Crane Lake Township

TOWN OF CRANE LAKE

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

September 9, 2025

 

The September 9^th, 2025 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chair Jim Janssen at 6:02PM at the Crane Lake Visitor Center with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including:  Supervisors Jim Janssen and Scott Sanborn (via Zoom); Treasurer Traci Bak; and Clerk Ashlyn Denning. Also present were Deputy-Treasurer Gretchen Janssen; Deputy-Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman; Visitor Center and Campground Manager Serena Swenson and one member of the community. Supervisor Jeanne Shuck was absent.

BUSINESS

Additions to the Agenda: There were none.

Minutes: A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jim, to approve the minutes of the 8/12/25 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: Township: Minnesota Association of Townships – $298.80 (8/12/25 check voided); Crane Lake Chapel – $500.00; Quill – $356.88; Lutefisk Technologies – $202.50; Costin Group – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; St. Louis County Auditor – $1,967.45; Anderson Canoe Outfitters – $525.19; CLVTB – $31,039.15; Short Elliot Hendrickson – $3,580.00; Town of Crane Lake – $516.99; ATT Phone – $70.42; Johnson, Killen and Seiler – $913.50. Visitor Center: Lake Country Power – $1,571.61; CLWSD – $1,629.82; TechBytes – $107.38; Handbergs Marine – $157.74; Daniel Denning – $206.52; Robert Mecham – $2,000.00; Charles Standfuss – $5.55; Friends Garbage – $326.43; AT&T – $70.42; Starlink – $77.00; VISA – $564.47; Jim Janssen – $4,495.00; PERA: $75.60 (Twp) & $848.79 (VC) Payroll: $1,692.05 (Twp) & $4,192.81 (VC).  A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jim with the understanding that there was a conflict of interest, 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:
  • One bid came in for the scaled-down shower house project – $817,000 lump sum from Lenci out of Virginia. This is very expensive and well outside of our budget. The Town has approx. $125,000 to spend from the 1.9M Appropriation and 343,967.54 to spend from IRRR totaling just under $470K.
  • Invoices to Approve (S.E.H)
    • Campground 493303 – $1,658.74
    • Visitor Center 493302 – $343.00
    • RV Park Shower House 490473 – $1,045.00
    • RV Park Shower House 492564 – $13,455.00
  • For signature and approval:
    • Max Gray CO 6 – $1,443.54 (this and above all payable by grants)
    • Bayside Drive PWA Pay App 1 (sent in by Jim yesterday)
    • KGM Contractors $110,535.11 (to be reimbursed by DNR)
  • Check to Sign:
    • Bayside PWA construction administration 493315 – $3,580.00
      • Reimbursed by the DNR

Board Action: A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jim, to approve the SEH invoices totaling $16,501.74. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jim, to approve the Max Gray invoice for $1,443.54. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Scott, to approve the KMG invoice for $110,535.11. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

• Campground Manager Report and Resulting Board Action:
  • Visitor Center
    • # of Visitors in August-2523
    • # of Visitors for the whole year as of 9/5-7594
    • Lakeside Door
      • 428 visitors from July 11- August 18 came through the door by the lake
      • Do we think we should have a sign there?
    • New volunteers
      • Going well, super helpful
      • Chuck and Liz will work Fridays and Saturdays in October, Kate Severson (VNP) will be here on Sundays
    • Security Cameras
    • Internet
      • Stick with what we have for now. Hopefully by next summer the park will have public wifi for us
    • Jessa moved in! We will need to request a check for $1,500?
    • Use of meeting room
      • Thoughts on how to charge people?
      • Meeting with VNP sometime in October to discuss the use of the room.
      • Whiteboard hung in the area behind the front desk with a monthly schedule of when the meeting rooms are in use.
      • VNP/SEH joint power board meeting- September 24^th– 10am
    • Selfie Stick for out by road sign?
  • Campground
    • Landscaping
      • Chemicals
        • The first stuff we got was not working well at all
        • Got some new stuff to try
        • Gonna try a blow torch as well
      • Dry material broadcast sprayer
        • Pull behind?
        • Walk-around?
      • Already have a couple of reservations for next summer!
      • Bob and Beth (camp hosts) want to come back next summer! And they are bringing some friends to volunteer at the VC, if everything goes as planned
      • Campground sign
      • Any word from Tom Alverson at Casper about site 23 and the puddling water?
  • Marketing
    • Report from Ben Shoff
      • Google Ads are in place and garnering interests to the website
      • Crane Lake Campground website is now first on google search
      • Drone footage/pictures updated on website
      • Will redesign website for easier booking and cell accessibility
        • Most of our bookings are done by cell phone so this is crucial
      • Showing Serena things she can do on her own so she’s less reliant on help from Ben in the future
    • Sport shows
      • Do you think I should sign up for a few? Listed below are ones that wouldn’t require me to find lodging.
      • Northwest Sport show- March 5-8
        • $1,195
        • Minneapolis Convention Center
      • Duluth Sport show- Feb 19-22
        • $800
        • DECC
      • Other sport shows that would require lodging? Should I investigate them?
  • Winter/Fall Projects
    • Weeds
    • Trees
    • Marketing/Social Media
    • Content Creation
    • Deep Clean/Organize
    • Phones
    • Sport shows
    • Schedule Programs for the summer
      • Would love to have a goal of a program every other week
        • Poetry in the park, Leave No Trace, Movie nights, other educational things like workshops
        • Do some research on speakers that would come for free or really cheap
        • Any other ideas?
    • Vestibule, plan and brochures
    • Budgeting
    • Signage, front door and campground
    • Any other ideas?

DNR Public Water Access: Meeting this morning about progress that Jim attended.

Dark Sky Crane Lake: There was no report.

Community Action Plan: There was no report.

Gold Coast Road Potholes: There was no report.

 

NEW BUSINESS

Community Events at VC Proposal: This will be put on hold until VNP gives feedback.

Other New Business: There was none.

Comments from Officers: Traci and Jim thanked Ashlyn for bringing treats to the meeting.

Public Comment: Gretchen thanked Ashlyn for the treats to the meeting.

Next Meetings:

• A Special Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was set for Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 5:30pm at the Visitor Center for the purpose of discussion campground shower house project. A Closed Meeting will immediately follow for the purpose of discussing visitor center and campground manager salary.
• The next Board of Supervisors’ Meeting will be October 14, 2025 at 5:30pm at the Visitor Center.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:09pm.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                     

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.