DICKINSON, N.D.-Gov. Doug Burgum came to Dickinson State University on Monday, April 30, to discuss several topics, most prominently being the challenges facing the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum project, which faces a legislative deadline to begin construction on a building before the year's end.

"In this library there is a huge opportunity," Burgum said. "I think there is a vision that is coalescing that this is going to be a $150 million-sized project that is driving hundreds of thousands of visitors. I know that's a bigger vision ... and that vision stands on the shoulders of all the work that's been done to get us to this point. The cumulative effort that's been put in ... has brought national attention."

This deadline, and strings attached to money from the Legislature, are "constraints" that Burgum said are arbitrary and potentially of great risk to courting national partners to fulfill the vision of the $150 million project. Burgum said that he had received "assurances" from members of the Legislature that the current constraints could be lifted in the first days of the next session.

"I've got assurances now-(and I know) assurances may not work for everybody, the Legislature is the Legislature-but I've got assurances that this kind of constraint removal legislation would happen not at the end of the session but the first days of the session," Burgum said. "Why do I believe it? Because those funds were appropriated out of the last session, this is '17-'19 dollars, they aren't competing for '19-'21 dollars, it's a different bucket. Whatever's left of it, we can preserve ... if we all have a common agreement amongst this group."

Even if the deadline is honored, and construction begins in Dickinson as currently planned, there's a challenge involved with maintaining funding for the library building. While it would be on university property, it would be separate from the university and thus not entitled to university funding.

listen live watch live

"(National partners) are concerned that if we build this, we will not have any endowment for (operations and maintenance)," Sen. Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, said. "The (operations and maintenance) will not go on the Dickinson State tab, it has to be seperate, it has to take care of itself."

After the meeting, Wardner reiterated that there have been sentiments expressed that suggest Medora, the current planned site for the Roosevelt museum portion of the project, would be a far more appealing library location on a fundraising level than Dickinson.

"People who are involved in this thing say we can't raise the money for Dickinson, but they say we can for Medora. That question is not answered," Wardner said.

The North Dakota Legislature initially promised $12 million, with the city of Dickinson offering an additional $3 million to match it-for $14 million to get the project off the ground. But that money came with a deadline to start construction this year.

Burgum said rushing to get started on construction of a project to meet a legislative deadline without a complete plan in place hurts the project's overall chances of success.

"That's not a Dickinson State building, you gotta figure out a way to operate and maintain it, you gotta figure out how to staff it," he said.

Burgum said potential national partners will look at the situation "and say 'OK really, you're going to try and spend $14 million in eight months, because of a legislative constraint? You guys want this thing or not?' If we want to look rational to the whole world, we shouldn't be operating under a bunch of artificial constraints. I firmly believe that if we removed those constraints, the (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Board of Trustees) will make a different decision."

Retired superintendent Lewis Getz also asked Burgum what stands to be gained should the library project not begin construction on a Dickinson location this year-Burgum pointed out that, in his experience with construction, the constraints placed on this project have forced the board to build something before they know what they want to build.

"What you have to gain, at least in my mind, is a higher percentage chance of the larger project happening ... what is called the $150 million project, we have a higher chance of achieving that," Burgum said. "I've been involved in a lot of construction projects personally ... I just think it would be unusual to say 'we are building a building and our approach is we're going to start before 12/31, we're going to spend $14 million and work our way backwards to figure out what to build. That wouldn't be a traditional approach for any project and it certainly wouldn't be an approach that honors the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt."

In response to another Getz question, Burgum said this wasn't a conflict between Dickinson and Medora.

"I feel if we are going to build a true national attraction in western North Dakota, the biggest beneficiary of that is Dickinson. It's not Plot A, Plot B, Dickinson wins because it's the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park," Burgum said. "If you go to Yellowstone National Park you have ... five or six cities that bill themselves as the gateways to Yellowstone National Park and they've built huge markets around that. People say that Medora's dead in February, well, Yellowstone Park is closed (except) to maybe 300 snowmobilers a day ... national parks are seasonal activities."

Talk of national support for this project has happened before-former DSU basketball coach Lavern Jessen spoke out about "frustration" felt by people at the Dickinson level.

"Keep working on it, but understand there's a little frustration at this table about this. Long, long ago ... we were hearing the same things," Jessen said. "I've heard this before. I've seen this committee vote 13-0 unanimous votes, I used to think that meant something, it doesn't now. They changed their mind. I was told I 'don't understand the wealth that's out there' and that's true. I sure as heck don't. I was told this ... years ago, and I don't see the piles of millions ... so there's a little frustration from people at this table that now we want to give it a start, we're told we don't understand and we want to put this off another seven, eight years."

A meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation's consensus subcommittee is scheduled for Tuesday, May 1, where it is expected that a complete vision for the full project will be determined. Work has continued on planning for the Dickinson library location in the meantime.