BEMIDJI 鈥� During its meeting on Tuesday evening, the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners received an update on the displaced residents of Red Pine Estates in Bemidji who were ordered to vacate the building by July 6 after structural concerns were discovered.
A total of 47 residents, many in their 80s and 90s and relying on social security for income, were given just six days to leave their homes and were unsure of where they would be able to turn. The community, however, stepped up by helping residents move and coordinating hotel rooms and storage units for their belongings.
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Now, nearly one month after the incident, the commissioners heard from Sandy Hennum, a community development specialist with the Headwaters Regional Development Commission, and Cory Boushee, a program officer with Northwest Minnesota Foundation, on where things stand.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all been working pretty much day and night with these tenants to get them housed,鈥� Hennum said. 鈥淭wenty-five of the 47 have found housing and 13 (of the remaining tenants) are staying at hotels. We started out with 22 at hotels and we鈥檝e reduced that as we鈥檝e helped them find housing.鈥�
Hennum shared that the cost of the hotels, storage units and meals that are being delivered to the displaced residents have predominantly been paid for through donations from the community and partnering organizations.
鈥淩ally for Red Pine has paid for all of the storage units, NMF has provided $35,000 for hotel stays and United Way has paid for all of the meals through their generous donations,鈥� Hennum explained. 鈥淲e鈥檝e estimated it鈥檚 about $2,500 a day (to support all the residents through the program).鈥�
Hennum also explained that while Schuett, the company that owns Red Pine, could and has paid for some hotel rooms, the volunteers working to help the residents would prefer it saves that money to help subsidize housing for them once it鈥檚 found.
鈥淲hat we would like them to preserve is that Housing and Urban Development subsidy for when people get into their housing,鈥� Hennum explained. 鈥淭hen instead of 10 months (subsidized) they鈥檒l have 11 months. Their subsidy is gone in one week (at a hotel) as opposed to one month in an apartment.鈥�
County commissioners asked Hennum and Boushee whether the city of Bemidji had contributed anything financially to the efforts, pointing to the fact that it was a city order that vacated the residents on such short notice.
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鈥淚 feel like they should be taking more ownership in it,鈥� District 1 Commissioner Craig Gaasvig said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just a little disappointed we haven鈥檛 seen more help financially or otherwise coming from the city.鈥�
Later during the meeting, the county board approved $48,500 from a pool of community reinvestment dollars provided by PrimeWest Health to go toward helping the displaced residents. This decision had previously been tabled by the board during its last meeting.
鈥淭his is a group of people who are in, at this point, an insecure housing situation, and we are hoping to help them find permanent housing in the next three weeks or the next three months,鈥� said Anne Lindseth, the county鈥檚 director of health and human services. 鈥淎t this point, we need funds to house them.鈥�
The money provided by the county, Lindseth explained, can support five weeks of hotel expenses for the 13 residents who remain in that situation. As the residents find permanent housing, those funds could also be used to assist in other ways.
Gaasvig once again brought up the opportunity for the city of Bemidji to make a similar financial effort.
鈥淚 hope they鈥檙e listening. I would challenge the city to at least match us with the money we put forth,鈥� Gaasvig said.
Other business
The county board also approved four other proposals for the money from PrimeWest Health, alongside supporting Red Pine residents.
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These community reinvestment dollars, which amount to just under $204,000, will also support guardianship needs, investments in technology and a remodel of the second floor of the county's community services building. The county will also allocate $20,000 to the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless from these funds.
The board also approved a request from the county jail administrator to increase the budget for inmate meals to accommodate for inflation, with the cost per plate rising from $3.70 to $4.01. County commissioners also asked about ensuring that inmates鈥� meals were meeting the required calorie counts after concerns were raised by a community member.
As its final decision during the meeting, the board also approved ballot language regarding a local option sales tax to help fund a new county jail, which will be brought to the public during November鈥檚 election.
The tax, which if established would be a 0.625% sales tax that would be in place for 30 years or until the bonds are paid. If the tax is voted down the jail would be paid for via increased property taxes.
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