Beltrami Co. Seeks New Site for New Jail, Withdraws Original Purchase Offer

The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners has officially withdrawn its offer to purchase property in the southwest area of Bemidji.

That property along Jefferson Ave., known as the Wiebolt Property and located northwest of the Highway 2/71 bypass, was intended to be used for the new Beltrami County Jail. It was originally the favored location for the facility based on scoring criterion developed by the design and operations committee.

But on July 12th, the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board imposed a moratorium on jail construction on all residentially zoned areas. The zoning of the property was a contingency of the purchase agreement as the Wiebolt Property is zoned as residential. County Administrator Tom Barry says the county board was already in the process of considering other locations based on feedback it received at a June 20th public hearing, and that the actions of the Joint Planning Board just helped to spur that along.

According to a release from the county, they are continuing to evaluate and identify other non-residentially zoned properties in the City of Bemidji using the established scoring criterion, which was slightly updated to include a broader evaluation of neighborhood impacts. Minnesota state law requires that county jails be located within the city limits of county seats.

The Beltrami County Board plans to continue its work to identify the best location for the new jail while keeping neighborhood considerations in mind. It is expected that a new location will be identified soon and that the board may be able to announce that location in early August.