The Crookston City Council met on Monday at 7:00 p.m. inside the City Hall Council Chambers in the lower level of City Hall.
The council first heard from Michelle Christopherson of the University of Minnesota Crookston, who came forward to thank the council for their participation in the Night 2 Unite event. She then explained that she had met with Interim City Administrator Charles “Corky” Reynolds and Parks and Recs Director Jake Solberg on June 16 to request the addition of four items in the future. These included the sales of alcohol at the Crookston Sports Center for their first hockey game on October 14, creating a curling league, hosting a curling tournament, and hiring a vendor to sell alcohol and hard seltzer at the curling tournament if it passes.
CONSENT AGENDA
After the Call to Order for the meeting, the Council’s Consent Agenda consisted of them approving the City Council Minutes from their meeting on July 25 and the approval of the City of Crookston Bills and Disbursements in the amount of $409,609.98. It also included approving the Ox Cart Dances at the Downtown Square from 9:00 p.m. to midnight on August 19 and 20 and the Display of Fireworks on August 20. It also included approving an anonymous donation for the Night to Unite. The Consent Agenda will also include approving the partial payment estimate No 4 Final for 2021 Local Funded Street Improvements to Davidson Construction Inc. for $18,618.08 out of a total of $626,852.60, and a Dance permit for a Downtown Crookston Development Partnership Event on Tuesday, August 30 and approving the dispensing of intoxicating liquor on premises at a community event on August 30 as well. It also included the approval of the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority’s (CHEDA) agenda for their meetings on Tuesday, August 9, and Monday, August 22. The final items on the Consent Agenda included approving a resolution declaring the Public Works equipment and Police Department Impound Vehicles as Surplus Property and approving the Golden Link Dance permit for Wednesday, August 17. The Public Works Equipment included as Surplus Property included a 1995 Ford w/Nu Way Packer, 1979 Snow Go Blower Serial #3132, 1990 Int’l Dump Truck with the distributor, 1991 Chevrolet One Ton, 1995 Cat 12G Motor grader, 1969 Rex Pump 6”, and a 2011 Deutz Model F4L Mower. The Police Department Impound Vehicle included as Surplus Property included a 2014 Buick Lacrosse. The board approved all motions unanimously.
REGULAR AGENDA
The Regular Agenda included a resolution to approve Drafts Sports Bar & Grill and the Irishman Shanty of dispensing intoxicating liquor off premises on Ash Street during Ox Cart Days from Thursday, August 18 to Saturday, August 20, from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the 18th, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the 19th, and 11:00 to 1:00 a.m. on the 20th. City Administrator Reynolds explained that because it was involved with a community festival, Minnesota statutes allow them to have off-premises sales, and both have a catering license, enabling them to sell food and liquor for Ox Cart Days. The board approved both motions unanimously.
Satisfaction of Mortgage Loan Program to Richard and Teresa Genereux
It also included a resolution to approve a rehabilitation loan program, deferred loan repayment agreement, and mortgage on property owned by Richard and Teresa Genereux. Corky Reynolds explained that the couple had entered the program on July 17, 2008, and the city had paid $25,000 on their behalf with no interest loan for rehabilitation work on their existing housing property if they maintained the property for five years which they had done. The city will now execute a satisfaction of the mortgage with respect to the program. When asked how many of these cases remained, Reynolds reported about ten were still left, and they would take them at a case-by-case rate. The board approved the motion unanimously.
Hemp-derived THC Food and Beverage Emergency Ordinance
The final item on the Agenda was to approve an emergency ordinance regarding the sale of hemp-derived THC food and beverage. The council then heard from John Reitmeier of Canna Corners, who explained that they were a company that legally began sales of the hemp under the recently passed statute back at the beginning of July. With the law’s passing, the company felt it was a chance to make sales to the public with the laws becoming effective on July 1 and moving hemp-derived THC to be a Schedule II drug. He explained that all of their products were sampled in a lab in Colorado and would not have any pesticides or other sprays would not be included in the products. He also explained that they were not allowed to give any recommendations on any effects the products could have on people by order of the law. Interim Administrator Reynolds explained that he had discovered the business and said he had contacted the League of Minnesota Cities, who was surprised to hear this and gave them a choice of either letting the business continue without the benefits of ordinances that address their sales or enforce a moratorium on them. Saying that the state had decided to leave it up to the cities to decide. The council noted that for things like alcohol, cities had law enforcement go out and monitor the regulations and sales done by distributors and requested that they could do the same for hemp. “The Council, by its vote, indicated that it wanted that business to continue but also directed me as the City Administrator to work on drafting some ordinances that address zoning, how and when these products are sold, and if there’s going to be a tax on these products. Just a whole type of ordinance similar but not identical to alcohol or tobacco sales.” Crookston Police Chief Darin Selzler approached the council to say that other businesses like food trucks and alcohol needed licenses to sell their products and stated that there are there to help the police run background checks, ensure the businesses are properly insured, and sincerely selling their products, but the hemp sellers were not required of this. Without these, he noted his worry about how the products could be given to children, given too much, or give things other than edible THC to customers. He stated that it was only fair to allow the council to take the time to create a proper ordinance for the companies to follow like other distributors.
After more discussion, the council chose not to approve the moratorium and decided to let the business continue its actions, much to the delight of Reitmeier and his partners. “We’re happy to work with the city, the police department, and any other agencies to forge a proper way for this new industry. It’s no different than when sugarbeets came in 1904 or sunflowers came in 1960. This is a new industry that’s coming both to this area and the United States, and we’re just excited to be a part of it,” said Reitmeier. “We hope that years from now we can tell our grandchildren that we were there when it all started and we see the benefit with the product. That’s why we’re here. There’s plenty of other things that a person can do to make a living and have a living, and we believe in this product with all of our hearts.”
REPORTS AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
Interim City Administrator Corky Reynolds reported that he had continued to work with Ryan Lindtwed about budget items, mainly for the Blue Line Club, recently and announced that the council will be calling out to other businesses to receive funding for the 2023 funding budget in three weeks.
Crookston Fire Department Chief Tim Froeber then came forward to say that Night to Unite was a great success and thanked everyone for coming out. He also noted that their siren was down by the Holiday Gas Station and tested on Friday and will continue testing it every first Wednesday of the month.
Crookston Police Chief Darin Selzler then approached the council to report that Night 2 Unite was a great success and had over 2,000 people attend it, with nearly all of the food vendors selling out for the event. He noted that they were about 99% staffed, and he was going to meet with Ox Cart Days Director Libby Boucher on Thursday to discuss final security details for Ox Cart Days.
Crookston Parks and Recreations Director Jake Solberg then approached the council, saying they had finished the summer recreational programs on August 4 and opened some of their fall and winter programs on the 1st. They also began 3rd and 4th-grade football today.
WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE
Soon after the conclusion of the City Council meeting, the Crookston Ways & Means Committee met after the City Council meeting to discuss the budget of multiple departments for 2023.
Crookston Airport
Crookston Airport Manager Lowell Miller began with the budget of the Crookston Airport. He reported that they had agreed with their consultants to start constructing a new T-Hanger that could be rented out to others. “The ability of the Crookston Airport to do that is because we can pool money from other airports. This will essentially be a $1 million construction, and the city will have a responsibility of between $82,000 to $92,000. It’s an excellent deal for the city because we get approximately $150,000 of federal money each year, and we pool that with other airports who can burrow their money for our building cycle and, in turn, when we get our money each year, they can burrow from us. But our commitment of $82 to 92,000 for a $1 million building is a very good deal for the city and its airport.”
Information Technology (IT)
They were then approached by Information Technology Director Chad Palm of the Information Technology Department on their budget. He explained that the salaries of the IT Director and Technician were increased by 3.5% along with their health insurance. He explained that they were on the second plan of their Capital equipment replacement plan to replace the computers and other equipment in all departments by 2024. Saying that all of the employees had been migrated from the Google platform to the Microsoft 365 platform and plan on replacing the Chromebooks that the council currently uses with new hardware for 2024.
Building Official Department
They finished the meeting with Interim City Administrator Corky Reynolds for the Building Official Department on its budget. He reported that it had increased by about $800 due to a 3.5% increase in salary around the whole department, with their current budget at $115,152 and projecting an end-of-year budget of $115,971.
The next City Council meeting will take place on Monday, August 22, at 7:00 p.m. inside the City Hall Council Chambers.
