MAGIC Fund Covers 55th Shortfall - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

MAGIC Fund Covers 55th Shortfall

Minot's sales tax-funded MAGIC Fund is contributing nearly three million dollars to complete funding for the 55th Street overpass and bypass project.

Members of the MAGIC Fund steering committee voted unanimously this morning to donate 2-point-7 million dollars to make up for a funding shortfall.
Federal, state, and local funding for the project had totaled 20 million dollars, but the costs for building the bridge and bypass on the northeast side of Minot have swelled to more than 22-and-a-half million dollars.
This morning, the MAGIC Fund committee members agreed to make up the difference.

(Lance Meyer, Minot City Engineer) "It's not a project cost overrun, there's a funding gap from the amount we received from federal grant and state funds, to what the project bid cost was. We knew going into this project there was going to be a shortfall.  "

MAGIC Fund members also voted to contribute 350-thousand dollars to Midwest Milling - a company planning to establish a plant in the ag park area near the bypass.
The money will pay for construction of a rail spur to connect the company's operating to the main BNSF line.
Company officials told MAGIC Fund committee members they plan to begin construction on their new facility as soon as the rail line is installed.

(Wade Clark, Midwest Milling) "We would hope that would be completed by fall and come spring we would begin construction on moving the initial milling process in, so about a year in April we would start that."

The company will have to increase its workforce from the present two, to nine over the next few years to qualify for having the entire 350 thousand dollars be in the form of a grant.
If it does not meet the goals, some of the money would have to be repaid.
The MAGIC Fund's recommendations go to the full city council next week.