The Crookston City Council met on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Crookston City Hall.
The consent agenda was approved by the council. It included the approval of minutes from the February 3 meeting, bills and disbursements for $645,272.10, and a three percent raise for City Administrator Jeff Shoobridge, which gives him a salary of $139,050 per year.
The main agenda included a resolution regarding a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a classification and compensation study for the City of Crookston. “That’s just to ensure we are in good condition so we can recruit the best talent,” says City Administrator Jeff Shoobridge. “Make sure everyone that does work for the city is compensated appropriately for the job that they are doing,” Shoobridge says there has been money set aside for some time for this study. “It was set aside two years ago for this purpose,” says Shoobridge. “It just did not get done, so we are moving forward with that process.” The process is anticipated to take nine to twelve months, and the study will cover all city employee positions. The council approved unanimously to put out an RFP for the study.
The next item on the evening’s agenda was a resolution regarding a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the City of Crookston’s official paper. The city is required to name an official paper yearly that runs a weekly publication. “Many may not realize but the seventh of the month was the last publication day for The Crookston Times,” says Shoobridge. “They were our official paper for public notice purposes, and so there are state requirements to be an official paper for a city, so in order to be equitable to all publishers in the region we are going out for RFP rather than just selecting one at random.” Shoobridge said going out for RFP also helps ensure the taxpayers are getting the best price. The council approved unanimously the resolution to put out an RFP for the official paper.
Tonight, the council was asked to approve Baker Tilly as the City of Crookston’s auditing firm for the 2024 Audit. It has been made known at previous meetings that finding an auditor has proved difficult due to firms cutting back on doing municipal audits. Shoobridge was happy to report that the city was able to get two bids in. “We have had some trouble getting bids for an audit firm,” says Shoobridge. “We did end up with two after much discussion with a couple of firms audit principals, and Baker Tilly is very well regarded in the field, and I think they are going to do a great job for us moving forward.” The contract with Baker Tilly is a three-year contract that will cost the City of Crookston $56,300 for the 2024 audit, $53,800 for 2025, and $56,500 for 2026. The cost is higher for 2024 as it will be the first year and requires more work to gather the information needed to complete the audit. The council approved unanimously Baker Tilly as the city auditor.
The city put out an RFP in recent months for bids to complete the needed exterior painting of the Crookston Sports Center. The budget for this item was $160,000. The city received three bids, but one was missing some information and was disqualified. “The sports complex is 15 years old. As we all know, paint weathers, paint wears out, it’s built out of concrete so there is painting that needs to be done as well as some seals between some of the concrete panels need to be renewed and brought up,” says Shoobridge. “It is a very large building, so the cost may seem a little high, but we can fit probably a couple of dozen single-family homes in just one rink area. It’s a really big area.” Shoobridge emphasized that this is maintenance that will keep the building from falling into a situation where it is deteriorating beyond repair. The council approved the bid from Pace Painting, LLC of EGF of $139,365. It is worth noting that this is under budget by about $21,000.
The council also heard a resolution regarding a letter of support for the Geothermal Planning Grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The EDA is seeking a letter of support from the city to apply for the Grant. If awarded, the city could evaluate the feasibility of implementing a geothermal energy system within Crookston. “This is the very beginning stages of a very long-term potential project. Geothermal is a way to mitigate your utility costs and energy usage,” says Shoobridge. “It helps you cool a little bit better in the summer and helps you heat a little easier in the winter.” The council unanimously approved signing a letter of support.
Last up, the council added an item at the beginning of Tuesdays meeting. Tanner Holten gave a summary of the Closed Session from February 3, 2025. This summary was very short and addressed the previously discussed raise for the City Administrator, Jeff Shoobridge. Shoobridge received a three-percent raise bringing his yearly salary to $139,050.
