Josh Wolsky, Minot

One of the toughest parts of letting elected office go is leaving behind unfinished business.

While I was on City Council, and again while I was working for the Downtown Business and Professional Association, we seeded and began nurturing two ideas: that of a city-center park on the current BNSF office land (between the Broadway Bridge and 3rd Street) and a RV campground in the former Ben’s Tavern neighborhood.

This past Thursday, the City of Minot held a public meeting to tell you about visioning and planning related to both of these ideas. In each, we have a unique opportunity. We can take blighted vacant areas, and if we do it right, turn them into community assets that will be sources of pride and prosperity for us and future generations.

Very few places get an opportunity like we have – to turn large tracts of land into new, vibrant public uses. In most places, the destiny of city centers is set from the very beginning. It’s only through the misfortune of 2011 that we’re having this conversation. Could it be a silver lining to the many hard moments and decisions we’ve previously faced? Only if we grab the opportunity.

And with regards to the RV Park, there are few ideas as likely to have as large an economic impact on Minot as this. To make my point, all we need to do is look at what East Grand Forks and the State of Minnesota did following the 1997 flood.

East Grand Forks also had to buy out a neighborhood near the Red River. In its place, the State of Minnesota put a 43-acre RV park and campground. As part of my work for the DBPA, I reached out to them to get a measure of the park’s impact. It’s remarkable. Before things got goofy because of COVID and restrictions on Canadian travel, the park was regularly generating over 25,000 overnight visitors and over 100,000 in annual attendance.

Imagine the economic impact of 25,000 visitors staying within walking distance of downtown – a place that is still a well-kept local secret as a source of nightlife, dining, and shopping. 25,000 people with disposable income on our doorstep is the type of economic shift that alters the arc of a place. And if you’re having trouble imagining, ask our friends at Visit Minot. They have the data; they know exactly what these overnight stays are worth to our economy.

The other part that’s remarkable about the East Grand Forks park – it’s self-sustaining. The revenue pays for the operation and maintenance.

Now, I’m not naive. I know there are costs. I know we live in a time ripe with cynicism, whining, blaming, and complaining. There are countless people who will tell you this is impossible. They will tell you we can’t afford it. Here’s the simple truth; they are mistaken.

Yes, these ideas will cost us – investments in ourselves always have a price. But there are ways to pay for them. Anyone who tells you differently either doesn’t want to do the work or is guarding the dollars for other ideas. As examples of funding, the MAGIC Fund has approximately $9 million unencumbered. And I haven’t done the math, but a city center Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district is tailor made for these types of projects and far more beneficial to the community as a whole than the 1-developer TIF projects we’ve been recently passing.

Long story short, we can do this. But here’s the reality – these projects will not happen unless you step forward right now. They’ve been carried as far as they can go by their supporters, and they’ll die on the tree of good ideas if you don’t act.

Trust yourself; you know a smart decision when you see it just as well as I do. You know that this location close to downtown, close to restaurants, bars, and shopping, close to a grocery store, close to a public pool and park, close to a zoo, close to the fairgrounds would make it one of the busiest campgrounds in the region. Contact your elected officials on both the City Council and the Park Board and tell them you want to see these projects delivered. Don’t wait.