Minot’s application in HUD’s National Disaster Resilience Competition has proven enormously successful. Word from Washington via the Senators Hoeven and Heitkamp is that Minot has been awarded $74.3 million in federal funding. The award marks the culmination of a 14-month process, numerous public meetings, and a final application focused on projects intended to make the community more resilient to natural disasters.
Information on which projects in the application were awarded was not yet available, but comments from City Manager Lee Staab indicate today marks the beginning of what will be a multi-year community transforming process. The full news release from the City of Minot follows below.
— Official News Release, City of Minot –
US Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and John Hoeven (R-ND) today announced that the City of Minot had been awarded $74.3 Million in the National Disaster Resilience Competition. At a press conference today at Minot’s City Hall, Mayor Chuck Barney said that the City should be proud and excited about the announcement.
“This is certainly great news for the City of Minot,” Barney said. “Everyone who has worked so tirelessly over the past year to insure our success should be proud on this historic day. The entire community has always shown how resilient we are in the face of a challenge, and these federal funds will move us to the next level in being prepared against natural disasters, economic disasters, and so many other stresses that this competition has helped us realize were a threat to our city. ”
City Manager Lee Staab added that the community as a whole was integral to the outcome of the competition. “During this competition, we were told over and over that input from the community was paramount to our success, and the residents of Minot and the Souris River Basin showed up in a big way to make sure that we would be noticed, and that we would be successful.” Staab added that the support of the community was evident throughout the entire process. “We held over 60 public meetings here in Minot and up and down the Souris River basin. We heard from a wide range of folks who opened our eyes to what we need to do in order to be more resilient. All of the effort from each of you who participated has paid off in a big way today.”
Minot was one of 13 communities selected from 40 applications to receive an award. The applicants included both cities and states. The funds will help Minot both recover from the previous disaster and make plans, decisions, and investments that make them more resilient to the next disaster. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Rockefeller Foundation will outline the specific projects that will be funded later this week.
