The Crookston City Council met on Monday evening to discuss revisions to the Business Development Infrastructure Application and a special event request at the Crookston Sports Center.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE APPLICATION
The council unanimously approved a resolution regarding a revised version of the Business Development Infrastructure Application that was previously approved at the June 15 meeting. CHEDA Director Taylor Wyum told the council that the city received a request from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to revise the application submitted for funds to further develop the Crookston Industrial Park. The change reflects that the total non-BDPI sources of funds outlined in the application are adequate to fund the project rather than the previously listed amount of $3,049,766.85. Wyum said, “So originally we had the dollar amount included in that resolution that the city is proving that it has set aside for this project, and so they asked us to remove that dollar number, and repass the resolution, so everything else is the same.”
With approval from the city council, the application will be resubmitted to DEED, but there are no expectations that the timeline for reviewing the application and determining funding will change. “The application was just submitted about two weeks ago, right after the last council meeting, and they asked us to get this updated,” Wyum explained. “Otherwise, they’re in the process of reviewing the rest of the application materials, and so they’ll just add this, have their reviewers make sure it’s what they’re looking for, and then we should be on the same timeline as previously. We’ll find out if we’re awarded, hopefully within a couple of months.”
SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST
The next item on the agenda was a resolution approving a special event request for a car audio competition at the Crookston Sports Center, scheduled for Saturday, August 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The request included an exception to the city’s noise ordinance, as the various radios, stereos, and other car audio equipment could create noise levels of at least 150 decibels inside vehicles and 125 decibels outside of vehicles. Several council members liked the idea, as the city has been looking to attract events to the sports center since it was opened. Mayor Dale Stainbrook appreciated the council’s responses, including a resolution to waive the $50 fee for food-truck applications for this event. “I think it makes sense to waive the fee for certain events,” said Stainbrook. “We don’t do it often, but you know this is brand new, so anything we can do to attract visitors out there to check this out with some food venues, and I think it’s exciting. We’ll see how it goes.”
CONSENT AGENDA
The council approved the consent agenda, including the approval of the June 15 meeting minutes, the bills and disbursements totaling $438,170.26, the 2026 Gas Fitting and Cement Mason license, the appointment of election judges for the 2026 primary and general elections, a payment to Gustafson & Goudge, Inc. for the 2025 hangar construction for the Crookston Municipal Airport, and accepting a donation of $5,550.16 from the Crookston Baseball Association for the construction of a new batter’s eye at Jim Karn Field.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 20, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall.
