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Thursday, January 31, 2013

$12 Million Not Enough for Dickinson's Infrastructure

Updates

February 1, 2013: see comment below regarding possibilities for Dickinson:
Calumet is proposing a diesel plant for the South Heart area. Also more natural gas plants in local area. Potential for Carbo Ceramics proppant plant further east. Dickinson has a big tank fabricator that needs to expand. Watford City, with 20,000, and Killdeer, with 5000+, will need a regional center to shop at and get services, as retail and consumer services can't get labor or housing for labor. Dickinson will be the Minot for the Bakken south of the river. 
Original Post
Link here to The Dickinson Press.
An additional 22,000 people are expected to settle in Dickinson over the next seven years, further stretching the city’s infrastructure as it struggles to keep up with water supply, wastewater and other issues.
At the end of the current biennium, the city is looking at $42.1 million of debt incurred from borrowing from the state’s revolving fund loan program for infrastructure costs, and could add $40.5 million of debt more on top of that if the state doesn’t step in to help.
Under a bill sponsored by Rep. Robert Skarphol, R-Tioga, $12 million would be granted to Dickinson to help fund water infrastructure needs through a change in the state’s oil and gas production tax allocation and impact aid program.
But Dennis Johnson, president of the Dickinson City Commission, said that is not nearly enough.
I can never keep track of the North Dakota budget, but at this link, posted back in May, 2011:
  • Total state budget, 2011 - 2013, $9.92 billion, an increase of 12.2 percent

8 comments:

  1. I wonder if Dickinson will actually see another 22,000 people as is suggested by local leaders. With the Tyler formation not as robust as was fisrt anticipated, and the Bakken now has the areas defined. Area's near Dickinson are not seeing the robust drilling that was expected. It appears will will remain in the North West part of the state. I understand Dickinson will support the drilling taking place to the north around Killdeer, but Watford, Sidney, Williston, Tioga and STanley areas are far more busy as far as drilling and service. Someone from Dickinson said there are a lot of NEW homes and apartments sitting empty and they have been sitting empty for quit a while. Not sure if this is true or not. But looking at the number of rigs in Stark county compared to say Williams...pretty extreme difference. Time will tell I guess.

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    Replies
    1. There's a lot more going on in the Dickinson area than drilling the Bakken. Other formations. Crude-by-rail. Oil services for the four-state area. Dickinson sits on one freeway; and US Highway 85, a bit like Fargo.

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  2. Remember as well all the services to catch to the oil are not in place yet. Schools, hospitals, services. This all has to back fill, and many of them will come to Williston because of size and location. There is the back filling and additional group because of additional activity in the bakken. In many regards I get the sense that this is the peak of the bakken, but people, equipment, opportunity is still rolling in. Its winter things slow and get reevaluted. I keep hearing the spring and summer are going to be busy.

    As for vacancies in Dickinson, that would surprise, I would with a couple of builders that couldn't get permits, larger projects, the city was so concerned about managing growth, very little got built. But I have not been there. But I am aware of approximately 300 apartments that are scheduled to break ground in April.
    Kent

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  3. The other point, 12 million of instracture, roads, sewer and water built about 600 housing units in minot. And it took 3 years. So if the number is 22,000 that means a lot of space needs to be built out and you are talking 100 million in new services, that is assuming existing water and waste don't need to be expanded.

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    Replies
    1. I agree. I think folks who are suggesting that Dickinson won't grow significantly are missing the very things you mention: all that infrastructure. Again, much of this is location, location, location. And Dickinson, transportation-wise, is in a much better location that Williston. The natural gas industry is yet to be felt in much of North Dakota, including the Dickinson area. A lot of folks working the southern half of McKenzie County are going to migrate to Dickinson for housing, rather than Watford City.

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  4. Starting to hear more and more the evolution from the man camp to permenent housing. The boundaries as indicated are getting defined, so the manufacturing will be less mobile, leading to the change from temp to perm housing. The wife and kids will want to be in the bigger towns and dad will drive to work in the patch. You can do this if you know your operator is going to spend years in Mckenzie county, versus 2 months, here move 60 miles, 2 months move again. That will be a major evolution as well.

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    Replies
    1. You are absolutely correct: I blogged about that a long time ago based on my military experience. Military spouses followed their husbands everywhere, including to countries where spouses were specifically NOT to go.

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  5. Calumet is proposing a diesel plant for the South Heart area. Also more nat gas plants in local area. Potential for Carbo Ceramics propant plant further east. Dickinson has a big tank fabricator that needs to expand. Watford City, with 20,000, and Killdeer, with 5000+, will need a more regional center to shop at and get services, as retail and consumer services can't get labor or housing for labor. Dickinson will be the Minot for the Bakken south of the river.

    ReplyDelete

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