New North Dakota governor’s home design likely by end-year

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A design for a new $5 million North Dakota governor’s residence should be in place by Dec. 1, officials say.

The state Capitol Grounds Planning Commission met Thursday to set a tentative timeline for the project, the Bismarck Tribune reported (https://bit.ly/1GbMRKz ).

State facilities management director John Boyle says a design team should be selected by July 15.

The Office of Management and Budget’s three-member project selection committee will team up with four legislators to review at least three preliminary designs. The four legislators will be the House and Senate majority and minority leaders or their individual designees.

“They will present these at a public meeting of this commission,” Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley said. “At the end of the day, they can’t put anything on the Capitol grounds without our approval.”

Feedback also will be gathered from Gov. Jack Dalrymple, past governors and their families.

Lawmakers authorized $4 million from the state’s Capitol Building Fund and $1 million from private donations to construct the new residence. Construction won’t begin until at least $500,000 in private donations are collected.

Funds will be raised by a task force appointed by the planning commission and a nonprofit Friends of the Residence group that was formed in the 1980s to address renovations to the governor’s residence.

Wrigley said a meeting with the Friends of the Residence group will be held in the next couple of weeks to name a task force chairman and members to conduct fundraising.

An additional $50,000 would be set aside in general fund dollars to provide for temporary housing expenses for the governor during demolition and construction. Efforts to secure temporary housing in Bismarck for the governor’s family are to begin toward the end of the year.

The current 10,000-square-foot residence was completed in 1960 and is in need of repairs in excess of $2.8 million, according to a study. Security concerns and handicap accessibility are cited as major concerns.

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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com