Minot State University Sucking Up Flood Recovery Funds
The City of Minot made national news when it was hit by devastating flooding from the Mouse/Souris River, but what should make national news is the way taxpayer dollars are being handled in the wake of that flood.
The City Council of my hometown decided to accede to the wishes of Minot State University and give $6 million in city sales tax revenues for a sports facility project that includes building an inflatable dome over the university’s football field and purchasing a digital scoreboard. As you might imagine, many citizens were chagrined by the decision given that we’re driving on extremely busy roads much in need of repair and on which not all of the traffic lights are working yet.
But today comes news that the city is asking the federal government, through FEMA, for some $6 million to relocate one of the schools destroyed by the flooding.
Sens. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Kent Conrad, D.-N.D., offered Thursday to lend support to Minot Public Schools in persuading the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund relocation of Erik Ramstad Middle School.
At a flood update meeting in Minot City Hall, Supt. Mark Vollmer said FEMA continues to resist paying about $6 million in relocation costs, claiming the school has only a 0.38 percent chance of experiencing another flood if it stays in its current location. He said FEMA has declared the 2011 flood a 260-year event.
Still, the school district is proceeding with plans to begin this spring to build a new school capable of serving 720 students.
Oh, and the Park District has $6.5 million worth of flood repairs from FEMA too:
The park district has submitted about $6.5 million in flood repairs for reimbursement. FEMA has looked at much of that list and knocked down the reimbursable cost to $2.1 million, park board president Ron Bieri said. The discrepancy could mean considerable out-of-pocket expense for the district, he said.
The federal government is bankrupt, running a budget deficit over $1 trillion every year since 2009, but here in Minot city leaders are demanding federal funds to rebuild our community while we spend community funds on goodies for higher education.
But at least MSU, which last time we checked in was millions over budget on a “green” geothermal project, is getting everything on their wishlist this year. Something nice to think about as we citizens drive through our destroyed parks and dodge traffic at intersections without traffic lights.
Tags: city of minot, flooding, John Hoeven, Kent Conrad, minot, minot state university, North Dakota News
