The Crookston Parks and Recreations Board met this afternoon at City Hall to discuss updates and plans for Summer activities.
The Board began by approving the minutes of their meeting they completed back on March 21, 2021.
The Board then had an update on the Crookston County Pool from Board member Jake Solberg who reported that the leaky pipe he reported back in the City Hall meeting on April 11 started leaking again and that the pool had a bad chemical imbalance. But after getting it fixed, he noted that if there is another chemical imbalance, they will buy a new chemical monitor. The pool has been reopened since Wednesday, April 20, with everything running smoothly so far. The Board then heard from Solberg again about the status of the Summer Rec Activities, saying that they opened registration this month and currently have 257 people signed up for all of their programs. The Board continued with a report on the Campground in Central Park, with them planning to open it this summer, explaining that it will be open for reservations for campers who want to spend a night there. “We plan to open back up again, though we were planning to open up in May, but with the river being as high as it right now, it might take some time to open back up,” Parks and Recs Head Jake Solberg explained. “But it’s going to open up like normal, we’ll have car check, and we’ll staff it all summer long and open it up like Pre-COVID times,” he added.
The Board continued the meeting by discussing the Seasonal/Summer Employment situation, with Parks and Recs Head Jake Solberg reporting that they currently have 29 staff members across the Board but still have others that have to get registered. He reported that they wished to have more older members, such as students or teachers from UMC. “Parks and Recs is a good summer job for high schoolers and kids that age, but we also need other kids, even adults or teachers, for supervision positions. We prefer the older group for those positions, but we’re all hands-on deck and still looking for summer employment.” Head Jake Solberg explained. The Board opened a discussion about the Crookston Sports Center with Solberg suggesting that they can put up TVs around the rink showing local news for the arena and other news around the city for out-of-town fans coming for tournaments or games while also helping give locker room and rink assignments for the staff and wanting to expand the locker rooms. “It’s not anything set in stone yet, but maybe we add some TVs to tell locker room assignments or rink assignments for the staff and be informational about what’s going on in the community or where you can stay in a hotel or get a meal in town, just some information for the people from out of town for a tournament or a game,” Solberg explained. He also reported that he’d heard requests from people wanting to put up murals and pictures of historic players around the rink to show the history of Crookston’s sports in the past. Mainly for sports like hockey and for the tournaments they’ve won.
Emily Balboa came forward about the mural and asked for a chance to add a small, fenced dog park with toys for the summer to allow them to play and stay active. The Board recommended that she go to the Humane Society Board and discuss the donations they’ve received to see if they can help.
Their next meeting will take place on Monday, May 16, inside the City Hall Council Chambers.
