Minot committee sends economic development recommendations to council, including transparency requirement for MAC EDC and proposal for land‑development panel

The Economic Development Plan Review Committee voted Friday to forward a package of recommendations to Minot City Council that includes a requirement for MAC EDC to provide more detail on how City of Minot funds are spent yearly, continued investment in consolidated data for site selection, and a recommendation that the council consider creating a Land Development Partnership Committee to speed private development on underused parcels.

The committee said the proposals aim to address a tight market for buildable lots and the high cost of bringing properties to shovel‑ready status. Committee members repeatedly tied the recommendations to efforts to accelerate housing and commercial development while preserving transparency for taxpayers.

Committee Chair Blessom opened the discussion by walking members through the draft recommendations and the highlighted items for possible elevation to primary recommendations. Multiple members pressed for more specificity on accountability. "The conversation about having transparency in government is an important one," said Mark Lyman, representing the Chamber/EDC, during the meeting.

Why it matters: Minot faces limited immediately developable lots and rising infrastructure costs. Committee members and staff described a gap between parcels that are theoretically developable and parcels that actually pencil out for builders because of upfront infrastructure and permitting costs. The committee’s recommendations are advisory; the council will decide whether to adopt any changes to contracting, funding or committee structure.

Key details and what the committee voted on

- MAC EDC transparency: The committee adopted a motion requesting that MAC EDC provide greater annual detail on how City of Minot funds are spent. Members framed the request as a transparency measure rather than a punitive audit. The motion passed on a recorded roll call (Nelson, Pittner, Blossom,…