The Crookston City Council met on Monday night inside the City Hall Council Chambers.
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda included approval of the August 9 meeting minutes and a resolution to approve City of Crookston bills and disbursements in the amount of $303,752.53. There were also resolutions before the board to approve partial payment estimates for the 2021 local and federal-funded street improvements happening in Crookston this summer. All items on the consent agenda were approved.
JEANNINE WINDELS DAY
Mayor Dale Stainbrook announced that August 25, 2021, will be Jeannine Windels day. Windels was the CEO for the Crookston of Area Chambers for 13 years and was an active member of the Crookston Lions for 30 years.
Brian Frisk of the Crookston Lions was in attendance to accept the honor for Windels, who was feeling under the weather. The Crookston Lions will throw her a goodbye party with a farewell program on Wednesday, August 25, from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church. The program itself will be at 5:00 p.m., and all are welcome to attend and wish Jeannine well in her new venture.
NEW FLYER OF AMERICA EXPANSION
The board approved the New Flyer of America Expansion resolution with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and Minnesota Investment Fund Incentive programs.
The New Flyer Plant manager David Rhode presented to the board during the public hearing about what the project will be and the reason for the expansion. City Administrator Amy Finch discussed more what the expansion will do and what options were before the board. “New Flyer with this expansion will bring in roughly 35 new jobs with this new bus line,” said Finch. “This is fantastic for our community, and while the framework for the organization is already there, they need more room to grow. They are expanding on their site, and some of the groundwork has already begun on that.”
EPITOME ENERGY
The board had two resolutions before them at the meeting regarding Epitome Energy. To pass a new letter of intent with Epitome Energy and a revised land option agreement. Finch explained what was in the new letter of intent. “The letter of intent was a short document that was drafted because the project just isn’t at the point where we can develop a full developer’s agreement,” said Finch. “What this does is allows us to negotiate the terms of a developers agreement, and certain things within the agreement will fall under their control, and then certain things will fall under our control. Epitome is requesting that we have a 9-year tax increment financing plan, upgrading the southern road to a 10-ton road, and a few others. If a deal can’t be reached by December 31st, the letter of intent will terminate.”
The board did not initially pass the motion for the letter of intent as they needed five votes to have the majority and only received four. Council Members Dylane Klatt, and Clayton Briggs voted no, and Council Member Kristie Jerde abstained and did not vote. Steve Erickson, Don Cavalier, Tom Vedbratten, and Wayne Melbye voted yes. However, there was a reconsideration from all three members who voted against after a lengthy discussion, and the vote did end up passing. CEO of Epitome Energy Dennis Egan will address the board sometime soon to address concerns and discuss more of the project details.
The board also approved the revised land option agreement with Epitome Energy, and Finch spoke more about the agreement and timeline moving forward. “Revising the land option agreement was necessary because we don’t have a developer’s agreement in place, and there was also the boundary change,” said Finch. “There was also the updated legal description that needed to be incorporated into the revised land option.”
As of now, the City has not locked itself into anything as these resolutions only allow negotiations of the project to take place. An agreement must be met between the City and Epitome Energy by December 31 of 2021, which means there is a little over three months for negotiations on the project.
OTHER ITEMS
Other items included the approval for the Crookston Inn for Dispensing and Consumption of Intoxicating Liquor, as well as a dance permit on their premises. The board approved the resolution.
The board also approved an ice time agreement with the Crookston Blue Line Club. The ice time agreement will be from September 10 to October 3 at the Crookston Sports Center. The Blue Line Club will be hosting tournaments for that time and needed ice to hold them. The cost of the agreement for the Blue Line Club will be $6,450 for the three weeks of use.
The board also approved a resolution for the City of Crookston Park and Recreation Department to purchase a Ventrac slope mower. Parks & Rec Supervisor Scott Butt answered any questions the board had and said the new mower would cut the grass more efficiently and leave a better-finished look.
There was also a resolution to approve the MNDOT joint powers contract for professional and technical services regarding the MNDOT Corridor study in Crookston. The board passed the resolution unanimously.
There was another resolution to approve authorization to execute the MNDOT Grant agreement for airport improvement. Finch also talked more about the details of the agreement. “We became aware of a potential grant of up to $30,000,” said Finch. “we had to match that as a city, and MnDOT actually came back and believed this was a necessity and gave more money which allowed us to give more and receive that grant. This agreement tonight was MnDot’s part in the grant, and this was the final piece to start getting that project started.”
Another resolution was to approve a variance order for Our Lady of Sorrows Church and their expansion project on the worship area of the building, which the board passed.
The last resolution was to approve a conservation reserve program contract located at Natures View Estates Plat 5. The board approved the program unanimously after hearing from Public Works Director Brandon Carlson and Parks & Recreation Supervisor Scott Butt.
There was also a closed session before the City Council meeting began to discuss Labor Negotiations. According to Finch, the board voted on upgrading the Health benefits for the city employees by $38 each, bringing the total from $155,000 to $193,000. This is included in dental, vision, and health.
The next City Council meeting will take place on September 13 inside City Hall.
