The Crookston City Council voted via a split decision Monday night to pay the bills and disbursements owed by the City of Crookston. Councilman Clayton Briggs pulled the resolution to approve bills and disbursements off the consent agenda. The bill in question, check #061329, included a commercial coffee brewer and special order coffee for the Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) for $1,140.10.
Moved to the regular agenda, the bills, and disbursements, minus the payment of check #061329, passed by a 5-2 vote with Councilman Bobby Baird and Jake Fee voting no. The council then addressed the check in question with Mayor Guy Martin saying he did not think it was an appropriate expense. Fee told the council that in his experience with the Crookston Eagles, a commercial coffee brewer costs around $800 and that he believed given the number of important meetings for the City at Valley Technology Park it was a worthwhile expense to have coffee available. “From my experience working with commercial coffee makers that’s what they cost,” said Fee. “You have to buy the machine, it’s a one-time expenditure for about $800 to supply coffee for our tenants out there and also the business meetings that we have. I thought we were getting a little nitpicky on the expenditures out there.”
Fee also added that they were using Valley Technology Park funds generated by operating the facility, not taxpayer money. Councilwoman Cindy Gjerswold commented that they weren’t operating a restaurant. Several references were made by Martin, Briggs, and City of Crookston Finance Director Angel Weasner to a State of Minnesota Audit of the St. Cloud HRA that didn’t believe there was a public purpose for purchasing food for non-public meetings, coffee for daily consumption by HRA employees, a cake for a retiring employee and flowers for employees who have had a medical emergency. Additionally, the state legislature had raised concerns about the Minnesota Lottery spending an average of more than $5,000 a year on coffee and in 2003 the Minnesota Lottery discontinued the practice.
Councilman Briggs said he believes it’s a violation to use government money for coffee consumed by staff. “When the state comes back looks at what we do we have to abide by what the state says,” said Briggs. “We can’t be buying things that the state doesn’t allow and I just can’t see the public liking the idea that we’re paying $800 [for the maker] and $300-400 more for coffee. I know from the time I was with the Police Department we had a popcorn machine and guys bought there own popcorn and even now the Chief of Police, Lieutenant and the guys chip in for their own coffee. Another council member was saying the same thing that they aren’t allowed to use government money for that.”
Fee motioned to approve the check #061329, seconded by Councilman Tom Vedbraaten. The bill was approved by a 4-3 vote with the four councilmembers who regularly attend CHEDA voting yes and the three who attend less frequently, Briggs, Gjerswold and Don Cavalier voting no.
On the agenda for the third consecutive meeting was the Fournet Development Agreement after all the required documentation and insurance had been submitted by developer Jeff Evers, but Vedbraaten had some questions on language within the document. “The way I read it we’re giving the Mayor and City Administrator the authority to make whatever changes they feel necessary,” Vedbraaten. “Nobody could answer the question tonight so we need some answers before we approve this.”
City Attorney Corky Reynolds suggested a councilmember contact the TIF lawyer to check why the language regarding the Mayor and City Administrator was included before proceeding and the Council voted to table the development agreement for a third time by unanimous vote.
