The Crookston Park Board met on Monday and got an update on the budget and other Park and Rec happenings.
BUDGET DISCUSSION-
Crookston Park and Rec Director Scott Butt went over the budget for the board so they could see the detailed budget. Butt said they were going to lower the budget for recreational equipment from $20,000 in 2025 to $17,000 in 2026 to help cut costs. Most other areas of the budget had more minor cuts. “We’re looking at making some cuts instead of just taking and cutting one particular line item, $20,000 or $30,000,” said Butt. “We’re looking at smaller cuts from all the line items to bring them down. That way we don’t affect services and we don’t put any line item in danger of going over.”
MOWING COSTS
Mowing the City parks and grass costs about $400 per day just in fuel. “When we look at the park shop, we spend $25,000 a year just on diesel and gas, trying to find ways to reduce our fuel costs and lower some of our budgets there.” One of the ways Butt thinks they could cut down on mowing costs is to go with natural flowers and grasses. “I’ve been doing some research and some work with the U of M Extension about some places where we can take regular grass out and put in wildflowers and some of the plants that you don’t have to mow,” said Butt. “They don’t get overly large, and we try to reduce some of the areas we have to mow. We have some huge parks. You look at Wildwood, you look at Schuster, we’ve got some big spaces there that we mow. So if we could go to some natural grasses and natural flowers and stuff like that, maybe we can start reducing the amount of acreage we mow and reduce our fuel consumption.”
VANDALISM IN THE PARKS
After going through the budget, Butt told the board that there was more vandalism to playground equipment over the weekend at Wildwood Park. “I’m going to have to call and order new pieces. I’m not sure how long it will take to get them in. The guys were down there today working to make it safe to play on. But yeah, we’re going to have to replace some pieces,” said Butt. “We’re probably looking at anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. But we want the public to know, we are going to get it up and get it fixed as fast as we can. But I can’t promise how long it will take to get the pieces in.”
Wildwood wasn’t the only park that had recent vandalism. “Old Museum Park, there’s a hole in the slide. Somebody dropped a rock, a brick, or something through the slide. So we’re going to get the slide on order as soon as we can and get it here as quickly as we can and get it fixed,” said Butt. “Weather willing, we can get it done this fall, but if not, for sure in the spring. But we are in the process of getting them fixed.”
ICE IS IN AT THE GOLD RINK AT THE CSC
The Park and Rec Crookston Sports Center crew has put in the ice and painted the lines in the Gold rink; now two sheets of ice are available. “Wednesday, the gold rink will be up and at full go. We are hoping to be able then to extend out some things as far as, you know, because we’ll have youth hockey starting next week on Monday,” said Butt. “ We’ll have the two sheets, and we still have turf on the blue rink for a couple more weeks, and then we’ll start in on the blue rink.”
CROOKSTON COMMUNITY POOL –
The Crookston Community Pool will have a site at the end of the month for a feasibility study the board recommended they get before making any decisions about the pool’s future.
NEXT MEETING-
The next Crookston Park Board meeting will be on Monday, November 10, at 4:30 p.m. in the City Hall conference room.