Month: October 2023

On Thursday, October 5, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office received numerous reports of citizens receiving calls from a 218-877 phone number. The caller claims to be a Deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and claims the person they are calling has a warrant out for their arrest and requests payment to satisfy the warrant. These calls are not legit.

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The Crookston City Council has recently approved starting the Housing Incentive Program for residents looking to buy property and build homes.

This can be a great opportunity financially for new homeowners. “This benefits more than just the city. First, it benefits a property owner, who purchases a lot and builds a house,” said City Administrator Corky Reynolds, “We’re saying you get a two-year property tax abatement.” Those who participate in the program can do this through down payment assistance or over two years.

The program also includes free water hookup, free sewer hookup, and two free months of water, sewer, and garbage within six months of issuance of a certificate of occupancy. It also includes a free swimming pool pass, one $50 Parks and Recreation Certificate per family, 50 free garbage bags, four free recycling bins, and boulevard trees.

The City will collect property and real estate taxes from property owners after two years of occupancy. “This is an incentive for people who are thinking about building a house,” said Reynolds, “This is to encourage people to build homes and receive these incentives.”

The city has offered this program in previous years, and it hasn’t been renewed since 2021. After discussion with department heads and the council, there was a consensus that the program should be back in service in hopes for more families to come to Crookston, build homes, and make it their permanent residence.

During the recent City Council meeting on Monday, September 25, the council approved the resolution to begin the Housing Incentive Program for the calendar years 2024 and 2025.

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The Polk County Commissioners met Tuesday morning in the Polk County Government Center.

The commissioners approved the resolution of two conditional-use permits. The first permit was awarded to Cam Jorgenson for an accessory structure and to hook a new septic system to the structure. “This is very much shed and use workshop activity,” said Planning and Zoning Administrator Jacob Snyder, “This is a checks and balances on our lakes area. We’ll go through screening requirements; also, when you look between the vegetation and the lakes, they need to plant more trees.”

The second permit the commissioners approved was appointed to David and Cynthia Tyler at Oak Cove Resort to construct an additional building for boat storage.

The board also approved a pledge for Polk County to participate in the 9-county region Hub and Spoke System. The State of Minnesota is revising construction and demolition debris regulations in landfills.

Each county has come together to create a regional system which consists. Instead of having 12 unlined landfills spread through nine counties, there would be two regional landfills, one in Polk County and the other in Hubbard County.

“What the big concepts are, all of these unlined landfills that we have all over rural Minnesota are going to have to close,” said Environmental Services Director Jon Steiner, “If you want to replace them, you’ll have to use a lined landfill much like a municipal solid waste landfill for pick up and drop off.”

The counties involved in the project that will not have one of the regional landfills will be asked to build a local transfer station. “Everyone else at the other closed landfill sites will a mini transfer station, which they call spokes,” said Steiner, “They will then ship to those aligned regional facilities, which they are calling hubs, so we’re running a managed system. That way, it is still cost-prohibitive.”

This project is deemed cost prohibitive, with an estimated cost of $84 million. The nine counties (including Polk) is seeking a 75% cost share, which equates to $61.5 million. These funds would come from Minnesota state bond funds.

Facilities Director Richard Langlois requested approval to replace the leading electrical service equipment in the LEC building with the board.

“We’ve had an issue here with the panel, and the whole system is really outdated,” said Langlois, “So we received a proposal from Bergstrom Electric to come in and replace the whole panel and get new breakers.” It may take up to 14 months for the equipment to arrive. This project is allocated toward the Facilities Department 2024 budget. This proposal was approved by the board.

The Commissioners also approved Gerald Amiot, of Crookston, to serve as the labor position for Northwest Regional Development Commission membership. This position is listed as a two-year term.

The consent agenda included the approval of the September 26 board minutes. It also included the support of auditor warrants and electronic fund transfers.

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On 2 October, Officers of the Grand Forks Police Department conducted 12 alcohol compliance checks around the city of Grand Forks, ND. Of those checked, two businesses failed: La Cantina and Sakura. The Grand Forks Police Department does multiple compliance checks each year.

The Grand Forks Police Department uses youth from the community who are under 21 years of age.

The compliance checks are conducted by having a youth enter an alcohol establishment under the supervision of a police officer and in accordance with Grand Forks City Ordinance 21-0228. The underage youth will attempt to purchase alcohol and will in no way attempt to conceal their age. If a sale is refused, the business passes the check. If a sale is completed, it is observed by the officer, and appropriate enforcement action is taken.

All businesses are later advised that they were involved in a compliance check and the results of that check.

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Rydell National Wildlife Refuge will be closed to the general public during two special deer hunts that will be held on the Refuge in October of 2023. This closure also applies to archery deer hunters and small game hunters who intend to use the Refuge. The Accessible Deer Hunt is conducted in cooperation with the Options Interstate Resource Center for Independent Living and will occur Thursday, October 12, through Saturday, October 14. The Mentored Youth Deer Hunt is a cooperative effort with the Minnesota DNR. It will occur on Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29. Both hunts have a limited number of participants that were selected through a drawing earlier in the year. Signs will be posted at refugee entry points during both of these closures.

Several spots remain open for the Mentored Youth Deer Hunt, to be held the last weekend in October. The key requirements for this hunt include (1) participants are 12-15 years old and have completed their firearms safety training, (2) participants are accompanied during the hunt by an adult mentor, and (3) participants and their mentor attend a mandatory three-hour orientation at Rydell Refuge on Sunday, October 22. If you know of a youth who would like to participate in the Mentored Youth Deer Hunt at Rydell, please contact Gregg Knutsen no later than Friday, October 13.

For more information on these closures or special youth hunt opportunities, contact Gregg Knutsen, Refuge Manager, at 218-686-4329 or gregg_knutsen@fws.gov.

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