Bemidji City Council Welcomes New Member, Sets Hearing Date for Road Work Projects

With election results tallied up and the year 2025 finally upon us, newly elected officials are being sworn in into their respective positions around the country, including the Bemidji City Council.

At the start of their first meeting of the year on Monday, incumbents Mayor Jorge Prince, Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould, Ward 5 Councilor Lynn Eaton, and Ward 3’s newly elected councilor, Mark Dickinson, all took their oaths of office.

Prince has seen quite a few faces throughout his time as mayor, but he says he is fully confident in the new council after its first meeting.

“I think it went really well,” said Prince. “Mark looked ready to go, well prepared, and that’s what you want to see in a good council member, so [it’s a] great start. Having now completed four years, and beginning my fifth, I’ve seen a number of different council members and councils, and each one has its own flavor. So I am looking forward to accomplishing some great things here in 2025.

“I think it was what I expected, I’ve been coming to meetings for a couple of months,” Dickinson said. “It was interesting, it was fun, and enjoyed the conversation – it was a very positive experience.”

During the actual meeting, the council set two separate public hearings for a street renewal project and a street reconstruction project. The renewal project plans to make improvements to multiple high-traffic areas, reconstructing the pavement in those locations along with adding sidewalks and lighting to certain spots. The reconstruction project focuses solely on Park Avenue NW, with a number of improvements being made from 15th Street NW to Paul Bunyan Drive.

‘So it’s only a half-mile of street,” explained Sam Anderson, Bemidji City Engineer. “A lot of infrastructure needs to be updated: the sanitary sewer, water main, and then by nature the street above it gets replaced as well. So [we are] looking at a slight narrowing, entertaining a sidewalk, add an addition on that one that goes all the way from 15th Street all the way north up the trunk highway on Paul Bunyan Drive.”

Both hearings were set to be held during the February 3rd City Council meeting. If approved, construction should begin in May of this year and is anticipated to be completed by October.