Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 5-29-09

This week's newsletter includes a letter from the Mayor to Governor Pawlenty enumerating the steps the City of Bemidji has taken to respond to Pawlenty's December 2008 unallotment and options to further respond to anticipated reductions in Local Government Aid payments. The list of additional options is pretty short -- 2 items.

You will also find updates on the event center, the library schedule, information about new playground equipment in a city Park and a new railroad crossing to be constructed at the entrance to the waste water treatment facility.

Check it out at this link to the City Manager's weekly newsletter. The newsletter is a mix of information from department heads who contribute updates, a list of upcoming meetings and various correspondence and sundry announcements.

Cashing in on Paul & Babe

This weekend is the kickoff of the summer tourism season for Bemidji and if this year is like most others, Paul and Babe will have their pictures taken with thousands of visitors a month.

We know that Bemidji is the true home of Paul and Babe and we’ll defend our claim to the iconic folk heroes to anyone who will listen. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop towns from Washington to Maine, including several northern Minnesota towns– Hackensack, Akeley, Brainerd— from cashing in on Paul and Babe connections. But Paul and Babe are ours doggone it! Aren’t they?

A story in this week’s Northland Press, “Paul Bunyan Makes his Mark” made me wonder if Bemidji is doing all we can to capitalize on Paul Bunyan’s marketability. According to the story, Paul Bunyan’s footprints are appearing from Cross Lake to Pine River to mark the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway, which doesn’t even come near here. The concrete footprint size is based on the Paul Bunyan “baby” boots at the Pine River Chamber of Commerce. Pine River? What are they doing there?

Last year, the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber used Babe in their promotion for the Oxtrot, “an expedition of art in the lakes area” that resulted in more than 30 custom painted and decorated Babe statues from Brainerd to Pequot Lakes.



The summer season is off and running. We had the first hummingbirds, orioles, and yellow finches at our feeders. I made my first rhubarb pie of the season and attended high school graduation parties. Visitors had their pictures taken in front of Paul and Babe, and another community co-opted our favorite folk heroes.

Paying for Good Ideas

Inventors alert! Need $10,000 to get that idea off the ground? Want to be an entrepreneur? Four entrepreneurs got help from the IDEA competition this week when they were announced as winners in a contest to assist promising entrepreneurs.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s 2009 Regional Summit at U of M Crookston Tuesday was an “innovation celebration” that included the announcement of the winners of the inaugural IDEA competition (Ingenuity Drives Entrepreneur Acceleration), which is sponsored by several organizations and higher ed institutions. Two of the four winners of the initial 61 entrants, are from Bemidji, one is from Bagley and the other is headquartered in East Grand Forks. They each receive $10,000.

Bemidji's Winners
The forte Keyboard Company, owned by veterinarian Eric Thorsgard and located in Bemidji, will be launching two new keyboard instruments – the forte and condensed keyboards. These keyboards will offer an alternative to people who want to play an instrument that is easier to learn than the piano.

Ultralight Soaring Aviation, Inc, owned by David and Bonnie Ekstrom, is located in Bemidji, MN. The company is launching the StartStick,™ a cost effective, light weight, self-contained energy pack, which provides all the power needed to start 4-8 cylinder piston engine aircraft.

Information about this year's winners and next year's competition is posted at IDEA competition online. Get you thinking cap on and your plan together--registration for the next round begins September 1, 2009.

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 5-15-09

What's new? This week's newsletter has a bit about the reception for the 2009-10 sculpture walk pieces (Saturday at 5:00pm) and a recap of activity at the local waste water treatment facility. Did you know that the City does field application of bio-solids from the WWTF?

Check it out at this link to the City Manager's weekly newsletter. The newsletter is a mix of information from department heads who contribute updates, a list of upcoming meetings and various correspondence and sundry announcements.

Recipe for Success

Everyone has their own take on what makes a great community and there are dozens of sites dedicated to listing the ingredients for success, but what attributes should rise to the top of the list?

Blogger BemidjiMike has a post about "Reshaping the Urban Centers . . ." that refers to three articles in Forbes magazine. One of the articles posits that

. . . for urban centers to grow and be successful, 3 inter related issues must be addressed: 1) Public Safety, 2) Business Climate and 3) Political Reform.

I'm not surprised at this list coming from a business magazine. These would not be my top three, but they probably would be in the top ten. When thinking about Bemidji, how do we fare according to this list?

Let's look at Public Safety. I agree that public safety is important--a low crime rate is important for attracting new businesses and residents. Unfortunately, the City's per capita crime rate is higher than the statewide rate for both violent crimes and property crimes. According to NeighborhoodScout, "One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 11. Within Minnesota, more than 90% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Bemidji."

Violent Crimes (per 1,000 residents): Bemidji 5.63; MN 2.97
Property Cirmes (per 1,000 residents): Bemidji 86.47; MN 30.84

Hmmm. Room for improvement there. Do we do better on number 2, Business Climate? This refers to "being open to micro enterprises, small companies, and self employed high tech “artisans.” I think we score well on this one. We have business development sites in the Industrial Park, Technology Park, and Airport area that are all served by broadband, City utilities and eligible for JOBZ business subsidy.

Finally, number 3, Political Reform. I'm not sure we need political reform as the Forbes article suggest (addressing the high costs of public employee’s salaries and pensions), but I do think better governing occurs when the community has a role in decision making. Many communities provide opportunities for engaging citizens through an annual community visioning activity or by community surveys. These activities are often followed by community goal setting, which helps the elected officials reflect community values in their decision making.

How do you think the City of Bemidji scores on political climate and opportunities for citizen influence in decision making? Is our recipe working?

Ten Ways to Slice and Dice the Earth

Unfolding the earth. This is cool.



Hat tip to Urban Cartography for the link.

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 5-8-09

What's new? A great recap of what has been "unearthed" during the excavation of the event center site on the south shore of Lake Bemidji (would you believe a '67 Chevy?); info on an upcoming citizen planners training opportunity in Bemidji; an update on building permits and rental inspections in the city; and a flyer for the Bike Bemidji event on May 16.

Check it out at this link to the City Manager's weekly newsletter. The newsletter is a mix of information from department heads who contribute updates, a list of upcoming meetings and various correspondence and sundry announcements.

Mixing It Up

One of the most interesting sessions I attended at the national conference of the American Planning Association last month was Mixed Use Suburban Redevelopment Projects, which was a tour of three redevelopment projects in the MSP metro that utilized current or former industrial sites. I was interested in the session because we are planning a mixed use development for the South Shore, which is a former industrial site. Our application will be heard by the planning commission at the end of the month.

Our mixed use tour started at Centennial Lakes, which is a mixed use redevelopment project in Edina that is built on a former gravel pit. It includes a linear city park surrounded by condo units, an office park, and commercial retail. We also toured a project at I-394 and Highway 100 in St. Louis Park and the Arbor Lakes development at the I-94/494 split in Maple Grove.

What is different about a mixed use project? Traditional zoning codes are all about separating "uses" and traditional zoning codes generally only allow one use per zone (e.g. residential, industrial, commercial). Mixed use means two or more different types of uses in a single building; for instance ground floor commercial and apartments on the upper floors (vertical). Horizontal mixed use has uses placed next to each other and connected together with pedestrian and vehicular access; for instance, a subdivision containing residential units that are adjacent to and connected to a neighborhood commercial development (like Centennial Lakes).

Downtowns are considered mixed use because there is ground floor commercial with residential above. Our Downtown was the only district in Bemidji where mixed use was allowed prior to adoption of the new joint planning ordinance in 2007. The new ordinance provides for mixed use developments through a conditional use permit and a general planned unit development (PUD)--but only in certain zones. Confusing?

It can be confusing, even for the planning commission and planning board who review developments nearly every month. The key to mixed use is providing a transit or pedestrian oriented development. Having a lot of images helps clarify the concept. The City's plan includes both vertical and horizontal mixed use, so we'll have a bunch of pictures to show the PC when they review the South Shore PUD at the end of May.

Common Themes: National Conference and Bemidji

I was gone last week taking in the American Planning Association national conference in Minneapolis. "Sustainability" and "Green" were common themes of the conference sessions followed closely by "Walkability."

The City has been working at making the Bemidji more walkable and bikeable through the Active Living project and it will take continued community support to make it a priority for the community.

New life seems to have been breathed into the idea of sustainability by council member Kevin Waldhausen who asked to start a sustainability committee, and the Mayor supported. He appointed Waldhausen chair of the new committee at Monday's meeting.

A good place for Bemidji to start may be to look at what other cities are doing to become more sustainable. One city that has a jump start is the City of Madison sustainability program, which was showcased at the APA conference session, Implementing APA's Sustainability Policy Guide.

The (full version) Policy Guide can be found at the APA website or a summary can be found here.

I believe the persistence of people like Erika Bailey-Johnson, sustainability coordinator at the university and B-WELL, the organization that is working on the Active Living project, have helped shift perceptions in Bemidji. If you support these themes, then keeping the vision of a better connected, more energy efficient community at the top of the list for our elected officials is your job too.

Calling All Citizen Planners

Live in the City of Bemidji? Want to have a say in development activity? Like to get paid $50 a month?

There is an opening for a City resident on the Joint Planning Commission. In an effort to spread the word about this "volunteer" opportunity, we've had an ad in the Bemidji Pioneer the past week. The JPC is a twelve-member board charged with long range planning and reviewing planning cases for the greater Bemidji area.

This used to be a volunteer position, but since last year, members are paid $50 per meeting. Applications are available at City Hall or by calling the City Clerk's office (218-759-3570).

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 5-1-09

For inquiring minds who want to know what's happening at the City of Bemidji, check out this link to the City Manager's weekly newsletter. The newsletter is a mix of information from department heads who contribute updates, a list of upcoming meetings and various correspondence and sundry announcements.

This week the City Engineer gives an overview of his department's current projects. Also, there is an interesting list of items that were salvaged from the old MN DOT building by Habitat Restore. The building is being demolished in preparation for future redevelopment.

On the front page of the City's website you can link to the RFP for facilities management services for the event center and find information about the upcoming Police Auction that will be on Thursday, May 7th at 5:00pm.