The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a substantial amendment request from the City of Minot to reallocate $6 million from the now-abandoned gathering space project to two other projects.
John Zakian, the City of Minot’s National Disaster Resilience program manager, said the $6 million originally intended for the gathering space project will be split between two other approved projects in the City’s initial action plan: $4 million to the relocation of City Hall and the Minot Police Department’s central dispatch, and $2 million to the Center for Technical Education.
“HUD’s approval with no conditions reinforces their continued confidence in the City of Minot’s management of the federal grants, especially our commitment to assuring strict compliance with all applicable federal rules and regulations,” Zakian said.
Because both projects were already funded within the Community Development Block Grant National Disaster Resilience Action Plan, the City has launched the required environmental review process. HUD approval on the City Hall environmental review is expected within two weeks, with approval of the environmental review for the Center for Technical Education expected around Labor Day. Once the approvals have been received, the City can proceed.
Both projects are planned to be located in downtown Minot; one of the program’s goals is to invest CDBG-NDR funds to support sustained growth.
The gathering space component of the City’s CDBG-NDR Action Plan was eliminated by the City Council earlier this year after agreement could not be reached on a suitable site in downtown Minot.
The City was awarded $74.3 million in 2016 through HUD’s National Disaster Resilience competition. The funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2022, although the 13 grantees have requested that deadline be extended to 2025.