Volunteer Duane Branson fills sacks with bread from the shelves at The Lord’s Cupboard Friday for distribution to food pantry clients.

Determined to finish Broadway Circle construction, the Minot City Council approved agreements Monday that would remove a nonprofit partner and give the city ownership.

The plan also would use $1.34 million of general fund reserves to pay off construction costs not covered by federal grant dollars and set aside $488,207 as a contingency against future costs.

The board for the nonprofit partner, Project BEE, also was to meet Monday to discuss the agreements.

If approved by both parties, the city would assume possession of the 17-unit affordable housing building under construction, the six-unit family shelter under construction, the remodeled space leased to The Lord’s Cupboard food pantry and the commercial space leased to a restaurant.

City Manager Harold Stewart said construction is scheduled for completion in October.

Council member Paul Pitner questioned whether the city might sell the leased space to the private sector to reduce the financial hit to the community.

Stewart responded that it has been discussed, but a sale also would impact the financial resources of a nonprofit looking at operating the shelter and the low- to moderate-income housing because the lease payments would no longer be part of that equation.

“My goal is to get this off of the city’s plate as quickly and as soon as possible,” Stewart said of Broadway Circle. “Staff has an interest in not having the responsibility of operating a homeless shelter or even a LMI-housing apartment unit or even commercial property that is, arguably, profitable.”

Minot resident Rob Fuller objected to the council’s handling of the matter.

“You guys are making decisions on how to spend our money, our taxes that we’ve paid in, without any input from us,” he said. “This is something that needs to be done, but I don’t believe it’s something that needs to be done on the taxpayer’s dime.”

He questioned spending $1.3 million to complete construction with no indication of who will operate Broadway Circle.

“How much money is it going to cost us?” he said. “What if we can’t find anybody to run it? Then how are we going to support it? You’re going to raise our property taxes more, whether it be through the mills or through the assessed value. So it’s back on the taxpayers again.”

Council member Carrie Evans said the nonprofit community is working hard on this.

“This is something that is very important to the community and to our nonprofit leaders, and I’m fully confident we’re going to either identify another nonprofit to step forward or one will be formed that can competently and responsibly do this job,” she said.

Stewart said city staff are working to find other sources of funding to reduce or avoid the need to use general reserve dollars.

“I would hope the city does everything to turn over, to look under every rock, to do everything we can to get as little of this money to come out of reserves,” Burlingame said. “I don’t want one dime of city dollars to go to this that doesn’t need to go to it.

“We are here today because of the mismanagement of two nonprofit organizations – LSS (Lutheran Social Services) and Project BEE – and the situation is made worse by lack of a coordinated community effort. It’s a communitywide failure, and we have to do better,” Burlingame said.

Burlingame suggested a community advisory committee be formed to oversee the eventual transition of Broadway Circle to a nonprofit. He said the committee should be tasked with ensuring a nonprofit operating the homeless shelter and affordable housing has adequate ability to do so and has financial controls in place.

Stewart said the city vetted Project BEE to ensure the organization would have its share of funds available before entering a contract. However, between unplanned construction costs and some Project BEE dollars going to other uses, funding fell about $892,668 short, he said. He said the council may consider at a future time whether to pursue that money from Project BEE.