8/8/23 Minutes
TOWN OF CRANE LAKE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING
August 8, 2023
The August 8, 2023, Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Jim Janssen at 7:30PM at the Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall, with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including: Supervisors Jim Janssen and Jeanne Shuck; Treasurer Traci Bak; Deputy-Clerk Gretchen Janssen; Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman; and 5 members of the community (including ZOOM).
Supervisor Jerry Pohlman was absent.
BUSINESS
Additions to the Agenda: There were none.
Minutes – A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Jim, to approve the minutes of the 7/11/23 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report –The July Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Traci Bak – $36.46; Lutefisk Tech. – $168.75; Costin Group – $1,250.00; Lake Country Power – $156.00; Jeff Truebenbach – $375.00; CLVTB – $18,902.79; Border State Bank – $25,000.00; Johnson, Killen & Seiler – $5,589.20; and Payroll – $830.82. 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/Campsite:
Committee Report & Resulting Board Action: Gretchen provided the following report:
Campground
Construction of the campground is proceeding according to schedule. There have been changes made to the stormwater drain ponds located in the center of the campground to avoid blasting any more rock than is absolutely necessary. The well was fracked for improved water flow. The committee has scheduled demonstrations from two software companies that specialize in campground reservations: Recreogo Sept 6th at 5:15 and Campspot Sept 11 at 5:15. We are hoping Traci, Jo Ann, and Jeanne can attend along with representatives from the committee.
The Town needs to review and approve the County Fiscal Agreement for the $1.9M direct appropriation Crane Lake was awarded. The County will act as our fiscal agent and bill for their time, not to exceed 5% or $95,000. S.E.H has created a work plan and today it was submitted to the DNR for approval. Based on bidding estimates, they propose $1.5M will be spent to complete the campground and the remainder will be spent on engineering the DNR boat ramp.
Bills to approve: $764,173.39
S.E.H $46,425.13 (June) and $61,487.38 (July)
Casper Construction invoice #1 $359,935.00 (see attached – signature required)
Casper Construction invoice #2 $296,325.88 (see attached – signature required)
Visitor Center
The CIC termination has been finalized and the building permit has been delivered to Max Grey.
Progress has been made on the agreement with Voyageurs National Park. The National Leasing office has formally announced that Crane Lake has been awarded the lease with the Park Service for our Visitor Center. Our attorney has submitted a draft lease and we are awaiting a response to this draft so that negotiations can begin. We are relying on the Costin group to handle this process. The group designing exhibits for the Visitor Center made a presentation in July. To compliment what already exists in the other VNP Visitor Centers, they are focusing on the Ojibwe people and Dark Sky preservation. The information will be regional (not hyper local) to include Superior National Forest and Quetico PP. If we want exhibits dedicated to the founding and history of Crane Lake specifically, we will need to create that on the 52’ exterior wall. The committee suggests a planning meeting on this exterior space be at 10 am on Thursday August 24th. We will invite the public as well as community organizations who received a letter in June.
Bill to approve:
ARI $2,400.00
Crane Lake Meeting Minutes – August 8, 2023
VNP-Visitor Center/Campsite: (Cont.)
Approval of bills to pay. A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to approve payment of the Visitor Center/Campground invoices totaling $764,173.39. 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.
American Rescue Plan Act Fund: The funds are planned to be used for the well at the Visitor Center.
CIC Termination: The termination of the CIC is being recorded at St. Louis County.
McKie Easement Request: The McKies are requesting an easement across Township land for dock access. The attorneys continue to review the request along with their CIC work. The closed meeting has been moved to September to follow the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting for attorney/board discussion.
Flooding: The final 10% reimbursement is scheduled to be received by the end of August and the project will be closed out.
VNP Ice Road Management Plan: The comment period ended June 3, 2023. No changes are expected for this winter.
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. Town Road Aid will be received in 2024 amounting to about $280.00. The road, in its current state, needs to be reviewed before it can be accepted into their snowplowing program. If construction is completed this fall, the road will qualify for the snowplowing program. The SLC rate is approximately $1,000 per mile for the season.
NEW BUSINESS – There was none.
Other New Business: There was none.
Comments from Officers: Jo Ann mentioned that SLC Commissioner Paul McDonald commented that the bids came in over double the engineers estimate for the replacement of the county dock on Gold Coast Road. He confirmed that the dock is a priority and internal discussions will determine how they proceed. Rob Scott was instrumental in assuring SLC that the dock is needed in Crane Lake. Jeanne asked Gretchen what a Quote Wall was as it relates to the visitor center. Gretchen explained it as a place of contemplation with famous quotes to view. Jeanne also asked Gretchen when she would like comments on the previously provided campground questions. Those comments should be emailed to Gretchen.
Public Comments: There were none.
Next Meeting: Board of Supervisors’ Meeting – September 12, 2023 – 7:30PM, Fellowship Hall
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30PM.
Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk Jim Janssen, Vice-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.
