The Minot City Council agreed Monday to put out another call for proposals to operate Broadway Circle, which includes the shelter and apartments that are under construction. The city’s first request for proposals drew only one response from a property management company interested in managing the apartment complex only.

The city took over Broadway Circle after Project BEE was unable to fulfill its obligations. The council last February decided to keep Mattson Construction and EAPC Architects & Engineers on the project while using city reserve funds to help with costs.

At Monday’s meeting, council members addressed the property tax situation that is discouraging nonprofits and private groups from getting involved. Chris Plank, the city’s National Disaster Resilience program administrator, noted there are tax reduction programs that exist to reduce that burden.

Council member Mike Blessum moved to call again for proposals with information about potential property tax breaks that could make it possible to make operations cash flow.

“We’re going to need someone with some expertise in property management, along with sort of the heart and soul that it takes to run a homeless shelter,” Blessum said. “It’s going to take some folks from the community to step up and make it happen at this point because the city, as far as us sitting up here, we’re not going to be in the business of running a homeless shelter. It doesn’t work for what we are trying to accomplish as a city.”

According to comments made to the city from the first call for proposals, one area nonprofit reported, “Between the property tax liability for such a massive piece of property paired with the property insurance needed to adequately cover the facilities, the math just doesn’t work for us. Those two things alone would be upwards of $180,000 per year, and we haven’t even touched costs related to a lease payment, utilities, operation of the shelter, or property maintenance.”

A private investor who showed interest told the city, “Unfortunately, with the low rents and the extremely high property taxes, there doesn’t seem to be enough cash flow and that doesn’t take in the consideration of taking on the homeless shelter part.”

Plank said the solution could be multiple agencies coming together, and he is working to encourage that to happen.

“We do need to solve this problem, and part of the answer was on the ballot in November,” council member Scott Samuelson said, referring to the measure to eliminate property taxes. “I’m extremely disappointed that the city and its partners from all over the state don’t realize the effects that high property taxes have on everyone, including government. This is the problem that we’re running into as government is trying to solve these problems, and all we’re doing is putting more and more on the taxpayer.”

Broadway Circle Addition, at 19th Avenue and South Broadway, will have an estimated value after completion of $3.25 million, with an estimated tax of $59,300 if fully taxable. Under city ownership, the only taxable portion of Broadway Circle is a building leased to a restaurant, which has a tax of roughly $5,000 and generates lease income that can support the homeless shelter. A qualified nonprofit also could take over the shelter and the building housing the Lord’s Cupboard food pantry without property tax liability.

The apartment complex, expected to be valued at $1.8 million, still would have a property tax estimated at $32,900. For the first 20 years, rents will be limited to amounts affordable for low to moderate income individuals and families. If the city places a Land Use Restrictive Agreement on the property to hold down rent, the operator would be eligible for a property tax reduction, Plank explained.

Broadway Circle’s new deadline for substantial completion is April 7.

The council approved pushing back the date from Dec. 16, which already was a pushed back deadline. However, the family homeless shelter will be completed by Dec. 16. The 17-unit, low to moderate income apartments are to be finished over the winter.