The Crookston Development Policy & Review Committee met in the City Hall Conference Hall on Monday morning.
REGULAR AGENDA
The meeting began with the committee discussing a review of their IRP loan applications. Finance Director Ryan Lindtwed reported that the application was outdated and had to be changed after certain laws had changed and the federal government had added different initiatives.
The committee discussed some changes they would make to make it easier for the applicants to complete and clarify some sections for the city. “The board felt like they wanted to have some clarity on why we would want people to be separated from the city for at least one year before they went to work for a company that we gave a loan to,” Community Development Director Kari Kirschbaum explained. “This way, it doesn’t look like there’s any conflict of interest, and everything is above the board to make people comfortable with the whole process.” City Administrator Corky Reynolds said he wished to make the changes and have it ready to be approved for the City Council’s meeting on Monday, November 28, as they did have several applicants already looking to complete them. The board approved the application with its changes unanimously.
Review Existing Loans
The committee reviewed the existing loans. City Accountant Kathy Carlson reported that Siegle Sports and T&N Sports had not made payments since mid-2019 and have now gone into default. Another loan was for the previous owners of the Crookston Inn for $135,135 after they had claimed bankruptcy. After some discussion, Reynolds explained that he would review their files, decide on the legal entity, and make some recommendations if they would pursue any legal actions against Siegle Sports and the Crookston Inn. “Two of the loans have gone into default, and when the Crookston Inn went bankrupt, and there was paperwork and stuff to be filed, I don’t believe that’s been charged off yet according to people saying that, but that’s not factual because that has not been confirmed,” Kari Kirschbaum explained. “Corky will be confirming that, and there’s an outstanding balance of approximately $135,135 from the Inn when it went bankrupt, so that very likely will have to be written off.”
Carlson reported that Dee Inc. had paid off their loan, while Drafts Sports Bar and Grill had two loans but was paying theirs off at a monthly rate. Other local businesses had loans left to pay to the city, including Grove Carwash and Jeff Evers Rental Properties. Lindtwed reported that they had a total of about $609,000 in outstanding balances, and they still had $760,000 remaining in their IRP Loan Fund. Kirschbaum also mentioned that if any local businesses wished to receive a loan from the city, they could contact her to make a loan request.
Revised Work Plan
The committee reviewed a revised work plan for their IRP applications and to restart the committee after they had not met in about two years. City Administrator Reynolds reported that they weren’t the only city requesting loans from the state and they needed to change their work plan in case the city was asked to be authorized to get a current credit report. “We are not the first in line of these loans, and generally, we’re a gap fund, and there’s already a bank that does all of the upfront paperwork, and they’ve agreed to loan them a certain amount,” said Reynolds. “Generally, we’re looking for pretty sizable amounts when we’re looking at different ones, or it’s the majority of the project, so we’re a gap funder on that, but now we’ll be able to run a credit report if we look at the different financials that are given to us and if we have more questions.”
Election of Officers
The committee finished the meeting with the election of a new Chair and Vice-Chairperson. The board nominated Ryan Palm to continue serving as the committee’s chairperson, and Councilmember Tom Vedbraaten nominated Bill Anderson as the committee’s vice chairperson. The board approved both nominations unanimously.
The Crookston Development Policy & Review Committee will next meet for a closed meeting on Thursday, December 8, at 11:00 a.m.
