On Monday evening, the Crookston City Council held a Special Meeting at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The agenda included four items.
The first agenda item was the reading of an Ordinance Creating the City of Crookston Housing Trust Fund. The second item called for a Public Hearing with respect to Adopting the City Code creating the City of Crookston Housing Trust Fund. City Administrator Jeff Shoobridge explains. “The Housing Trust fund has been in existence in Minnesota since 2018 and we wanted to catch up and take advantage,” said Shoobridge. “ It creates an opportunity for the city to get matching funds from the state, and citizens can actually designate their taxes to it, but from what I understand, there is a cap to how much can be designated to the fund.”
Shoobridge says this can be very helpful in getting some housing developments built in Crookston. “It will help us make some housing developments in the city, providing some good, affordable, nice housing for residents moving forward.” Shoobridge also points out that it will not be a tax burden to residents. “It’s leveraging the state dollars as opposed to tax levies from the residents, which helps us get more bang for our buck.”
The third agenda item was the first reading of an Ordinance amending sections 30.02 B & C of Crookston City Code, and the final item was calling for a Public Hearing to adopt the City Code amending 30.02 B & C. These sections both concern the way the City agendas are written.
A Public Hearing will be held during the next City Council Meeting on the two Ordinances, with a final reading of the Ordinances on Monday, September 30. “At that point, we will be in place and eligible for potential funding,” says Shoobridge. “It is a competitive bid process, but that will make us eligible for funding for the October announcement.”
The next City Council Meeting will be Monday, September 23, at 5:30 p.m.
