City leaders in Dickinson were presented plans for one of the largest worker facilities yet proposed for the oil patch, this one a 3,000-unit campus on the community's Energy Drive.I wouldn't hold my breath. The hearings are going to be packed with faux-environmentalists.
Accommodate International would use a "podular" construction method to build apartment buildings on a 44-acre tract. The company says the worker rooms are larger than at existing man camps and each has a private bathroom.
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Monday, May 7, 2012
3,000 Men Living Together -- Dickinson-Area Proposal Would Result in One of the Oil Patch's Largest MAN Camps
Link here.
You seem to follow these man camp permit hearings (for lack of a better term).
ReplyDeleteMy question to you is this: are the opponents ("faux environmentalists" not sure what that description means) as you call them actually concerned based on some environment-related impact or are they nimbys just making an environmental argument because they don't want to be identified as nimbys?
I don't know the zoning (master plan) or if any growth plan was ever even considered prior to about 2010 or thereabouts. (That time frame seems to be the "oh sh/t) point where local gov realized the magnitude and scope of what was coming down the tracks so to speak.
I have nothing against nimbys opposition if lack of zoning to prevent 3000 room camps being randomly dropped in is the situation. I realize local officials are in an uncomfortable position on this and that they are not even remotely full time and probably don't or didn't have funding to hire staff based on oil wildcatting in 2007/2008.
I agree completely: you hit on a number of issues. When I first started the blog someone else pointed out that local officials did not have the staff to manage the situation. I never posted that comment because I felt it was too harsh on the local officials. I was giving the local officials the benefit of the doubt. Five years into the boom it seems like we're dealing with the same issues the same way: on an ad hoc basis, because, as you noted, there is still no master plan.
DeleteActually Watford City (in McKenzie county) will get the bragging rights to the largest mancamp.
ReplyDelete"Crews will break ground this week on the 3,100-bed Pioneer Lodge & Commons near Watford City, N.D." according to the OilPatchDispatch on-line. I saw a picture I think in the Williston Herald or else the WillistonWire web site.
It was a huge complex with 8 4-story housing buildings all connected together by interior hallway connectors. And these buildings were fronted by a very lodge style building (looked like a hotel) that housed more rooms, offices, and restaurants, laundry, recreation facilites. If I find the picture, I will post the link. I believe Williams county still has the largest humber of mancamp rooms with nearly 10,000.
The 3,000 mancamp by Dickinson(Stark county) will be their first IF it gets approved. The other one that Target Logistics wanted to build near Dickinson, ended up in Dunn county because Stark county would not approve it. Curious why this 3,000 unit is okay, but not the 600 they denied earlier?? Both are "temporary" and pod buildings. The 3,000 one does look more like apartments, but are still modular pod styles.
Great post, thank you.
DeleteYes, I agree: IF Dickinson approves the large man-camp.
If they do approve it, in light of not approving the earlier 600-unit man camp, it suggests to me a) backroom deals; and/or, b) a realization by Dickinson leaders they had better get moving before things spiral out of control.
Here is the website for the 3,100-unit Pioneer Lodge that is breaking ground in Watford City.
Deletehttp://pioneerlodgeandcommons.com/index.html
Wow, great link and great story.
DeleteI've posted the link as a stand-alone post so more folks will see it.
Again, thank you.
Here is Amy Darymple (no relation to the gov) story on mancamps. It mentions the 3,100 unit Pioneer Lodge in Watford and also explains how Williams county has 9,600 permitted. No more can be built, but any mancamp with over 200 beds can apply and get approval for "expansions". So Williams county could actually see even thousand's more coming on line.
Deletehttp://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/235970/
I can't recall posting this exact story but I do seem to recall reading that Williston would entertain requests to expand existing man-camps. I may have posted that story earlier.
DeleteRegardless, that was refreshing news, and makes sense.