CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

January 3, 2007 – 7:30 P.M.

CRANE LAKE CHAPEL FELLOWSHIP HALL

 

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rob Scott at 7:30P.M.

 

Members present:  Managers Dave Adams, Bill Congdon, Rob Scott and Mike White. 

Members absent:  Darrell Scott

Also present: Jim Pohlman of NTS, Laurie Brown of the University of Minnesota Extension Service, Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman, representatives from the Cook News-Herald, Timberjay and Voyageur Sentinel, and 1 member of the community.  John Jamnick of RLK-Kuusisto arrived at 7:33PM.

 

BUSINESS:

 

Opening Comments:  Chairman R. Scott welcomed Mike White back to the Board and thanked Harvey Parvi for his service and contribution to the Board, and wished him and his family well.

 

Election of Officers:  Chairman Rob Scott asked for nominations for Chairman and Vice Chairman.  Manager B. Congdon recommended that the current Chairman, Rob Scott and Vice Chair, Darrell Scott remain in office.  All Board members voted in favor and the nominations were approved.  R. Scott asked the Board if they wished to change the appointment of Jo Ann Pohlman from Clerk/Treasurer to a Board member.  They did not; J. Pohlman will remain as Clerk/Treasurer.

 

A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by B. Congdon, to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 6, 2006. The motion carried.

 

The correspondence was presented to the Board.  A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, that the correspondence be placed on file and acted upon as required.  The motion carried. 

 

Clerk/Treasurer J. Pohlman presented the Preliminary Financial Statements for November 2006 explaining that they had not been reviewed by the Glorvigen Accounting Firm, as the District Accountant Jennifer Hanson was ill and was not available to review the reports.  Glorvigen has completed the 2005 audit with plans to make the resulting adjustments to the District’s books when Jennifer returns to the office.  The following items were pointed out on the Preliminary November Financial Statements: P & L - $1,152.00, incorrectly included in the Insurance Claim Fund, was moved to the G.C. Operating Fund. Invoices on Hand were presented for payment as follows with the suggestion that the items related to Notary services be decided upon before approval: Administrative: Glorvigen - $100.00; Midwest Captions - $100.00; Lutefisk Technologies - $240.00; Crane Lake Chapel - $135.00; V.T.S.I. - $2,371.40; MN Rural Water Assoc. - $200.00; Jo Ann Pohlman - $21.22; Secretary of State - $40.00; St. Louis County - $100.00; and CNH - $27.60.  Plant Operations:  Lake Country Power - $36.10 & $700.65; NTS - $3,837.75; A-1 Services - $2,025.00; DVS Renewal - $18.50; and V.T.S.I. - $550.26.  Gold Coast Project:  Cope & Peterson - $110.00.   A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by B. Congdon, to approve payment of invoices on hand with the exception of Wagner Construction’s final payment (approved at the October meeting) and those items related to Notary service, if not approved later on in the Agenda. The motion carried.

 

2007/08 Budget/Rate Review

·         Chairman R. Scott reviewed the steps the Board would follow during their review of the budget and rate review.

·         R. Scott stated that the anticipated expense related to the District consultants was being included in the 07/08 Budget/Rate Review.

·         Government Consultant, Grant Fund, Clean Air Act, RD Loan Relief:  Progress in these areas was slowed due to the Holidays.  B. Congdon stated that Gary Cerkvenik had requested clarification of his consulting services to the District.  A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by M. White, to send correspondence to Mr. Cerkvenik clarifying his focus as securing grant money for District funding of future projects. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Administration

·         Board Designates:

o        Motion by B. Congdon, supported by M. White, that the Costin Group remains as the government consulting firm to the District.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

o        Motion by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, that the Environmental Financial Group remains as the financial consulting firm to the District at the rate of $150 per hour.  B. Congdon, D. Adams, and R. Scott voted in favor and M. White abstained.  The motion carried.

o        Motion by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, that RLK-Kuusisto remains as consulting engineering firm to the District.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – January 3, 2007

 

Administration (Cont.)

·         Board Designates (Cont.):

o        Motion by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, that Cope & Peterson Law Firm remains as council as needed for the District.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

o        Motion by D. Adams, supported by B. Congdon, that Fryberger, Buchanan Law Firm remains as primary council for the District.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

o        Motion by B. Congdon, supported by M. White, that Glorvigen Theis remains as the accounting firm for the District.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

o        A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, to increase the rent payment to the Crane Lake Chapel from $15 to $20 per meeting.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

o        A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, that American Bank and Border State Bank remain as financial institutions for the District.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

o        Bids were received from area newspapers as follows:  CNH - $1.50 per column inch; Timberjay - $3.64 per column inch; Voyageur Sentinel - $3.00 per column inch.  A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams that CNH remains as legal publisher for the District.  The motion carried.

o        A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by M. White, that NTS remains as the wastewater plant and system managing firm for the District, with the contract to be reviewed later in the year.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

·         Bank Signature Approval:  A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by B. Congdon, to approve Michael J. White as a check signer for the District at both the American Bank and the Border State Bank.  The motion carried.

·         Notary Renewal:  A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, to approve Notary renewal for J. Pohlman.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

·         Insurance Changes:  A letter was received from the League of MN Cities Insurance Trust with rates, dividends, and coverage changes suggesting that the Board may need to take action on some items.  All information was forwarded to Acordia Insurance for their opinion.  They responded that no action was required of the Board.

·         I.S.T.S. Grant:  The MPCA has approved extension of the grant until June 2007.  Paper work is being processed by the District and the MPCA prior to any requests being considered.

·         Emergency Response Plan:  RLK & NTS are reviewing the ERP to include the recent updates to the plant.

·         Capital Asset Plan:  The Glorvigen accounting firm is currently reviewing the plan and will submit with the completed 2005 audit.  Scott Harder’s recommendations will be considered also.

 

Ordinance Changes

·         EDU Equivalency Values:  The current ordinance assigns 1 EDU to a residential property; regardless of the number of structures producing wastewater on a property. Commercial users have many breakdowns to determine equivalent EDU’s.  RLK provided a recommendation to the Board related to EDU assignments for all properties.  The Board should review the provided recommendation and submit any comments to RLK prior to the final recommendation, which RLK will present at the next meeting.

·         Grinder Pump Capacity:  Each property will need to be evaluated as to use of grinder pump capacity.

·         Initial vs. Modification Hook-up Definition:  The Board needs to define modification vs. new hook-up using grinder pump capacity and EDU equivalency values for future changes/additions to properties.

·         Service Connection Procedures:  These procedures can be established when the above items have been determined. 

 

Eastern Service Area

  • U of M Extension Service Report:  Laurie Brown was present and reviewed the Advisory Committee’s report and provided her report as follow-up steps for the Board, should they accept the Committee’s recommendations.
  • J. Jamnick’s report referred to the RLK Preliminary Engineering Report, which reviewed the holding tank option and extension of the wastewater collection pipe option more extensively than ISTS’s.
  • A motion was made by B. Congdon, supported by D. Adams, approving RLK to proceed as consulting engineer to amend the Preliminary Engineering Report to include a mix of options including the recommendations of the Advisory Committee.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
  • D. Adams and B. Congdon were appointed to work with the Advisory Committee.
  • All ESA reports will be considered by the Board to provide decisions to the Advisory Committee necessary to move forward with their work in the spring.

 

RLK/NTS – Treatment Plant Update and Corrective Actions

  • One heater still needs minor correction as well as the hot water heater.  Correction needs to be made by the installer, Nelson-Collie, to retain warranty coverage.  Work in this area continues.
  • Insurance:  RLK is working with Allied Adjusters to close out the insurance claim.  A final payment is needed.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – January 3, 2007

 

RLK-Project Close-out

  • Punch List & Related Items: RLK reviewed the punch list history.  There were 5 punch list items to be resolved as a result of the 5/24/06 warranty inspection; i.e. 2 property pin issues, 2 turf establishment issues and the locate wire issue on the Borderland property. All issues were addressed by Wagner and RLK. The property pin issues and turf establishment will be resolved by RLK. The locate wire issue has been resolved.  Additional issues surfaced after the recommendation for final payment made on 6/19/06.  Elevated pump readings and concern of freezing pipes will be monitored.  The Siegley driveway issue was determined to not be a Wagner issue.  The DeFries grinder station issue, identified as a cracked tank, is unclear as to the responsible party.  The exterior of the tank will need to be exposed and the tank will be repaired or a new one installed.  Mr. Jamnick will communicate current information to Mr. DeFries.
  • A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by B. Congdon, that RLK continue to evaluate and monitor the elevated pump readings issue.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
  • A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by B. Congdon, to release retainage payment to Wagner Construction.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
  • Easements:  The Adams easement issue has been resolved.  Field work needs to be done on the Hoff property before the easement is recorded.

 

RLK – Ongoing System Modifications

  • Voyageur Lakes Development/Lake Shore Estates:  RLK wrote a final letter to Voyageur Lakes Development regarding the status of Lake Shore Estates, noting that connection to the Crane Lake sewer system will not be allowed until items in RLK’s letter of 8/3/06 are addressed and approved by the Board.

 

NTS Status Report

  • Jim Pohlman reported that all discharge standards were met for the month with the exception of TSS % removal; which was corrected.
  • MPCA – Compliance Monitoring Survey Report (O & M Manual):  The NTS staff will review the O&M Manual and provide comment to RLK to include the treatment plant upgrades. 
  • A cost proposal for service to calibrate the main lift station influent flow recorder had been requested of Quality Flow. The proposal received included the purchase of software and equipment.  A proposal for providing calibration services only without software and equipment purchase has been requested.
  • An ABC fire extinguisher and a Type II safety gasoline container for refuel of hot engines were installed as recommended by the League of MN Cities Insurance Trust.  A letter was sent to the League advising them of the District’s compliance to their request.
  • A preventive maintenance schedule for 2007 was presented to the Board.

 

EFG – Report

  • Stahnke/Eggen Service Connection & Special Assessment Adjustment:  It has been determined that with the parcel code changes made by St. Louis County, that there are now two Special Assessments on the Stahnke property, one pre-paid and the other applied to property taxes; there should only be one.  B. Congdon will clarify all issues with Ms. Stahnke regarding abandonment of the remaining septic system; hook-up of the apartment to the existing grinder station and refunding of special assessment payments made on property taxes for the now determined incorrect special assessment. Letters will be written to St. Louis County to remove the 2nd special assessment on that property and to Ms. Stahnke explaining Board action.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT (5 Minute Limit) – There were none.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40PM

 

 

J. Pohlman, Clerk

 

NEXT MEETING:  REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2007, 7:30PM, CRANE LAKE CHAPEL FELLOWSHIP HALL

 

 

This draft of the CLWSD minutes has been posted solely for preliminary informational purposes.  Minutes are unofficial and subject to change until they have been approved by the CLWSD Board of Managers.