At their work session on Tuesday, the Bemidji City Council had a full house listen on their concerns regarding housing and the possibility of improving housing in the City of Bemidji.

According to a memorandum from the city, the issue was brought up following the closing of the Ridgeway Complex and the vacation of residents from Red Pine Estates. The question arose of what the city can do to help if and when other crises like arise.

The main focus for the city staff was making the cost of living affordable to the people in Bemidji, and on having access to the money the city was granted by the state for housing. City staff gave details on where the city could go if allowed to go forward with their plans.

“Really, I think it’s a matter of, there’s a lot of money that’s going to be out there in regards to housing,” said city attorney Katie Nolting to Lakeland News. “It’s, one, how do we get it into Bemidji, and two, how do we use it to best get the most bang for our buck and the most housing available in all types of housing, whether that’s apartments, mobile homes, tiny homes, homeownership, single family homes, duplexes, and using what we have and restoring and rebuilding what we have.”

City staff are working on identifying and building relationships with the state, county, and community on getting funds to improve the housing situation in the city.

By — Zy'Riah Simmons