BEMIDJI — On Monday, the  Bemidji City Council  passed a resolution to file a petition with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings to annex a portion of Northern Township following a closed session.

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Bemidji's decision follows a string of events, the most recent of which saw the Northern Township board approve a motion to file its petition to incorporate with the state during a

Northern Township's proposed wastewater treatment project plays a role in the city's decision as well.

Bemidji's resolution states that the city feels the incorporation of Northern Township would fix boundaries and prevent the city from growing or serving the area in the future.

The resolution also mentions that the city has invested millions of dollars to handle area growth and meet environmental standards, including work at the wastewater and water treatment facilities.

Because of this, Bemidji feels the Northern Township proposed wastewater facility is a "unnecessary and wasteful" duplication of services and that it is better served to provide municipal sanitary, sewer and water services for township properties along the Lake Bemidji shoreline

Bemidji will file its annexation petition no sooner than May 22, after Northern Township files its incorporation petition. Once both petitions are filed, the state will pair the two together and make one ruling for the area.

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

Either Northern Township will become a city and permanently set its boundaries, allowing the construction of the proposed wastewater facility, or Bemidji will be granted permission to annex a portion of Northern Township along the Lake Bemidji shoreline, preventing incorporation and the wastewater project.

A decision will be made within one year following the initial petition filing.

Following the resolution, the council approved a motion to appoint Mayor Jorge Prince, Ward 4 Councilor Emelie Rivera and At-Large Councilor Audrey Thayer as liaisons for any future discussions with Northern Township. Ward 3 Councilor Mark Dickinson was chosen as an alternate.

On May 12, the council held an impromptu meeting for a non-annual evaluation of City Manager Rich Spiczka. The council chose to wait one week before taking any action deemed necessary from the evaluation.

During Monday's regular meeting, the council revisited the topic and Prince summarized the evaluation.

"The city council chose to conduct a non-annual performance evaluation of City Manager Richard Spiczka," he began. "City Manager Spiczka is doing an effective job and is a good fit for the city. He's doing well with the communities he was supposed to. His temperament and composure facilitate strong leadership. He's improving the culture and stabilization and proficiency in handling the overall management of the city. He can improve on and be better and more timely and consistent in communications and responses, follow through on city council priorities and updates to the city council.

"Goals include being dedicated to service to the community, finding efficiencies and service in the budget and connectivity within all areas of the city and community. The mayor and city council are grateful to have Rich in this position, and thank Rich for his hard work on behalf of the city."

Following the summary, the council approved a step scale pay increase for Spiczka. His salary will incrementally increase over a time frame approved by the council. The specific amount and percentage of increase were not clarified during the meeting. The motion passed 5-1, with Rivera voting against. Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould was absent due to illness.

Then, the council approved to alter Spiczka's contract to extend his severance package from four to six months. This motion passed 4-2, with Rivera and Thayer as the two dissenting votes. Neither expounded on their reasoning for voting against.

The council also discussed altering Spiczka's contract to add an evaluation or check-in every six months as opposed to the one annual evaluation, but did not move forward with the motion.

Spiczka did not comment on the motions during the meeting.

The council received a special event permit request for the Bemidji All ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Reunion in July, but did not initially approve it. Instead, the council held a discussion to hear recommendations from City Engineer Sam Anderson and Police Chief Mike Mastin that would alter the event.

Anderson requested that the event utilize street signage, which would direct traffic around closed streets.

Mastin requested that event organizers sign a contract with the Bemidji Police Department to hire two dedicated police officers for event safety.

In the past, the All ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Reunion has worked with the police department, so the recommendation was not unfounded.

The event is working with a private organization to provide event security. Event volunteers noted that this is cheaper, while providing more bodies than the recommended two. They also expressed a fear that a contracted city officer would leave the event if an emergency happened elsewhere.

Mastin countered that if necessity arose, hired security would not have the authority to use force, detain or arrest anyone. He then stated that a contract with the police department would ensure two officers would be at the event for the contracted hours, unless an emergency called for all officers on hand.

Dickinson asked if the department would be at the event regardless. Mastin answered that police may be there, either as spectators or via a routine patrol, but the contract guarantees their presence.

Ward 2 Councilor Josh Peterson spoke in favor of not requiring either recommendation to ensure the event continues without an additional or unplanned expense.

"This whole event, it's happened going on 30 years; we've had it 15 times successfully, without issue, historically, from what I've known," Peterson said. "I'm glad we really emphasize that these are recommendations, not requirements, because if they were requirements, they should be in the ordinance, and they should be directed in policy."

Ward 5 Councilor Lynn Eaton agreed with Peterson's comments and added that the council could hold a future conversation to discuss whether or not the police department should be in attendance for events that include alcohol.

Peterson also questioned if the department could handle the extra work since there is a shortage of officers. Mastin followed that the department cannot force officers to work overtime, but would figure it out.

Eventually, Prince was able to find a compromise. This requires contracted services with the Bemidji Police Department following Mastin's recommendations, but alters the hours served to save the event money.

Peterson made the motion to approve the event permit with the listed alterations.

The council also approved a bid from Reierson Construction Inc. at $4,351,818 for the Middle ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Drive NW and Hannah Avenue NW reconstruction project.

This was initially the city's portion of the Trunk Highway 197 road reconstruction project in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. However, the project was split during a March 10 council meeting due to a federal funding freeze.

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

This project will begin on Monday, July 7, and will take place throughout two construction seasons, concluding in September 2026. The first construction season will focus on a stretch of Middle ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Drive NW, including the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Middle ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Drive NW and 23rd Street NW.

The project has not changed much since it was reevaluated in March; however, there is one new detail.

Otter Tail Power Company will now construct light poles along two streets in need, including Conifer Avenue NW and a portion of Hannah Avenue NW. Otter Tail expects to have new light poles installed by the end of 2025, but cannot guarantee the timeline. Thus, the poles could be operational by the end of 2025 or 2026.

Courtesy / City of Bemidji

The council will next meet for a work session at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27, at City Hall to accommodate Memorial Day. All meetings can be viewed on the