The Crookston City Council met in the City Hall council chambers on Monday night.
The council first approved a resolution regarding the change order to the No.2 agricultural road and utility construction. This issue is related to installing the storm sewer on the roadway near the Ag Innovation campus, where non-ideal circumstances were discovered. “They had to order additional piping and equipment to get the pipe up and over while they lower the line so they could drop it down,” said City Administrator Corky Reynolds. The pricing of the new materials being ordered is estimated at $15,000.
The council also approved a resolution regarding the Laura Musser Foundation application and letter of support to be submitted by Crookston Parks and Recreation and CHEDA. This grant is intended for rural areas (towns with a population of 10,000 and below) to receive funds for project development. No match is needed for this grant, but other forms of payment will be asked for in return. “We won’t spend any dollars, but we have to perform in-kind services,” said Reynolds, “Like digging holes, spreading dirt, we have to do that kind of stuff.” The grant is estimated at the fact that the city is looking at renovating the Red Barn in Crookston.
The last item the council approved was the resolution regarding the Comprehensive Plan agreement with KLJ, an engineering firm. The most recent plan KLJ provided was in 2016, and now they want to update it. “March of 2016 was the last time that plan had been updated,” said Reynolds, “What we’re doing now was having that comprehensive plan of 2016 updated by an engineering firm.”
During the public forum, Crookston resident Michelle Kristofferson announced that UMC will start the 2023-24 academic year on Tuesday, August 29.
Also making statements during the forum was Evan Meyer, president of the Blue Line Club. Meyer spoke on behalf of the Blue Line Club and shared their frustrations with the council. Meyer stated there were disrespectful comments during one of the previous budget discussions and claimed false information was spread during the meeting. It was also reported that since 2017, the Blue Line Club has spent $384,000 on Parks and Rec Recreation hockey. This includes payments to the city for ad revenue and ice rental. It also includes the payment of tournament fees and associated costs, player and coaching equipment, and player programming and skill development costs.
The next City Council meeting will be on Monday, September 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers.
You can watch the whole meeting by clicking here.
