The latest Minot community meeting, led by City Manager Harold Stewart, focused on the city's snow removal process. However, discussions also covered downtown parking, curb damages, and the recent tree removal on 16th Street.
Going over the recent community survey highlighted improvements in flood protection, drainage, sidewalks, and daytime walkability. However, street conditions have declined, and dissatisfaction with tax dollar value remains high. The survey also showed a drop in public satisfaction with the city's snow and ice removal plan compared to the previous years.
City officials acknowledged concerns and outlined efforts in a presentation to increase transparency in snow removal operations with more public visibility on social media. A root cause analysis identified 16 issues in need of improvement with the current snow plan, with the city working to upgrade equipment to more durable alternatives and deploy resources more efficiently for icy conditions. With 300 miles of residential roads requiring plowing in Minot, officials reminded residents to try not to park on streets during snow events.
Public questions centered on plow blade costs and longevity, curb damage from plows, and towing policies for obstructing vehicles. The city confirmed that hundreds of tow tags have been issued and that police are assisting in identifying vehicles for removal. Concerns were also raised about snow clearance in cul-de-sacs with garbage trucks ability to operate as the main priority. This was followed by heated discussion over an ordinance that seemingly conflicts with plows starting at 10 PM rather than 1 AM, allegedly leading to parked cars obstructing snow removal.
City officials also confirmed that the large tree removal project on 16th Street SW is part of the water retention project set to begin this year.
The fourth Community Meeting of the month of March will take place Thursday the 27th at 5:30PM at the Minot Public Library. Discussion will focus on construction and Legacy City Hall. This will be the final Community Meeting until June.
