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BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Commissioners approved two easements with the city of Bemidji during their Tuesday meeting, aiding the city in a large road reconstruction project that will begin later this year.

An easement is a legal agreement between one entity and another to use land not owned by the payee for a number of reasons. In this case, the city applied for two easements — one permanent and one temporary — to access county land to progress road reconstruction projects at Hannah Avenue and Middle ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Drive.

The permanent easement will cover 2,552.64 acres at the intersection of 23rd Street NW and Middle ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Avenue NW, granting Bemidji access to the county land indefinitely for the construction of a roundabout and for continual maintenance and landscaping.

Courtesy / Beltrami County

The temporary easement will cover 833.93 acres and grant the city ingress and egress access between March and December of this year, pending weather. The area is alongside a portion of Hannah Avenue as a separate road project.

Courtesy / Beltrami County

The city of Bemidji will pay Beltrami County a total of $33,330.76 — $32,163.26 for the permanent easement and $1,167.50 for the temporary easement, pending any damages that would be accessed once the county reclaims the land.

The county board approved the easements in a 4-0 vote, as District 4 Commissioner Tim Sumner was absent. Despite the unanimous vote, the board did express concern, namely from District 1 Commissioner Craig Gaasvig and District 5 Commissioner John Carlson.

Carlson stated that he is not in favor of the particular roundabout but was "reluctantly" in favor of approving the easement because the it would save taxpayer dollars if the city was to lose grant funding or needed to fund the project; he did not hear or see any concern voiced by those associated with the baseball fields located by the middle school and safety concerns were assuaged by County Highway Engineer Bruce Hasbargen.

"I do think roundabouts are a good solution for around schools when you have that high-peak traffic, and then the rest of the day that traffic can free flow through those intersections," Hasbargen said.

Gaasvig reiterated a concern of access to the various sports fields in the vicinity of the project, especially since the project will take place during the spring and summer.

"I would emphasize with Commissioner Carlson: I would hope that the city would try to reach out to the ball fields like the state did with the county fair," Gaasvig said, "to limit impact to our youngsters who are trying to have tournaments and enjoy the summer."

Of course, once construction concludes, worries of ball diamond access would cease, thus making the problem only applicable to the construction period. Additionally, the county would reclaim ownership of the easement area surrounding Hannah Avenue.

The board also approved a jail project development agreement with the city of Bemidji.

This action continues the county's plans to develop a new jail facility located at 815 Pioneer Street SE in Bemidji. It provides approval from Bemdiji for site, utility and landscaping work.

This also sets deadlines for the project. Construction is set to begin in the spring and is expected to be complete in March 2027, with landscaping plans to be confirmed at the end of that summer.

The commissioner's next meeting is set for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, in the County Board Room, preceded by a work session at 3 p.m. All meetings can be viewed on the county's