Minot council hosts legislators for pre-session briefing on flood control, NAS/NOS water project and other priorities

Minot city officials and area legislators met at a special council session on Dec. 27 to discuss priorities ahead of the 2025 legislative session, including flood control funding, the NAS/NOS water project, military-community support related to the Sentinel program, childcare funding, hub-city dollars and public-transportation funding.

Flood control: City staff told legislators that $76.1 million was written into legislative intent for flood-control work and outlined project-level uses, including acquisitions and design/construction. Staff said the Maple diversion project is expected to be bid next year and described milestone projects (including the Burdick/Broad tie-back) that funding would support. City staff also raised concern that recent bids on projects substantially exceeded engineers’ estimates because of inflation and said a state bonding authority could speed work and reduce constraints tied to biennial appropriations.

NAS/NOS water project: A city presentation described a planned $107 million NOS allocation in the next biennium, with about $46 million expected from federal sources for a permanent intake at Snake Creek and the remaining funds split between the city and the state to build booster pump…