 After years of court battles and lawsuits, Bemidji Township is no longer part of the greater Bemidji Joint Planning Board. During Wednesday's joint planning meeting, the board moved forward with a plan to end the dispute and the many lawsuits between the City of Bemidji, Northern Township and Bemidji Township. At Northern Town Hall tonight, the three local governments met and officially signed off on the agreement that withdraws Bemidji Township from the Joint Powers Agreement, which means that Bemidji Township would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the JPV. For the City of Bemidji and the Joint Planning Board, they are ready to move forward. I mean, I definitely think, you know, moving forward, I know the City of Bemidji and Northern Township, we have a great working relationship and I know we want to continue to see the greater Bemidji area strive. So, I mean, you know, we still hope that we can work with Bemidji Township moving forward as well. I mean, you know, they're still part of our area. So, you know, hopefully we can have a good working relationship and keep working together. But for the City and Northern Township, we plan to continue the Joint Planning Organization. And so, I think what will happen is we'll have some discussions about how the Planning Commission makeup will look, how the Joint Planning Board makeup will look. We have a lot of extra seats on there perhaps that we don't need, so that will be discussions going forward. With the vacancy of Bemidji Township on the Joint Planning Board, there remains a possibility that other Townships may step up and join. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.