Month: November 2022

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center reported the following arrests.

Zachary Taylor Metcalf, 23, of East Grand Forks, for Driving after their Driver’s License was suspended

Julia Mae Toso, 49, of Erskine, for Domestic Assault

Gail Leila Bonham, 60, of Red Lake Falls, for Domestic Assault

Steven Lee Bonham, 37, of Red Lake Falls, for Domestic Assault

Kandy Marie St. John, 53, of Grand Forks, ND, for 3rd-Degree Drug Possession in a School/Public Housing Zone

Jose Cruz Macias, 66, of Crookston, for DUI and refusing to submit to a Chemical Test

Kyle Lee Engelstad, 28, of Fertile, for 3rd-Degree DUI

Kevin Dale Wiirre, 51, of Grand Forks, ND, for 1st-Degree DUI

Peter James Mattson, 46, no address provided, for Domestic Assault

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT-NOVEMBER 29, 2022 appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston City Council met for a regular meeting on Monday night inside the City Hall Council Chambers in the lower level of City Hall.

CHEDA SPECIAL MEETING

Before the meeting began, the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) met for a special meeting to approve their payables for November. The CHEDA Checks and EFT totaling $2,750. They then began approving the CHEDA half checks for December, which included $63,057. The board approved the payables unanimously.

CROOKSTON FORUM

After the Call to Order, the council opened the forum to the public on any issues not listed on the agenda. Andy Hall of Sweetlight Gallery approached the board about the Night of Stars held by the Crookston Area Chamber on Friday, December 2, in the Crookston Eagles. He reported that there were still tickets available and asked the city to support the event.

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

The council then invited Crookston Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn, who had a presentation on the Proposed Multi-Use Outdoor Complex. Kuehn gave a brief history of the referendum project, saying it was voted on in August during the primary elections but lost by nine votes. So, he was now presenting to the city and other local organizations to start an informational campaign to help spread information about it. “In the next couple months, we’re going to be out trying to get our information out as we did this past summer but hopefully doing a better job at getting out to our district stakeholder,” Dave Kuehn explained. “We asked tonight to get some support from some of our councilmembers about setting up meetings with the different wards that make up the Crookston community, but we’re also looking to do the same thing with people that live outside the city limits in their area, ward, or township so we can share the information about this project so that we can inform as many people as possible for this referendum, the whys, and the cost of the project.” Kuehn explained that the school looked to add a large multi-use outdoor complex behind the Crookston High School, which would have a turf field, concession stands, and could seat over 7,800 people. Kuehn explained that the school district has never owned its own field, and the University of Minnesota Crookston owns the current field they are using, but the University stopped maintaining the field and track as they did not use it, and the High School is not allowed to conduct any maintenance or make any upgrades to the field as they do not own. So, they now wished to build their own complex. He explained they had options to finance it internally to keep the school competitive with other schools and help benefit the district and community. He explained that it could be used for the school’s Phys. Ed class and by many of the sports teams for practices and competitions. It would use artificial turf to make it easier for them to maintain, would last longer for multiple games, and make it easier for people to park close to the game. Kuehn said that the project’s total cost would be about $4,965,000 and that the Ag2School Credit State Aid would cover 36% of the project’s costs while the other 64% would be covered by residential, Ag land and building, and commercial/industrial taxes. He then opened it up to the council for questions, who asked if all home matches for football and track were not held at the Crookston High School, to which Kuehn answered that they were held at East Grand Forks High School for track events while football was still played on UMC’s field, and without them at the school, it took away from the community and district when they host state tournaments or matches. Councilmembers Dylane Klatt and Kristie Jerde forced his support for the referendum and that it was a project that the school and community were lacking. Kuehn requested each council member to create a resolution for the city’s support of the referendum, which the council approved City Administrator Charles “Corky” Reynolds to create.

CONSENT AGENDA

The council’s Consent Agenda consisted of approving the City of Crookston’s Bills and Disbursements in the amount of $135,401.77. It also included a resolution to accept a ONEOK Foundation Grant of $1,800 to the City of Crookston Police Department. The council approved the agenda unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

The council then opened the meeting to a public hearing regarding the proposed assessment on project 984 First Avenue North, from Stearns Street to Albert Street by street reconstruction. City Clerk Ashley Rystad reported that the project cost $355,946.04 with an amount to be assessed of $37,720, with a recommended term on the assessment for two to ten years with a 3% per annum.

The council then held a public hearing regarding the proposed assessment on project 985 Second Avenue North, from Stearns Street to Albert Street, by street reconstruction. Rystad reported that the project cost $420,847.03 with an amount to be assessed of $35,360, with a recommended term on the assessment for two to ten years with a 3% per annum.

The council then held a public hearing regarding the proposed assessment on project 986 Sunflower Street, from 3^rd Avenue SW to Crescent Avenue, by reclamation and bituminous paving. City Clerk Ashley Rystad reported that the project cost $223,021.84 with an amount to be assessed of $27,400 with a recommended term on the assessment for two to ten years with a 3% per annum.

The council then held a public hearing regarding the proposed assessment on project 987 South Washington Avenue, from Brower Street to East Robert Street by bituminous mill & overlay. City Clerk Ashley Rystad reported that the project cost $68,002.22 with an amount to be assessed of $10,500, with a recommended term on the assessment for two to ten years with a 3% per annum.

The final item the council held a public hearing for was a proposed assessment for unpaid water and sewer charges and for current charges. The amount was $5,956.74, with code enforcements costing $3,538.60 and mowing charges at $1,041.67 with each assessment for a one-year term. No one came forward for the hearing, so the council closed the public hearing.

REGULAR AGENDA

The council’s Regular Agenda included adopting the assessments for the five items they held for the public hearing, which they did unanimously. However, Councilmember Kirstie Jerde asked what they could do to involve the landlords earlier for people that did not pay their water bills after 60 days. The city discussed a variety of suggestions for it and would look further into if anything could be done.

Final Reading of City Code Chapter 117

The council then began a discussion about the second and final reading of an ordinance amending the City Code Chapter 117 Entitled “Peddlers and Solicitors” The council approved the amendment unanimously.

New Ringomatic Jet Vacuum Excavator purchase

The council then began a discussion about purchasing a new Ringomatic Jet Vacuum Excavator for the Crookston Public Works Department and recommended the acceptance of a quote from Trenchers Plus for $97,513.56 and would use the Water General Reserves fund as their revenue source. Reynolds explained that it was an item requested by the Public Works Water Department and met the requirements of the state bid. It would also cause significant savings for the city if they purchased it now rather than later. Carlson reported that he had budgeted the item to save them $30,000 in the future. The council approved the motion unanimously.

Crookston Wastewater Treatment Plant PFAS

The council then began a discussion on a resolution approving a Memorandum of Understanding for the Crookston Wastewater Treatment Plant. Reynolds explained that the Wastewater Facility was a receiver of PFAS, and to protect human health and the environment, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency established goals to identify and reduce PFAS through its 2022 PFAS Monitoring Plan by taking multiple samplings to identify sources of PFAS within Crookston. “The state of Minnesota has requested that we, as an identified industrial user community, test our water for these chemicals, which negatively impact our environment,” City Administrator “Corky” Reynolds explained. “It is $600 per sampling and analysis, and the state has allocated funds for two of those testings and is seeking other funding for the remaining two. If they do not find the funding, the city would have to pay $1,200 for this testing to identify if we have any of those chemicals in our water.” He explained the MPCA funding would help with a portion of the sampling and analysis cost of the monitoring plan for two sampling events. Reynolds explained that the Plant would continue to work to find other methods to pay for the other two sampling events, and Carlson approached the board again to explain it would cost them $600 per sampling event, totaling $1,200. The council approved the motion unanimously.

Intermediary Relending Program Loan Documents

The council then began a discussion on a resolution approving the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) Loan Documents for the city. Reynolds explained that the Crookston Development Policy and Review Committee reviewed a proposed revised Intermediary Relending Program loan application document and has $760,000 available to be lent to people and businesses who apply for it. He explained the committee had met for the first time in two years last week to create a new form that was updated with the latest federal regulations for the program and needed the city to approve it to allow them to accept applications for the program to help new businesses. The council approved the motion unanimously.

Updated Housing Study

The council then began a discussion on a resolution to authorize the city to conduct an Updated Housing Study that had been updated after some events after 2018, when the study was last updated. The Community Partners Research, Inc. had established a fee of $16,900 to update the housing study, including 2020 United States Census data. Reynolds recommended that the city enter a contract with the Community Partners Research to authorize the studies. The council approved the motion unanimously.

Crookston Utility Rates Discussion

The final item on the agenda was the council began discussing the Utility Rates for the city. Public Works Department Director Brandon Carlson reported that he had collected more data on some revenues and expenses of each department. He revealed that they had spent $699,964 on expenses for their wastewater reserves while only having collected $477,386 in revenues, which had them $222,578 in debt. He noted this mainly happened with there being a lack of maintenance and upgrades to the system. Carlson then came forward with a new capital improvement plan, saying it would increase the department’s budget but would give much-needed maintenance to the department’s system. The most notable change he made was the Wastewater Department required a rate change from $1.75 to $3.50 per 1,000 gallons, which will increase revenue for the department by approximately $450,000 to address infrastructure needs. Carlson reported that the street lighting department hadn’t been maintaining the expenses since 2013 as it lost $26,908 as they spent $123,531 in expenses and $96,623 in revenue, so its revenue rate would have to increase to recapture about $45,000 a year to support its expenses. The garbage department was also in debt by $27,709, with them spending $159,907 in expenses and only making $132,198 in revenues. For the garbage department, Carlson explained they only pick up residential garbage, which had a base rate of $5 for a water account and needed to increase to $6 in order to sustain itself. Carlson then came forward with recommendations for using the adjustments to help the departments break even for the year. Carlson then gave a proposed average utility bill with 6,000 gallons of consumption, which would be a total of $67.04 with a monthly increase of $19.51 (29%), making a new average bill with water, sewer, and storm sewer costs at $48.71. The council agreed to hold a public hearing on these adjustments at their next meeting on December 12.

Revised resolution on updated 2023 Fee Schedule

The board then made updates to the Fee Schedule for 2023, with some additions to the Crookston Fire Department for inspections and for the Crookston Sports Center to sell alcohol for University of Minnesota hockey games and curling competitions.

REPORTS AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION

City Administrator “Corky” Reynolds explained he had completed the process for the next Chief of the Crookston Fire Department to replace Chief Tim Froeber after he retires at the end of the year and that they had selected Shane Heldstab. “We posted that application internally, and Shane applied. There was an interview process by a committee of four members, myself, Chief Froeber, Jordan, our Human Resources Department lead, and a Fire Chief from another community. Shane also did some written examinations and an interview process. After the process, the committee met and made a recommendation, and we offered that position to Shane today. He graciously accepted, and we’re excited that he is going to be our new Fire Chief sometime in the future when the training with Chief Froeber has finished and Chief Froeber has moved on.” Reynolds said that the city is targeting January 1 as the date for his swear-in ceremony would commence.

Crookston Fire Chief Tim Froeber congratulated Shane Heldstab for receiving the position of Fire Chief and that he was training him to become the chief of the department. He also reported that Toys for Tots started this weekend, and the department would deliver all collected toys for it on Christmas Eve. They were also continuing their Hydrant Hero program soon.

Polk County Commissioner Gary Willhite reported that he had received a report on the Opioid Settlement, and Polk County would receive $1.9 million to go towards helping fight drugs. The county had also allocated $38,000 to the Scruffy Tails Humane Society to improve their center.

WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE

Following the meeting, the Crookston Ways & Means Committee met for a closed session to discuss Labor Negotiations.

The next City Council meeting will take place on Monday, December 12, at 7:00 p.m. inside the City Hall Council Chambers.

The post CROOKSTON CITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES SHANE HELDSTAB AS NEXT FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston School Board met for a regular meeting on Monday afternoon inside the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room.

CONSENT AGENDA

The board’s Consent Agenda consisted of approving the School Board’s Minutes from their meeting on October 24 and their special meeting on November 14. It also included approving their current bills in the amount of $177,783.93. It also included approving the employment of Maria Hammer as a Paraprofessional at Highland Elementary School and Cassandra Brown as a Recess Aide and the MOU for Marcia Scholler. The final items on the agenda include accepting grants from the Education Foundation and the PFAB. The board approved the agenda unanimously.

MAIN AGENDA

The board’s main agenda then began a discussion to approve a Quit Claim Deed for the former Crookston High School/Junior High property of the former High School and Junior High off of Main Street. Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn explained that the school owned the property until 2007 but is now owned by two different entities. One of the entities was the City of Crookston, as they owned a corner piece of the property and now wished to own the property underneath it. “There’s some language that was with the deed when it was sold back in 2007 that had some criteria of what they couldn’t use the property for,” Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn explained. “Those don’t make a lot of sense to be holding against the property at this time, so we’ve talked with our legal counsel, and we’re working with the city to sign off on the old language that was in place on the deeds for that piece of property.” Kuehn explained they would also have to do this with the other owning entity to clear the old language and complete the Quit Claim Deeds. The board approved the claims and the sale of the property unanimously.

2nd Reading of Policy Updates

The board then began the second reading of the eleven recent policy updates they had introduced at their last meeting on October 24. Dave Kuehn explained they would hold the final reading and adoption of the policies at their next meeting on December 12.

Policy 534 update

The board then began a discussion of some updates to Policy 534. Policy 534 was about unpaid meal policies. Dave Kuehn explained that the Minnesota School Boards clarified that students with a negative or unpaid balance would still be treated with the same lunch as students with a paid balance to avoid any “lunch shaming.” The board approved the update unanimously.

Review & Comment for proposed multi-use outdoor facility

The board then began discussions about the proposed multi-use outdoor facility. Kuehn explained that they would have submitted a review and comment document to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), which they would review before giving comments or approval of the project. “When you do a project, or you’re going to go out for a referendum for a project, you have to submit a Review and Comment document,” Dave Kuehn explained. “Its basically the narrative and scope of your project and not only including the costs but also the “whys” of your project and making sure that the MDE knows that you have a project and you are going for a referendum, so you will have to include all of the referendum information and question. It’s just one of the stamps of approval that we need to get from the Minnesota Department of Education to allow us to go forth with the referendum on February 14. The board approved the motion unanimously. Dave Davidson reported that with the new property evaluations, the tax addition for the referendum would be a small increase compared to initially believed, and with the Ag Innovation Tax Credit, that would also help cover many of the payments for it.

Superintendent Search

The final item on the board’s agenda was to discuss their next action on the search for the district’s next Superintendent. Kuehn explained that they would use the Minnesota School Board Association’s (MSBA) Search Service to help with the search, and several districts had gotten great results from using them. “I think in the best interest of the school district and finding the next leader, the sooner you start on these preparations, and you get the advertisement out, and we’re hoping to do that in January that you’ll get some of the better candidate pools than the idea of going with an Interim Superintendent last spring as you’re not going to have the same pool of candidates in May as you will in January,” Dave Kuehn explained. “So, we’re trying to get ahead of the others, and there’s going to be a lot of Superintendent openings again this year. Last year, I think there were about 85 to 90, and they’re looking at something close to that again this year. If you’re looking and hiring some of the better candidates who may be looking to aspire to be a superintendent or move from a current superintendent position, the earlier you can get going with the process, the better your district will be in finding that right candidate for it.” Kuehn explained the service would cost $9,900 and they should start as soon as possible to find the district’s best candidate. Board member Dave Davidson motioned to use the MSBA’s Service, which the board approved unanimously.

REPORTS

The board then heard a Superintendent’s Report from Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn. Kuehn reported that the National Honor Society Initiation was held recently with multiple new additions. The school’s classic Noel dinner and concert would also be held on Sunday, December 4, and several other sports teams’ seasons were starting. The administration was also making staffing plans with the 6th-grade’s transition to the High School for the Junior High addition but was looking to use most of the existing staff from Highland but may have a few new positions available. He also reported that he was heading to the Crookston City Council meeting later that night to give a presentation on the referendum and share it with them and their wards. There would also be a public informational meeting about it on December 13 in the High School Auditorium, with more meetings scheduled for January.

The next Crookston School Board meeting will take place on Monday, December 12, at 6:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room, after the Truth and Taxation meeting that will begin at 6:00 p.m.

The post CROOKSTON SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES QUIT CLAIM DEED FOR FORMER HIGH SCHOOL PROPERTY ON MAIN STREET appeared first on KROX.

Just in time for the holiday season, libraries across Lake Agassiz Regional Library’s seven-county region are offering free COVID-19 tests through a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health.

The tests are available while supplies last in Lake Agassiz Regional Library’s branch libraries, which are located in Ada, Bagley, Barnesville, Breckenridge, Climax, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fertile, Fosston, Hawley, Mahnomen, McIntosh, and Moorhead. COVID-19 tests will also be available in the library systems LINK sites, which can be found in Cormorant, Frazee, Gonvick, Halstad, Hendrum, Lake Park, Rothsay, Twin Valley, and Ulen. 

The post CROOKSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ALL LAKE AGASSIZ LIBRARIES ARE OFFERING FREE COVID-19 TESTS appeared first on KROX.