5/14/24 Minutes
TOWN OF CRANE LAKE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING
May 14, 2024
The May 14, 2024, Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chairman Jerry Pohlman at 7:10PM at the Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including: Supervisors Jim Janssen, Jerry Pohlman & Jeanne Shuck; Treasurer Traci Bak; Deputy-Clerk Gretchen Janssen; Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman; and two members of the community (including Zoom).
Additions to the Agenda: There were none.
Minutes – A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Jim, to approve the minutes of the 4/16/24 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report –The April Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Cook News-Herald – $168.00; Zoom Video – $159.90; Jo Ann Pohlman – $69.99; Lutefisk Tech. – $35.90; Costin Group – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; CLVTB – $28.50; Braun Intertec – $1,021.25; Johnson, Killen & Seiler – $244.00; and Payroll – $1,491.49. A motion was made by Jim, 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
VNP-Visitor Center/Campground:
Committee Report & Resulting Board Action: Gretchen provided the following report: Progress continues on the campground installing water lines. Electric lines will go next and take approximately six weeks. S.E.H is back on site on a daily basis. The Visitor Center is moving along as well. Interior painting is mostly done. Electricians are still on site and ventilation is nearing completion. There was a mix-up on the exterior siding colors, so more of the dark siding had to be ordered. This may delay completion of the exterior siding until August. Stairs down to the lake from the VC have been altered due to the slope of the land. The deck has been changed to just a concrete pad and the stairs will be made of timbers with a painted metal handrail on one side. This change is resulting in an added cost of $30,647.17.
Serena Swenson composed a proposal letter from the committee based on the community feedback received at the August 24, 2023 and the April 23, 2024 meetings. This proposal outlined the Town’s desire for signage on the exterior of the Visitor Center. The proposal went to: Jason Clemmer, Mesabi Sign Co, WA Fisher, and Kaufman Sign Co. Currently, Voyageurs Conservancy is still working on a decision for who to hire to complete the interior exhibits. When that company is chosen, we will submit a proposal letter to them as well. The township is responsible for filling the long exterior wing of the Visitor Center that faces west. The IRRR has confirmed that this expense will be eligible for reimbursement through their grant funds. Any comments/questions on this? John Sorteberg from CFS came to the VC Monday to measure rooms for furniture. He will get us some images from his designers. The Park has expressed interest in hiring CFS as well to furnish their leased spaces in the VC. On Friday May 17th, Jim and Gretchen are meeting with Bob Degross VNP to begin discussions of an operational lease for the Visitor Center. In preparation for this meeting, he asked what the open and close dates will be for the campground which is a decision the Campground committee has not made. Also, if the TWP will have any expectations of the volunteers placed in our campground by the Park. What are the boards thoughts on this? Do you have any other questions for the Park related to operational lease terms of this Visitor Center? We will likely discuss cleaning, docks, temporary exhibits, retail sales, parking, shared spaces, phone and internet needs, etc. This meeting will be virtual, so please let Jim know if you would like to attend.
Bills to approve:
Casper pay app #7 for $8,816.44 (needs signature)
Widseth April $1500.00; S.E.H invoices $1155.00, $1286.81, $2703.85 and $9549.88. Total: $ 25,011.98
Board Action: A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jeanne, to approve Casper Construction’s Pay Request #7 for $8,816.44, approve signature, and approve payment. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jeanne, to approve the above-listed bills for the Visitor Center and the Campground totaling $25,011.98 for payment. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to approve Bayside Drive bills from S.E.H. for $5,219.95 & $5,430.84 for payment. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Jo Ann advised the Board and Committee that the sewer bill for the Township would be (1)EDU for the Visitor Center and .48EDU for each RV site. Currently an EDU is equivalent to $86.
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – May 14, 2024
Bayside Drive Upgrade: Jim reported that there is an issue with not enough fill for the road, which will be addressed. A meeting was held on May 13th to discuss the Public Water Access with Scott Kelling of the DNR, Jason Chopp of S.E.H., and Gretchen & Jim Janssen in attendance.
American Rescue Plan Act Fund ($1,111.15): The Board agreed that the remaining funds could be used for internet at the Visitor Center.
McKie Easement Request: The Board will plan a closed meeting prior to the June regular meeting. There was discussion with Jim McKie on his culvert request and possible wet land issues he would face.
VNP Ice Road Management Plan: The Board discussed the ice road plan under Correspondence. There are future meetings planned by the VNP.
Bayside Drive Maintenance: There was no discussion.
Dark Sky Crane Lake: Peter Coggan presented a report to the Board. Council Members, Thank you for your continued interest and support of Dark Sky initiatives in Crane Lake. I am unable to make the May meeting but am happy to schedule time outside of the official meeting if so desired. I have been in contact with Mary McKie as well as several other Crane Lakers interested in the committee. There is much enthusiasm that should be realized once many of the summer residents return.
Before continuing this update, I am going to re-state and slightly paraphrase the 5 guidelines DarkSky International uses to evaluate light.
1 Useful. All Light should have a purpose.
2 Targeted. Use shielding and carefully aim light so that it does not spill beyond where it is needed.
3 Low Level. Do not use more light than is necessary.
4 Controlled. Use of dimers, timers, and motion sensors so that light is only used when needed.
5 Warm-colored. Blue is bad. Longer wavelengths (red/orange) are better for the night sky in all respects.
Print and Web ready documents are available via the following link:
https://darksky.org/resources/guides-and-how-tos/lighting-principles/
NOTE: Red light (< 1000K) has the least effect on wildlife behavior and human night vision. This is particularly beneficial when star gazing and watching Auroras as exposure to even low levels of blue light take at least 20 minutes to counteract and restore a person’s night vision. Lights in this wavelength do take some getting used to but once you do, they are wonderful additions to a property.
The three points we discussed at the previous council meeting are:
1 Recommendations for Crane Lake Street Lights
2 Assistance with community outreach and education
3 Materials and programs for new visitor center
I have been in Contact with Todd Burlet who is the President of Starry Skies North which is the Minnesota chapter of DarkSky International. https://starryskiesnorth.org/our-team Todd is a wealth of knowledge and active in Minnesota. He will be someone Crane Lake can certainly count on for many things including future classes, programs, and excursions. He is very excited by the council’s openness to Dark Sky issues. Todd has put me in contact with Scott Lind who specializes in exterior lighting and has become one of the regional experts on Dark Sky exterior lighting for municipalities and businesses. I am working through the vast materials he has compiled and hope to have specific recommendations and demonstration units of potential streetlights for the council to inspect. The new units will likely be warmer color temperatures with motions sensors and shields to direct the light down. I have spent several evenings driving up and down the Gold Coast and see this as a potentially huge quality of life enhancement to the residents and visitors alike. However, it has also become clear that as much as this will help, the number of personal and business “security” lights will minimize the benefit to installing them.
This brings me to our next point of community outreach. Through effective marketing and outdated preconceptions, most people assume that big bright lights make them more secure. Research has shown that the opposite is true and that bright lights at night foster a better environment for crime and criminals while blinding the victims to their activities. This is especially true with respect to the elderly who are more sensitive to blue light scattering in their eyes. The same is true for navigation at night whether by land or water. Bright lights obscure our vision while ruining our night vision at the same time making water navigation significantly more treacherous in the presence of bright exterior lights. These factors coupled with use and enjoyment, health, and environmental impacts should help with the Council’s efforts to reach out to the business and residential community to dispel many of these misunderstandings. Dark Sky International has created many documents to aid in these efforts and I have inquired as to the most appropriate for Crane Lake. It would be a
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – May 14, 2024
Dark Sky Crane Lake: (Cont.)
wonderful thing for the council to consider a program to make the replacement of these existing security lights in the private sector a more affordable, community friendly process for people in the community. It will ensure the most effective implementation of the town’s efforts if the community is implementing the same practices.
Thank you for your time. Feel free to reach out to me at any time and I look forward to speaking soon.
Community Action Plan: This will be discussed in June when there are more community members in the area.
NEW BUSINESS – There was none.
Comments from Officers: Jeanne stated that she and Jo Ann attended the Voyageurs Affairs Meeting on 5/10/24 from 1 to 2:30PM remotely where Mukooda Lake Operations, Frozen Lake Use Plan and the CL Visitor Center were on the agenda. The information was mostly repetitious.
Public Comments: There were none.
Next Meeting: Board of Supervisors’ Meeting – June 11, 2024 – 6:30PM, Fellowship Hall
The Board of Supervisors’ Meeting will be closed immediately for a Closed Meeting; then reopened.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15PM.
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.
