Jill Schramm/MDN Mayor Chuck Barney, right speaks at a news conference with now former city manager Lee Staab, left, last January to discuss Minot’s award of $74.3 million in the National Disaster Resilience Competition.

The city of Minot started off the year with big news when it was awarded $74.3 million in the National Disaster Resilience Competition.

Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp made the announcement Jan. 19.

Minot was one of 13 communities selected from 40 applicants to receive the award. The applicants included both cities and states.

At a press conference held later on Jan. 19, Minot Mayor Chuck Barney said city residents should be proud and excited about the announcement.

“This is a game changer. This is going to change the face of our community for generations to come,” Barney said at the news conference. “We are going to be prepared, not only to weather disasters in the future, but it’s going to improve the quality of life in our community. It’s going to give us a leg up. It’s really going to be a map for this city and this community moving into the future.”

Minot’s application was developed with the help of consultant CDM Smith and public input. The city had sought $182.7 million “for projects to reduce flood risk and water management, build, resilient neighborhoods and foster economic resilience and diversification.”

Lee Staab, who was city manager when the city worked on the grant application and at the time it was awarded, said the community as a whole was integral to the outcome of the competition.

He said more than 60 public meetings were held in Minot and up and down the Souris River Basin.

“We heard from a wide range of folks who opened our eyes to what we need to do in order to be more resilient. All of the effort from each of you who participated has paid off in a big way today,” Staab said.

Support for Minot’s application also came from Gov. Jack Dalrymple, North Dakota’s congressional delegation, the International Souris River Board, Souris River Joint Board, Ward County, Assiniboine River Basin Initiative and many local business partners.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development congratulated the city on its Phase 2 application.

Minot’s total award was $74,340,770. HUD agreed to partially fund all of the project that the City of Minot outlined in the Phase 2 application, according to a city news release announcing the award.

The news release said the projects are:

– “Reduce flood risk and increase resilience. The flood risk reduction projects proposed below reframe Minot’s approach to flood risk reduction, from an infrastructure-only approach to a layered strategy of grey, green and non-structural techniques to reduce risks and costs while adapting to a changing climate.

– “Build affordable, resilient neighborhoods. So that people who move out of harm’s way through the buy-out program can remain in Minot. For civilian military personnel at Minot Air Force Base who want to put down roots in our City. For our most vulnerable residents including the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.

– “Foster economic resilience and diversification. Three activities are included in this project: a Center for Technical Education, relocation of the MSU (Minot State University) Art Department Complex to downtown, and moving City Hall outside of the flood plain along with a new one-stop social services facility.”

After the award was announced. HUD and city staff were scheduled to begin working through the steps necessary to receive the grant and determine specific funding for each of the projects listed above.

By October, the city’s National Disaster Resilience Program was under way including initial plans for a proposed buyout of the Moose Lodge for a floodwater storage area as well as other proposed buyout areas under the program. Moose Lodge administrator Mike Stenvold said the lodge will continue to have a presence in Minot despite the proposed buyout.

Through the resilience program, the city also began an affordable housing study in June that was scheduled for completion in December, said Cindy Hemphill, Minot city finance director.

Community stakeholders also have been meeting to discuss a family homeless shelter.

An estimated $1.8 million of the $74.3 million grant from the National Disaster Resilience Competition could become available to get a technical education center started in Minot.

Barney said the city and its consultant, CDM Smith, have reached out to Minot State University, Dakota College at Bottineau, an affiliate campus of MSU, and Minot High School to open discussions about the next step in using the resilience grant to create a technical center. The next step is to identify the needs in the community and determine the types of programs that a center could offer.

CDM Smith now is reaching out to economic development and employer groups to find out where the needs are for technically trained employees.

The original idea was to build a new building at the north end of the parking lot north of the MSU Dome. However, the resilience program is looking at incorporating a technical center into the revitalization of downtown. An exact location has not been identified yet.

The resilience grant money must be spent within six years of being awarded.