6/11/24 Minutes
TOWN OF CRANE LAKE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING
June 11, 2024
The June 11, 2024, Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chairman Jerry Pohlman at 6:30PM 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; and Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman. One member of the community joined the meeting at 7PM (including Zoom). Deputy-Clerk Gretchen Janssen was absent.
Chairman Jerry Pohlman stated the following: The meeting shall move to closed session for the Town to discuss attorney client privileged matters regarding claims by James McKie regarding a Dock License, as per Minnesota Statutes 13D.05 Subd. 3(b).
The Regular Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was immediately closed, and the Closed Session was opened at 6:31PM.
Following the Closed Session, the Regular Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was re-opened at 7PM.
Additions to the Agenda: There were none.
Minutes – A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to approve the minutes of the 5/14/24 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting and the 5/2/24 Board of Appeal Meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report –The May Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Jo Ann Pohlman – $100.50; Lutefisk Tech. – $405.00; Costin Group – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; Watering Can Garden Shop – $1,379.29; Jeff Truebenbach – $160.00; CLVTB – $2,201.94; St. Louis County Auditor – $52.00; and Payroll – $845.76. A motion was made by Jerry, 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:
VC/Campground
Meetings were held Thursday 6/6 with both contractors. In the campground, pedestals need to be installed, water lines passed inspection, Lanyk electric should finish up within 2 weeks. After this Casper will send a dirt crew who will take approx. 3 weeks to complete the pads and parking areas and complete work around the Visitor Center. Max Gray has submitted two change orders for our approval. Change order 2 is a credit on roofing materials, change order 3 is the added expense of groundwork/gravel around the entire building and constructing the stoop, railing, and stairs from the north side of the building down to the lake. Work continues on the exterior of the building and installation of flooring on the inside. A meeting was held with Supt Degross and Mark Miller (NPS) on May 17th for discussion of operational lease terms. Jim, Gretchen, and Gary Cerkvenik were present for this meeting. Highlights include the following: In 2025, Voyageurs National Park is planning to keep the Crane Lake Visitor Center open and staffed at the same capacity as their other Visitor Centers. This year, those centers opened the Friday of Memorial Weekend and stayed open until the last week of September, 7 days a week from 9 am – 5 pm. VNP is planning to have 2 couples on site all summer staying in the campground. They mentioned how often they get requests from RV campers looking to be campground hosts. Because our campground is adjacent to the Visitor Center, many will think it is an NPS campground, so it will attract those wanting to be National Park volunteers. Everyone in the meeting assumed the Visitor Center would plan to open to the public the Friday of Memorial Weekend 2025. Also noteworthy, in the governmental lease agreement which begins June 1, 2024, all leased areas of the Visitor Center will be cleaned and supplies will be stocked by the NPS. This includes the vestibule, public bathrooms, welcome zone, and auditorium. The Town will be responsible for cleaning and stocking the common areas, which includes the staff restroom, hallway and breakroom. The Park believes we have adequate parking for staff and visitor boats with the current dock system. Serena and Gretchen met with Mesabi Sign Co at the Visitor Center to discuss the exterior signage needs. We also heard from Jason Clemmer who would like to be involved in this as well. The committee is interested in opening the Visitor Center during the National Night Out event this summer. Does the Town board approve of this? National Night Out is Tuesday August 6th from 6-8 pm. The committee suggests having the Visitor Center open and supervised for people to just walk through and view.
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – June 11, 2024
VNP-Visitor Center/Campground: Committee Report & Resulting Board Action: (Cont.)
Would the Town like to purchase decals/stickers to hand out at NNO? Using the logos WA Fisher created for us already, I would be happy to place an order for stickers and I would supervise this open house on August 6th. Four inch vinyl outdoor stickers are $1.30 each if we order 100. ($1 each if we order 200). Three inch stickers are $1.10/$0.80 each respectively.
Max Gray is making progress on the VC and is sticking with their claim to have the interior substantial completion date by the end of June. Commercial Furniture Services has proposed the attached furniture plan for your review. Do you want all the furniture and chairs as shown? Should the chairs all be the same, or do we want to have better chairs in the offices and save money on the chairs in the breakroom? Once these decisions are made, we can choose fabrics and finishes then get a quote. Please send any comments or questions on this furniture plan to me.
DNR Boat Landing
S.E.H has proposed the attached contract for their services in designing the Boat Landing on Bayside Drive in coordination with the DNR. This contract is for $91,850 and includes work done by Braun. This comes in within the budget to be funded by the 1.9M appropriation.
Action Items:
Answer the questions in bold please
Approve change orders 2 and 3 for Max Gray
Approve signature of Max Gray Pay Aps 9 & 10; and Casper Pay Ap 8
Approve contract with S.E.H for the DNR boat landing
Approve LCCMR Agreement Amendment
Invoices to approve:
Max Gray Pay App #9 for $328,432.97
Max Gray Pay App #10 for $224,861.52
Casper Pay App #8 for $328,987.25
B3 Commissioning Invoice 6/1 $2,049.14
Board Action: Does the Town board approve of this? The Board agreed that the Visitor Center could be open for National Night Out (NNO), provided it has been cleaned and is safe. Would the Town like to purchase decals/stickers to hand out at NNO? A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry to approve Gretchen’s purchase 100 four-inch stickers at $1.30 each for Gretchen to hand out at the Visitor Center on NNO. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Do you want all the furniture and chairs as shown? Should the chairs all be the same, or do we want to have better chairs in the offices and save money on the chairs in the breakroom? The Board agreed that the offices should have office-type chairs and the meeting/break room should have regular meeting room chairs. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to approve Max Gray Change Order #2 – EPDM roof insulation to be fully mechanically fastened in lieu of mechanically fastening first layer with all subsequent layers being adhesively adhered at a contract sum decrease of $2,956.00. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to approve Max Gray Change Order #3 – Add frost depth stoop for accessible egress, eliminate deck and add 6×6 stairs with handrail at a contract sum increase of $30,647.71. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to approve signature of Max Gray’s Pay Request #9 for $328,432.97 and Max Gray’s Pay Request #10 for $224,861.52. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Jerry, to approve signature of Casper’s Pay Request #8 for $328,987.25. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to sign the Agreement for Professional Services between the Town of Crane Lake and Short Elliott Hendrickson inc., effective 6/5/24, authorizing and describing the scope, schedule, and payment conditions for Consultant’s work on the Bayside Boat Landing Project for $91,850.00. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Jim, to approve signature of an Amendment to the LCCMR Agreement (upon receipt) to allow payments extending beyond 6/30/24. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jeanne, to approve the above mentioned invoices totaling $884,330.88 for payment. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Bayside Drive Upgrade: Construction on Bayside Drive continues.
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: There was no report.
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – June 11, 2024
VNP Ice Road Management Plan: The final Voyageur Park Frozen Lake Surface Comment Period is open through 6/28/24. The Board agreed to re-send the Township’s letter sent to Superintendent Bob DeGross on 4/13/23 confirming the Township’s position on frozen lake roads in the VNP – the Town strongly supports the use of all ice surfaces for off road vehicles (ORVs) including street legal vehicles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility task vehicles (UTVs), and other types of non-snowmobile vehicles; as well as, snowmobiles on VNP Lakes.
Bayside Drive Maintenance: The Board discussed offering for bid/quote the maintenance of Bayside Drive to include blading and adverse weather conditions repair work during the spring/summer/fall months on a per time charge and as needed. The offer will go to Rutchasky Enterprises, Thomas Long & Son Trucking, and Tony Schlomka.
Dark Sky Crane Lake: There was no report. A constituent commented to a Board member that they were for the Dark Sky initiative but hoped the Town would not impose any regulations on community members. The Board has no current plans for mandates or ordinances related to Dark Sky.
Community Action Plan: A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to form a committee to work on the Community Action Plan. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Jeanne volunteered to head the Committee and will begin recruiting members.
NEW BUSINESS – There was none.
Comments from Officers: Jim thanked Nancy Ross for attending the meetings via Zoom. Jerry thanked Jeanne for stepping up to head the Community Action Plan Committee. Traci commented on the flowers around the community.
Public Comments: There were none.
Next Meeting: Board of Supervisors’ Meeting – July 9, 2024 – 7:00PM, Fellowship Hall
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40PM.
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.
