9/12/23 Minutes
TOWN OF CRANE LAKE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING
September 12, 2023
The September 12, 2023, Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chairman Jerry Pohlman at 4:45PM at the Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall, with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including: Supervisors Jim Janssen, Jerry Pohlman, and Jeanne Shuck; Deputy-Clerk Gretchen Janssen; and Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman. Treasurer Traci Bak arrived around 5PM. 3 community members arrived at 5:30PM.
The regular meeting was closed immediately to open a Closed Session. The closure was explained as a meeting between the Township Board and legal counsel under attorney client privilege to discuss matters relating to a claim by Jim McKie regarding his dock on Township property.
A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, to close the closed session and re-open the regular meeting at 5:30PM. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
BUSINESS
Additions to the Agenda: There were none.
Minutes – A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jeanne, to approve the minutes of the 8/8/23 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report –The August Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Victor Lundeen – $339.16; Costin Group – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; St. Louis County Auditor – $1,453.70; Jeff Truebenbach – $225.00; CLVTB – $51,173.55; S.E.H. – $3,750.00; Johnson, Killen & Seiler – $2,086.30; Costin Group – $30,000.00; Casper Construction – $16,204.34 & $57,032.30; and Payroll – $1,107.87. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jerry, 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 provided the following report: Construction is progressing on the Campground and Visitor Center. Meetings are held every other Thursday at 10 am for the Visitor Center, and for the Campground meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at 11 am. Casper Construction is preparing a change order to include a time extension, costs for adding additional campsites, and increased expenses for fill and topsoil. They will be recommending that pavement installation be postponed until Spring, so that Max Gray can bring in heavy equipment through October and possibly November. The current goal is to have both the Campground and Visitor Center completed by the end of June 2024. This change order is expected to be funded by the $1.9M Direct Appropriation. To complete our application for the $1.9M grant, we have a revised work plan prepared to send to the DNR for approval. Once this workplan is approved the Town will have a contract to sign and then Casper Construction can execute the change order and begin adding the sewer, water, and electric for the 27 additional campsites. Time is of the essence, so we propose that the Town board make a motion to support Jim Janssen, named as the grantee representing the Town, to sign the contract with the DNR based upon this workplan. Here is a general summary of the workplan: The $1.9M after administrative fees from the County and DNR are subtracted will be spent on the following: $500K for campground water and sewer, $700K for electric, $100K for future Visitor Center change orders, $100K for additional engineering/administration costs, $300K remaining to be spent on designing the public boat ramp unless there are overruns to the campground. The priority is to fully fund the campground to bring it to completion. The MN Dept of Administration requires that any buildings funded by state grant monies must have a review or “B3 commissioning” of the building envelope done. For that reason we have to hire a commissioning consultant to complete this assessment. He will look at the building’s sustainability, energy efficiency, the building’s ability to resist moisture intrusion and air infiltration. Jim Larson works northern MN and his company’s contract is attached for approval. He will begin immediately to review Max Gray’s work once his contract is signed by the Town.
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – September 12, 2023
VNP-Visitor Center/Campsite: (Cont.)
The VC/Campground committee held a public informational meeting on August 24th. Twenty-eight people attended the meeting. The meeting provided an overview of the project and timeline, a review of drawings and plans for the Visitor Center, and a discussion of exterior space on the Visitor Center for the Town to add local information to. Follow up planning meetings will continue and Serena Swenson volunteered to help organize this effort.
During the past week, there has also been a review of software companies with demos and discussion. The committee will have a recommendation for campground software at the next meeting then getting the policy details ironed out will be our next task for the Campground.
ARI has recently merged with another company, so their name has changed to Widseth. They are at the same address and our service contract with them remains as is. FYI
Action Items:
Motion to accept the Commissioning Contract for Building envelope inspection paid for by IRRR funds. A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jeanne, to approve the CR-BPS proposal to provide B3 Building Envelope Commissioning for the CL Visitor Center. Jerry and Jeanne voted in favor, Jim voted against and the motion carried.
Motion to approve grant contract with the DNR for the $1.9M direct appropriation based on the workplan reviewed and submitted 9/12/23. A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jeanne, to approve signature of the $1,805,000 grant contract for the Crane Lake Visitor Center and Campground and Improvements and Maintenance for the State-Operated Boat Ramp based on the workplan submitted on 9/12/23 with Jim Janssen to be the signer. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Note: $95,000 was removed from original $1.9M for allowable administrative charges by SLC.
Motion to accept the change order from Casper Construction approved by our project manager contingent upon the awarding of the Town’s $1.9M appropriation contract. A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Jerry, to approve Casper Construction’s Change Order to include a time extension, costs for adding additional campsites, and increased expenses for fill and topsoil to be funded by the 1.9M direct appropriation, contingent upon award of that 1.9M grant appropriation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Approve Bills all payable by Grant funds:
Braun – Materials testing and inspections: $12,734.50. Four invoices attached.
Casper – $244,605.53 Pay Application #3, work done through 8/31/2023
Max Grey – $296,947.24 Payment #1, work done through 8/31/2023
Total bills to approve $554,287.27
A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to approve payment of the Visitor Center/Campground invoices totaling $554,287.27 as listed above. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Further Action Items:
A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to approve signature of the Pipeline Easement Agreement between the Town of Crane Lake and the Crane Lake Water & Sanitary District subject to final edits to the legal description. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to complete paper work necessary for the connection to the mainline sewer system provided by the CLWSD. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Bayside Drive Upgrade: Forms have been sent to Bayside property owners to be completed and returned to the attorneys before receiving their right-of-way payments, which must be paid prior to construction beginning.
A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Jim, to adopt Resolution No. 2023-05 for a Variance from State Park Road Account Design Standards – Minimum Geometric Design Standards for SAP 069-600-052 to allow Bayside Drive to include a single 15 mph design speed horizontal curve. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
American Rescue Plan Act Fund: The Board is now looking into the use of the funds for the sewer application fees for the Visitor Center/Campground.
CIC Termination: The termination of the CIC has been completed and has been recorded at St. Louis County.
Jim McKie Easement Request: Jim McKie is requesting an easement across Township land for dock access. A closed session to discuss the request with counsel was held as part of this meeting. The subject is currently under legal advisement.
Flooding: The final 10% reimbursement has yet to be received.
VNP Ice Road Management Plan: There was nothing new to report.
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – September 12, 2023
Bayside Drive Maintenance: The following information has been received from St. Louis County: Bayside Drive is in the SLC system as Twp. Rd. 4251 at a length of 0.43 miles. This information was revised to .30 miles. The Board does not see that construction on Bayside Drive will occur this fall. St. Louis County will not provide plowing service until the road is upgraded/updated to their standards. The Board; therefore, must provide plowing service for the road from a local source. Trent Bak, Lance Ulen, Darrell Scott and Jeff Sanborn will be invited to submit a price quote for providing the work.
NEW BUSINESS
Voter Account Distribution Agreement with St. Louis County: A motion was made by Jerry, supported by Jim, to approve and sign the Agreement between St. Louis County and Crane Lake Township Concerning Distribution Plan for Allocating Funds from Voter Account. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Light Pollution: Mary McKie talked to those present about the subject as it applies to the Crane Lake community. As a part of the Visitor Center/Campground public informational meeting on August 24th, the dark skies movement was discussed. Many of those present agreed that the movement was important for our community. A gathering will be planned to discuss what we as a community can do for smart lighting. The street lighting along the Gold Coast Road and the Visitor Center/Campground did consider the dark skies movement as part of their planning and installation processes.
Other New Business: There was none.
Comments from Officers: Jeanne thanked Gretchen Janssen and Deb Scott for their planning and scheduling of the software demos. She also thanked Mary McKie for bringing forward the dark skies movement and community involvement.
Public Comments: Nancy Ross asked about the closed session portion of the meeting. The Board explained that the lawyers would communicate as a result of the session. The session is not to be publicly discussed.
Next Meeting: Board of Supervisors’ Meeting – October 10, 2023 – 5:30PM, Fellowship Hall
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:20PM.
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.
