Jun. 17—CROOKSTON, Minn. — There was contention among members of the Crookston City Council Monday afternoon regarding a failed vote to appoint a new member during a previous council meeting. During the June 16 meeting, two other candidates were voted against to fill the seat, leaving the council with a decision to make on how to move forward.
Mayor Dale Stainbrook discussed a community approach, recalling a similar election made in the past.
“Back a while ago, we had a community that was interested in serving on a panel, put the next person in the chair, and it was whoever was interested in running or to fill that vacancy, but also apply,” he said. “The community picked a person to sit in that chair. We had no issue in the past going that way.”
On June 2, during a special council meeting ahead of the regular meeting, a vote to appoint Joseph Shostell to the vacant, at-large council seat failed. Council members Derek Brekken, Henry Fischer and Clayton Briggs voted in favor, with members Dylane Klatt and Donald Cavalier against. Council member Morgan Hibma was absent during the meeting and council member Kristie Jerde was late to the meeting and thus unable to vote.
At the June 16 meeting, there was disagreement on whether Shostell could be voted on again. Jerde said the council had already voted on the candidates and Shostell had the most votes, and so she believes the appointment vote was a formality. Klatt responded that a quorum had been present and Shostell had received three votes, not enough to be appointed. He motioned for the next candidate, Wendy Ault, to be voted on. Brekken, Jerde, and Briggs voted against and Klatt, Hibma, Fischer and Cavalier voted in favor, failing the vote as there were not five votes in favor. A motion was then made for Gina Corneille, the third candidate. The council members voted in the same way, failing the vote.
Stainbrook then brought up the idea for the community to pick a person that would then be approved by the council. Two other options, he said, would be to have a special election or to leave the seat vacant until the next election. Stainbrook favored the community forum option, as he has seen it work in the past multiple times.
“I think you’ll get someone in that chair a lot faster than (if) we keep dragging this out,” he said.
There was no vote for the decision. The available options will be discussed further at a later council meeting.
Another lingering matter, that of the city pool, was discussed at the meeting. Pool repairs, replacements and the general state of the pool’s infrastructure have been the topic of multiple recent council discussions. In Monday’s consent agenda, the council approved repairs to the pool in the amount of $10,170 and accepted a donation from Fin and Fit Crookston in the amount of $10,500.
The council discussed sending out a request for proposals regarding a pool feasibility study. City Administrator Jeff Shoobridge said the study would look into the pool in-depth and identify all items recommended for repair, create a phase list and timeline for the work and a cost estimate for every item to bring the pool up to standard. The study and project would extend the pool’s life for the next 10 to 15 years while the city considers the course of action for the pool’s future past that time.
“It basically is everything to plan the work except right up to the point of being able to do the work,” Shoobridge said.
The council voted in approval for the request for proposals.
In other news, the council:
* Heard a presentation from Abdo, an accounting and consulting firm, regarding a position classification and compensation study the firm is carrying out for the city.
* Heard a presentation from the Minnesota Department of Transportation giving a project update on a sidewalk replacement project on Highway 2 downtown, as well as on the Highway 2 Corridor Project.
* Approved a resolution for Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, LLC (AE2S) on a proposed project to develop a city-wide stormwater model, called the City of Crookston Stormwater Resilience and Master Plan Project.
* Approved a resolution awarding the contract and authorizing the execution of an agreement with Spruce Valley Corporation for a force main replacement project.
* Approved a resolution authorizing the city to enter an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency through the Small Communities Planning Grant Program for stormwater, wastewater and community resilience. The agreement will support the City of Crookston Stormwater Resilience and Master Plan Project.
* Approved a resolution for the retention of an attorney to assist the city in evaluating an employment-related complaint.