Month: June 2021

The Crookston School District held a long-range planning committee meeting on Monday afternoon and discussed developing a middle school at the high school and adding preschool to Highland School which would allow the district to save an estimated $150,000 a year by operating out of two buildings. “Today was a day to dream,” said Superintendent Jeremy Olson. “We are looking at what this district could be like down the road.  I feel strongly, and I believe the school board members that were at the meeting feel this is the direction to go.”

The Crookston School District has about $4 million dollars in ESSE funds they can use on certain projects.  Superintendent Jeremy Olson showed the committee plans on only using two buildings, the Crookston High School and Highland School.  The plans include having preschool through fifth grade at Highland School and sixth grade through seniors at the High School. 

The plans for the high school include using the southeast portion of the school for a middle school model with that part of the building blocked off with walls.  The plan includes a separate entrance for the middle school students to keep them as separated from the high school students as possible.  “We looked at a plan from ICONN that would create a separation in the high school to have a self-contained middle school for sixth through eighth grade,” said Olson.

The plans also included adding on to the east end of Highland School to make room for the preschool students.  The drop-off area would also be changed to make it easier and safer for the students.  “We want to invest in preschool and we have already invested a lot of time and resources into preschool,” said Superintendent Olson. “We also want to address the parking and parent drop-off area.  That has been a huge challenge for our parents dropping off their kids.  We want to solve that issue as well.  We would extend and make a larger drop-off area.”

Superintendent Olson and the school board members in attendance believe the district will be a two-building district in the future. “There is a lot of work to be done,” said Olson. “We don’t know if this will be possible.  There are applications that need to be sent to the state and I believe this is the direction for Crookston.”

WASHINGTON SCHOOL’S FUTURE
If the district leaves Washington School, there are plans to still have the building serving children, families, and the community.  Stephanie Okroi, a childcare provider, spoke to the Crookston School Board about her plans to rent out two classrooms at Washington School, and with the high demand for childcare, there is a possibility she could take over the building. “We are working collaboratively with the City of Crookston and we at this point only have two classrooms that were available so that is what is being rented out,” said Superintendent Olson. “As we start looking at consolidating down to two buildings, is it a possibility for Washington School down the road to still be used by an early childhood center that contains childcare, maybe do some ECFE training, there is a lot of options to serve our kids and our families.”

The post CROOKSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT LOOKING INTO POSSIBILITY OF ADDING MIDDLE SCHOOL TO THE HIGH SCHOOL AND PRESCHOOL TO HIGHLAND appeared first on KROX.

Aerial mosquito control application has been scheduled for the Fertile area on Wednesday, June 30 between 7 and 11:00 p.m. The affected areas are Ridgewood Estates, 105th Ave SW, and the city of Fertile.

These applications have been approved by the FAA and the appropriate state departments. Specially-trained and licensed pilots are assisting in the control of mosquitoes in this area. The mosquito control product is one specifically designed for use in residential areas. It is safe to use and will not harm people, pets, or gardens. However, as an added measure of safety, you may remain indoors while the application is taking place.

The post CITY OF FERTILE TO HAVE AERIAL MOSQUITO CONTROL APPLICATION JUNE 30 appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston High School tennis courts have new fencing and the courts themselves will be resealed sometime in July. The fencing portion of the project is already complete outside of a couple of small details that need to be finished.

Activities Director Greg Garmen said it was time to fix up the courts. “We had a couple of things happen last year, we had a wind storm that blew down the Northwest corner a little bit, and over the years, the frost has continued to push up the fences a little bit, so balls are rolling underneath them,” said Garmen. “We felt it was time to do something, and the board agreed.”

The grounds crew helped get the new fencing up and complete the job. One of the biggest changes to the courts is removing fencing on the inside of the complex. “We had been going to Alexandria for years, and their courts are side by side with a stretch down the middle just like ours,” said Garmen. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve discussed putting bleachers in the middle and giving fans the chance to watch from inside the courts.”

Garmen acknowledged that it would look a little different for fans, but it will give fans the freedom to watch any match they would like or multiple courts at once now that the middle will be wide open.

The City of Crookston is also redoing the courts over by Highland, and Garmen says they plan to use the same company to reseal the high school courts. “We’re due for a resurfacing, so we’re going to take care of that and change the color scheme as well,” said Garmen. “We’re going to go with navy blue and grey for the colors. We would’ve gone navy blue and gold, but then it may have been too hard to see the tennis ball.”

Garmen joked that it might have been a home-court advantage to go with navy blue and gold for the colors but decided it would be best not to. The resealing will take place sometime in July and will need to be finished by the end of the month as girls tennis starts up on August 16 this year. “I told the company we need to have it done by the end of July because,” said Garmen. “It’s taking more time at Highland right now because they needed more layers, our courts shouldn’t, as we’ve only resurfaced our courts once, so I’m hoping they can get on the project and get it done sometime here in July.”

The post HIGHSCHOOL AND RAY ECKLUND COMPLEX TENNIS COURTS GETTING A FACELIFT appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston City Council met Monday night in the City Hall Council Chambers to discuss a series of resolutions and hear from Crookston Housing Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) board members.  The meeting lasted roughly one hour and featured a few consent items and a variety of items on the regular agenda.

CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda included approving minutes from the June 14 meeting and a couple of resolutions. The first resolution was called to approve City of Crookston bills and disbursements in the amount of $393,390.81. The other resolution was called to accept a bid and award a contract for the 2021 Federal Funded Street Improvements. Both resolutions were passed by the board members.

REGULAR AGENDA
The regular agenda started with a revised resolution to approve a rental rehabilitation loan program deferred loan repayment agreement and mortgage for Noelle Nelson. It passed unanimously.
There was also a resolution for Noelle Nelson to approve a commercial rehabilitation loan program deferred loan repayment agreement and mortgage. It also passed unanimously.

Next up was a resolution to approve an Intermediary relending program (IRP) loan repayment agreement and mortgage with TJC, INC. The motion was made, and once again, this resolution was passed.

Other items included a few more resolutions included one on a public hearing called for the Wellhead Protection Plan and a resolution to approve the school resource officer service agreement between the Crookston School District and the City of Crookston. “It’s such a good deal for both the district and the city. It’s good to have a police officer that the students can get to know and can go to when they need some help,” said Crookston police chief Paul Biermaier.  “At the same time, it’s good for us because it allows us to keep our patrol officers on the street.”

The last resolution was to approve a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Corridor Study Consultant to receive recommendations for the City’s Corridor. City Administrator Amy Finch discussed what the study would look like and the costs. “The first step is getting the RFP out and getting a consultant, and we have received three bids for it,” said Finch. “SRF, which was selected tonight, came in as the high bid; however, MnDOT encouraged us to look at the experience, and with their experience, we will be able to address some unique aspects of our corridor.”

The study will be done on the main part of downtown and will feature looking at sidewalks, three-lane roads, stop lights, and stop signs, along with corners and how the sidewalks connect to the road. It will be an overview of the entirety of the area.

CHEDA DISCUSSION
Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) board members were given a total of 30 minutes to say whatever they would like before the City Council called a public hearing for July 12 to discuss how to move forward.

CHEDA President Kurt Heldstab took the time to discuss what CHEDA’s plans are moving forward now that they’re aware of City Council’s options. “I got to get a board meeting together so that we can discuss some options and get approval from our board so that I can bring something back to City Council for them to look at,” said Heldstab. The CHEDA board meeting will take place sometime early next week, which will allow Heldstab to present City Council with whatever conclusion they reach.

Finch says she wasn’t sure what to expect during CHEDA’s 30 minutes to speak but believes it could change the board’s opinion on the day of the public hearing. “I wasn’t sure what to expect; we tried to leave it open and flexible enough so that they each could speak if they like,” said Finch. “It sounds like they have a date early next week to discuss potential options which will allow them time to present something to City Council before the public hearing takes place.”

The public hearing for CHEDA is now set for July 12, and the next steps will be taken at that meeting. Pictures from the meeting and the full video are down below.

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