The Crookston Park Board held its monthly meeting on Monday afternoon at City Hall.
SPORTS CENTER OPEN HOUSE RECAP AND PAINT ISSUES
Most of the discussion during the meeting focused on the Crookston Sports Center, including a recap of the open house held there last month. The event was well attended and featured activities across the complex, including new entertainment inflatables purchased earlier this year. “We ended up with four of them, and we ended up needing all four, and now with the people that were out there looking, and we’ve had some people talk to us about buying at least one more, so yeah, we may end up with three out there,” explained Parks and Recreation Director Scott Butt. “We’ve already had people call in and reserve the blow-ups for parties later in the summer and into the fall, so you know we’re pretty excited about it.”
While the open house was a positive for the sports center, an issue with the paint on the doors and some walls was addressed. During the open house, it was noticed that some paint was peeling from the doors, but Pace Painting of Grand Forks, which painted the facility one year ago, returned to prime and repaint the affected areas. There was no cost to the city, as the work was under warranty. “Pace Painting stood by their work. They are really a good company to deal with,” said Butt. “They came in immediately when I called them and said, ‘Hey, we got paint peeling off the doors and on some of the side walls, and they were over immediately to check it out. They had guys over here working on it and getting it done right, scraped it off and repainted, and did all the proper prep work, and very thankful for everything they did for us there.”
POOL TEMPERATURE SOFTWARE DISCUSSION
The board discussed the temperature-control software at the Crookston Community pool. The current system has been in place for at least 25 years and requires manual intervention to regulate the pool water and heating system temperatures throughout the building. An estimate for a modernized system through the current provider, Johnson Controls, came in at around $23,000, so the board was hesitant to make any decisions until the pool study comes back no later than early July. “I think it’s a smart move. The computer system is working. They had mentioned to me that we should look at upgrading, because there are certain computer programs that it won’t support,” said Butt. “I think we’re better off to wait until after the pool study comes back, and we’re better off to wait until we make a decision of where we’re going with the pool.”
BASEBALL TOURNAMENT RECAP
During board comments, members shared compliments they received about the attendance and the excellent work of the grounds crew at the recent Class 8A and 8AA baseball tournament games at Karn Field. “All in all, it was really a great turnout for the four days that we had it, and a lot of people in town,” Butt said. “I’m very excited to get to do it again in a year or two.”
As summer begins, Parks and Recreation is staying busy, with men’s slow-pitch softball and sand volleyball starting up as soon as this week in addition to youth baseball and softball.
The next Park Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 13, at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall.
