歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� For nearly 24 years, Ron Johnson held the Bemidji City Council Ward 3 seat.

However, due to redistricting in 2022, Johnson was unable to run for the Ward 3 seat creating the perfect opportunity for a newcomer. After the November general election, it was determined that Mark Dickinson would be the new face of Ward 3.

During Monday's council meeting, Dickinson was officially sworn in alongside incumbents Mayor Jorge Prince, Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould and Ward 5 Councilor Lynn Eaton.

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

Dickinson was given a chance to address the council and crowd after being sworn in. He simply said 鈥淟et鈥檚 get going,鈥� eager to begin his first council meeting.

After the meeting concluded, Dickinson said, 鈥淚 thought (the meeting) was fun, interesting and I enjoyed it 鈥� I feel like it was my time to step up and help out and serve, and I hope I can bring something to the conversation.鈥�

Dickinson, 65, is a lifelong Bemidji resident, a graduate of Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 and BSU with a degree in business. He has been a full-time real estate agent and broker since 1984 and has been the owner of Century 21 Dickinson Realtors since 1998.

鈥淢aking Bemidji a more receptive city to further development and construction and welcoming to businesses," he cited as his top priorities. "I think it's just a process. (I hope to) be a part of the process and hopefully lend something to the conversation that people would view as positive.鈥�

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

The council approved the consent agenda which most notably included the designation of Ward 4 Councilor Emelie Rivera as Mayor Pro tempore, meaning she will step into mayoral duties, including setting the meeting agendas before council meetings and adding emergency agenda items, whenever necessary.

The council then discussed two city road projects with Samuel Anderson, City Engineer.

The first project is set to use a combination of city tax levy, utility funds and assessments to reconstruct around .9 miles of city street. The streets that will receive reconstruction include portions of Hannah Avenue NW, Norton Avenue NW, 14th Street NW, Taft Avenue NE and Mill Street NE. Additionally, the city is working with Ottertail Power to provide lighting to Hannah Avenue NW.

Adding lighting to other streets like Conifer Avenue NW is not in the current proposal but was acknowledged by Anderson and the council.

The project is estimated to cost around $1,746,963 and be completed sometime in October.

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

The second project will reconstruct around .5 miles of city street between Park Avenue NW and 15th Street NW using state aid funds, utility funds and assessments. The project will cost around $2,214,115 and is also estimated to be completed in October. More specifically, this project aims to narrow the current street, which currently sits at 36 feet with the curb to 30 feet with the curb and gutter.

After discussion, the council approved both road projects. A separate public hearing will be held for each during the regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3, at city hall, where the council hopes to hear feedback from the community.

The council concluded the evening by approving a local climate planning grant, presented by the Great Plains Institute.

This grant works closely with GPI, a clean energy nonprofit based in Minnesota, to 鈥渃reate a custom roadmap that would include a fleet analysis, a comprehensive review of the community鈥檚 zoning code and creation of a community-wide electric vehicle vision statement,鈥� in accordance with the Green Steps Cities Program study.

This study would allow Bemidji to pursue Level 4 status within the Green Step Cities program and a bronze level within the Charging Smart Program.

The councilors did approve the proposal 鈥� mainly because they needed to by Jan. 9 in order to see it move forward 鈥� but expressed concern and caution.

鈥淚 wanted just a little bit more clarity on this grant,鈥� Prince said. 鈥淵ou'll have to forgive me if I'm extra cautious these days given our recent funding that we received from MnDOT. I want to make sure that I'm very clear in my understanding of what is being proposed here.鈥�

Rebecca Heisel, senior program coordinator at GPI, added context for the council.

鈥淭here would be a statement 鈥� a vision 鈥� that's created, but it's up to you all what that looks like,鈥� Heisel said. 鈥�(This) could be something Bemidji is interested in learning more about related to transportation, electrification, and these are the steps that we can take to do more learning. Or it could be we're interested in increasing accessibility to charging stations within our community. And we'll do that through updating our zoning ordinance.鈥�

Additionally, Donna Coe, city finance director, was also in attendance to express support for the grant.

鈥淭his study will help not only get us to the higher steps in the green step program, but it'll also allow us to apply for state and federal grants once we reach a higher level,鈥� Coe said. 鈥�(Those grants could help) us to buy those vehicles or those charging stations. Also, I was told that this would increase business profits because the businesses could put these EVs in their parking lots. It would be creating more revenue and staying within the community.鈥�

Prince spoke to various city employees who own electric vehicles before the meeting. He reported that most of them still need internal combustible vehicles to make trips to the Twin Cities and Duluth throughout the winter

Prince鈥檚 conclusion was that EVs are not in Bemidji鈥檚 immediate future as they do not seem viable as of yet. However, he still expressed a sliver of support for the project as the council voted unanimously to move the study forward.

The next regular council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at City Hall, to accommodate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is the preceding Monday.