March 10, 2026 Annual Meeting Minutes
TOWN OF CRANE LAKE
ANNUAL MEETING
March 10, 2026
The March 10, 2026, Annual Meeting was called to order by Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman at 5:30PM, at the Crane Lake Visitor Center with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman and 8 members of the community.
Clerk Jo Ann explained the purpose of the Annual Meeting and asked for nominations for a Moderator. Jeanne Shuck nominated Jeff Sanborn, with a second by Cathy Truebenbach. The Clerk asked for other nominations three times. There being no other nominations, the nominations were closed. All voted in favor of Jeff Sanborn being nominated as Moderator.
Moderator Jeff stated the order of business by reading the agenda.
Additions to the Agenda: There were none.
OLD BUSINESS
Minutes Approval – All attendees of the Annual Meeting received copies of the minutes for approval. Jeff asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes. There were none. A motion was made by Jeanne Shuck, supported by Scott Sanborn, to approve the 3/11/25 Annual Meeting Minutes and the 2/10/26 Board of Audit Meeting Minutes. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report – Clerk Jo Ann read the following Treasurer’s Report for fiscal year 2025:
Opening Balance $ 270,308.82
Receipts + 1,787,205.60
Disbursements -1,173,165.40
Ending Balance $ 884,349.02
A motion was made by Jeanne Shuck, supported by Scott Sanborn, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as read. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Moderator Jeff asked if there was any other Old Business from the floor. There was none.
NEW BUSINESS
2026 & 2027 Election Day Times & Location – A motion was made by Serena Swenson, supported by Butch Eggen, that the polls would be open from 10AM – 8PM for all elections in 2026 and 2027 and will be held at the Visitor Center. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
2027 Annual Meeting Date, Time, & Location – A motion was made by Jeanne Shuck, supported by Scott Sanborn, to set the 2027 Annual Meeting date and time for March 9, 2027, at 5:30PM at the Visitor Center. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Annual Summary Reports –- A handout of full reports was provided at the meeting, which is included here.
Visitor Center & Campground/DNR Public Water Access– Gretchen Janssen
VC/Campground/Bayside Drive Grants
Over the past year, grant dollars were spent on finalizing the Visitor Center and Campground, getting them ready for opening. Attempts were made at hiring a contractor to build a showerhouse/restroom facility in the Campground, but only one company bid that job and the bid was unaffordable. The IRRR has agreed to combine the Town’s remaining grant dollars from the Bayside Drive Road expansion project with the remaining grant dollars from the Visitor Center project to fund another attempt at building “phase 1” (or the foundation of) the showerhouse planned for in the Campground -thank you IRRR! Also in 2026, remaining DNR appropriation grant dollars are being spent on a backup generator for the Visitor Center and two electric vehicle charging stations. Our hope is that we can also build a few tent sites in the campground with this grant which is set to expire in June.
The DNR worked with the Township to build a beautiful public waterway access area at the end of Bayside Drive this past fall, including a paved parking lot and new dock. The Town is discussing adding additional docks to the Town-owned property there to rent to campground guests in the future.
VC/CG Operations – Serena Swenson
The first summer of operation for the Visitor Center and Campground went really well with almost 9,000 visitors! We had lots of good feedback from everyone staying in the campground. The camp hosts that were here last summer will be coming back and bringing a few friends along to volunteer at the front desk. Visitor Center hours will the same as last year. Memorial Day through September. 9am-5pm, 7 days a week. Campground is set to open walleye opener, weather depending. Reservations for the campground are coming in very nicely, well ahead of the reservations at this time last year.
Crane Lake Annual Meeting Minutes 3/10/26
Crane Lake Water & Sanitary District – Rob Scott
The following 2026 Annual Report is submitted to provide an update on the past and current activities within the CLWSD. The annual revenues were $407,700 (operating, special assessment, and tax levy funds) and total expenses were $353,400 (operating and administrative). The district conducted a complete review of expenses and user fees. This is the first complete review since 2015. There was a determination that the base fees would be increased by 4% to $90/per month/per EDU.
The treatment plant processed over 1.8 million gallons of sewage with no treatment issues. The plant upgrade project has been completed and all changes to the plant are operational. The plant has been operating for over 20 years. With potential service life issues on related equipment, there is an ongoing plant improvement project. This involves engineering review and support. The goal is to modernize the treatment components to be more reliable and effective in treating the influent including being less labor intensive with remote monitoring.
We installed three ISTS’s and continue monitoring all ISTS’s through our decentralized management program. This year we anticipate installing five new ISTS’s. We currently have 61 systems operational. The District balance is around $142,000 in Legacy grant funds, with $300,000 additional funds being received in July. It looks like the VNP Clean Water project will be receiving 6.2 million in additional Legacy funds for 2027 and 2028. I am advocating that the CLWSD receive an additional $600,000.
Crane Lake Visitor & Tourism Bureau – John Sanborn
Crane Lake Visitor and Tourism Bureau had another great year in 2025. We really stepped up our digital marketing in 2025 and are going to continue to increase that for 2026. There is now a full-time social media manager taking care of posting and social media adds. Our main billboard on Hwy 53 has been secured in a 5-year lease and we are making some very nice upgrades to it. We have a great team and are excited for what the 2026 summer season has to bring. If anyone has any new ideas or opportunities to promote the area please let us know.
Snowmobile Club – Mike Cherrywell
Hi all not much to report from the crane lake snow club. We have merged the grooming side of club to the vtsi and now are basically a social club the straight line speed association was here last Saturday and was a success. Our second club ride was also a success. We did honor Dave Iverson that day also.
Crane Lake Volunteer Fire Department – Jeff Sanborn
In reviewing 2025, it came in with what we would classify as lower than normal call volume.
Total calls for 2025 were 14. Here is the breakdown of the calls for assistance:
Fire: 3 calls – 1 mutual aid to Orr for a structure fire, 1 mutual aid to Buyck for a wildland fire, and 1 call for report of smoke in the area.
Medical: 8 total calls ranging from snowmobile accidents to campers cutting themselves with axes.
Water Emergencies: 2 calls – one for swamped boat and one for a separated canoe party.
Lost person: 1 call to assist Saint Louis County Sheriff and Saint Louis County rescue Squad with a lost person.
We continue to train both Fire fighters and our Emergency Medical Responders.
2025 has been a planning year for projects to happen in 2026 and beyond.
We are continuously looking for new volunteers to join us in serving our community and its visitors.
Crane Lake Chapel – Steve Bergerson
This has been another year of growth and excitement at the chapel. More and more of our friends and neighbors from Crane Lake and Buyck are attending services and getting involved in ministry at the Chapel. We’ve had many outstanding guest speakers, a baptism service in the lake, VBS for area kids, a great bazaar, as well as a record breaking National Night Out to benefit the Buyck and Crane Lake fire departments. God has enabled us to send over $22,000 to missionary projects in our community, our region, and throughout the world. During the Winter, we had monthly meals for all in the community to come and enjoy. We are currently working on a kitchen renovation. As one of the only public buildings with a kitchen, we wanted to bring it up-to-date for those who use it. We are planning a celebration breakfast for the community on Sunday, May 31st at 9am. Service that day will be at 10am for those who wish to stay. The Crane Lake Chapel is unlike any other church you have ever attended. It is a place with real people who are developing a relationship with Jesus. We take our motto, “Come As You Are” seriously. We want all to feel welcome to stop in and experience the love of Jesus
Review Proposed Revenue & Expenditures – Copies of the 2027 budget were distributed to everyone in attendance prior to the meeting. Clerk and Budget Committee member Jo Ann reviewed the proposed revenues of $265,300.00 and the proposed Township disbursements of $220,800.00 plus Fire Protection for $60,000.00. The Project Fund balances were also presented. Jo Ann asked if there were any questions. There were none.
There was no further New Business from the floor.
Set Levy for 2026 (Payable in 2027) – A motion was made by Jeanne Shuck, supported by Lori Sanborn, to approve the Township portion of the levy request as follows: General Fund – $40,000, Community Property Project Fund – $5,800, Bond for Community Property Project Fund – $9,200 and Road & Bridge Fund – $2,000 for a total of $57,000. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Butch Eggen, supported by Serena Swenson, to approve the Fire Department portion of the 2027 levy request of $60,000.00. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Total levy request is $117,000.00.
Crane Lake Annual Meeting Minutes 3/10/26
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00pm.
Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk Jeff Sanborn, Moderator
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.
