The city of Bemidji, with some foresight, came up with a plan to upgrade and create new parks and trails facilities throughout the city through the use of a voter-approved city sales tax. That tax, by state law, is to raise $9.8 million for a park and trails plan that quickly become obsolete.
Compounding problems was the use of nearly $4 million of the fund to upgrade Diamond Point Park. The finished product is a showcase for the community, a beautiful park that will serve the city well for decades to come.
But its high cost has severely limited what the city can do with the remaining funds, a large portion of which will be used to provide new softball facilities and other recreational amenities at Bemidji City Park, the area near the curling club.
The city Parks and Trails Commission, however, is on the right track in suggesting some of the remaining funds -- $250,000 -- be used as part of a partnership to increase facilities north of Paul Bunyan Drive, an area that desperately needs them. The City Council embraced those ideas Monday in a 6-0 vote.
There are many apartment buildings, town house developments and a mobile home park in the Delton Avenue, Ridgeway Avenue and 30th Street neighborhood, yet the closest park is Cameron, across busy streets and a half-mile away.
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The Bemidji Rotary Club made it project to develop some softball fields and recreation opportunities in the early 2000s and the effort cut police calls by a third and put a crimp in vandalism. But left alone, the area has again drifted backwards.
By developing a city park to the extend described Monday would be a wonderful asset to the city and to that neighborhood, where population density is high and green space low. Hopefully a partnership can be worked out with North Country Health Services for the necessary land, and that other partnerships can be made to help increase the pot.
Rotary has again indicated a desire to work with the project, and the Bemidji Area Tennis Association is considering indoor courts and locker room facilities. Hopefully, there could be a trade-off for some public-use outdoor courts as well. The orphaned Carrington baseball field may also find a new home there, ousted from Bemidji City Park.
In addition to a children's playground area, we'd also like to see a picnic area, complete with grills and a water faucet or two for families to enjoy an evening out within walking distance.
It will take some work to make all these partnerships work, but the end result will be worth it. Such facilities have been sorely needed in the 30th Street neighborhood for years, and now is a good time to create a community quality of life asset there.
