The Vision West ND Regional Plan project is rapidly nearing its completion. Over two years in the making, the Regional Plan represents thousands of hours, miles and voices of western North Dakota citizens' vision and plan for the future of the region.

The next stage in the Regional Plan's development is the rollout of the document to stakeholders and members of the public. In addition to the full Regional Plan, the Vision West ND Administrative Team and Vision West ND's planning facilitator, Building Communities, Inc., have drafted a Regional Plan Summary that outlines the key aspects of the Regional Plan that were developed over the two-year project period. This document summarizes each of the five issues -- Housing, Child Care, Emergency Services, Water, and Transportation --- that rose to the top as those of the broadest and deepest concern to the people of the region. The Regional Plan Summary is meant to serve as a guide and reference to understand the priorities of those in western North Dakota as well as their perspective on the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. Policy makers, leaders, elected officials, or representatives of the North Dakotan populace at all levels are encouraged to use the Regional Plan Summary and complete Regional Plan to develop sound policy in managing those challenges and opportunities.

The Vision West ND Consortium will hold its next meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2014. The meeting will begin at 9:00 AM CDT and will be held at the Mountrail County Fair Building just south of Stanley. Two important things will happen at this meeting:

-  Training on the Regional Plan will take place. It is important that all associated with Vision West ND be trained, as many will be mentioned in their local media and will be given the opportunity to speak about or be quoted on the plan. The Consortium will also be trained on how to answer questions from the media. 

General directions to the Mountrail County Fair Building are: Hwy 2 to the stoplights at Hwy 8. Turn south on Hwy 8 and go just over ½ mile and turn right on 61^st Street.  You will see the fair building on your left - go west a bit to the turn that takes you between two buildings. If you attended the previous Consortium meeting in Stanley, the location is the same. 

An agenda will be sent in the next couple of weeks. Consortium members are requested to let Deb Nelson know as soon as you can whether they are able to attend the meeting. This meeting is extremely important, so all are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP to Deb via phone at (701) 483-2801 or by emailing her at deb@dlnconsulting.com.

Population Estimate Webinars

Three western North Dakota webinars, debuted last week, released new western ND growth projections that topped last year's. Hosted by Deb Nelson, DLN Consulting, through the Western North Dakota Project initiative, researcher Dick Gardner explained the charts and changes in the region's population. The webinars show the oil "boom" is actually an industry where the population expected will be greater than originally projected. It will also last longer, tapering off between 2022 and 2030, but creating long term jobs.

While the U.S. EIA estimates the Bakken field could produce 1.02 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020 in North Dakota, McKenzie consultants estimate 1.7 million bpd and Continental Resources has predicted 2 million bpd by 2020.  ND is likely to hit 1 million barrels a day this spring.

Western ND is "still in rapid ascent," Gardner said. The new projections show the intensity will last longer, and more total employees are needed beyond the 2012 estimates. 74,000 total oil wells are expected with some wells producing for 45 years.

City and county growth rates greater than 4% can be uncomfortable, Gardner said. Below are the anticipated average annual rates of increase for population and housing through 2020:

It will take 30,000 miles of pipe to serve the Bakken and a predicted 14 years to get it all in place because of the state's shorter construction season. Average daily rig count will range from 175-190 over the coming 25 years, Gardner said.  Oil bids up the price of labor in western North Dakota, Gardner said, so it will crowd out some businesses, especially in Williston where the direct oil employment reaches 63%.

For attendance, 46 people registered for the Dickinson hub webinar, 55 for Williston, and 20 for Minot.  The one-hour webinars are recorded and are available at no cost to viewers on-line on the Vision West ND website at www.visionwestnd.com/webinars.php or www.ndwebinars.com. These webinars are part of the Western ND Energy Project, which is sponsored by the Strom Center and funded by the Bush Foundation and Vision West ND.

Upcoming Events:  

April 16, 2014

Financing, Developing & Constructing Public Infrastructure in the Bakken

You have a desired project in mind . . . perhaps a much needed new school, a hospital, a wastewater treatment facility, civic center or affordable housing. How do you get from this "idea" to a finished building? Where do you get financing? Are there innovative financing strategies to consider? What is involved in the construction process? How will you manage the procurement process and the construction process? How will you deal with claims?

All of these questions and more will be addressed by experts in these areas in a full day program focusing on transforming your "idea" into a finished facility.  

This conference, designed for city and county staff, engineers, elected officials, economic development professionals, construction industry professionals, and other executives involved with project development and financing in North Dakota, will take place on Wednesday, April 16 at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck. The event will begin at 8:00am CDT and end by 3:00pm. Click here to view an agenda of the event. 

Registration to the conference is complimentary, but required before Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Click here to register.

April 22-23, 2014

The MHA Nation's Annual Bakken Oil & Gas Expo will be held April 22 through 23 at the 4 Bears Event Center in New Town, ND. The Expo will feature a list of speakers including MHA Nation Chairman Tex Hall, U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and ND State DOT Director Grant Levi. Major topics in the agenda, available here, include TERO, environmental protection, transportation, right of way, tribal flaring, and MHA Nation 'Peoples Fund' issues. More information on the Expo is available at www.mhabakkenexpo.com/.

April 24, 2014 

The Vision West ND Consortium will hold its next meeting on April 24, 2014. The meeting will begin at 9:00 AM CDT and will be held at the Mountrail County Fair Building just south of Stanley. Two important things will happen at this meeting: 

1. The Regional Plan will be released. This is the Consortium's chance to see the final draft.
2. Training on the Regional Plan will take place. It is imperative that all associated with Vision West ND be trained, as they will be mentioned in their local media and will be given the opportunity to speak about or be quoted on the plan. Training on how to answer questions from the media will also take place. 

Vision West ND Consortium members are encouraged to let Deb Nelson know whether they will be at the meeting. She can be reached via email at  deb@dlnconsulting.com or by phone at (701) 483-2801.