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Resident Gail Myers urges Crookston City Council to sponsor bill to fund Houston Avenue buyouts and stabilization
Summary
Gail Myers, speaking by phone, asked the Crookston City Council to provide assurances so state legislators can file a bill seeking roughly $1.35 million to buy out and demolish eight homes and stabilize a severely eroding riverbank on Houston Avenue; the council said it needs firm numbers before any vote.
Gail Myers, a Houston Avenue resident, told the Crookston City Council during the public-comment portion that severe bank erosion threatens homes and asked the city to act as the local sponsor for a state bill to secure funding for buyouts, demolition and bank stabilization.
Myers said the request would not impose costs on Crookston directly but would allow state legislators to file a bill seeking funding. "This vote will not cost you any money, but will put in motion the state legislature's resources to help us potentially save lives, save property, and even preserve our water quality," she said.
Myers outlined three parts to the effort: (1) buyouts of the most at-risk houses (she said the portion requested for buyouts is about $1.2 million based on taxable market value), (2) demolition and backfill (she quoted an on-the-spot estimate of about $18,000 for the largest house and an extrapolated demolition total of roughly $144,000 for eight homes), and (3) bank stabilization, which she said the Red Lake Watershed District would fund through a Clean Water Legacy Grant if the bill proceeds. She added that the project currently appears to need a roughly 50% match and that the watershed has offered to serve as that match pending review by the Capital Investment Committee researcher.
Myers also said city staff and engineers must complete a Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) form to move the bill language forward. She told the council the bill must be written within about three weeks to meet the legislative timeline.
City members expressed appreciation for the presentation but declined to vote on the request that night. The presiding officer said firm cost estimates and a completed MMB form are needed before the council could take formal action or call a special meeting. Council members discussed differing high-end estimates raised in the meeting and emphasized that staff and the city engineer must produce definitive numbers before a vote.
A question from a council member asked whether controlled burns of demolished structures remain permissible; Shane Heldstab, identified in the transcript as the fire chief and emergency management director, replied that state permits would be required and that multi-structure burns would be more complex than single-structure live burns.
Myers asked the council to "please look into the faces of the people you are helping" and requested a straw or formal vote; the council took the request under advisement and asked staff to provide updated estimates and supporting paperwork.
Next steps: council members said staff and city engineers will compile firm cost estimates and complete the MMB paperwork; the council will revisit the request when those materials are available.
