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BEMIDJI — Nearly a month after a severe storm hit the Bemidji area, the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners extended its State of Emergency declaration by 30 days.

This extension, announced during Tuesday's meeting, means that the county will continue to receive state aid to help alleviate financial strain caused by the June 21 storm. It will also enable the county's Emergency Management Department to log additional damage and explore different funding streams.

This includes applying for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) support. If awarded, FEMA would provide federal assistance on top of state aid, providing full relief to the county, which is currently funding 25% of its recovery alongside the state.

Initially, Beltrami County did not anticipate seeking FEMA support. Now, it is one of seven Minnesota counties in the application process. Of the seven counties, Beltrami County sustained the most damage.

A shows that county damage clocks in at just under $10 million to non-insured public infrastructure. The figure already constitutes Minnesota Disaster Assistance Contingency Account access. However, Emergency Management Director Chris Muller suspects the figure will continue to increase as more damage is assessed.

Still, no funding stream exists to help residents restore private property. Residents must rely on their insurance for personal recovery efforts.

Beltrami County townships and cities that sustained damage and are seeking assistance are asked to contact Muller at chris.muller@co.beltrami.mn.us or (218) 333-8386 for further assistance.

Beltrami County is continuing its debris cleanup efforts following the approval of a

The Solid Waste Department plan details the future of county debris collection for the foreseeable future, including the closure of the county's Target recycling site.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Beltrami County planned to close the Target recycling site to consolidate services, as detailed during a Following the storm, the site became vital in disposing of tree debris. Now, with road construction near the site, it is set to close for good on Monday, July 21. Its last day of service will be Sunday, July 20.

Residents can deliver recyclables to Bemidji's Transfer Station site, located at 751 Industrial Park Drive SE, once the Target site officially closes. Beltrami County operates throughout the county and plans to open a new site along Fern Street in the future.

The Fern Street site will operate as Bemidji's sole recycling site and the Transfer Station site will eventually close as well.

For tree debris, residents are urged to utilize the county landfill site, located at 2331 North Plantagenet Road SE. Starting on Monday, July 21, the landfill will begin operating six days a week, closing on Sundays.

The debris management plan noted that traffic had begun to slow at the collection sites. Due to the imminent closure of the Target site, traffic is expected to increase.

workers who are working at the Target site due to the state of emergency declaration will be relocated. These workers will remain in the county until the declaration ceases.

Still, the Solid Waste Department is short-staffed, as collection efforts are expected to continue into next year and mulching debris is estimated to take two years. However, the approved plan allows the department to temporarily promote two employees and hire two more, which should alleviate staffing concerns.

Finally, the plan notes insights from the first month of collecting tree debris. Between June 23 and July 8, the two sites served around 8,000 cars, with significant variance as cars were not fully counted.

All additional costs of the plan are eligible for the 75% reimbursement from the state.

During Tuesday's meeting, the board also approved the addition of two bridge projects within its five-year road construction plan, set to be fully approved in December.

The first is the replacement of a bridge located on Rogers Road in Shotley Township. Plans to replace this bridge were already in place, but the project was not included in the initial plan.

The second is a bridge on Battle River Road NE, which recently became eligible for replacement via state funding. This project was added to a priority replacement list within the plan.

The 5-year road construction plan is expected to address all priority county road construction projects within the next five years.

The commissioners will next meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in the County Board Room, preceded by a work session at 3 p.m. All meetings can be viewed on the county's