The Crookston Ways & Means Committee had a mixed bag of topics and results Monday night. The committee voted to proceed with moving to public comment for the development of a mixed-use building downtown.
The development is designed by JLG Architects, who completed Crookston’s downtown masterplan, Community Contractors, and Dakota Commercial. If the city does choose to move forward, the developer will request the city convey it’s current parking lots on the location to the developer, create a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, and pay costs associated with the creation of a new downtown square plus assume a leasehold commitment for a commercial space in the building.
The city council was invited to attend a tour and developer’s presentation in June in Grand Forks, however only Councilmen Steve Erickson and Bobby Baird participated in that meeting. A story about that meeting is here. Several councilmembers had questions about the project. Don Cavalier asked what the difference was between this project and the proposed project from APG Development south of Casey’s General Store last summer and said he’d like to review that plan. Interim City Administrator Angel Weasner said the difference was the APG project was condominiums, and this was apartments.
The APG development fell through last year at least partially due to the City of Crookston and the Crookston Housing and Economic Development authority not communicating well enough delaying the possible start of the project (here). Councilman Dylane Klatt asked what the requirements of a TIF would be, and Weasner noted she was unsure of whether the development would fall under TIF guidelines. And City Councilman Jake Fee said he’d like to know what MNDOT’s plans are for making the intersection of Robert St and Broadway St safer before deciding on development in that area. Mayor Dale Stainbrook said he wanted more information on the cost of the project, and the lease commitment, which CHEDA Executive Director Craig Hoiseth mentioned, was possible. He added the monthly lease would probably be dependent on how long the city wanted to service the debt.
Erickson told the group every plan the city has done – the downtown master plan, comprehensive plan, housing study – called for this type of facility. He added they weren’t being asked to spend the money tonight, just to keep looking into it and collecting public comment, while a no would make it a dead project. The committee eventually approved continuing to look at the project and gather public comment.
The committee also unanimously approved the purchase of a replacement rake for Lift Station 3, which services two-thirds of Crookston. Public Works Director Pat Kelly said the equipment was beyond repair. “The sewage comes into the lift station, and there is a bar-grade and a rake that catches the bigger stuff before it goes in and affects our pumps,” said Kelly. “It has a conveyor system and lifts the stuff from down 25-feet below. That failed, and it’s not repairable. It’s an original piece of equipment, and we’ve had to order another one. Right now, we’re getting by with guys with pitchforks and stuff like that, so it’s not a good situation. There is only one manufacturer that makes one that will fit our lift station, so the council did approve an expenditure of $200,000 to replace this unit.”
The committee then moved to a discussion on the Crookston Visitor’s Bureau’s (CVB) activities. Stainbrook said he didn’t believe the CVB was allowed to do any marketing or promotion without having a 501C6 status. City Attorney Corky Reynolds said they are an entity, so legally they can market or promote, they can’t receive funds (the lodging tax) from the city without 501C6 status. “This entity, Crookston Visitor’s Bureau, doesn’t meet the requirements the city has set out to receive money (at this time),” said Reynolds. “Now, whether they’re marketing or advertising, they’re an entity.”
They also rehashed that the CVB could be temporarily organized under a 501C3 with adequate capacity. Klatt said he’s never seen any more dysfunctional board than the old CVB, and the efforts of the new CVB to get started seemed to have them marching to their own band. “The issue I’ve been seeing since I got on the Council, and I was apart of the CVB at the beginning,” said Klatt. “I’ve never been a part of a more dysfunctional board in my life when it was the beginning of the CVB. I’m thinking to myself, why do half the people on the CVB not want to be on the CVB, are talking bad about it – why do we even have it. Now us as a council, we have an opportunity to get this thing started right going forward while the newly formed CVB seems to be marching to the tune of their own band.”
Fee noted that to get 501C6 status, an organization needs a board, even an interim one, and get things organized before submittal of the documentation. Chamber Executive Director Terri Heggie said she believed the Chamber’s activities were being duplicated and mirrored rapidly. “Our concern comes that the activities we are doing at the Chamber are being duplicated, almost mirrored,” said Heggie. “That is really concerning to us as a Chamber because our Chamber members pay for their membership. All of those pieces that we are currently doing, many of them seem to be duplicated, and very rapidly.”
Crookston Inn Manager Laurie Stahlecker, who has been leading the reorganization of the CVB, said she requested a liaison between the CVB and Chamber last month during a meeting with Stainbrook that hasn’t happened. Stahlecker said that communication has to go both ways, and the council could call her. “It’s got to go both ways,” said Stahlecker. “No matter what you hear in the community, it’s not one-sided. By any means, I’m a phone call away. You can call me up and say this is what I’m hearing, this is what’s going on. To me, this looks really stupid, and I feel really dumb standing up here.”
Stahlecker also noted she’d reached out to councilmembers, including Klatt, to create a dialogue about the future of the CVB and had no response. Chamber Board Chair Lance Norman stated since he’s not seen a track record of a functional CVB board since becoming chair but that he’d look forward to meeting with this new entity. After more than 30 minutes, the result was a need for communication and a willingness to work together from everyone.
It was also noted at the end of the meeting that there seemed to be an issue with the city’s livestream of the audio, and Fee suggested reviewing the video option to stream meetings again. Fee also asked about the status of an agreement with the Blue Line Club to put ice in the arena in September, and Weasner said they’d had a meeting and were waiting on more information from the club.
