Crookston council hears nonprofit funding pitches, asks staff to use $60,000 placeholder for grants

The Crookston City Council convened a budget workshop on Dec. 24, 2025, to hear presentations from local nonprofits seeking city support and to give staff direction on how to treat nonprofit grant awards in the preliminary 2026 budget. Staff said they would use a $60,000 placeholder total for nonprofit grants while final levy and capital-improvement figures are finalized.

The presentations opened with James Bogochnik, chair of the Oxcart Days Committee, who asked the council for $6,000 to fund the festival’s fireworks and said roughly 4,000 people attended the 2025 event. "This year, as we have done in the past, we are asking for $6,000," Bogochnik said, and shared a near‑break‑even 2025 budget with a roughly $978 deficit.

Carolina Diaz, speaking for New Hope Food Shelf and Care and Share Shelter Services, requested $20,000 and detailed rising demand: "From January through August, we distributed over 66,000 pounds of food," Diaz said, adding that children and adult clients rose while shelter bed nights fell from 3,102 in 2024 to 2,251 in 2025. She said operational grant programs the organizations relied on have become more restricted and that utility and food costs have risen sharply.

Bob Alcorn, president of the Golden Link senior center, described services for seniors, membership levels (about 416 paid members) and a reduced 2026 request of $75,000. Alcorn said the center depends heavily on grants to cover operations and that recent grant timing and amounts can create recurring budget shortfalls.

Corky Reynolds, interim CEO of Tri Valley, asked the council for $17,000 (up from $16,000) to cover wage increases, additional routes and rising vehicle maintenance. He gave Crookston service figures—91,933 total rides last year and about 61,000 through July 31—and said higher federal and state testing and background-check costs have added to administrative expenses.

Colleen McCray said the Alooma Foundation reduced a capital accessibility request from $50,000 to $10,700 to install a walk‑in shower to support adult foster‑care clients. Jess Bankston of the Downtown Crookston Development Partnership requested $5,000 for downtown programming, hanging baskets and community events.

Councilors discussed eligibility for awards from groups that did not appear (staff confirmed applications remain eligible) and reviewed last year’s awards (noted in council materials as Scruffy Tales $8,000; Golden Link $75,000; Tri Valley $16,000; Oxcart $6,000). They debated prioritization criteria—whether to favor programs that serve a majority of Crookston residents or regional hub services that bring visitors—and explored alternatives such as altering fee or contract payments for animal services.

With levy and capital‑improvement project totals still unsettled, a councilor suggested a $60,000 placeholder for total nonprofit grants to use in the preliminary budget. Staff agreed to use that number as a placeholder and to email levy figures to councilors by the end of day Friday so the group could revisit allocations at a Monday workshop and a special council meeting on Tuesday.

The workshop concluded with no formal award votes; staff will return to council with finalized levy and budget numbers before any grant awards are confirmed.