The Crookston City Council met on Monday night inside the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting began with new Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Janelle Wald briefly introducing herself to the council. Wald told the council she is excited to get to work and believes her previous stops as director for the Northwest Private Industry Council Workforce Development Board in Northwest Minnesota among others will serve her well in this role.
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda included the approval of the meeting minutes from the April 10 meeting, a resolution approving city bills and disbursements in the amount of $443,268.34, a resolution approving 2023 license renewals, a resolution to approve a donation received from the United Way of Crookston in the amount of $1,500 for the Crookston Parks & Recreation Department, and a resolution to consider approving Election Judges for the 2023 special elections. The board approved all consent agenda items unanimously.
There was then a public hearing held for proposed changes to the Crookston Water Department fee schedule. This will only affect the Corrections Center in Crookston and they will be charged an extra $400 per month from the city for the use of a grinder. No one came forward with questions or comments so Mayor Dale Stainbrook then closed the public hearing.
MAIN AGENDA
The main agenda began with three resolutions that tied together regarding the Crookston Municipal Airport. The first resolution was regarding a grant application with respect to an Airport Improvement Project, the second resolution was regarding a grant application with respect to the Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) at the Crookston Municipal Airport, and the third resolution was approving Short Elliot Hendrickson to conduct a study for the site selection of the new AWOS equipment at the airport. “The first resolution is simply a grant application that the city needs to submit regarding an airport improvement project. The plan is to construct a new T-Hangar and pavement for some runway,” said City Administrator Corky Reynolds. “We need to have someone do this for us, but this resolution was simply for the submission of the grant application. The second resolution was another grant application to fund new AWOS equipment at the airport. The current AWOS equipment is outdated and in a location that no longer fits the criteria. Therefore, the third resolution was to then approve Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) to conduct a site selection planning and environmental review at the airport to select the best spot for the new equipment to go. In summary we are employing SEH to do this work for us by submitting the applications, and then seeking grant money to help pay for the project and design process.”
The board approved all three resolutions unanimously.
The next resolution was for establishing procedures relating to compliance with reimbursement bond regulations under the Internal Revenue Code. The city is working with Ehlers financial group who has advised them to pass this resolution, and by doing so, the city will now have the option to bond finances moving forward. This does not mean the city will bond and seek repayment for projects, etc…., it just means they now have the option to do so. The council approved the resolution unanimously.
After that the council passed a resolution regarding the adoption of the Polk County All Hazard Mitigation Plan. “The county has a mitigation plan in place. Jurisdictions within a county need to be a part of the county plan if they want to seek federal dollars,” said Reynolds. “So, we did adopt this policy so that if there is for instance a chemical spill, a railroad derailment with oil, a high water event, we would be able to submit our documentation to then receive federal funding to help mitigate it.”
The last item on the agenda was a resolution regarding the purchase of an investigation vehicle for the Crookston Police Department. The vehicle being discussed was obtained by the police department due to a DWI forfeiture. “Per Minnesota Statute, if we obtain a DWI forfeiture vehicle through an administration process, we then have the choice to sell it or to keep it for official use,” said Crookston Police Chief Darin Selzler. “However, with either of the options we need to pay off the lien which in this situation is a bank. So, we will pay them off at approximately $12,500 for a vehicle that is roughly worth $23,000, making this a very advantageous situation for the city and police department.”
The vehicle will be used for official use within the department, and the council approved the resolution unanimously.
REPORTS
During reports Crookston Police Chief Darin Selzler noted they will be filling their final opening sometime next month with the hiring of a new officer. Crookston Fire Department Chief Shane Heldstab however did not have good news to report, as he told the council that they offered their firefighter opening to a candidate who turned the position down. The fire department will begin the process to find another candidate. Chief Heldstab did have some good news in stating the river levels are below the action stage of 12 feet, meaning the city should be in clear for flood concerns. Lastly Crookston Parks & Recreation Department Director Jake Solberg informed the council that Recreation Supervisor Cody Brekken has turned in his notice with his final day being on May 4. Brekken has accepted a full time position with the National Guard. With him leaving, the department has begun advertising for the open position and are in the beginning stages of the process.
The next meeting will take place on Monday, May 8.
