargo bank that escalator has to come out and whole new floor has to be put in. Make no mistake about this, it’s going to cost millions. I’ve learned a long time ago, when a structure is built no matter what it is, expect more expense. So if the city says it’s going to cost $6 million, I will guarantee it will cost double that.

That means they have to come up with the money somewhere. Guess where it’s going to come from. Us, the taxpayers, the citizens of Minot.

Now, one more thing I want to say is the gathering space. Why in the Sam Hill, would we build it near railroad tracks so close and it flooded once downtown, it can do it again. I know that I will never go to this gathering space and I know I will never use the parking ramps. I have no reason to. I have talked to so many people that DO NOT want this gathering space. They are tired of all the spending just like I am.

In closing this letter I want to say, the reason I write these letters is to make people think. I don’t do it for attention. I do it to let people know what’s going on in the city. We have got to do something about all this spending. The city may tell us that it’s not going to cost this much or that much…Don’t let them kid you.