City of Bemidji seeks easements from Beltrami County for planned roundabout; board raises youth-sports and property concerns

Sam Anderson, City of Bemidji city engineer and director of public works, told the Beltrami County Board that the city needs temporary and permanent easements on county-owned land to build a bypass road and a roundabout at 20 Third Street and Middle School Drive as part of a MnDOT-funded corridor project.

The roundabout and a temporary bypass are part of a federally funded RAISE grant project the city has been designing for three to four years, Anderson said. The city plans to reconstruct Hannah Avenue and Middle School Drive in summer 2025; MnDOT would bid and build the adjacent state-owned segment in 2026. Anderson said the temporary bypass is intended to preserve three‑way access during the roundabout phase and will be built on the south side of the intersection, affecting some parking at nearby ball fields.

Why it matters: the easements would affect county property used for the county’s remote solid-waste transfer station and recreational ball fields behind the Target shopping area. Commissioners said those county-owned parcels are sizable but expressed concern about coordination with youth-sports schedules, long-term green-space calculations for future sales, and how the roundabout could affect access to county facilities.

"You said it's not going to affect the youth sports, but the youth sports starts in May and goes to July, which is the time you're looking at," Commissioner Winger said, pressing Anderson on potential conflicts with tournaments and season schedules.

Anderson replied: "I'm gonna say somewhere in that August time frame, we would expect that that bypass road would start being under construction." He said the bypass would be installed in the latter half of summer so most construction that affects the intersection would happen after much of the youth season, and that the contractor contract will require portable concrete Jersey barriers to delineate the bypass from private parking.

Commissioner Kozmic and others urged the city to consult directly with youth baseball organizers and, where feasible, include timing restrictions in contractor agreements so tournaments are not blocked. "It would be nice to talk to them and find out when is their last tournament of the year and maybe putting that as part of the contract for the people doing the construction that they wouldn't construct it and block off the parking lot until after x date," Kozmic said.

County commissioners also raised questions about green-space metrics and future saleability of county parcels. Commissioner Carlson asked whether legal language could preserve pre-project green-space calculations for any future sale; Anderson said the permanent acquisition is small relative to the large parcels and that he did not foresee a resale issue but that planning and the county engineer would weigh in.

Board action: Commissioner Carlson requested the easement item be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda for further review; the board accommodated that request (item moved to the regular agenda for additional consideration). No easements were approved on the record during the work session.

Context and background: Anderson said the city has run public outreach and panel studies with MnDOT for the corridor and that the intersection has a history of delay and several right‑angle crashes over the last decade. The city’s design team has pursued phased construction to maintain access to businesses and schools where possible, he said. Anderson said he has met with school-district transportation staff and with major adjacent businesses such as Target and Home Depot as part of outreach.

Next steps: Anderson said the city intends to award a contractor and then provide a proposed construction schedule; he said he has been hesitant to finalize outreach to youth organizations until the contractor submits a schedule but that he would note commissioners' requests to coordinate timing with tournaments. The county asked for review by county staff (including the county engineer) and legal counsel on green‑space, access, and resale implications before the easement item returns to the board.

Ending: The board will consider the easement request on the regular agenda at a later meeting, with county staff directed to review access impacts and legal language that would protect county interests. The city emphasized the project is largely funded through federal and MnDOT sources and that the roundabout is intended to reduce traffic delay and the risk of severe collisions at the intersection.