GF County Parking Ramp Repairs

The Grand Forks County Commission wants to continue the dialogue over stalled talks to transfer ownership of the downtown parking ramp to the city.

Consultants have told the county that the ramp needs immediate repairs to the tune of some $3.2 million dollars – plus a long-term maintenance plan at another $3 million.

Commissioner Mark Rustad says given the county’s financial situation that’s a tough pill to swallow.  Rustad says perhaps the city would show more interest if the county agreed to chip in some money – perhaps as much as one-million dollars.

Some commission members expressed concerns over the how the repairs would impact rates charged to employees using the structure.

In exchange for the ramp the county would receive a vacant downtown lot for future development.

County Administrator Tom Ford will contact city leaders with the latest plan and report back to the Commission at a December 19^th meeting.

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The latest estimate to fix the leaky Grand Forks County courthouse dome is $4.87 million dollars. That’s down slightly from the original bill of $5.4 million dollars.
Consultants briefed members of the county commission on the plan this week. They say upon further inspection they determined much of the exposed steel framing on the 109 year old dome is in good condition – and no hazardous materials were found on site. As a result a somewhat less impactful structural solution is needed.
Earlier this year the commission agreed to tap into a Bank of North Dakota loan rather than go the route of bonding to fund the repairs.

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The Grand Forks County Commission has approved Grand Sky’s request for additional money for an engineering study.

Last month, the Commission okayed $409,000 in state-appropriated funds for the aviation park’s study of its “Beyond Visual Line of Sight” system.

Grand Sky President Tom Swoyer told the board that additional challenges have come up regarding how the system connects with those at the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Swoyer asked for a budget increase of up to $700,000 for the study.

The board approved it unanimously.