Crane Lake Township

 TOWN OF CRANE LAKE

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

November 18, 2022

 

The November 18, 2022, Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chairman Jerry Pohlman at 5:40PM at the Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall, following the Board of Canvass Meeting, with those in attendance including Supervisors Jim Janssen & Jerry Pohlman; Treasurer Traci Bak; Deputy-Clerk Gretchen Janssen; Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman; and three members of the community (including Zoom).  Supervisor Brandon Anderson was absent.

 

BUSINESS

 

Additions to the Agenda:  There were none.

 

Minutes – A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to approve the minutes of the 10/11/22 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting and the 10/10/22 Bayside Drive Public Hearing.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Treasurer’s Report –The October Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Shirley Sanborn – $143.00; Debora Scott – $170.50; Jill Crain – $170.50; Lutefisk Tech. – $275.40; Costin Group – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; Premier Pyrotechnics – $8,500.00; CLVTB – $43,291.90; Johnson, Killen & Seiler – $6,776.20; S.E.H. – $10,480.00 and Payroll – $1,156.32.  A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as read and the payment of bills.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

The Clerk presented the correspondence.  The correspondence was received and will be placed on file and acted upon as required.

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

VNP-Visitor Center/Campsite:

Committee Report & Resulting Board Action:  Gretchen Janssen provided the following report:  This month we learned more about the contamination cleanup costs at the Visitor Center site.  Engineers from S.E.H prepared a budget and applied to the state for a DEED grant.  To summarize, it is expected that mitigation efforts will cost approximately $120,820.  This includes site investigation, contaminated soil management, environmental oversight, and the soil vapor mitigation system which MAY be required in construction.  The grant can only cover 75% of all costs, and of the remaining 25%, half of that needs to be paid by the Town.  LCCMR funds cannot be used for any of this effort.  After we find out the outcome of the DEED grant application in January, S.E.H will request funds from the IRRRB for a portion of the match and the non-eligible costs, such as grant oversight by St. Louis County.  (DEED requires that 12% of the cost come from an unrestricted source, so IRRRB cannot pay for the entire match).  According to the LCCMR, we also have to secure the recording of an environmental covenant and easement on the property, so our attorney is working on that.  Braun reported this on the site testing: “we were able to get the ISCO treatment activities completed the last week of October. Based upon the number of injection locations and quantity of chemicals, I am expecting a successful result, although we will not know for sure until we have the analytical results back to prove it.  Our first groundwater sampling event is next week followed by a 4-week, 8-week and 16-week sampling event.” ARI is finishing up the Pre-Design Document for the Visitor Center, and final plans for the Campground are still under review.  There are no current bills to approve this month.  Files for the new Campground logo were sent this week from WA Fisher.  To publicly acknowledge the financial help given by the LCCMR and IRRR, we are also asking for a banner to be developed to place at the work site.  Invoices for the logo work, website, and banner all qualify for the IRRR grant awarded in May (at 50%).  These three bills will not add up to the full award amount ($2707).  Is the board interested in purchasing a laptop to store the logo and campground software on?   The IRRR DID officially approve the purchase of a laptop as qualifying for grant dollars, so if the board is agreeable, the committee recommends the purchase of a laptop for the Crane Lake Campground.  The amount of grant dollars left would be approximately $3000 to spend on a laptop, of which the Town would pay HALF.

 

Action Items:

• Approve purchase of laptop computer for Crane Lake Campground. (Recommendations?)  A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to approve the Committee’s request to purchase a computer with selection being left up to the Committee.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

There was discussion of the appointment of a Facilities Operations Manager as required by State B3 guidelines for commissioning and future annual reporting of building performance.  This person would have knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems.

 

 

 

Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – November 18, 2022

 

 

VNP-Visitor Center/Campsite:

Bayside Drive Upgrade:  Appraisers John Vigen and Dawn Cole provided an agreement to the Board for appraisal of the Bayside Drive properties.  A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to approve the agreement and to sign the agreement for appraisal services provided by appraisers John Vigen and Dawn Cole to appraise Bayside Drive properties for right-of-way easements related to the Bayside Drive upgrade.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  A resolution request was provided to the Board by attorney Roy Christensen to alter the timing of Bayside Drive damages awards to accommodate completion of survey and appraisal work.  A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to adopt Resolution No. 2022-09 – Altering the Timing of Town Road Damages Awards to issue damages awards to landowners as soon as practicable and to hold a special meeting in January 2023 to meet with any landowners who have not reached agreement with the Town Board damages awards.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Funding:  IRRRB Funds have been accessed for Bayside Drive.  The DEED Grant should be approved in January for MPCA cleanup requirements at the Visitor Center site.  The DNR State Park Roads Account grant, for Bayside Drive is in process.

 

ATV Report: The group continues to work on the trails with nothing new to report.

 

Trails Report:  There was no report. This item will be removed from the Agenda.

 

American Rescue Plan Act Fund: There was nothing new. The balance in the account is $8,961.15.

 

CIC:  Attorney Roy Christensen provide a resolution to the Board to terminate the CIC.  A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to adopt Resolution No. 2022-08 Authorizing CIC Termination Agreement.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Flooding:  The Township continues to work with FEMA for expenses acquired by the Township related to the flooding this spring.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

County Dock:  A letter was received from St. Louis County Public Works Department requesting the Township’s and local business owners’ input on the rebuilding of the dock at the public landing that was damaged during the spring flood.  Those present agreed that the old dock held up for a very long time, so similar construction could be followed.  Some local business owners will be contacted for their opinion.

 

Other New Business:  There was none.

 

Comments from Officers: There were none.

 

Public Comments:   Jim McKie asked for a recommendation for good internet service.  Starlink is being used by many in the area.

 

 

 

Next Meeting:  Board of Supervisors’ Meeting – December 13, 2022 – 5:30PM, Fellowship Hall

 

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:18PM.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk                                                  Jerry Pohlman, Chairman

 

 

This draft of the Crane Lake Township minutes has been posted solely for preliminary informational purposes.  Minutes are unofficial and subject to change until they have been approved by the Crane Lake Board of Supervisors.