Jill Schramm/MDN Shane Goettle, an assistant city attorney for legislative affairs for Minot, addresses the Minot City Council Monday regarding the status of state legislation at the halfway point of the legislative session.

Flood protection for the Souris Basin would get a huge boost from a funding proposal that is set for a hearing Friday before a Senate committee.

A $125 million proposal for the biennium is the most significant the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project has ever received, said Shane Goettle, assistant city attorney for legislative affairs. Goettle presented a legislative report to the Minot City Council Monday.

The Senate Appropriations’ Education and Environment Division will hear House Bill 1020, which includes flood control, at 8:30 a.m. It passed the House 89-0.

Goettle said the amount of the state’s contribution to flood protection is important to keeping the Souris Basin project on schedule because the state is paying 65% of the overall cost. He explained the state has unspent cash that has been allocated to projects that have been slow in coming to fruition. Rather than allow the money to sit in a trust fund, there is interest in using it to advance projects that are moving forward.

“We put forward a bunch of scenarios and how much could Minot really absorb and undertake with regard to local share and keeping up,” Goettle said. “This biennium, $125 million is an amount that we could keep up with.”

Goettle said legislators asked if Minot can keep up with $140 million in state funding.

“That gives us a little more pause, but could be doable in this biennium,” Goettle said. Although the House settled on $125 million, that is a commitment, not a cap, he said.

“So we could end up applying for more even, and accelerating even beyond the $125 million,” he said. “The other thing is, part of the local share can be financed through a revolving loan infrastructure fund, and Minot’s got its application in for that – for $40 million – right now.”

The council approved the revolving loan fund application Monday. At a 2% interest rate, the savings could be a million dollars a year in debt service compared to the open market, said David Lakefield, the city’s finance director.

To persuade the Senate to adopt HB 1020, Goettle said, the city will need to model what it can do with $125 million for construction.

“We’re going to have to show a more aggressive timeline,” he said.

HB 1020 also allocates $106.9 million for the Northwest Area Water Supply to fund items such as a pipeline, a pump station and expansion of the biota treatment plant near Max.

Senate Bill 2323 would create a new Energy Impact Grant Fund with debt relief money for the oil hub cities of Minot, Williston and Dickinson. This would be in addition to existing hub city funding. Minot would receive about $2 million for each year of the biennium, Goettle said.

“This will free up local revenues for infrastructure and public services and help Minot pay down the debt for oil boom related projects and reduce reliance on property and sales tax for expenses,” he said. “The hub cities will need to demonstrate the effective use of these funds. There’ll be some expectation of reporting.”

The bill passed the Senate 45-0 and now is before the House.

The North Dakota State Fair is in line for $900,000 in Senate Bill 2009, which the Senate passed 44-3. It is scheduled for a hearing today before the House Appropriations’ Education and Environment Division. The bill includes funding to construct a new campground with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. It includes a $1 million appropriation for safety and security infrastructure.

Bills supported by the city to provide funding assistance for childcare services all were killed, but Goettle said he expects legislators to add some funds back into the budget. He said the amount of money is uncertain but likely will be less than the $60 million put into childcare last session.