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BEMIDJI — A busy Bemidji City Council work session concluded Monday evening with an update on the State Highway 197 reconstruction project and its landscaping design.

The council approved the project at a meeting on Dec. 2, 2024, which includes adding roundabouts at the Menards entrance, Middle ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Drive and Hannah Avenue while keeping current traffic signals at other intersections, aiming to improve safety and traffic flow along the Highway 197 corridor.

On Monday, City Engineer Sam Anderson provided an update to the council on the current landscaping proposal for the entirety of the project.

He mentioned that planting trees, adding decorative concrete and landscaping areas at the median and each roundabout would cost $1,145,000 in year one. Maintenance of each roundabout and the corridor would cost an estimated $23,000 in year one, $20,000 in year two and $17,000 in year three, decreasing each year that follows.

"We're pushing over a million dollars just based on the face value of the landscape architect estimates," Anderson said. "Maybe not normal in any kind of circumstance, but in theory, we have the money to do it. That's a cost that the city would have to pay, (but it would be) covered by the RAISE grant itself."

The with $3.6 million being awarded to the city and $14.4 million to the Minnesota Department of Transportation to cover its portion of the project.

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

The landscaping proposal aims at planting 200 trees and that would cost an estimated $25,000 for watering and replacement.

These trees would be a mix of native over story, ornamental and evergreen trees. Different shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses would be planted as well.

One chief concern voiced by the majority of the council was an overabundance of trees which could obscure visibility and business fronts. Ward 4 Councilor Emelie Rivera asked if Anderson could work with business owners to make sure the trees will not impact their business.

Ward 3 Councilor Mark Dickinson furthered this mentality.

"My sense is on a commercial corridor like that, less trees are better," Dickinson said. "I love trees, but there's a spot for them and I think we should really give (business owners) a lot of a lot of leeway as to what they would want in front of their business."

Ward 2 Councilor Josh Peterson also asked that trees be removed at the request of business owners while looking out for future businesses along the highway.

"(The trees do) create some concern, especially for visibility and signage, when you know that whole former Marketplace (Foods, at the Westridge Shopping Center), location is going to be redeveloped," Peterson said. "We don't know who that will be, and they haven't had a chance to voice their concerns, but I'm sure they're going to want their frontage and visibility from 197. I think cutting back on some of the trees would be beneficial."

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

Mayor Jorge Prince voiced a different issue with the trees.

"I didn't go counting trees or looking for trees, but it felt to me like we're going from not very many to 200 which is a huge swing on a commercial corridor," said Prince. "I'm really concerned about changing it to that extreme."

Prince then mentioned that unexpected maintenance concerns might creep up in the future, meaning less could be better.

Meanwhile, Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould had a different take on the issue.

"I was really happy to see the over 200 new trees," Fiskevold Gould said. "I would like to be able to see that because we need more shade cover in that area. I would not be supportive of bringing that (number) down, but however they're distributed, based on what you're working with, makes sense."

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

The council gave Anderson permission to plant the trees with nuance, and he said he's comfortable speaking with business owners and strategically planting trees based on business owners' wishes.

Anderson noted in his proposal that MnDOT has completed roughly 90% of its design plans and was looking for final design input from the city by March. He will use council feedback to finalize a final design in the coming weeks.