On Monday night the Crookston City Council took the first step toward seating a full council for the first time in almost half a year when they appointed Dylane Klatt to the Ward 6 seat. Klatt will fill the seat vacated when Cindy Gjerwold resigned last August.
Klatt was recommended last Wednesday by a group of eleven residents from Ward 6 who comprised an interview panel for the position. This was the second attempt to fill the position and perhaps foreshadowing the result before his interview Klatt said he believed the residents of his ward had a different agenda than the City Council members who recommended Chris Plante during the first round of interviews in September. Klatt will be sworn in at the next City Council meeting on February 10.
The City Council also passed a resolution to award the project of building a river access at the Gentilly Bridge to Lyle Wilkens for $148,594. The item was pulled from the consent agenda by Councilman Tom Vedbraaten because he was concerned that he had read that each city was contributing 20 percent to the project yet at the previous meeting had been told it was paid for by a grant. Interim City Administrator Angel Weasner explained that each city involved in the grant agreed to pay 20 percent of the match for each project the grant covered. After the meeting Vedbraaten said he doesn’t think there is much use there and was also concerned about doing work on land the city didn’t own. “I know there is some people that use the river,” said Vedbraaten. “I don’t see to much use out there and I go across the Gentilly Bridge quite a few times but that’s beside the point. It’s just we’re taking our city tax dollars and we’re going out there. I just want to know how much it’s going to be, what we’re spending it on. We have a town square we don’t own that land, are we going to run into the same problem there.”
City Engineer Rich Clauson told Vedbraaten that to do the work, a permit will have to be approved by the county, essentially working as a lease to build the access. Polk County Commissioner Gary Willhite also spoke to the council about the proposed reconstruction project on County Road 11, Fisher Ave, in Crookston. Willhite said two people attended the county commissioners meeting last week with concerns over lowering the road and Willhite was there to reassure the council that the county was doing its due diligence to make sure the plan wouldn’t lead to flooding in Crookston. “I think it merits taking a second look at this to make sure that we aren’t jeopardizing the city,” said Willhite. “I did have an opportunity to visit with our department head Rich Sanders and some of the engineers. They are probably about 75 to 80 percent [done with engineering] with that project. They feel fairly comfortable that’s not going to be the case. It’s not going to be going down that the three or four feet that some of the rumors have. Probably around 10 to 12 inches at the most. Curb and gutter will be put in, sidewalks on both sides, and crosswalks with blinking lights up by Barrette. So, there are some safety measures with that.”
The Council approved the consent agenda which include receiving the engineers report for 2020 street improvements and calling for a public hearing, approving bills and disbursements totaling $300,611.64, and approving the council’s committee assignments for 2020. A resolution was also passed appointing Andy Hall to the Crookston Visitor’s Bureau, David Hennings and Brigette Burzette-Deleon to Park Board, Barry Bingham to Planning Commission, and reappointing Terri Noah to the Library Board, and Betty Arvidson to the Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority Board.
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