The Crookston City Council met Monday night at the City Hall Council Chambers and took action on the next steps for the demolition of the Tri-Valley building and support for the redevelopment of the old Diocese site.
TRI-VALLEY BUILDING DEMOLITION PROJECT
The council voted seven to zero to approve a resolution approving a task order with the city’s engineering firm, Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, LLC, for the demolition of the old Tri-Valley building at 102 N. Broadway. Joseph Shostell abstained from the vote, citing a grievance he had about the lack of structural engineering on the building in recent years.
Discussions about what to do with the building have been ongoing, as the Ways and Means Committee discussed moving forward with a demolition plan at their May 18th meeting. Interim City Administrator Darin Selzler went over the $113,500 task order, which would include demolition planning, preparation of cost estimates, design and bidding services, and additional pre-demolition assessments.
“The Tri Valley building is in downtown historic Crookston, which is designated as a historic downtown. So, we have to do an archeological report, which has to be submitted to the Minnesota State Historical Office,” said Selzler. “Once those are approved, we’ll move forward with publishing a request for proposal on demolition costs.”
An RFP could be brought to the council later this summer, with demolition expected to take place in the fall.
DIOCESE SITE REDEVELOPMENT
The council unanimously approved a professional services agreement with AE2S Communications for support of the redevelopment of the old Crookston Diocese property. Another project that was recently discussed by Ways and Means, the city would work with its engineering firm to develop a plan to bring development to the old Diocese property at 1298 Memorial Drive.
“The plan would be that the developer would purchase and develop that property in tandem with the City of Crookston. So this was just approving that PSA so we can move forward,” said Selzler. “We’ll likely have a couple steering committee meetings to get a vision or scope of what we’d like to see hopefully developed on that property, and then hopefully enter an agreement with a developer and see that project move forward.”
NATURE VIEW ESTATES SPECIAL ASSESSMENT
The council also unanimously approved a resolution to waive the $10,000 special assessment fee against a parcel in the Nature View Estates Plat 5 development. The parcel, under a development agreement approved in February 2020, gave the city discretion to impose the special assessment if no significant progress was made within 2 years of the property’s purchase. At least 10 lots in that development remain undeveloped, and the original development timeline is likely to have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising building-material costs at the time.
“This is an older developer’s agreement that had some covenants in there that we discussed tonight, kind of waiving those fees or extending them an additional 24 months, allowing them more time to build, and then also likely offer some incentives that the city’s offering for new build construction in the City of Crookston,” said Selzler. “Our ultimate goal is to add residential development, residential housing to increase our tax base, so I was really happy with how the conversation went.”
The council discussed the option to extend the 24-month extension on that special assessment, along with eligibility for other tax incentives, to the remaining properties in Nature View to encourage further residential development. Based on those conversations, Selzler will work with city officials to draft a resolution and have it ready for the next council meeting.
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda was passed unanimously and included approval of the May 18 regular meeting minutes, approval of $290,851.28 in bills and disbursements, approval of the 2026 Gas Fitters and Cement Mason License, and acceptance of a $20,000 donation from the Crookston Baseball Association for Legion, Babe Ruth baseball and softball, and maintenance of the ball fields.
The next Crookston City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 15, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
