News | May 2, 2017

City Council Candidates Comment On Minot’s Highest Priority…

200 words • 1 min read

Author

Josh Wolsky

How and where does an information-hungry citizen learn about those seeking office in a local election? We think we’ve got the answer.

Every week until the June 13 election, City Council candidates will be asked two new questions by our online forum moderators. They answer the question in the allotted space, we publish them word for word. There’s no editorial in our coverage and no cost other than taking the time to answer for the candidates to participate.

Additionally, we’ve also given each candidate the opportunity set-up an election home page for their campaign. It puts all their forum answers in one place and provides a structured platform where they’re free to share more information about their values and priorities.

It’s a part of our mission to provide you the reader with better information about the goings on in Minot. Special thanks to our forum moderators Mr. Maxson, Ms. Karpenko, and Mr. Ackerman for volunteering their time to put together a conversation-provoking list of questions.

Check out candidate answers to one of this week’s questions below, follow this link for our campaign headquarters with all the forum questions, links to candidate pages, and election information.

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Josh Wolsky

Developer & Writer @TheMinot Voice, Fan of the Souris River, SavorMinot Advocate. Fortunate to be a 'former' City Council member ;)

3 Comments

Pamela Adkins May 2, 2017 at 3:27 pm

I mean you're talking about people who are struggling to make ends meet already because of loans that they were forced to take out to fix their homes. On top of that, they're going to be getting hit pretty hard with the new flood insurance rates. Where are they supposed to get extra money to pay an assessment on their homes for flood control? An assessment would kill real estate in the valley, and make the valley a ghost town. But then I guess if everyone who lives in the valley is driven out, there won't be a need for flood control. Those who suggested an assessment, clearly don't live in the valley.

The Minot Voice May 2, 2017 at 3:50 pm

Hi Pamela! We can't guarantee each candidate will reply to you, but if you want a response, it will help to specify a candidate. We'll try and connect people up with responses. And don't be afraid to be over-the-top polite! Online discourse -- especially on political issues -- has devolved into little more than shouting at each other. Here on The Minot Voice, we're attempting to raise the standard of the conversation.

Josh Wolsky May 2, 2017 at 4:04 pm

Hi Pamela, I did suggest that we need a special assessment district and I stand by that. But I think you've misunderstood my position and made some assumptions about what that assessment district would look like. First, here's the quote from my response... "First, we need to create a special assessment district as a backup for the bonds. We’ll still use sales tax dollars to finance the project, but using the special assessment district as security will give us better terms. Most importantly, the method lets us extend the debt term to 30 years." So, the funding mechanism isn't the special assessment, it's still sales tax. However, if we secure the bonds (the debt we have to incur) with a special assessment district, we'll probably get a slightly better interest rate and longer term. It makes the project more financially feasible -- $350 million has to come from somewhere, right? That said, I don't know exactly what the special assessment district looks like, but I don't imagine it would be exclusively restricted to the valley. Everyone -- including those on the hills will receive differing degrees of benefit from a completed flood protection project and a safe, secure community. What it does look like -- if that's the path that those elected this June choose -- is another conversation. But as I see things today, this is the method that gives us the best chance of actually completing the project under terms we can actually afford. By the way, I am asking everyone I know if they have $350 million under the mattress. No luck so far, but I'm going to keep asking. :) Thanks for reading! Josh Wolsky

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Josh Wolsky

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Josh Wolsky

Josh Wolsky

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