Hey, I Just Voted for You!

When I ran into a friend downtown today, I was about to ask if I could put a campaign sign in his yard, but when he saw me, he blurted out, "Hey, I just voted for you!"

He is going to Arizona for the winter and voted absentee today. With thirty-three days left before the election on November 2nd, I am spending a lot of time door knocking, putting up signs and meeting voters.

In addition to asking residents if they are registered and know where to vote, I usually ask if they have any issues or concerns about city government. Here is a sampling of the comments and questions that I heard the last couple days:

"What do you know about the BREC?  I applied for a job at their job fair and I was really hoping to get hired.  I moved here from Duluth where I worked at the DECC doing event set-up and tear-down."
Answer (according to Bob LeBarron): follow-up calls to applicants are being made  this week.

"Why do I have to pay a stormwater management fee? We don't have storm sewers in my neighborhood."
Answer: stormwater fees support the system that keeps our waters--rivers, wetlands, lakes, etc. clean.  They are like paying for schools, they benefit everyone. 

"There is a lot of trash (especially broken bottles) along the new (East/West) trail from downtown to First Street. Why doesn't the city have an "adopt a trail" program like the highways?"
Answer: there is a program called Park Partners where groups can adopt a park and do cleanup or flower and landscaping upkeep. We need to expand and advertise that program for both parks and trails.

What questions will you ask the candidate that knocks on your door? Nobody knocking at your door? You'll have an opportunity to ask questions at the forums that are scheduled next month at city hall. You can watch in person or on cable channel 2.

Candidates for city races will be answering questions at forums on October 19 and October 27.   Click here for a schedule of all forums at city hall or call the city clerk at 218-759-3570 for more information. 

Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 9-24-10

Two city bridges--one existing and one hoped for--are getting attention according to this week's city newsletter. The city engineer reports that City staff, representatives from the DNR and MnDOT, and the design consultant met on September 15 to review the status of the Paul Bunyan Trail bridge plans. The bridge has been included in Bemidji's state and federal bonding wish lists for several years. So far, no state or federal funding has been appropriated.  The city engineer hopes to have the final plans complete in about a month, so if funding does become available we will be ready to send the project out for bids.

The second bridge mentioned in the newsletter is the Old Midway Drive historic bridge, which is slated to be renovated. The bridge, which is on the national register of historic places, is described on the Beltrami County Historical Society site as: "Nymore Bridge: Large barrel-vault, reinforced concrete bridge built in 1917 using patented reinforcing system." The bridge is no longer used for vehicles, but connects the bike and pedestrian East/West Trail. According to this website, the Nymore Bridge was built as the first highway bridge across the thin isthmus of land between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji and is 168 feet long.

From Highways, Byways and Bridge Photography

Old Midway Drive Bridge deterioration.

Old Midway Drive Bridge looking north.

Total cost for the renovation is estimated to be $355,000 and the city received $130,000 of federal stimulus money from the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation for the renovation. The historical consulting firm of Mead and Hunt is working with Widseth Smith and Nolting to complete the bridge renovation design, which has been funded by the park and trails sales tax. The project is slated to be completed in 2011, but at this time no additional funding has been found for the $225,000 local match. The Park and Trails Commission has not approved using sales tax money for the renovation match.

Our community does not have a very good track record of saving historic structures (think Bemidji High School). Will we find a way to renovate and preserve the first highway bridge between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji?