The Crookston City Council met on Monday night and promoted Scott Butt to Park and Rec Director, approved the at-large advisory council, and council member Kristie Jerde resigned.
ADVISORY BOARD APPROVED
The first item on the regular agenda was a resolution establishing an Advisory Board to recommend an appointment for the vacant At-Large City Council Seat. City Administrator Jeff Shoobridge explained what this meant going forward. “They created an advisory board to sort through any candidates who wish to apply for the At-Large seat,” says Shoobridge. “Anyone who is interested in that seat can begin filing with the clerk tomorrow.” The Advisory Board was created by City Hall staff and is entirely separate from the City Council. Shoobridge says anyone wishing to file with the clerk should check for times on social media, as it must be done in person with the clerk. “We encourage anyone to run for the At-Large Seat. Anyone in the city is eligible, within certain statutory requirements,” says Shoobridge. “I encourage people to come out and serve.”
Applications for the At-Large seat will be open from Tuesday, July 22, to Thursday, July 31. After that date, the Advisory Board will conduct interviews and then make a recommendation to the council, says Shoobridge. “As I mentioned earlier in the meeting, the council is not able under statute to delegate the authority for selections. That is why it is just a recommendation to the council.” The Advisory Board was established with the following interested residents: Bishop Jensen, Nikk Caputo, Caroline Colborn, Gary Willhite, Katie Salvhus, Jacob Fee, Nancy Shafer, Charles Reynolds, and John Robertson. The council unanimously approved the establishment of the Advisory Board.
SCOTT BUTT PROMOTED TO PARK AND REC DIRECTOR
The second item on the agenda was a resolution to hire Scott Butt as the new Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Crookston. The previous Director, Jake Solberg, resigned his position, and his last day with the city was July 11. As was explained by the City Administrator, per the City of Crookston Employee Procedures and Policies Manual, the City promotes from within where practical, and he recommended Butt for the position. It was apparent that this met the approval of the Park & Rec Crew as well, as most of, if not all of them, were in attendance in their neon work shirts along with Jake Solberg. Butt says he was caught by surprise. “An amazing night. My staff is incredible. I didn’t know they were coming, and they all showed up,” says Butt. “I am honored to be stepping into shoes that have had a lot of good guys in front of me. The guys that came before me, I appreciate all they have done.” Butt says he wasn’t sure at first that he really wanted to do it, as he was pretty happy taking care of the parks and shop, but he is now excited to get started. Butt has been with the City of Crookston for 15 years now and has a vast background in Recreation, and he looks forward to doing some amazing things with the City. The council approved of Butt moving into the Parks & Rec Director position unanimously.
TREE REMOVAL PRACTICE AND GUIDELINES
The final item on the regular agenda was a discussion item. The discussion focused on the City of Crookston’s general tree removal practice and guidelines. Discussion went back and forth for some time as council members tossed around their ideas on how to proceed in the future with more communication in certain circumstances. Overall practice says that if the tree is on the berm no notification is needed by the city to a resident. This doesn’t sit well with everyone. “I think the biggest thing that was brought up at council here is the post notification to some of the residents who may have had a tree taken down,” says Public Works Director Chuck Getsman. “Due to storm issues, whether the tree was completely taken down or partially damaged, something like that, we do leave it up to our city crew and our public works to make the judgment call on trees in the city right-of-way. So, I believe what we are going to do this week is update our guidelines to simply include a post door hanger saying your tree is missing, and if you have questions, reach out to the city of Crookston.”
COUNCIL MEMBER KRISTIE JERDE RESIGNS
During Council Reports at the end of the meeting, Council Member Kristie Jerde announced that this was her last meeting as she is resigning from her seat because she is moving out of Ward 1. City Administrator Shoobridge does not anticipate Ward 1 being quite as interesting to fill as the At-Large seat. “Being only one ward, we are anticipating a very manageable number of applicants for that ward,” says Shoobridge. “It will be declared as a vacancy at the next meeting, and at that point, we will open that up for an opportunity for people to apply, and then the council will conduct interviews.” Shoobridge says Ward 1 should be able to be filled in the normal fashion.
CONSENT AGENDA
Approved within the consent agenda was approval of the Proposed City Council Minutes from July 7, 2025. Also approved were the City of Crookston Bills and Disbursements for $600,348.23, authorization of a contract with Salas O’Brian North, LLC in the amount of $141,140, with respect to the Woods Addition Geothermal Feasibility Study, Irishman Shanty Inc. of the dispensing of intoxicating liquor on premises at Jim Karn Field during the American Legion Baseball Playoff Tournament July 24-26, 2025, and a contract with Lakes Area Jetting for an amount not to exceed $28,000 to provide cleaning services on Storm Outlet #7 (Gorgas and West Robert).
The next City Council Meeting will be on Monday, August 4, at 5:30 p.m.
