The Crookston City Council met on Monday night inside the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting began with the swearing-in of new full-time CFD Firefighters Jim Perreault and Garret Bengtson. Perreault could not attend the meeting, but Bengtson was there in person to be sworn in.
Crookston Fire Chief Tim Froeber said both Perreault and Bengtson are great firefighters and even better men. “Both Perreault and Bengtson are great men and great firefighters,” said Froeber. “They each have lots of experience and years as a firefighter under their belts. Tonight, we were able to bring back a tradition of swearing in our firefighters and have an oath of office for them. I know both guys are going to do a great job for us for many years.”
REGULAR AGENDA
The Regular Agenda began with a resolution approving an ordinance read at a previous City Council meeting. The ordinance provides rules and regulations for Utility Task Vehicles within Crookston. After a few grammatical changes from the last time the ordinance was read, the board approved the resolution unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was to approve the selection of Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. to provide their services of facility assessment consultation on a couple of existing city-owned buildings so that the City of Crookston can gain a better understanding of their current conditions. “Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. was selected because their bid came in about 30% lower than the other bid we sought,” said City Administrator Amy Finch. “Their bid was at $54,000, and we also have worked with them in the past and have a great relationship with them. What they will do, is begin bringing in their team and staff and doing a facilities walk-through assessment to look at our roofs, HVAC systems, as well as some specialized equipment. We want to understand what is aging, and then what all of our needs are so we can go out and hire a contractor to fix these issues that need attention right away.”
The board approved the selection of Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. unanimously. The next item on the agenda was the approval of a dance permit request submitted by the University of Minnesota Crookston Ag-Arama Club for January 29 on the premises of the Crookston Eagles. The board approved the request after a brief discussion.
The next item on the agenda was a resolution approving the subordination of the Fournet building as requested by building owner Jeff Evers. Evers also made this request to CHEDA last week, and the request will keep the city in the second position but allow the bank and credit union to remain in the first position with the refinancing. Legally the loans and status for the city do not change with Evers, but there is an opportunity that the debt in the future will increase slightly. The Council approved the resolution.
The last item on the agenda was a resolution to authorize the allocation of ARPA Funds for Sewer Lift Station Control System Improvements. Public Works Director Brandon Carlson explained the improvements that will be made and the benefit to the department. “Our Sewer Department needs this money a little more than our Water Department, so we’re going to put some control panels in our lift stations,” said Carlson. “It’s essentially the brains of the lift system, and it tells it when and how to run. It also sends out alarms when things aren’t going the way they should be. It will give our guys the information right at their fingertips on their cell phones, and they’ll be able to see everything that is going on even before they leave their house. So it will be extremely efficient as well for our guys and a great use for the department.”
The board approved the resolution, and the expenditure of ARPA Funds is not to exceed $312,000.
BOARD REPORTS
During board reports, City Administrator Amy Finch mentioned an excellent conversation was had about the potential use of renewable energy to serve the citizens of Crookston, and more details will come forward later.
Parks & Recreation Director Jake Solberg also mentioned the community pool will be re-opening this Wednesday, January 26. The pool had been closed for the past couple of months for maintenance. You can find the pool hours by going to www.crookstonpool.com.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda included approving the proposed City Council meeting minutes from the January 10 meeting and approval of all City of Crookston bills and disbursements in the amount of $328,745.83. There was also a resolution to appoint candidates to boards and commissions and approve Council Committee Composition. The Consent Agenda also included the designation of depositories for Public Funds in 2022 and a resolution to appoint Corky Reynolds as the City Attorney for 2022. The following two items on the Consent Agenda were to approve the City Auditing Firm as Brady Martz & Associates for the year 2022 and to approve Richard Clauson as the City Engineer in 2022. The Consent Agenda ended with a resolution to designate the Crookston Daily Times as the Official Newspaper for 2022 and a resolution receiving the Preliminary report and calling a public hearing on street improvements for 2022. The Council approved all Consent Agenda items unanimously.
WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE MEETING
Immediately following the conclusion of the City Council meeting, the Ways & Means Committee met briefly to discuss Resources for Public Purpose. The discussion was held at the request of a council member after the Golden Link Senior Center was notified that the City of Crookston will no longer provide snow removal, snow hauling, or garbage collection as it falls outside of the public purpose test and outside of the city’s policies and ordinances.
After a lengthy discussion, many Ways & Means Committee members agreed that the seniors should be supported and the resources should still be provided. However, they also concluded that it should align with the current policy and ordinances that the city has. City Administrator Amy Finch answered any questions the committee had and provided more details on why the initial decision was made and the next steps now that the discussion was held. “A letter was issued to the Golden Link board informing them that as of April 4, the City will not provide any of these services because they are a private entity,” said Finch. “The discussion tonight was to talk about this more. So, the end of the discussion was that the Golden Link Board would be invited to the next Ways & Means Committee meeting to report how thier funds have been spent the last two years. The Golden Link has received $78,000 from the city that came out of the Parks & Recreation Fund, and after we learn more about their funds and costs and what the money has gone towards, we will provide them bids for snow removal and garbage removal and those different services. That will then likely be considered later by the Council.”
Due to the Golden Link being a private entity, the city cannot justify providing these services for them, and not provide the same services to other private organizations.
The next City Council meeting will take place on Monday, February 14, at 7:00 p.m. inside the City Hall Council Chambers.
