The Crookston Parks and Rec Board met on Monday, June 9, at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Council Chambers.
Crookston Sports Center – Painting
The first item on the agenda was about getting the Crookston Sports Center painted this summer. Crookston Parks and Rec Director Jake Solberg explained to the board that the colors used were not written down anywhere to his knowledge, back when the CSC was built. “When the CSC was built, back in 2010-2011, I don’t know what the color was, and it’s faded,” says Solberg. “I’ll keep looking. I just wanted a recommendation about a color to pick so we could try to get it as close as possible.” A color choice was not made, yet some were taken out of the running because they were either too light or too dark. The board felt it might be easier to look at the choices while at the building.
When is the paint choice needed for the work on the exterior of the Crookston Sports Center? “They are starting this week. They will sandblast, wash the building, and then fill in the sealant in the cracks and things like that, so there’s a little time.”
Crookston Public Pool
The pool was on the agenda for the Parks and Rec meeting. Quite a few community members were in attendance to listen and ask questions about the pool’s future. The Park Board has been tasked with developing a plan for the future of the existing pool or a new facility.
Only hours before today’s meeting, the board had been provided with reports from 2023 from both SEH Engineering and Lundseth on the pool’s structure and mechanical sections. The board did not go into great detail on the reports as they tried to sift through them and figure out which parts had been tended to since they were provided to the City of Crookston back in 2023.
Crookston resident Michelle Christopherson spoke about what she feels is the Park Board’s inability to develop a recommended long-term plan to bring to the council. Christopherson said she looked back at past meetings and that the City has asked many times for the Park Board to develop and recommend a plan, and there still isn’t one.
Crookston Community Development Director Karie Kirshbaum spoke about the pool’s great location and how, no matter what option, new or fixed up, the pool brings people to the center of Crookston.
The board seemed unsure of what the council wanted from them. The task being asked of them has some frustrated, but as discussions continued, it was clear that there is no immediate plan, other than to take the steps needed to make sure that what is best for the City of Crookston happens. “We’ve thrown around like in the future a new pool, and we’ve thrown around ideas of, do we find $2 million or whatever it may be to fix the pool that we have,” says Solberg. “The studies done by the engineers were done two years ago, so things have changed, inflation and things like that.”
The board is only able to recommend things to the City Council and feels pressure to do so. It was clear that they wanted to make a recommendation that would get clear answers for the city and its residents on whether the existing pool was a viable option in the future. “It is the recommendation from our Park Board to bring back to Council, going out for RFP for a feasibility study,” says Solberg. “That will tell us how much it will cost to hire a company to come in and do a study on the pool from head to toe.” A feasibility study would evaluate whether or not the pool could be successful by examining various aspects, such as technical, operational, financial, and legal viability.
The City Council will have a big decision to make, as an RFP means it will cost money. For the Park Board Monday night, it was a step towards making sure they can make informed recommendations on the pool going forward.
