The Crookston Police Department swore in two new officers on Monday night at the Crookston City Council meeting. Crookston Police Chief Paul Biermaier swore in the new officers, Cody Bannert and Michael Moreno.
Police Officer’s Oath –
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Bannert grew up in Thief River Falls and joined the Crookston Police Department after serving on the Roseau Police Department. And Moreno, whose father is a retired Crookston Police Department Investigator, joins the department after working as a Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Biermaier said the swearing-in is an important ceremony for the police department. “It was pretty exciting tonight to go through the ceremony of swearing-in,” said Biermaier. “These two have been officers for a while, so this is ceremonial, but it’s important to them and important to us. And good for them to get down here to City Council to see everybody for a little bit.”
Biermaier said an offer had been made to another police officer candidate as well. “We do have a conditional offer out for another officer,” said Biermaier. “We had an officer leave to go to East Grand Forks. We hope to have a decision by the end of the week, and hopefully, he’ll be starting with us in a couple of weeks.”
Biermaier said the police department’s high turnover rate is often a function of other agencies taking note of the quality staff hired by CPD. “We take pride in our hiring and vetting process,” said Biermaier. “We get good people. The downside to that is other agencies see we get good people. And sometimes our officers have other interests. They’ve come to us and say five years from now; I want to be an officer or something else – DNR, State Patrol, or something. We get that, but we take the approach that if we have these guys for three years or so, we’re probably going to get the best three years they have. We have to take the best ones available.”
The City Council also approved two vehicle purchases for the police department – a used vehicle for investigations and a new squad car. Biermaier said the department would reinstall as much equipment as possible from decommissioned vehicles into the new cars.
The Council also held the first reading of an amended ordinance for City Code Chapter 52, “Sewer Services, subchapter 52.16 – discharges of unpolluted drainage. The second reading and passage of the ordinance are scheduled for February 8. The ordinance will allow homeowners to connect their sump pump to the sanitary sewer during the winter, said Public Works Director Pat Kelly. “It goes into effect after publication, which is generally a day or two after the Council meeting on February 8,” said Kelly. “This essentially addresses sump pumps. Once this becomes effective, we’ve got a permit that will allow homeowners to replumb their sump pumps during the winter months – I believe from November 1 to April 1 – and allow them to discharge that into their sanitary sewer instead of into their yard where it freezes up. There will be a fee involved and an inspection process, but at least it will allow homeowners to put that in. I know homeowners up on the north-end run them pretty frequently. It will allow them to put that in and save themselves some possible problems with freezing, breakage, and damage to their homes.”
The City Council approved its consent agenda, which included implementing a fee waiver for sewer charges to households wanting to flood an ice rink or pool. More information on the program is discussed here. Residents should call City Hall at 281-1232 to get set up the waiver.
During the Ways & Means Committee meeting, the City Council reviewed the calendar parking ordinance for information only. They neither made nor discussed any changes to the ordinance. Biermaier provided the information to the committee and said that, most importantly, enforcement is about working with the residents. “Downtown on Main and Robert Streets is probably the area that gets the most consistent enforcement,” said Biermaier. “Everywhere else in town, basically, is a 24-hour parking rule. That vehicle, trailer, or truck needs to be moved once in a 24-hour period. Technically, it’s supposed to go around at least one city block. It’s just a matter of all working together. By and large, the vast majority of everybody living in Crookston does a good job with their parking. There are just a few we have to remind. It’s just a matter of working with the public and understanding sometimes that people are going through some difficulty.”
