Crane Lake Township

Current Topics

12.11.25 Board of Supervisors Meeting

TOWN OF CRANE LAKE

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

December 11, 2025

The December 11th, 2025 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chair Jim Janssen at 5:31PM at the Crane Lake Visitor Center with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including: Supervisors Jim Janssen, Scott Sanborn (via Zoom) and Jeanne Shuck; Treasurer Traci Bak; and Clerk Ashlyn Denning. Also present were Deputy-Treasurer Gretchen Janssen; Deputy-Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman.

BUSINESS

Additions to the Agenda: There were none.

Minutes: A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Scott, to approve the minutes of the 11/10/2025 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: The November Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Township: MATIT – $399.00; Lutefisk Technologies – $275.40; Costin Group, Inc. – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; Crane Lake Visitor and Tourism Bureau – $592.00; Crane Lake Visitor and Tourism Bureau – $3,233.36; Visitor Center: Lake Country Power – 640.70; L&M Supply, Inc. – $13.98; Handbergs Marine – $463.50; Friends Garbage – $98.28; Daniel Denning – $69.79; AT&T – $140.90 ($70.45 TWP); PERA – $747.60; VISA – $401.39 ($120.79 Twp); VISA – $401.39  Payroll: $1,140.27 (Twp) & $3,336.62 (VC). A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jeanne, 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

CL Visitor Center/Campground

  • Committee Report & Resulting Board Action: Gretchen Janssen provided the following report:
    • Update on grants:
      • DEED – final pay request is in. A final report will be due in the Spring.
      • LCCMR – final pay requests are signed! Waiting for “thank you” signage in the VC to be installed and approved. Jim is completing a year end report.
      • IRRR – we received approval to spend remaining dollars on “phase 1” of a showerhouse in the campground. Phase 1 includes underground utilities, concrete and bituminous pavement for the parking area. S.E.H is preparing a contract for approval at our January meeting. Originally the County advertised this for public bidding, so now S.E.H will have to prepare these documents and manage the bidding process.
      • DNR – Research is being done on EV charging station options. We have conduit run to 3 locations in our parking area with a plan to purchase 2 stations. The conduit size is equipped for a level 2 station which charges cars in 5 – 11 hours depending on several factors. The County wants 2 quotes at least and will need to create a contract with the company we choose. Does the Town want the stations open 24/7? I will present options to the board next month. We will need to hire an electrician for purchase and installation – any suggestions for a local electric company to pursue?
    • Campground Manager Report and Resulting Board Action: Serena Swenson provided the following Report:
      • Sport show
        • Minnesota Sportsman’s Resorts, Lodge and Outdoor Products Show
        • January 16-18
        • Shakopee
        • $900 for the show
        • $65 for electrical service- charge my phone/computer
        • Booth decorations
          • Draped display table- $63
          • Undraped-$27
          • The table has to be draped, not sure if anyone in town has any table drapes- 8ft long is what we would need
        • Banner-$97
        • Insurance
          • Required by the venue for the event
          • $49 for coverage- We can just sign up for this for when I’m doing the show.
            • https://www.actinsurance.com/trade-show-insurance
          • Koozies- about $280 for 300.
          • All of the above is $,1454
          • I understand the argument about ROI. I can make reservations that day but there really is no guarantee. We would need to get 24 nights from this event to make our money back. That feels doable. Even if it’s not that day. I do think that at this point brand awareness is important and this would put us in front of a lot of people.
          • If you agree, I’d ask for you to approve that I can spend up to $1700. I do not anticipate spending that much and I will compare prices for koozies and keep everything as economical as possible. But on the chance that something comes up that I haven’t thought of, I don’t have a lot of time to wait for approval of things at the next meeting.
          • OR if you think this is a bad idea, we can forget it and I’ll still order the banner for use on the gate next summer.
        • Things to discuss with the park (meeting with Kate next Monday)
          • Volunteers for summer 26’
          • Ask about use of sign for sport show
          • Use of big meeting room- how to split the time, what we can use it for…since they are renting that space, they want to be able to have some say in what goes on in meeting room. I don’t anticipate it being too big of an argument as everything will be educational or community driven and for the public but still a discussion that needs to be had
          • Permanent exhibits and plan for vestibule signage
          • VNP Boreal Stargazing Week- February 9-15
            • Trying to work out some kind of an event at the VC or in Crane Lake
              • Any ideas for where might be a good place to set up the telescope
              • Just right out in front of the building? The building blocks a lot of the street lights from town
              • I could walk a path with snowshoes up into the campground.
              • Somewhere on the lake would be ideal but I wasn’t sure if doing it on the road from Handbergs to Baylis was a good idea.
              • Needs to be accessible to people without transportation
            • Forest Service
              • Sunny Lucas and Tim Engrav were up over the summer. We chatted about the possibility of putting up one of their kiosks with Superior National Forest/Boundary Waters info on one side and then leaving the other side open for the community to post information
              • We were thinking near the red picnic tables, kind of on the edge of the parking lot and the grass.
              • They have the materials to build the sign, but would need to order the panels. They’re already designed and only cost a few hundred dollars, so would be ready to install something in the spring after the snow melts.
              • The map/display design is hanging or rolled up on the shelf in the area behind the front desk if you want to take a look at it.
              • Thoughts? Are things getting too cluttered up?
            • Bookmobile
              • Will be here going forward
              • Spoke with Beth about plowing and making sure the parking lot is cleared a little better than last year to accommodate more use of the building (meetings, Jeff Quam, CLVTB, bookmobile, etc)

Board Action: A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to approve payment for the sport show up to $2,000. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

DNR Public Water Access: Gretchen provided the following report for Bayside:

  • Invoice to approve: KGM Pay App 3 $556,950.99
  • This will be submitted to the DNR for reimbursement.

Board Action: A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Scott, to approve and sign KGM Pay App 3 for $556,950.99. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Community Action Plan: There was no report.

Drop Box for CLWSD Payments: Jo Ann will order.

Meeting Schedule 2026: Everyone agreed on the dates. Signage will be posted.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

CLWSD Manager Position Appointments: A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to adopt Resolution No. 2025-06 electing Darrell Scott and Bonnie Caughey to the Board of Managers of the Crane Lake Water & Sanitary District whose terms shall commence on January 1, 2026 and expire on the last business day of December, 2028.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Tobacco License Renewals: A motion was made by Jim, supported by Scott, to adopt Resolution No. 2025-03 approving the issuance of a tobacco products license for Scotts Bar & Grill, LLC d/b/a Scotts Bar & Grill for the year ending the 31st day of December, 2026; and to adopt Resolution No. 2025-04 approving the issuance of a tobacco products license for Bell Resorts, Inc. d/b/a/ Voyagaire Lodge and Houseboats for the year ending the 31st day of December, 2026. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Levy Revisit: The Board agreed that the proposed 2025, payable 2026 levy should remain at $120,000.00.

Fire Protection Service Agreement 2026: A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Scott with the understanding that there was a conflict of interest, to approve and sign the 2026 Fire Protection Services Agreement between the Town of Crane Lake and the Crane Lake Volunteer Fire Department for $60,000.00.

Costin Group Consultant Agreement 2026: A motion was made by Jim, supported by Scott, to approve and sign the 2026 Consultant Agreement between the Town of Crane Lake and the Costin Group, Inc. for $1,250.00 per month.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Other New Business: There was none.

 

Comments from Officers: There were none.

 

Public Comment: There was none.

 

Next Meeting:

  • The next Board of Supervisors’ Meeting will be January 5, 2026 at 5:30pm at the Visitor Center.

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:59pm.

 

                                                                                                                                                               

Ashlyn Denning, Clerk                                            Jim Janssen, Chair

 

 

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.