The Crookston City Council met on Monday night to discuss funding applications, a special assessment extension, and temporary easements for the Trunk Highway 2 project.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE APPLICATION
The council voted unanimously to approve the Business Development Infrastructure application. Crookston Community Development would apply for $750,000 in funding from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, with the funds going toward additional development at the Crookston Industrial Park and to help generate new jobs. The city has also received $3 million in federal funds for the industrial park, which helps to lower the burden on the taxpayers. “If we’re awarded the grant from the state, it’ll be really great to be able to pair those two funding sources together,” said CHEDA Director Taylor Wyum. “It lessens the matching funds that are required from the city for the project and therefore lessens the burden on our taxpayers to get the project done. So it’s really great. The more funding sources you can bring to the table, the better.”
INTERMEDIARY RELENDING PROGRAM FUNDING
The council approved a resolution authorizing the application to the USDA for Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) funding. The application would provide up to $750,000 from the USDA, plus a 25% local match totaling up to $250,000, to further establish the city’s IRP to help businesses with expansion, building improvements, renovations, and new business ventures. The funding would help the city promote economic growth and support local job growth and retention. “We have had a lot of inquiries from businesses recently in the last few years that I’ve been working with the city. We’ve been approached by a number of businesses, and we haven’t had a lot of funds in the program because they’ve all been loaned out,” Wyum explained. “And so right now, we’re in a place where we’ve had some of those funds paid back to us. We want to leverage those funds to bring in more funding so that ultimately, at the end of the day, we can make more of those loans instead of having to turn people away.”
NATURE VIEW ESTATES SPECIAL ASSESSMENT EXTENSION
The council voted to approve an amendment to the Developer Agreement for Nature View Estates Plat 5. The council previously discussed the amendment at the June 1 meeting, when an amendment was approved for one of the properties in that development. The council agreed to expand the agreement to encourage the remaining lots to also develop in that area, which has had vacant lots since 2020 due to COVID and rising building costs in recent years. “This resolution just extended the possibility of a $10,000 assessment for an additional 24 months,” said Interim City Administrator Darin Selzler. “And then what we also did as an incentive to hopefully kind of spark some interest in building on those lots, because they all are sold and they all are privately owned, we would include the city housing tax abatement program in that.”
HIGWAY 2 PROJECT TEMPORARY EASEMENTS
The council approved a resolution authorizing the execution of a temporary easement to the State of Minnesota as part of the Trunk Highway 2 Improvement Project. In total, 11 city-owned properties were included in the agreement, which will conclude in December 2028 or earlier, depending on the project’s timeline. The city will receive a total compensation of $10,138 for the easements, which will help cover any damage to city property during the Highway 2 reconstruction project. “It’s just a formality. I think it was 11 we brought through tonight. We’ll have a couple more down the road coming,” said Interim City Administrator Darin Selzler. “The state of Minnesota, anytime they do any road projects or anything like that that may encroach on private property, they ask for an easement of that so that they can access that property and make any upgrades necessary for the projects they’re doing.”
EAGLES STATE CONVENTION PROCLAMATION
Vice Mayor Morgan Hibma read a proclamation during the meeting recognizing the Crookston Fraternal Order of Eagles #873, which is hosting the 123rd annual State Convention starting on Wednesday, June 17. The proclamation names the week of June 15 through 20, 2026, as Fraternal Order of Eagles Week in Crookston in recognition of the chapter’s dedication to serving the people and donating thousands of dollars to local charities. Eagles Secretary Jake Fee accepted the proclamation on behalf of the entire chapter.
CONSENT AGENDA
The council unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included the proposed minutes from the June 1 City Council meeting, bills and disbursements totaling $508,471.23, the 2026 Gas Fitters and Cement Mason License, and tobacco licenses with Summerhill Management Inc. for the Crookston Inn and Two Captains Inc. for the Crooks Bar and Bottle Shop.
The next Crookston City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 6, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
