The Crookston City Council met last night at the Crookston City Council chambers in the lower level of Crookston City Hall.
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Council first heard a public information announcement from Ox Cart Day Chair Libby Boucher about Fireworks use for Ox Cart Days in August. She reported that they have 76 events confirmed for Ox Cart Days 2022 and thanked the Council for their continued support.
They then received a presentation from Elliot Steinbrink, from APG, about the Apartment Development with two 36-unit apartments with garages built on North Broadway, south of the Casey’s General Store. He reported that production was progressing smoothly and showed a few images of what the development would be like in the end. “We intend to start the first phase of the apartments in the Spring of 2023 with a completion date of Spring of 2025,” said Steinbrink. “Tonight, we got the pre-approval for the business subsidiary agreement and the ability to keep things moving forward.”
Steinbrink added that he was meeting with the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) and the Planning and Commissions on Tuesday, April 19, at noon and 7:00 p.m., respectively, to reaffirm what they had approved with the Council.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Council’s Consent Agenda consisted of them approving the proposed City Council Minutes from their last meeting on March 28 and the Special meetings Minutes they held on April 4 & 5. They also created a resolution to approve all City of Crookston Bills and Disbursements in the amount of $346,956.53 and continue the resolution to approve the 2022 License Renewals-Gas Fitting and Cement Mason License. The final items were to approve the agenda for the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) meeting that will take place next Tuesday, April 19, and to approve plans and specifications and call for bids on the 2022 Street Improvements.
The Council approved all motions unanimously.
REGULAR AGENDA
The Regular Agenda included the resolution Authorization to execute a Minnesota Department of Transportation Grant Agreement for Airport Improvement Excluding Land Acquisition for State Project No A6001-58 at the Crookston Municipal Airport. They plan to move one runway to another area, with the State giving them $35,000 to complete it.
They then moved to approve the Small Cities Development Program, Commercial Rehabilitation Loan Program, Deferred Loan Repayment Agreement, and Mortgage and a Commercial Rehabilitation Loan Program for Craig and Katherine Theede. “The Theedes, Dr. Theede, and his wife had two loans from the city. One was an interest-bearing loan that they made payments on for a five-year period,” said Interim City Administrator Corky Reynolds. “Those payments were kept up, and they will make the final payments on the loan, so we issue a Mortgage Satisfaction. There was a second loan, a forgivable loan if the Theede’s occupied that commercial space for five years. Unfortunately, Dr. Theede died in a horrible accident, so he’d be unable to occupy it for five years. So the Council had a discussion based upon a request with Mrs. Theede that this loan be forgiven because of the unique circumstances.” The Council discussed that due to the case’s uniqueness, with Mrs. Theede being a stay-at-home widow looking after two young children, and recognized that Dr. Theede put a lot of money into the building and intended to pay it all off. The Council chose to forgive the loan of $13,399.
The Council then agreed to purchase life insurance for themselves as security for any loans in the future in case there is another unfortunate incident like this one. There would be a third-party pair to pay the city what they are owed.
The Council heard from Jake Solberg, who reported that the University of Minnesota Crookston came to him explaining that they have a one-year deal to use the Crookston Community Pool for their student’s usage, for things like morning lap swims, aquatic classes, and other events that used the pool. Any students that wish to use the pool need to show their student ID to the lifeguard to use it for what they need. The University’s deal lasts until June 30, where at its end, the school will pay $8,000 for the usage of the pool July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
The Council then called a Public Hearing on the proposed Business Subsidy Agreement for the APG Development. Interim City Administrator Corky Reynolds reported that he met with APG for the services and materials that they will be using to build their apartments. “The City is offering some incentives, and in the State of Minnesota, if a city is going to provide opportunities, services, and materials, there will be no charge for them,” said Reynolds. “You have to have a Public Hearing identifying what services will be provided and the approximate costs for the services the developer will not be paying.” Reynolds added that he believed that the total amount that APG would need would not exceed $110,000 for whatever services they needed.
The Council approved all motions unanimously.
The Council finished the meeting with a summary of the closed session negotiations meeting they held on Tuesday, April 5, from Reynolds. He reported that they met with Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) on a contract for Law Enforcement officers. The LELS asked for a 4% raise as funds were available to do so. In the previous contract, the city had only given them a 2.75% raise due to what was budgeted. The Council countered with a final offer of a 3% raise, with the LELS accepting.
The law enforcement union also wished to get rid of the rule that requires officers have to live within a 30 square mile radius of the city, hoping to change that to allow officers to live more than 30 square miles from Crookston.
The last item was a discussion of an issue with the School Resource Officer’s compensation. “We discussed these issues at a Closed Bargaining Session,” Reynolds explained. “Now we will be able to go back to the Police Union and say that we will give you a 3% raise. We can offer you the elimination of the 30-mile straight-line radius you have to live within, and the Union will handle the School Research Officer issue internally.”
REPORTS AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
Public Works Director Brandon Carlson reported that due to the upcoming weather, the river will potentially crest at approximately 20 ft. on Friday but that the Department is ready for both rain and snow with the preparations they have made for the storm drains on the streets.
Fire Department Chief Tim Froeber reported that they tried to run their Weather Service alarms on Wednesday, April 6 but found some issues with them. They sent some department members out to fix them since then, and the Fire Department will test them again tomorrow, April 12, near 1:00 p.m.
Jake Solberg explained that the pool has a chemical imbalance, one of the pipes they had repaired over the winter has leaked again, and the PH level has been at a consistent level of 8.0, which is too dangerous of a level to keep the pool open. He reported a repairman for the pipe is coming on Thursday, April 14, and someone to fix the PH level on Monday, April 18. They hope to have the pool reopened by Tuesday, April 19.
The next City Council meeting will take place on Monday, April 25, at 7:00 p.m. inside the City Hall Council Chambers.
