BEMIDJI — Residents and community members alike came to speak at the Bemidji City Council’s Monday meeting, following a city order to evacuate the Red Pine Estates due to structural concerns last Friday.
City inspectors and structural engineers hired by the property management company found that the apartments, located at 2950 Ridgeway Avenue NW, had significant concerns for safety, and Bemidji Building Official Todd Beito made the determination
to vacate residents by Thursday, July 6, for their safety.
But notified with just six days to move out, the nearly 50 residents, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s and on a fixed income, are struggling to find places they can live.
At the July 3 council meeting, community members spoke about the challenging situation during the session’s time for public comments.
“There’s a whole bunch of people who don’t know where they’re going to sleep on Thursday,” said Kristen O’Leary in her comments. “Y’all need to do better in supporting these people and figure out a way to get them out safely and find somewhere for them to go.”
Earlier that day several community members had gathered at the apartments to try and assist the residents moving out. However, due to concerns about the loading of the building with so many people inside, police and city officials arrived to attempt to control the situation.
While many of the volunteers, several of whom spoke at the council meeting, understood the need for caution, they expressed frustration with the process and what they perceived as a lack of effort being made by the property management company to assist the residents.
“Nobody (from the management company) has been there all weekend. These people are confused, they’re hurt, they’re in shock,” said Mary Schoenfeld, who helped organize the volunteers. “We felt like we were being punished for trying to do the job these people should have done.”
Beito responded to these comments and apologized if the intervention seemed rude, explaining that it was necessary to ensure the safety of everyone present.
“I had to intervene, it was very crucial that we got everyone out of the building,” Beito said. “(Evacuating the residents) has to be done very cautiously, with as few and minimal people as possible.”
The city requested last week that Schuett Companies, which owns the building, vacate residents in an organized manner starting with those on the third floor. Residents have been asked to not take any heavy items like furniture with them when they leave.
“(Residents) have to leave their stuff behind, basically just take their clothing and the essentials that they need,” Beito said.
City Attorney Katie Nolting said that the city and the owners were working to figure out a plan for the evacuation and that she was trying to coordinate the information shared with residents.
Other comments at the council meeting focused on the need for action, not only regarding Red Pine but also to prevent similar situations from arising in the future.
“This is the fourth subsidized housing building in less than a year to be shut down, and we’re not building them fast enough,” said Reed Olson. “Hundreds of people have lost their housing now because of this.”
Olson called for measures to hold landlords accountable for any negligence or mismanagement and to create a city policy that would prevent landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on their source of income.
“People are getting paid literal millions of dollars to provide housing to our most vulnerable, our elderly, and are not doing their job,” Olson said, “and we’re seemingly incapable of holding them to account.”
Banning discrimination based on the source of income would prevent landlords from rejecting a prospective tenant with a Section 8 voucher, a program meant to subsidize rent for low-income individuals and families, or similar programs that help tenants afford housing.
“Outlaw discrimination based on source of income,” Olson implored. “A lot of landlords would be mad at you, but what’s more important: landlords’ profits or people’s safety?”
The council heard these comments and Mayor Jorge Prince acknowledged the stress and difficulty the events at Red Pine have created.
“I think myself and the council are very aware that there have been some things that have happened at the Red Pine Estates that are causing significant concern in our community,” Prince said. “All of us recognize this is a really difficult thing for everybody.”
Following the period for public comment, the council meeting proceeded to the regular agenda. The first item was a report from representatives of Beltrami County on plans for the opioid settlement dollars the county has been allotted.
Beltrami County is set to receive over $2.8 million in the next 18 years to go toward addressing the harms caused by the opioid epidemic in the region and working for a better future through community and prevention efforts.
Part of the county’s plan is to create committees that will help guide how these dollars are spent, one that will include county officials and another that will incorporate community members.
Members of the council responded favorably to the plan but emphasized the importance of drawing together a diverse group of people from the community, particularly by including representatives of Black and Indigenous communities.
The council also voted 5-1 in favor of dissolving the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board, a partnership between the city and Northern Township, on Dec. 31, 2023.
Ward 4 Councilor Emelie Rivera voted against the decision, citing concerns over the timeline, while Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould was not present at the meeting. Northern Township informed the city of its desire to leave the partnership
in September 2022.
The council rejected a request by the Anishinaabe Art Festival for a full discount on renting the Sanford Center for the event in a 5-1 vote, with At-large Councilor Audrey Thayer in opposition. As a nonprofit, the art festival will receive the center’s standard 30% discount.
In a last item of business, the council selected Prince and Ward 5 Councilor Lynn Eaton to work with consulting firm Baker Tilly in the process to hire a new city manager.
The motion for the pair to take on the role was supported 4-2, with Rivera and Thayer in opposition. The need for a new city manager comes after the
resignation of Nate Mathews in April.
