The Crookston Ways and Means Committee met Tuesday night in the City Hall council chambers. They discussed preliminary budgets for the Crookston Public Library and the mayor’s salary for 2024.
The total budget for the Crookston Public Library is estimated at $283,900. Director of the Crookston Public Library Chris Boike proposed that the city contributions total $238,550, an increase from last year’s grants totaling $234,000.
Boike also mentioned the capital improvements made to the library from a project approved by the council in the Fall of 2022. “We have two banks of windows; they provide a lot of light, and they’re vertical,” said Boike, “They were a part of the original design, but they were leaking. We believe there was a design flaw, and the flashing was either not applied appropriately, or it maybe was breaking down, and hadn’t been replaced.” Boike has reported that the renovations to the windows are now complete, along with all new gutters and downspouts.
The library is now looking to renovate the concrete surrounding the building, which has seen leveling issues and noticeable cracks throughout. “We’ve got a lot of concrete issues. The concrete around the building has settled, and probably from the age of the building,” said Boike, “The building was built where the old pool was, so we’ve had a lot of settling several inches worth.”
Boike stated that this is a priority for the library because it has also caused safety concerns for pedestrians using the concrete for walkways,, especially during winter. “We feel we have to provide as level of walkway that we can because we don’t want anybody to trip,” said Boike, “With the conditions in the winter, we have the ice and the snow and everything, the extreme conditions make for more of a possibility for someone to fall.”
The public library has recently received a quote on the concrete renovations for $28,000, which is significantly less than their estimation of $50,000. Council members agree that is something that should be pursued shortly.
There have been no reported changes to the mayor’s budget heading into 2024, where the mayor should receive $7,600 in annual salary. “Tonight, we reviewed the mayor’s budget for 2024; that budget was kept as it was in 2023,” said City Administrator Corky Reynolds, “Basically, the budget total of $9,134, of which $7,600 is his salary. The remaining amounts remain to FICA, PERA contribution.”
There is also budgeting money for travel, training, and other miscellaneous fees.
The next Ways and Means meeting will occur on Monday, September 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers.
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