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Resident tells Minot council city is "consistently not enforcing ADA requirements" for downtown projects
Summary
At a Nov. 3 personal-appearance slot, a resident raised multiple accessibility complaints — sidewalks that do not continue blocks, building doors lacking ADA push buttons, and unfinished pedestrian paths — and urged third-party oversight of ADA planning and inspections.
At the personal-appearances portion of Minot’s Nov. 3 meeting, a resident identified by the mayor’s call as Billy Gunderson criticized the city’s enforcement of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements across several downtown projects.
Gunderson said sidewalks and curb work completed before the council’s August meeting do not meet ADA standards and cited doors at the Whiskey 9 and Ebenezer buildings that, he said, lack accessible push-button door operators despite receiving facade-improvement funding. He said stakes were posted on the river path north of the river but that pedestrian paths were left incomplete and that recent retaining walls built by Park Construction were torn down after issues arose.
"The city is consistently not enforcing ADA requirements," he told the council and urged the city to use a third-party contractor to oversee ADA planning and inspections. Gunderson also recalled raising these concerns at the Renaissance Zone meeting and said he has repeatedly sought compliance through that forum.
Council took no immediate formal action in the transcripted record; staff and council members acknowledged the comment but the record does not show a detailed departmental response during the meeting. Gunderson framed the issue as broader civil-rights and public-safety concerns and called for stronger enforcement and attention to accessibility work in downtown projects.
The council proceeded to later agenda items after the public comment.
