The Crookston City Council met at the Crookston City Hall Council Chambers on Monday evening.
The council approved another 45-day temporary extension of the Crookston Inn’s liquor license, despite the establishment not paying property taxes for the last two years. The Crookston Inn hasn’t paid the 2026 liquor license fee, stating it is in the process of being sold. But the Crookston Inn property taxes haven’t been paid since Stahlecker Hospitality LLC took over the business in February 2024. The Crookston Inn owes $87,316.40 in delinquent property taxes. The last property tax payment was made in October 2024 by United Valley Bank. The sale is expected to be completed on or before February 27, and the delinquent taxes are expected to be paid at the time of the sale.
The council approved task order 22 to have Advanced Engineering and Evironmental Services LLC (AE2S) provide instrumentation and control support services for the City of Crookston in 2026 by providing on-call services, including programming support, configuration, troubleshooting, cybersecurity support, staff training, alarm management, and system optimization at a cost of up to $50,000 billed on an hourly basis allocated across applicable water and wastewater accounts depending on services performed.
The council approved a resolution authorizing AE2S to provide the final design and bidding-phase engineering services for the project, including funding assistance through the Minnesota Department of Health, environmental review and documentation, preparation of construction plans and specifications, and bid administration services. The total cost is $45,000, consisting of $35,000 for the final design phase services and $10,000 for bidding phase services. The City of Crookston has been awarded $350,000 through the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority for lead service line replacement. The funds are federal dollars administered by the state and are subject to federal requirements. There are 15 known lead service lines that need replacement. “We are aware that there are about 15. The $45,000 would be getting that front load, just getting the planning and bidding, that type of stuff. And then we would have another task order when construction actually happens, which would help with the construction administration,” said Betsy Seaver of AE2S. “But throughout that, we’re continuing to look and try to determine some of the unknowns and problems. We will be able to use some of that $350,000 to help support it. If we need to go back and request more because there are many more flood service lines, we can do so. Federal and state governments require that the state of Minnesota replace all of them, and they are funding it.”
The council also approved task order 24 to have AE2S to provide Highway 2 design services and authorize expenditures in the amount not to exceed $30,000 for the final design services. AE2S will provide final design phase services for development of approximately 90 percent of the design plans and special provisions for the Highway 2 Corridor project including roadway configuration, pedestrian and bicycle enhancements, streetscape and lighting improvements, intersection upgrades, on-street parking modifications, and coordination of associated water and sewer infrastructure elements within downtown Crookston between the Red Lake River Bridge and the railroad underpass, as well as portions of South Main Street and South Broadway.
The Council approved the request for an extension of Northstar Lime LLC Minnesota Investment Fund assistance. The approval gives Northstar Lime LLC one more year to fully meet job creation landmarks, extending the deadline to December 31, 2026 to get to 21 employees from the 17 they currently have to be able to have a portion of the loan forgiven.
