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City staff report: possible building-services contract with Ada, parks director resigns; council flags cannabis banking hurdles
Summary
City staff reported preliminary talks to provide building-permit services to the City of Ada that could offset building department costs, announced the parks and recreation director's resignation, and council discussed banking obstacles tied to a potential municipal cannabis store.
City staff told the Crookston City Council they had exploratory talks with the City of Ada about taking over that city's building-permit responsibilities, and council was informed the arrangement could help offset Crookston’s building department costs.
Jeff reported he and the building official traveled to Ada and that the city could charge a flat monthly fee while retaining plan-review fees. He described an anticipated offset of about "$12 to $15,000 a year" toward the building department, characterizing that estimate as preliminary. "Greg has assured me that we have plenty of capacity to take that on and over and it will help us offset some of our building department costs," Jeff said.
Jeff also announced the resignation of the parks and recreation director, Jake, who accepted another position; the council and mayor thanked him for his service.
Separately, council members raised a potential operational challenge if the city pursued a municipal cannabis store: banks contacted by staff and council members had declined to accept deposits tied to cannabis operations because federal rules restrict many chartered banks from handling proceeds tied to federally illegal substances. "Basically, no chartered FDIC-insured bank will touch that money with a 10 foot pole," a council member said, and the council discussed the implications for municipal operations and cash handling if the city were to move forward.
Why it matters: The Ada building-services discussion could create a modest new revenue stream and affect staff workload; the parks director resignation creates a personnel gap; and the banking conversation highlights a practical barrier to any municipal cannabis enterprise.
Staff will return with more precise cost figures and staffing plans; no binding contract was approved at the meeting.
