The Crookston City Council met on Monday night with the first item of business being a Mayoral Proclamation for Ox Cart Days 30th Anniversary. Ox Cart days will consist of seven days of events August 12-18 and is expected to draw in 5,000 people throughout the week.
The Council also passed the Gateway Overlay District ordinance, with a 5 to 2 vote. Councilmen Tom Vedbraaten, who has spoken out against the ordinance several times, and Jake Fee voted against the ordinance. Vedbraaten said he had counted at least 25 businesses that have overhead doors, which the ordinance would prohibit. He also added that he believed the ordinance was going too far. “I’ve been voting no on it all along,” said Vedbraaten. “I don’t think it was necessary. I think it drives businesses away. It will be harder for businesses that are here if they want to do something with their buildings. This thing goes too far. I don’t know, to me, it shouldn’t have been passed.”
The consent agenda passed unanimously. Included in the consent agenda were the July 8 meeting minutes, approval of bills and disbursements totaling $237,254.35, accepting a donation in memory of Lyle Eisert from Iris Eisert, approval of a grant with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and a Dance Permit for Ox Cart Days for Downtown Horns, Laid Back Luau, and the Johnny Holm Band. Also included in the consent agenda was the transfer of funds totaling $1,151,437.99 from the Special Service District to the Flood Improvement Project to cover the final share of the City of Crookston’s expenses on the project.
Two public hearings were also opened to amend the franchise fee agreements with Otter Tail Power Company and Red Lake Electric Cooperative with no comment. Both items remain open for public comment until the city receives no comment letters from the entities or until November 25, whichever comes first.
In the Ways & Means Committee meeting the June 24 and July 8 meeting reports were approved. There was a unanimous vote to waive the building permit fees for the Construction Trades Home that students at Crookston High School will build this year. The committee also voted unanimously for the City of Crookston to move forward with work to take ownership of 110 Lincoln at the owner’s request. That includes securing partnerships to waive or limit fees for the change in title and tip fees associated with demolition. The Committee chose to table discussion on video production of Council Meetings after seeing an estimate of $14,264 for the necessary to equipment.
The City Council also welcomed guests of the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) to the meetings Monday night. UMC is hosting 12 professors from Lanzhou Jiaotong University in China for two weeks to learn about American teaching methods. They used Monday night as an opportunity to witness local government according to Gary Willhite, Director of Residential Life at UMC. “I think folks were a little surprised to see 12 individuals from China in our public audience tonight,” said Willhite. “The University is hosting 12 faculty from China. They are here to pick up some tips on using technology and American teaching techniques. They are looking to improve their English, but let me tell you, it’s pretty good. For them, this democracy where people vote, and the public is able to come and sit in on these meetings is very unusual. So, we just wanted to give them a little taste of City, County, and State Government.”
