Bits From Around Bemidji: Community Initiatives Worth Checking Out

Do you ever feel like there is so much going on in Bemidji that it is hard to keep up? ME TOO! Here are some really cool things that are happening in Bemidji thanks to volunteers (and paid staff) who are stepping up and making our community better.

Active Living
“Active Living is a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines.” This initiative is funded by a contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield through their foundation, Prevention Minnesota and the tobacco settlement money. They are the organization behind the "Do" campaign. This is the first year of a four year initiative. Their project includes "Fit City Bemidji." Wondering what there is to do for recreational activity in Bemidji? They have listed just about every possible activity available in the Bemidji area (including phone numbers), here.

Shared Vision
"Shared Vision is a community effort to address the issue of racial diversity and racial disparity." Based on information gathered through a community survey, this group of community volunteers has proposed a set of goals and strategies for improving the community. They have organized several strategies under these categories:

• Cultural Understanding and Respect
• Educational Attainment and Skill Development
• Civic Engagement and Leadership
• Economic Opportunities

This group has been very successful at getting Ojibwe language signs up in nearly 100 business and government locations in Bemidji. Their next big project is sponsoring Leadership in Ethnically Diverse Communities with the Blandin Foundation. The program is designed to help a diverse group of community members effectively engage across cultural differences to create a more inclusive community of Bemidji.

You can (should) sign up. The program is four sessions spread out over two months. All program sessions will be held at the Hampton Inn in Bemidji, MN, and each participant is asked to attend all four sessions. The sessions are from 9am to 1pm except the first session which is 9am until 5:30 pm on first day (May 5) and (May 6). The other dates of this free program will be May 19th, June 2nd and June 17th. Call Becky Adams at 877-882-2257 to register. Register sooner than later. Did I mention that it's FREE?

Community Resource Connections (CRC)
"Community Resource Connections, Inc. exists for the purpose of improving access to and the effectiveness of community services through collaboration, coordination & integration." Their website has an amazing search tool that will help you locate service providers and agencies in the Bemidji Area. When you click on "Find Service," you will be able to browse service providers by service or by name. For example, if I want to find all the "disability supports," it will bring up twenty-two providers with links to their information or website. Pretty awesome. CRC is currently working on a volunteer matching site that will be searchable for types of volunteer opportunities available in the community. No link yet. They are beta testing it right now, but when it goes live, I will let you know.

A New Chief Bemidji Statue?

Do you think the current Chief Bemidji Statue in Library Park should be replaced? A group of local volunteers does. They have been meeting over the past nine months or so to figure out how to make that happen. At Monday's (3/15/10) council meeting, the council will formally appoint the committee to work on a process for a new statue. A list of the proposed committee members is listed on page 8 of the council agenda. The committee invites your comments on their blog.

Documenting Pre-contact History
The Beltrami County History Center received a Legacy Grant of $6,990 to hire a professional historian to complete research and documentation of an archaeological site of a Woodland Period fishing camp (1,000-3,000 years ago), in preparation for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Thirty-one organizations from 18 counties received a total of $147,955 in January. Congrats to the History Center for being one of them! Their website also has information about upcoming history center events.

These initiatives are aimed at improving our community and are only a few of the great things that local volunteers are doing to make Bemidji a better place to live. Can you share any others?

Cars Five, Pedestrians and Bicyclists Zero

Five total lanes: four driving lanes (two in each direction) and one center turn lane; and zero painted crosswalks on nearly a mile of street in the city. That's the design that will be in front of the City Council on Monday night.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will reconstruct Trunk Highway 197 in Bemidji from Lueken's Village Foods south to US Highway 71 in 2010. MnDOT owns and maintains TH197 through town, but has asked the City for municipal consent for the proposed design (Washington Ave to the city limits at the trail overpass bridge). The Council will hold a public hearing at the regular meeting, Monday at 7:00pm, and approve, oppose, or waive municipal consent by resolution after the public hearing.

The proposed design will mirror the rest of TH197, north of the Mississippi River bridge, which also has four driving lanes and one center turn lane--fondly referred to as the suicide lane. That's because all the access points on both sides of the street cause lots opportunities for conflicting turning movements in the center lane.

From my perspective, constructing the south end of TH197 to this design has one purpose: to enable the unobstructed movement of cars from one end of town to the other. Pedestrians and bicyclists will be left in the proverbial dust.

How about a bike lane, some painted crosswalks or something really radical, a center boulevard with greenspace to create a safe stopping place for pedestrians crossing this street. Couldn't the Council suggest them?

A "Catch 22" may keep the City Council from suggesting any changes. That is the ownership of TH197. The state would like to turn it back to the City; something the City wants to avoid. A "turnback" would cost the City a bucket of money in maintenance and upkeep when the bucket is pretty much empty. Avoiding a turnback is the ultimate goal. If the Council asks for changes, the City would not only have to pay for any increase in project costs, but the dreaded ownership question could rear its ugly head.

But that shouldn't keep interested citizens from testifying at the public hearing. If you care about how this public street gets rebuilt, come voice your opinion about the design at the public hearing on Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Or better yet, if you want pedestrians and bicyclists to get more attention, call MnDOT and tell them you want roads built for all users not just cars.

Citizen Advocate

As a government employee, the first rule is to get the politicians quoted in the paper and the second rule is to avoid being quoted yourself. Well, this week I failed both maxims.

As part of my job, I commented at the meeting of the Joint Planning Board about the MN/DOT Trunk Highway 197 Access Management Plan (Paul Bunyan Drive). My comments about the lack of planning for pedestrians and bicyclists ended up in a story about the meeting in The Pioneer on Friday.

Being quoted in the paper did not surprise me--that's what reporters are supposed to do--find the alternative view and present it. What did surprise me is the number of people that called and emailed or stopped me to discuss the story. I even got a call at home and a mention in a post on the Bemidji e-democracy site.

They all wanted to say that they appreciated my comments. The feedback is great, but what would be better is if every one called or wrote to their local elected officials to say: "I want a more walkable and bikeable community!" Citizens are the best voices for influencing policy decisions and if you feel strongly about this issue, please let your voice be heard.

There is plenty of research to support your position. You can Google walkability or active living and you'll find a day's worth of sites to peruse. Here are a couple to get you started.

WalkingInfo provides research, design guidelines and advocacy resources for improving walkability in communities. More links for BicyclingInfo at the bottom of the page.

Design for Health is a project of University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and the University of Colorado that "serves to bridge the gap between the emerging research base on community design and healthy living and the everyday realities of local government planning.” Their image resources include great pictures of bicycling and walking trails, crossings, and bridges, etc. Many pictures are from the Netherlands, the world-renowned capital of bicycling.

You can also watch this blog for information about ordinance updates, active living projects and other opportunities to get involved in planning for Bemidji's future. With any luck YOU, the citizen advocate will be quoted in the paper.