Despite a petition signed by 53 of the town's 600 residents, the city of Minto, N.D., has purchased a former grocery store in the center of town, and will demolish it in the next few weeks.
Protesters claim the $40,000 spent is a waste of taxpayer money. City officials say the purchase will encourage development on the downtown property.
The Minto City Council approved the purchase of the former Gudajtes Store in February. Last week, it accepted a $9,500 bid to demolish the building, which sits on the corner of U.S. Highway 81 and Harvey Avenue, a main business block in this community about 30 miles north of Grand Forks.
"We took the initiative," Mayor Lane Kelly said. "We're going to knock it down and clean it up. Hopefully we'll entice someone to buy it and develop it."
The city now is waiting for state regulatory approval, including asbestos inspection. The mayor said the goal is to have the lot cleared before the spring thaw.
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The store, which has changed hands several times over the past 15 years, has been closed since May 2011, according to the mayor.
The petition called for the "referral of city ordinance or resolution or motion." It sought a public vote on the issue before any money could be spent on the purchase.
However, city officials said the City Council has the authority under Minto's home-rule charter to make the purchase.
The city paid for the building with funds from its economic development fund, which is supported by city sales taxes designated for infrastructure and economic development.
"As far as we're concerned, it's a dead issue," the mayor said. "The objective now is to get it taken down and cleaned up. If we sell it and make some money, that'll be great. But even if we sell it for a loss and it creates jobs, that's great, too."
Melvin Tibert, a local resident who helped initiate the petition, agreed that there's little, if anything, that can be done about it now. But he's not happy.
"I'm not going to spend any more money on it," he said. "They don't care what the citizens say. There are other property owners in town who are upset. Maybe they'd want the city to buy their property. If it's good for some, it should be good for all of us."
Call Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1110; or send email to kbonham@gfherald.com .
