Beltrami County board opens hearing on transferring Judicial Ditch 2 to City of Bemidji

The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners opened a public hearing June 23 on whether to transfer jurisdiction of Judicial Ditch 2 — a drainage system built in 1910 that lies entirely within the City of Bemidji — to the City of Bemidji.

County staff member Bruce said JD 2 "was built back in 1910" and described it as an "active system" that historically relied on assessments on properties identified as benefiting from the ditch. He said no ditch assessments have been collected "for a long time" and characterized the system as effectively inactive in terms of formal maintenance assessments. Bruce told the board the City of Bemidji has passed a resolution requesting the transfer and that, if the transfer occurs, the city would maintain the ditch through its…