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Our agency, Housing Matters, works with homeless adults and families with disabilities in Beltrami County. We have clients in both the Century Apartments on South Washington and Pine Ridge Apartments behind the mall which are owned by Tandem Properties based out of Moorhead.

We have had ongoing conversations with the owners of these properties and the city of Bemidji regarding our concerns since late this past spring. We are concerned with the lack of responses and with the deteriorating conditions of these properties.

Our client’s rent is being put into escrow with Beltrami County Courthouse and we will continue to do so in hopes of pushing the Tandem owners, Nick and Justin, to make the required repairs. The lack of basic maintenance is a similar scenario to what happened with the Ridgeway apartments, which led to its closure leaving many displaced and homeless.

Currently, at Pine Ridge, the locked entry doors are no longer secure, laundry areas are unusable, there is graffiti and garbage in the common areas and the hallways have urine-soaked carpeting. Maintenance concerns inside the units are also not being addressed as often the voicemails of the owners are full.

As a housing provider that relies on our landlords, the last thing needed is to have less housing in an area that is disproportionately affected by homelessness, poverty and appropriate and affordable housing opportunities, but we should not allow history to repeat itself. We need to learn from our past failures.

I ask that the city hold these owners responsible and advocate for the rights of its constituents. Our agency along with other agencies in the community will continue to bring as much attention to this as we are able to make sure that the people living in these apartments — many of whom are people of color with disabilities — are treated fairly and are not left to live in squalor due to the mismanagement of their landlords.

Letters

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Dec 31, 1969

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By  Pioneer Editorial Board

Bemidji and its surrounding areas can be a wonderful place for those of us who are privileged to enjoy it, but it can also be a challenging place for those who are not. I would encourage us to be a community that not only chooses to be better but more importantly that we be remembered as a community that did better.