Jill Schramm/MDN Felix, left, and Leon Rivera, of Minot Air Force Base, have fun playing near the Theodore Roosevelt statue in Roosevelt Park on Wednesday. The statue is scheduled to be moved this summer from its base in the center of the park plaza to a new base in a new location south of the Veterans Memorial.
The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial in Roosevelt Park is scheduled to be moved this summer.
Souris River Joint Commission Administrator Ryan Ackerman told the Minot Parks Commission on Tuesday that foundation designs have been turned over to Mattson Construction, which will build the statue's support structure in its new, permanent location. Once complete, the statue will be relocated.
The statue will be erected just south of the Veterans Memorial and will be placed on an island of green space in a parking lot near the zoo's visitor center and will be visible to drivers on the Burdick Expressway.
The relocation was made necessary by the construction element of the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project, which impacts Roosevelt Park.
Ackerman said the bid for the portion of the MI-6B flood protection project from Poole west to Main Street was 40 percent higher than estimated in May, and the Joint Commission is considering options. A bid for the public facilities portion of MI-7, which runs from Poole to Roosevelt Park and the zoo, was 50 percent higher than estimated. Ackerman said the bid was rejected and the project will be rebid.
“The purpose of the re-bidding is to try and garner more interest by slowing down the schedule. The feedback we've gotten from the market is that the schedule is too aggressive. Essentially, the labor force that's currently in the market is insufficient to complete the project on the timeline that we wanted,” he said.
The joint commission also plans to solicit bids in July for the relocation of the zoo and park facilities, Ackerman said, including for relocating the zoo exhibits to part of what is now Roosevelt Park, an area that was realigned because of the flood control project.
Ackerman said rebidding could delay the completion of flood protection projects at the park and zoo. The original plan was to work on the park this year, the zoo next year and dedicate a third year to cleanup. Now, it's expected to take three seasons for construction and four seasons for cleanup, he said.
Parks Director Ellie Deslauriers added that an agreement from several years ago requires the Parks Department to account for land it acquires in Roosevelt Park for flood control projects, and to make up for the loss, it is considering acquiring 80 acres in southwest Minot that could be leased for agricultural use until it is developed.
“We don't have any immediate plans, but we do see it as a good opportunity for us,” Deslauriers said.
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