Month: September 2024

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday September 24, at the Government Center. 

The Agenda for the meeting and the Consent Items, which consisted of approving the Board Minutes from the September 17 and September 18 meetings, were approved.

Sam Melbye, Director of Property Records, asked the Board today to authorize Mark Landsverk, Polk County Assessor, to enter into a service contract with Vanguard Appraisals, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, IA, for six archive module processes. The cost for each archive process is $3,980.00, for a total of $23,880.00. The Board approved this motion.

The first topic for Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting today was setting the 2025 Preliminary Levy and Setting the 2025 Budget Public Hearing Date. “The main thing today was setting the Preliminary Levy for the 2025 budget; this is a requirement to do at the end of September each year for Counties, Cities, and School Districts,” says Whiting. “The board, after two days of budget discussions last week, settled on a five percent Preliminary Levy increase; this is the maximum levy increase that can be determined for next year’s budget.”

Whiting realizes that the increase is not favorable but that there are things to take into account and time to get that number lower. “The Boards goal is to be closer to three percent; that’s kind of routine for us. We try to do that every year,” said Whiting. “The objective is to try to make the Levy as reasonable as it can be; we like to be a steady partner with our taxpayers.”  The Board of Commissioners approved the Preliminary Levy for 2025.  There will be a Public Hearing for the 2025 Levy on Friday, December 13, at 6:00 pm., and the Board of Commissioners will vote on the Final Levy on Tuesday, December 17, at the Board of Commissioners Meeting.

Polk County Administrator Whiting asked the Board to approve a new position for the Resource Recovery Facility.  The job title is Material Recovery Facility Crew Leader.  The Board approved the new position, and it will be posted internally for anyone interested. 

Another request from Administrator Whiting was for approval of A Finance Director Services Agreement with Abdo Finacial Solution.  Whiting feels this service can serve as a safe net, and the Board approved an Initial Assessment by Abdo.  The cost for the Assessment is $21,000, and a three-person crew will be in Crookston on October 8 and 9 to conduct the assessment. Abdo offers services beyond the assessment but the Board was not ready to sign on for anything outside of the assessment at this time. The funds for this assessment will be paid through the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Acts) Fund.

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Monday, Sept. 23 

Blending Art & Science: Artist Gallery and Reception for Ross H. Hier

Reception Sept. 23 from 5:00-6:30 p.m., Gallery open Sept. 23-28

Bede Ballroom

Free and open to everyone

Join us in Bede Ballroom as we feature local artist Ross. H. Hier with a gallery of his paintings, drawings, and decoys, plus check out U of M Crookston’s Agriculture and Natural Resources submissions from their wildlife museum. 

Thursday, Sept. 26

Tres Vidas Music Theater with a singing actress and pianist

1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Kiehle Auditorium

Free and open to everyone

The Core Ensemble will perform chamber music theatre work Tres Vidas, a celebration of the life, times, and work of three significant Latin and South American women – painter Frida Kahlo of Mexico, peasant activist Rufina Amaya of El Salvador, and poet Alfonsina Storni of Argentina. The portrayal includes singing of traditional Mexican folk songs as well as Argentine tango songs. Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured nationally to every region of the U.S. and internationally to England, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, and the British Virgin Islands. 

Saturday, Sept. 28

Open Ride Event

3:00-6:00 p.m.

University Teaching and Outreach Center (UTOC) Charles H. Casey Equine Arena

Open to everyone

Visit the campus horses, tour the arena and stables, and enjoy a ride and crafts! $5 for five-minute horse ride or $10 for 10-minute horse ride, plus $5 for horse-related craft/activity; waivers and helmets provided, please wear long pants and closed toe shoes; children ages 5 and older can ride, younger ages can participate in the craft/activity

Wednesday, Oct. 2

Meet the Candidates Forum

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Kiehle Auditorium

Free and open to everyone

Hear from candidates for Minnesota House of Representatives District 1B, Polk County Board of Commissioners, Crookston City Council, and Crookston School Board District 593.

The post University of Minnesota Crookston Public Events Calender. Artist Ross H. Hier Gallery, Tres Vidas Musical Theatre and more. first appeared on KROX.

The Crookston School Board met on Monday, September 23, at the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.

ENROLLMENT DOWN
The Crookston School District has 472 Kindergarten through fifth grade and 595 sixth through 12th graders. It also has 73 students enrolled in post-secondary education options (kids can take college classes at UMC, NCTC, and other colleges for free).
At the end of last school year, there were 477 students in K-5 and 604 students in 6-12 grade, a total decrease of 14 students overall. PSEO students were 45 last school year, and this year, there are 73. “We are maintaining anyway,” said Crookston School Superintendent Randy Bergquist. “Last year, we had 45 students take PSEO classes, and this year, we have 73, so we will need to work on that as a district.”

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PAY INCREASED
The school board unanimously approved an increase in substitute teacher pay, with board member Dave Davidson obtaining since he is a substitute teacher in the district.
Currently, subs earn $145 per day, and that is towards the lower end of area schools. The board approved increasing substitute teacher pay to $160, which is $20 per hour, effective October 1, 2024. “The school board graciously went to $160, which puts us above some of the school districts that neighbor our district,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “Hopefully, with the increase, we are going to be able to attract more subs. The bottom line is that we need subs for teachers and for every entity we have, like bus drivers, paraprofessionals, instructional aides, and everything.”
If you’re interested in being a substitute teacher, you currently have to have a four-year degree, and you can contact Marilyn Wahouske at the Crookston School District Office.

TRI-VALLEY EASEMENT PROPERTY LINE REQUEST
A late addition to the agenda was Jason Carlson (pictured right), CEO of Tri-Valley Opportunity Council in Crookston, who requested moving the easement property line at the Carmen School property so they could build a bus garage and possibly use another property to host a special ed consortium. “We were asking the school board to vacate the right-away between Tri-Valley’s property near the former Carmen School and the Carmen Park,” said Carlson. “The one project that is funded is a bus garage through MnDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation). What we are trying to do is tuck that shed as far towards the Polk County DAC as possible, and by vacating the right-away between us and our two adjacent land-owners, we are able to gain a little more space, allowing for flexibility for the other unused space on the property.”
The unused land may soon be used, as Carlson said there is an offer to explore placing a Special Ed facility on it. “That, so far, hasn’t been funded. If it isn’t something with that, we are looking at possible future opportunities.”

WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP APPROVED
Crookston Middle School teacher Sue Wagner asked the school board to approve a field trip to Washington, D.C., for sixth and seventh graders from July 20 to 23, 2026.
They went on a D.C. field trip this summer, and it was a big success. The board approved the field trip and more information will be handed out to students on Monday, September 30 with a Digital Parent meeting on Thursday, October 10.

CONSENT AGENDA
The board approved the employment of Emma Mekkes as a paraprofessional at Highland School, Mary Ramirez as a School Age Care Instructional Aide at Highland School, Trista O’Meara and Kayla LouCoursiere as Instructional Assistants at Highland School, and Annika Cuevas as Success Coach at the High School.
The board accepted the resignations of Katie Chaput Strom as a paraprofessional, Brandon Neibauer-Adams as Junior High One-Act Play Director, and Head Speech Coach.
The board approved the master agreement with the Instructional Assistants for the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 school years and lane advancement requests.
The main agenda includes the approval of a preliminary levy certification. They will discuss and approve the substitute teacher’s rate of pay. They will discuss and approve the READ Act training for new staff and discuss a memorandum of understanding for the READ Act. 

After the meeting, there was supposed to be a closed meeting to discuss a grievance filed against a district employee, but the two people who filed the grievance didn’t show up to the meeting.

The old (yellow lines) and new property line Tri-Valley was proposing if the alley is vacated is pictured below.

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The Crookston City Council met Monday evening at the Crookston City Hall Council Chambers.

The meeting started with a Mayoral Proclamation declaring October 7-13, 2024, “(UMC) Maroon and Gold Week.” 

WATER AND WASTEWATER RATE STUDY PRESENTATION
The Council also heard a presentation regarding the Water and Wastewater Utility Rate Study for the City of Crookston.  Miranda Kleven of Nexis Group gave the presentation.  Utility Director Brandon Carlson broke down the presentation. “We’ve been evaluating our water/wastewater rates to make sure we are going to keep up with future capital improvements to maintain our future systems,” says Carlson. “The biggest takeout of the rate analysis is that our base is too low.” 

Carlson explains that the water base rate really doesn’t change with the rate study; it would be more of a change in wastewater rates. “The water is pretty similar to what it is right now, and I think that’s because when they bonded for the new water treatment plant, they had to adjust water rates then, so they were more in line with where they should have been,” says Carlson. “The wastewater is the fee structure that is going to see the bigger change,” Carlson says. These rates have not been adopted as this is only the first conversation about a possible rate structure change, and there are more conversations to be had.

CONSENT AGENDA
The Council moved to approve the consent agenda for the evening.  The Council approved the consent agenda.  The consent agenda included approving the proposed minutes from the September 9 meeting and the minutes from the special meeting held on September 16.  The consent agenda also included approval of bills and disbursement for $640,575.68 and the acceptance of a donation from the Crookston Baseball Association in the amount of $12,676.65.
The final consent item was the approval of partial payment estimate number three and the final for the 2024 Street Improvements. The City of Crookston had entered into an agreement with Spruce Valley Corporation for work totaling $1,073,979.60. The final payment of $15,881.86 was approved. The original contract work is 100% complete and paid in full.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
The first public hearing was on the Housing Trust. City Administrator Jeff Shoobridge explains what this means for the process now that the ordinance made it through a public hearing without comment. “The next step in the process would be final ratification, for the city council to vote,” says Shoobridge. “The Housing Trust will enable us again to leverage state dollars to help us with our housing circumstances here in town and help create more housing for residents.”

The second public hearing was amending the City of Crookston’s City Code as it pertains to 30.02 B and C. “It is just a streamlining of our ordinance for our city council agendas,” says Shoobridge. “All we’ve done is just said we want to have our agendas in very clear formats but we want the ability to move things around so we can accommodate different scheduling without adversely impacting either staff or the public.”

NEW FIRE RESPONSE VEHICLE APPROVED
The regular agenda this evening included a resolution regarding the purchase of a fire response vehicle for the Crookston Fire Department with reserve funds.  The vehicle was needed to supplement the existing fleet within the CFD. The City of Crookston received multiple quotes regarding the response vehicle and accepted Christian Brothers Ford’s quote in the amount of $48,000 for the 4X4 XL Super Crew response vehicle.  In addition, to properly equip the vehicle to meet the standards of the Crookston Fire Department, response vehicle sirens and emergency lights must be purchased and are not to exceed $10,000. The purchase of the response vehicle and proper equipment was approved in the amount not to exceed $58,000. “Tonight we got the approval to replace our Unit 2, which is a pick-up you would see driving through town, the one the guys use out and about when they are not using a fire engine,” says Crookston Fire Chief Shane Helstab. “You will see it on inspections, day-to-day errands, and things like that.”
Chief Helstab was pleased with being able to source the truck locally and says that now that they have the approval, it will be added to their fleet very soon. “We are going to get our new vehicle. It should be here shortly now that we’ve got the approval, and we are going to get the lights on, we’re going to get the siren hooked up, the decals put on it, and it should be ready to go in a couple of weeks,” says Helstab. It was also noted that the Park Department will repurpose the current truck.

IT DIRECTOR CANDIDATE BACKS OUT FOR SECOND TIME
The other regular agenda item was for a resolution appointing Matthew Bussinger as the City of Crookston’s information technology director.  This item was removed from the agenda as Mr. Bussinger withdrew his consideration for the position.  This is the second time this has happened in hiring for the position recently.   

The post City Council Approves a New Fire Response Vehicle. IT Director candidate backs out, and they get a Water and Waste Water Presentation first appeared on KROX.