Crane Lake Township

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Minutes 11/10

TOWN OF CRANE LAKE

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

November 10, 2025

 

The November 10th, 2025 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting was called to order by Chair Jim Janssen at 5:30PM at the Crane Lake Visitor Center with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those in attendance including: Supervisors Jim Janssen, Scott Sanborn and Jeanne Shuck; Treasurer Traci Bak; and Clerk Ashlyn Denning. Also present were Deputy-Treasurer Gretchen Janssen; Deputy-Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman; and Visitor Center and Campground Manager Serena Swenson.

BUSINESS

Additions to the Agenda: There were none.

Minutes: A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jeanne, to approve the minutes of the 10/14/2025 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: The October Cash Balances were read, and the bills were presented as follows: Township: Costin Group, Inc. – $1,250.00; Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc. – $20,630.85; Braun Intertec Corp. – $2,849.25; KGM Contractors, Inc. – $523,535.03; Crane Lake Visitor and Tourism Bureau – $6,326.97; St. Louis County Public Works – $161.25; AT&T – $70.42. Visitor Center: Town of Crane Lake – $201.76; CLWSD – $1,654.64; Handbergs Marine – $87.86; BS Works LLC – $2,500.00; AT&T – $70.42; VISA – $549.40 ($120.79 Twp); Payroll: $1,334.19 (Twp) & $3,069.22 (VC). A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Scott, 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:
    • The DNR has denied our request to spend the remaining grant dollars on “starting” the Campground shower house. They will not fund a partial project.
      • They have informally agreed to spend the remaining grant dollars on completing the Visitor Center per original plan. Unless the board has different ideas, we are pursuing the purchase of a backup generator and two EV charging stations. These items were planned for, so conduit is already run under the parking lot and a concrete pad already exists for the backup generator.
      • Gary approached the IRRR and has approval for Crane Lake to spend remaining IRRR grant dollars on beginning the shower house. We are in conversation with the IRRR to finalize the details on this process.
      • The Town has approximately $200K left with the DNR (from the 1.9M appropriation) and $344,000 left in IRRR funds.
      • Does the Board have any suggestions on these items/ideas?
    • Invoices to approve:
      • Visitor Center:
        • Max Gray Pay App 17: $49,878.29. This will be paid by the County using grant dollars. It contains the last two change orders and the retainage.
      • Bayside Drive PWA:
        • E.H 495916 $39,735.36
        • Braun B448088 $6363.00 Both paid by the Town, reimbursed by the DNR

Board Action: A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jeanne, to approve the Max Gray, S.E.H. and Braun invoices totaling $95,976.65. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Scott, to approve and sign Max Gray Pay App 17 for $49,878.29. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

  • Campground Manager Report and Resulting Board Action: Serena Swenson provided the following Report:
    • Campground and Visitor Center are both buttoned up for the season
  • 95% of the punch list is complete.
  • Need the front door fixed. Scheduled for some time the week of 11/10 or 11/17
  • They came and fixed the lights outside in the parking lot. They don’t dim much. Working on how to make that better.
  • Gate up to the campground will be fixed in the spring
  • Should I get a lock for the campground gate?
  • Sport Shows
    • Cost of Banner, koozies etc
  • Vistaprint- 2.5×8 ft banner
    • $96
    • Can use it for sport shows and then hang it on the gate up to the campground. I’d like to order it whether I do the show or not. Seems like a cheap easy way to make it more visable
    • 500 koozies- $365
    • 250 koozies- $267
    • Need to ask if I can use the VNP sign
  • Northwest Sport Show
  • $1,195
  • March 5-8
  • Paul RV Super Show
  • No one is getting back to me on this one so I don’t know what it costs
  • January 15-18
  • Bookmobile
    • They want to park in our parking lot instead of down near Voyagaire.
  • Marketing
    • Website is updated and looks way better
    • Ben and I have a meeting on 11/11 to wrap up the initial setup and finalize a plan for the winter/spring
  • Events and the VC for next summer
  • Compiling a list of potential speakers. Will reach out after the holidays
  • Please let me know if you have any ideas.
  • Educational/historical/workshops/poetry/move nights…..
  • Still need to talk with the park about what is acceptable to use the room for

DNR Public Water Access: The DNR requested that rocks be placed along the road between Bayside Drive and the retention pond.  This was not included in the quote and will need to be at DNR expense.

Dark Sky Crane Lake:  There has been no activity for some time; this item will be removed from the Agenda.

Community Action Plan: There was no report.

Gold Coast Road Potholes:  The potholes have been fixed; this item will be removed from the Agenda.

Premier Pyrotechnics: Credited amount is $8,082.49 – an additional $2,500 would get us a show like previous years. A motion was made by Jeanne, supported by Scott, to spend $8,000 on fireworks for 2026. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

CLWSD Manager Posting: The Clerk will post and publish the board appointments for the CLSWD.

Drop Box for CLWSD Payments: Jo Ann has been asked to mount a drop box at the VC for CLSWD payments by the community.  The Board agreed that a drop box could be mounted on the building and Jim offered to install the drop box.

Crane Lake PO Box Fee: A motion was made by Jim, supported by Jeanne, to change the Town address to the Visitor Center address and get rid of the PO Box. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Meeting Schedule 2026: The Clerk presented a draft of meeting dates for 2026. Changes were made that will be finalized for the December meeting.

Other New Business: A motion was made by Scott, supported by Jim, to change the December meeting from December 9th to December 11th – at 5:30PM.  A voted in favor and the motion carried

Comments from Officers: There were none.

Public Comment: There was none.

Next Meeting:

  • The next Board of Supervisors’ Meeting will be December 11, 2025 at 5:30pm at the Visitor Center.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:14pm.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                       

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.