BEMIDJI — Following Northern Township issuing a notice of intent to incorporate on April 14, the city passed a resolution on Monday asking the township to renegotiate.

Taking place at the end of a Bemidji City Council meeting on the unanimously passed resolution asks that Northern Township rescind the notice of intent to incorporate and reenter wastewater negotiations with the city.

"(Bemidji) highly values the ongoing, long-term, positive working relationship with the township and wishes to restart negotiations with the township," the Bemidji resolution read, "to extend utility services, put aside previous unsuccessful negotiations and plot a new course forward as a united community that will provide for the most efficient and effective use of public dollars while extending utility services and addressing serious environmental challenges impacting Lake Bemidji."

Negotiations would include "extension of utility services into the township, including related municipal boundary adjustments, including but not limited to an orderly annexation agreement."

The city will now serve Northern Township with a formal notice of intent to annex a portion of the township land surrounding Lake Bemidji. The resolution cites Minnesota statute that states incorporation may be denied if the area "would be better served by annexation to an adjacent municipality" as a key factor toward sparking new conversation.

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

The city plans to follow through with this plan unless Northern Township rescinds its petition to incorporate and reenters "good-faith negotiations with the city to resolve issues without need for a contested boundary adjustment proceeding at further expense to the taxpayers of the township and city."

The resolution allows the city to develop proposals with parameters set by the council to negotiate with the township.

The resolution also cites many various reasons and concerns for the new action.

First, the Bemidji Wastewater Facility plant was designed to handle future growth from Bemidji and Northern Townships, and is currently operating at around 60%. The resolution mentions that the city has invested millions of dollars into building and supporting water infrastructure, and if Northern Township incorporates, it would "have the effect of wasting the city's significant investments in planning for and installing such infrastructure to serve growth areas in an orderly manner."

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Click the image above to view the full PDF document.

Another concern surrounds environmental issues. The city will explore other legal options if Northern Township continues working on the new wastewater treatment facility to "ensure environmental concerns are addressed appropriately and efficiently with the appropriate regulatory agencies."

Among other things, the resolution notes that the wastewater facility would duplicate existing services in the region, be an unnecessary expenditure of public funds, conflict with future growth, negatively impact Northern Township taxpayers and set boundaries, impacting Bemidji's growth.

The two municipalities negotiated this topic many times in recent years, but no resolution has been reached, leaving both sides frustrated.

Now, the passed resolution could bring both sides back together for negotiation.

The Northern Township administration was contacted, but told the Pioneer they do not currently have a comment as they have not formally received anything from the city at this time.