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Williston Township seeks property owner support for two paving special assessment districts; Corner Post estimate $2.2M
Summary
Township officials updated the Williams County Board of Commissioners on two proposed special assessment districts: Western Way (~$300,000) and the larger Corner Post/Lund Oil truck stop paving project (estimated ~$2.2 million).
Township officials updated the Williams County Board of Commissioners on two proposed special assessment districts that would fund paving and drainage work in the Williston area.
The first, called Western Way, is a short stretch of road near Border Plains equipment and Fish and Game property. The township reported the Western Way project is out for bids and estimated at about $300,000; work would be assessed to adjacent homeowners and the township expects to use its usual special assessment process for the smaller project.
The second project — described in the meeting as the Corner Post project tied to a proposed Lund Oil truck stop — covers a larger area of the Bennett subdivision and adjacent lots. The township presented an estimated cost for that paving and concrete work of about $2,200,000. The planned work includes concrete paving across part of the corridor with bid alternates to allow concrete to extend across the entire section or only up to the truck stop and pavement beyond.
Township officials said Corner Post (the property owner group) represents a large share of the project and currently the petition or signups for the assessment are at about 55% of affected property owners; the township needs a 60% threshold to proceed to bid. Officials said they anticipate reaching that threshold but noted owner outreach has been slow because many property owners are unavailable this season. Township staff also described coordination with the city to meet engineering requirements for bringing roads up to county or city specs.
On financing, township staff said they intend to pursue a Bank of North Dakota bonding route for the larger Corner Post project rather than selling bonds on the open market. For Western Way, township staff said they planned to use the township loan program and then enter a joint powers agreement with the county to collect assessments and repay the township loan — a process the county had used on a prior Ferris project.
County commissioners did not take a formal vote on either district during the meeting; township officials asked the board how it preferred to proceed with assessment committees and said they would return with final numbers and a formal petition once they reached the 60% threshold.
Township officials requested the county’s continued coordination while they finalize bids and financing; county staff advised the township to determine whether to use the county assessment committee or a township committee and to keep the board informed as numbers firm up.
