While the Mandan City Commission hopes mediation will resolve issues in its attempt to annex property to the north of town, it is likely facing a similar situation on the south side.

At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners amended the 2008-11 Urban Road Priority List, moving 19th Street ahead of the western portion of Division Street. Through the process, the city will request federal funding for 19th Street in 2008 with construction coming in 2009.

Commissioner Tim Helbling suggested switching the two projects. He said he believes that with the rapid growth the community is seeing, another area of town needs to be opened for development. Helbling said the longer the city waits on 19th Street, more pressure will be put on development to the north of town.

"If we don't push 19th Street up, with the rapid growth we're seeing, we'll keep spreading the town and put pressure on the new junior high area," Helbling said. "If we don't do something to open up a large tract of land for development, Lincoln and Bismarck are going to capture it all."

Reconstruction of 19th Street from Highway 6 to Highway 1806, which will include pavement, curb, gutter, sewer and water, is an expensive project, city engineer Tom Little said, and will require extensive annexation to the south of 19th Street and some to the north. The project is estimated at nearly $9 million, with federal funding expected to be about $7.2 million and the city having to come up with $1.8 million.

"If we don't get to 19th Street, we'll push it off year after year, and that will stretch everything, and we'll end up needing three fire departments instead of two," Helbling said.

Commissioner Dan Ulmer asked Little if the city engineer predicted a similar protest to that being seen in north Mandan. More than 90 percent of the land valuation of the area the city is trying to annex near the new school filed written protest of the annexation. Only 25 percent protest is needed to stop the city-initiated action, leaving mediation the next step as the city continues to pursue the annexation.

Little responded that he did indeed expect a similar protest. The city engineer added that the issue over annexation needed to be resolved before proceeding with the 19th Street project.

City attorney Malcolm Brown said that should an annexation go to mediation, there really isn't a timeline. He said that should mediation fail, the city could proceed through judicial means. Brown said he figured the entire process, including a possible appeal, could be done within a year.

Each fall, the city reviews its urban road program, submitting a list of prioritized projects to the Department of Transportation for consideration of funding. In the spring, the NDDOT determines what funding is available and asks for concurrence from the city. This way the city has two chances to make decisions on the project list, Little said.

The city engineer also said that the change will mean substantial changes in the city's approach to funding of the projects, since the Division Street west project is only about 10 percent the cost of the 19th Street project. NDDOT regulations allow for deficit spending for projects. Little also said that by moving up the 19th Street project, it would likely be less expensive, since inflation is worked into the cost formula.

Next year, the city is expected to receive about $900,000 in federal funding for the Division Street project from Mandan Avenue east to Missouri Drive, with construction coming in 2008.

The commission unanimously voted to move the 19th Street project up and requested the city engineer to begin preparing annexation plans for an area south of Mandan on either side of 19th Street.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarck-tribune.com.)