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BEMIDJI 鈥� The Bemidji City Council met Monday evening for a work session featuring a discussion of legislative priorities to present to state legislators during the upcoming Bemidji Day at the Capitol event on March 5.

The entirety of the council agreed to address the legislative priorities laid out by City Manager Rich Spiczka in a document provided. These priorities include the construction of a new city hall and fire station with adjacent bonds; economic development; housing; a sales tax/special use tax; building relationships and unfunded mandates.

The council was presented with a Faculty Needs Study for the current fire station and city hall during a meeting in January 2023.

This study showcased the different needs and concerns of each building.

The fire station, constructed in 1970, has "major concerns," such as asbestos flooring, poor HVAC circulation, undersized roof drains and overhead garage doors, no space for additional hires, a small, co-ed locker room and little privacy in the dormitory 鈥� both men and women share the dorm and locker space, highlighting a need for separate spaces.

City hall shares similar "major concerns," according to the study. The first was a lack of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations, such as a ramp, elevator and bathroom. It also lists poor air circulation, lack of space in council chambers and the need to remodel the basement.

The study also listed deferred and upcoming projects like the replacement of the roof at the fire station in 2028 and the replacement of HVAC systems at city hall in 2029.

After highlighting problems and concerns, the study showed what each facility would need if remodeled or built anew in the future. It suggests that the fire hall should be upsized to 24,938 square feet, an upgrade from the current 10,050 square feet. It then suggests that city hall should be 18,053 square feet instead of the current 11,840 square feet.

These upgrades could come in the form of current building additions or the construction of completely new buildings.

Ward 3 Councilor Mark Dickinson stated he was 鈥渘ot convinced鈥� of the need for a new city hall and fire station. He preferred maintaining the current buildings instead of constructing something new.

Ward 4 Councilor Emelie Rivera spoke in favor of a new fire station and addressed Dickinson鈥檚 concern.

鈥淚n this request, it鈥檚 possible for us to say we鈥檙e considering finding ways to reuse what we have but in the event that cannot happen, we鈥檙e looking up to this amount (for a possible project),鈥� Rivera said.

Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould, At Large Councilor Audrey Thayer and Ward 4 Councilor Josh Peterson explicitly supported the construction of a new fire station with Peterson stating, 鈥淚 stand by, even before I was on the council, the fire hall project.鈥�

Ward 5 Councilor Lynn Eaton indirectly expressed support for the project when he expressed support for everything listed in the legislative priority document.

The council shared a level of support for remodeling or rebuilding the fire station and city hall, concluding that more details need to be ironed out before either project can take off. Additionally, the council would need to secure a bond in order to complete one or both projects, further delaying the process.

The first step will be taking it to state legislators during Bemidji Day at the Capitol.

As one of the legislative priorities included a conversation surrounding a sales and special use tax, councilors shared their thoughts on the topic.

Dickinson expressed support for a sales tax, something other councilors were split on. Peterson vehemently opposed the idea.

鈥淲hile I am interested in exploring a special use tax or a food and beverage tax, I am not in favor of a sales tax or even considering it,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淚t just further pushes businesses out of our (county) into Hubbard over the county line. That is concerning.鈥�

Mayor Jorge Prince mentioned he was more in favor of a food and beverage tax over the sales tax, though he was not against it.

"We have infrastructure issues. We know our roads are on a 100-plus-year rotation," he said. "We don't have sufficient funding for maintenance on some of our buildings, and that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e having (this) conversation about the fire station and City Hall."

鈥淲e need to get ahead of this,鈥� he added. "I think (a tax) is the simplest, easiest way. Putting it in front of our legislators is really important.鈥�

Spiczka asked if the council was satisfied with the current list of priorities and Prince added one more topic, wanting legislators to know that the rail corridor project is now underway following the previous council meeting. Prince added this item to let them know that the allotted grant money toward the project was successfully allocated.

With that addition, the final legislative priority list was set.

However, more specific details of what the council would like to see accomplished from each priority are still up in the air.

More specifically: housing. Spiczka agreed with the council that there is a housing issue, not only at a local level but at a state and national one. He then asked more specifically what the council would like to do to address the issue.

Fiskevold Gould and Rivera listed housing as a top priority and Fiskevold Gould even addressed this concern.

"I would like to see more housing dollars but I don't know how we make that argument if we haven't used ours yet," Fiskevold Gould said in regard to some housing funds the city has yet to use. "(Using those funds) is the best way to be able to go back to the legislature to say, 'We've used these dollars in this way ... and that is why we would like to encourage you to provide more of these sorts of unrestricted housing dollars.'"

The topics prioritized by the council will be addressed during Bemidji Day at the Capitol and the council will likely present results afterward.

The council will next meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 3, at City Hall for a regular meeting. All meetings can be viewed on the