Planning for 900 in 2010

How do you plan for welcoming 900 new residents in one fell swoop? How about an informational letter and an invitation to your house? I'm not talking about the pipeline crews that have descended on the city. It's the estimated 900 people that live in the first orderly annexation area.

The Bemidji city council recently voted to to exercise their authority and annex the first tier of properties defined in an Orderly Annexation agreement with Bemidji and Northern Townships. The agreement, signed in 2004, maps out areas of the townships to be annexed in 2010, 2015, and 2020.

City and Joint Planning staff have been working out a plan for communicating with the soon-to-be-annexed residents to make a smooth transition from "country" to "city" living. It turns out that the devil is in the details and there are a lot of details.

Here are some of the "uniquely city" things that new city residents might need to know:

• Residential garbage pickup--the city is the exclusive hauler in the city, so if someone else picks up at your house, you will have to switch haulers.
• Building permits--the city enforces the state building code, so all new construction will require a building permit and may also require a licensed contractor.
• Rental units--the city has a rental registration ordinance, so if you own a rental in the annexation area, you will have to be inspected and licensed when your property comes into the city.
• Sales tax--the city collects a half cent local option sales tax from businesses that have transactions in the city, so if you own a business, you will have to start collecting and remitting the tax.
• Business license--you may need a license in the city, even if you didn't need one in the township.
• Voting--your polling place and your local elected official will change; Wards 3 (on the north), 4 (on the west) and 5 (on the east) will be expanded; all new residents will also be represented by the At-Large member of city council.
• City Code--the code of ordinances that makes up the rules in the city is different than the township's, so you might find that things allowed in the townships are not allowed in the city;

Two things that won't change:

1. Even though the city has an exclusive franchise for off-sale liquor, when Northern Liquor is annexed into the city, it will be grandfathered in as the exception to the rule.
2. The Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance will also remain the same. That was adopted in 2007 by all three governments and was the first test of the joint agreement. It has been functioning pretty well for more than two years, so staff are optimistic that other transitions will also be successful.

If you are in the annexation area, look for more information and an invitation to an open house at City Hall in the next few months.

The Sustainability Discussion--My Take

Recycling and reducing waste, biking instead of driving, starting a community garden--individuals shared what they are doing to make a difference at a meeting to discuss sustainability in Bemidji. About two dozen people attended the forum on Wednesday and everyone agreed that we all have a role in making the community more sustainable.

Personally, I don't really think of myself as "green." I just do what makes sense and sometimes that is also sustainable. Here's a rundown of a few things that we have always done at our house that might be called "sustainable."

Recycle (of course). We sort all the paper and containers that we can.

Reusable bags. Aren't plastic bags annoying? I love shopping with green bags. The hardest part is remembering to use them for all my shopping, not just the grocery store.

Grow our own food. We are fortunate to have a large yard and two large gardens where we grow potatoes, beans, carrots, lettuce, peas, corn, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, herbs, and rhubarb. We usually have enough vegetables to eat through the winter and some to give away.



We also have plum trees that are great for jelly if we can beat the deer to the plums.


Mulch. We use wood chips from the wood pile and leaves and needles from the yard to mulch our flower gardens.

Bird habitat. We have a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees in our yard that provide great habitat for birds.
Solar powered clothes dryer. I actually enjoy hanging clothes on the line. It is great exercise lugging that basket of wet laundry up from my basement laundry room and hanging it up.



Year-round composting. We put all of our yard and household organic waste in a compost pile at the rear of our lot. We use the compost for our flower and vegetable gardens. (The compost pile is not fenced, so the deer get some of it!)

Rain barrels. We have three rain barrels on the house that provide a lot of the water for my flower gardens.

If I am doing some of these easy things, others must be too. So here's my question: What can the City of Bemidji do to encourage and reward sustainable behavior? That's the question we'll ask at the next meeting. Call city hall if you want to get involved.

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 10-23-09

Time to check out this week's edition of the City of Bemidji weekly newsletter. The most interesting bit is the Bemidji Library update. (I'm not kidding!) Internet public use at the Library has almost doubled in the last two years and they served 23,000 more customers by September this year than during the first nine months in 2007. Also making the newsletter this week is an update from the city engineer, the WWTF (that's the sewer plant) staff, and a reminder from the fire chief (change your smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks on October 31st).

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 10-16-09

This week's newsletter includes an announcement for training for citizen planners. It's sponsored by the MN Chapter of the APA and just $25 for a half-day workshop on October 29th. There is also an update from Enbridge on the pipeline construction, a bit on the Census Complete Count Committee and an announcement for family friendly Halloween event at Diamond Point Park. Check it out here (PDF).

Add Your Voice to the Sustainability Discussion

Sustainability. What does it mean? Depends on who you ask. Increasing walking and biking? Conserving natural areas? Reducing waste? Supporting local foods? If you have some ideas on community sustainability, the Bemidji Sustainability Committee invites to share them at a forum planned for Wednesday, October 21st at 7:00 pm at Bemidji City Hall, 317 4th St. NW.

The City of Bemidji has talked about the s-word for several years, but this is the first community discussion sponsored by the City and we're a bit behind the rest of the state. Many Minnesota communities (large and small) have introduced measures to make their community more sustainable. Minneapolis has been working on sustainability for more than ten years and has invested a large budget in the effort.

The Crossroads Resource Center helped Minneapolis get started and their website provides guidance for other communities. The website offers several definitions of sustainable development and includes a link to the Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators Guidebook.

Just as there are many ways to define "sustainability," there are also many ways to approach the goal of becoming a more sustainable community. Some Minnesota examples:

• Red Wing sustainability commission; their Comprehensive Plan also includes a section on sustainability.
• Woodbury sustainability initiatives; They conduct a community survey every two years.
• Mankato passed a Resolution outlining three sustainability focus areas: Organizational, Public Policy, and Community.

The state of Minnesota also offers sustainable community planning assistance through a new program called Minnesota GreenStep Cities.

Obviously, there is no shortage of information on sustainability. We'll find out Wednesday if there is interest in defining it for Bemidji.

Temporary Dentist Needs Housing

If you've got a spare room for a couple of months, a volunteer dentist needs a place to stay. The Northern Dental Access Center Bemidji, is a non-profit, community agency that provides basic dental services to people enrolled in Minnesota Health Care Plans, including Medical Assistance, Minnesota Care, General Assistance Medical Care, etc. They rely on volunteer dentists to deliver some care.

The Center is serving an acute dental service need in our area for the underprivileged and underinsured, paying particular attention to children. Did you know that dental caries (tooth decay) is the single most common chronic disease of childhood? Although the Center is located in Bemidji, they also serve people in surrounding counties (Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater and others).

There is a dentist willing to work a 9 week stint at the clinic (Oct 29-Dec 30) and he needs a place to stay. And oh, he also needs the use of a car during that time too. If you have any ideas for this request, please call the Center 218-444-3984.

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 10-02-09

Every Friday, you can get updates on what is happening at the City of Bemidji when you read the online Weekly Newsletter. This week's newsletter has updates from the City Manager, City Engineer, Parks Director and yours truly.

The most interesting bits this week are pictures of the osprey nest at City Park that is being relocated to accommodate the park upgrade. Although they did not have to relocate the nest for the osprey's spring return, Marcia Larson, Parks Director and Ottertail Power Company worked with the DNR to move the nest(they needed a permit). Take a look.

Skateboarders Alert

Dream it. Design it. Ride it! Bring your boards and ideas for a workshop session with professional skateboarder and lead skate park designer Kanten Russell. The session will be held October 6, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the City Public Works Facility – 1351 5th Street NW.

This workshop gives skaters and interested parties the opportunity to talk to the Skate Park Architect, and provide input for the design of the new Bemidji Skate Park. Anyone interested in the new skatepark is encouraged to attend. For additional information contact Bemidji City Parks Director Marcia Larson at 218-333-1860.

How to Turn $1 into $138? Give it to a Non-Profit

Non-profits provide great benefit to our communities and this study by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy quantifies their impact. The comprehensive study of 15 Minnesota non-profits shows that for every dollar that foundations invest in the organizing and advocacy work of non-profits, there is a return on investment of $138 for communities.

The report went on to say that grantmakers can achieve the greatest return on investments by following these recommendations:

1. Increase the percentage of grant dollars devoted to advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement.
2. Engage board members and donors in dialogue about how advocacy and organizing can help a grantmaking institution achieve its long-term goals.
3. Strengthen peer learning and strategizing about advocacy and organizing.
4. Engage nonprofit partners in strategic planning and grantmaking process of foundations.
5. Apply a racial equity lens to grantmaking.
6. Provide general operating support and multiyear grants.

These are all important recommendations, but having foundations pay attention to number six would make a huge difference for non-profits who struggle to fund their operating expenses every year. Let's hope that the message is heard by foundations across the state.

Downtown Changes

Changes are coming for the huge expanse of asphalt at the Pamida site in downtown Bemidji. The property has been subdivided into two parcels and the north 2/3 of the site will be redeveloped with a 2-storefront building. I'm not sure of the timeline for the redevelopment, but the Joint Planning office has received a preliminary plan for a structure on the site.

At first blush, the site plan does not appear to provide space for the Farmer's Market. As BemidjiMike notes in his blog post this week, having the market downtown is a real asset.
The City Engineer, Craig Gray and I have made comments on the preliminary plan, but it will be the Joint Planning Office that reviews the plan for compliance with the zoning ordinance. Craig's comments were centered around the stormwater management on the site and street access. I had a variety of comments and concerns including parking for Pamida, access onto Paul Bunyan Dr, landscaping, and parkland dedication, (which is required with this commercial lot division).

It will be interesting to see how the plan develops.