The Crookston City Council met last night in the Crookston City Council Chambers in the lower level of Crookston City Hall.
OATH OF OFFICE
The Council began with an Oath of Office for Police Officer Heath Hanson done by Police Chief Darin Selzler with his family and fellow police officers. Pictures can be seen below.
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ANNOUCNEMENTS
The Council then heard a Proclamation by Mayor Dale Stainbrook to declare May 2022 Community Action Month. He declared that it will help reach the people in poverty and promote economic stability to all Americans. “We like to call out the work of our staff and volunteers, so Nationwide, May has been designated as Community Action Month in the United States,” Tri-Valley CEO Jason Carlson explained. “The City of Crookston, during my tenure, has always followed suit and expressed their appreciation for all the work our staff and volunteers have been doing in the Community,” he added. He promised that the Council would continue to provide support to all families in Crookston. Mayor Stainbrook then presented Tri-Valley CEO Jason Carlson with the official documents of the Month’s recognition. A picture can be seen below.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Council’s Consent Agenda consisted of them approving the proposed City Council Minutes from their meeting on May 9 and of all the City of Crookston Bills and Disbursements in the amount of $233,213.87. The Council then approved a donation of $135 from the United Methodist Women for Fire Education for School Age and a 2022 Tabacco License for the Minakwa Golf Course. The Council also approved amendments to the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority’s (CHEDA) Agenda for their Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 31. The final item on the Council approved was the approval of the CHEDA Agenda for their regular meeting on June 14.
REGULAR AGENDA
The Regular Agenda included a Resolution approving a contract with the Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) Local No 31 for 2022. Interim City Administrator Charles “Corky” Reynolds reported that they had finalized the negotiations with LELS, and both sides had agreed to the terms for 2022. However, he noted that they had made a few changes to the original terms, such as eliminating the residency requirement for the officers and settling on a wage package that he and the Police Union’s attorney agreed upon. With its approval, the Labor Services can begin negotiations in preparation for 2023. The Council then approved a resolution to accept a bid and awarding contract for 2022 Street Improvements. The Council continued with a resolution approving the detachment of a certain portion of land parcel 82.00077.03. The portion is a 27.5-acre parcel adjacent to the City, and courtesy of the Biermaier family’s Limited Liability Partnership, they asked for the land to be removed from the City boundaries and made a part of their property. Reynolds reported that all statues had been adhered to by the Biermaiers and that he found no deficiencies with it. The Council then heard from one of the homeowners, Lucas Biermaier, who explained that he and his family liked to use the land for hunting and that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a rule that people cannot fire a firearm within 400 feet of a building, but reported that the property is well out of the way for them not to be affected. “It’s a 27.5-acre parcel of essentially hunting and recreation land,” Interim City Administrator Charles “Corky” Reynolds explained. “There are no buildings, no people there, and they just want to do their bow-hunting without the infringement of the ordinances for the City of Crookston,” he added. The Council chose to support their petition and that they are authorized to sign any documents legalizing it.
The Council then heard a resolution to approve the repair to Lift Station 4’s Air Exchange System. The Council then heard from Public Works Director Brandon Carlson, who explained that the Station has had issues keeping the air fresh and safe for the Wet Wells and making it unsafe for the Wastewater workers to go into the Lift stations to complete maintenance. So they needed to do a complete air exchange replacement and replace all of the rotten ductwork. “It’s a complete air exchange replacement, so all of the ductwork will be replaced with stainless steel ductwork since the whole ductwork was galvanized, and it’s pretty rotten,” Public Works Director Brandon Carlson explained. “The make-up air has to be heated in the wintertime so that it doesn’t freeze the lift station in the wintertime. So, it’ll get a new furnace and the ductwork and the wiring to the main panel so, at the end of the day, it’s a complete replacement of the Air Exchange System in the Lift Station,” he added. The Council then approved a resolution to sell a piece of property on Hunter Street for $3000 to the landowner that lived next to the property. Interim Administrator Reynolds reported that the property is a vacant lot that has been in the City Property Index for years and the adjacent landowner now wished to purchase the property since part of his home was on it. Administrator Reynolds reported that the City had no need for it to gain access to the dike near it or any other reason and chose to sell the property.
The Council closed the meeting with a discussion about the recent Spring Clean-Up and the upcoming Fall Clean-Up. Reynolds reported they had received some complaints about the criteria in what calls for excessive debris at the debris sites due to issues with the recent floods and the City’s delays. Public Works Director Carlson reported that multiple properties had not had their debris taken by the Public Works Crews last week due to the amount of debris and confusion on what they would take. The Council agreed that the Public Works crews will go and pick up the leftover garbage they did not pick up during Clean-Up Week this week and agreed to pay for the extra fees that they would have to pay the debris sites. The Council then heard from resident Bill Kressel who reported that the City was very confused when he asked them why some debris wasn’t taken from his property. He asked the Council to clarify what counted as demolition in the future as many things that the Council counted as debris and the County counted it as bypass. The Council agreed that they would have to set up a better-defined policy for the Clean-Up to ensure that the public fully understands what they can and cannot put out for Spring and Fall Clean-Up. The Council then added an item to the agenda to approve the amended Agenda for the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority’s (CHEDA) Agenda for their Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 31, and discussed a proposal of CHEDA meeting at least twice a month, similar to how the City Council does to help it have items be approved for City Council in a timely manner.
The Board approved all motions unanimously.
REPORTS AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The Council then heard from Jake Solberg that the Parks & Recs organization have been working to prepare the baseball fields for the summer despite the weather and have started mowing grass around the City. However, they are limited in mowing some areas due to large puddles and wet regions. He also reported that 10U and 12U baseball has begun practices and that their first games will be on Tuesday, May 31. He also reported that softball will start tomorrow, May 24 and that the 14U team has joined a league with East Grand Forks and Roseau. He reported that they are looking for some lifeguards for the summer staff but believes that they are well-staffed for the coming summer.
Public Works Director Brandon Carlson reported that most of the temporary clay levees had been picked up, but there are still some that they have left to clear away. He also requested the public to be patient on the road and sidewalk work in the City as the recent weather has pushed back their work on them by about a month, but they plan to begin work on them as soon as possible.
The next City Council meeting will take place on Monday, June 13, at 7:00 p.m. inside the City Hall Council Chambers.
