Northern Township Incorporation on People’s Minds at Bemidji City Council Meeting

Topics of incorporation, annexation, and wastewater treatment for Northern Township were on the minds of the public and the Bemidji City Council at their Monday meeting.

Last week, the Northern Township Board wrote the City of Bemidji a letter stating the township will not re-enter wastewater negotiations with the city and will file a petition to incorporate into a city. On Monday night, two residents approached the council during the public comment portion of the meeting to express their opposition to Northern Township’s attempt to incorporate, as well as their proposed wastewater treatment project.

“They’ve only been really clear about the assessment fee, the $2,000 hookup at the road, and the $55 monthly fee,” said Jeanne Jaeger, a Northern Township resident. “We have to rent a pipe from our home to the road—that’s substantial. My husband and I, we have a 300-foot stretch. It’s big. Then there’s the $165 assessment cost per foot, the $2,000 hookup, the $55 monthly fee, and then this dewatering cost, now, would be something that each resident would have to pay.”

“The population base will not support this,” asserted Northern Township resident Mary Crary. “The Northern Township Board would unnecessarily duplicate existing governmental services and costs with incorporation. Cities have a more complex structure and require more staff to handle the wider range of administration, and the city planning and legal services. Residents will likely face higher property taxes and potentially other taxes to fund the increased cost of these services.”

The Bemidji City Council added a discussion about the city’s response to Northern Township’s letter at the beginning of the meeting. All council members agreed that a formulative response was in order to keep conversations between the two parties going, and to hopefully keep exploring options.

“I would say that the letter that we received had several inaccuracies from my point of view, that I would like to at some point respond to and hopefully in this response, perhaps others will have thought along the same lines,” said Bemidji mayor Jorge Prince. “I can only tell you that from my point of view, I think there were some things that were not reflected accurately. But regardless, I think a response is appropriate. I don’t think I want to say any more than that at this point, and allow legal to do what they do and best represent our citizens, so that our citizens are well represented in this matter.”

Northern Township will be holding an informational meeting regarding their intent to incorporate into a city. Those who attend will have a chance to speak to the township board about how they feel about the situation. That meeting will be at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds’ 4-H Building on Wednesday, May 7th at 6:30 p.m.