歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� The Bemidji City Council approved an amendment to the upcoming city project that will construct roundabouts on Hannah Avenue and Middle 歪歪漫画 Drive to include a potential third roundabout at Middle 歪歪漫画 Drive and 23rd Street Northwest during its meeting on Monday.

The addition to the project was spurred by surplus funds that resulted from lower-than-anticipated project costs for the original two roundabouts and additional funding gained by swapping funding years to assist the city of Crookston, Minn.

The original two roundabouts, which will be constructed in 2025 on Middle 歪歪漫画 Drive and the access point for Target and Tires Plus and on Hannah Avenue at the entrance to Burger King and Simonson鈥檚, had an estimated project cost of $2.6 million.

With the additional funding, the city has $4.6 million available to spend on the project.

鈥淲e鈥檙e coming in maybe a little under what we had anticipated for project costs,鈥� said City Engineer Sam Anderson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at a surplus of funding of about $2 million.鈥�

Since the intersection of Middle 歪歪漫画 Drive and 23rd Street Northwest is already on the edge of the project鈥檚 area, Anderson explained that it would be easy to add to the construction鈥檚 scope. He also shared that it would be beneficial to traffic management and pedestrian safety.

鈥淭he estimated cost of this project would be about $1.5 million so it鈥檒l bite into a decent chunk of that surplus,鈥� Anderson said.

Council questions on the project focused on what the impacts would be to surrounding properties, whether the roundabout would be constructed to accommodate school buses and if there were drawbacks to having several roundabouts in a row like what would occur upon the completion of the 2025 project and the Minnesota Department of Transportation鈥檚 2026 Highway 197 project.

Anderson replied that conversations with neighboring properties would be part of the project鈥檚 next steps, that the roundabout would be built to allow for school buses to easily navigate the circle and that roundabouts in sequence have been found to be safe.

While many councilors responded favorably to the idea, Ward 2 Councilor Josh Peterson shared his opposition to the roundabout, asking whether the surplus funding could go toward improving the two roundabouts that have already been approved.

鈥淲e鈥檙e getting really roundabout heavy, and I have nothing against roundabouts where they work,鈥� Peterson said, 鈥�(but) I would rather see us utilize the surplus and make sure that the roundabouts we鈥檙e putting in at Middle 歪歪漫画 and Hannah are higher-end and look presentable.鈥�

When it came to a vote on whether to approve the amendment to the professional services agreement to include the additional roundabout, the council voted in favor 6-1, with Peterson in opposition.

The council meeting also saw the city鈥檚 annual truth-in-taxation meeting, which outlined the city鈥檚 proposed 2024 budget under the preliminary 10.35% levy increase the council approved in September. The final budget is set to be approved during the council鈥檚 Dec. 18 meeting.

The presentation outlined the main drivers of the taxes residents might be seeing increase, even with the 10.35% marking an overall decrease in the city鈥檚 tax rate.

A representative from Abdo Financial Solutions, the firm assisting the city with its 2024 budget process, explained that the city has seen an $8.7 million increase in property evaluation and that on average residential properties in the city have seen a 10.2% increase in their value from 2023.

Commercial and rental properties have also seen increases, of 2.25% and 7.23% respectively.

These increases in evaluation have, in most cases, been the main force behind individuals鈥� property taxes increasing.

Three individuals spoke during the item鈥檚 public hearing, one in favor of lowering the taxes and two in favor of keeping the preliminary 10.35% levy increase. The council has discussed the feasibility of decreasing the percentage to 9.57%, with two councilors stating they want to lower it to 7.5%.

The council meeting also saw the annual report of Visit Bemidji, the city鈥檚 tourism bureau, which unveiled its new marketing campaign to replace 鈥淥ne Step Further鈥� as 鈥淕reat Moments in Bemidji.鈥�

This new campaign aims to highlight experiences large and small that make Bemidji special and encourage visitors and residents alike to share their 鈥済reat moments鈥� with others.

The final item on the council鈥檚 agenda was to consider taking a symbolic action to support the prioritization of United States Postal Service mail amid the recent attention on the current difficulties related to mail delivery in Bemidji.

While the city does not have any authority over the delivery of mail, which is managed by the federal government, the council unanimously approved writing a letter and resolution in support of mail delivery to government officials and state representatives.