CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, October 4, 2023– 1:00 P.M.

Members present: Mark Anderson, Bonnie Caughey, and Deena Congdon.  Also present: Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman and one community member.

Members absent:  Darrell Scott and Rob Scott.

The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chair Bonnie Caughey at 1:05PM.

Minutes: A motion was made by M. Anderson, supported by D. Congdon, to approve the minutes of the 9/6/23 Regular Meeting.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Correspondence:  The correspondence list was reviewed by the Board.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by M. Anderson, that the correspondence be placed on file and acted upon as required. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report:  Clerk/Treasurer J. Pohlman presented the August 2023 Financial Statements to the Board.  Aug. payroll:  Admin – $2,410.00 & Operating – $11,308.00.  Payroll Taxes: PERA – $1,848.08 and Federal Deposit – $3,473.08.  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and the payment of bills as follows: Admin Fund – $3,529.95; Legacy Fund – $25,220.82; and Operating Fund – $9,251.16. All voted in favor and the motion carried. 

Funding Balances:  The balances were reviewed with the Board.

Revenue Forecast Requirements:  The Board will begin reviewing the 10-year forecast, taking a hard look at the revenue and expense stream that is changing due to the Rural Development loan forgiveness.  This will create a baseline for rate modifications.

Cowden Variance:  The Board and Charlie Cowden discussed the Cowden participation in the plant road maintenance.  The Cowdens must use the plant road to access their property.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to create a Road Maintenance Agreement and add a lockbox or keys for the plant road gate for those needing access to the road.  The $50 per month fee for road use by the Cowdens will be waived until the Agreement is finalized.  Charlie will work on the Agreements and send to the Board.

Administration

• Ordinance & Procedure Review:  The District is reviewing their Ordinances and Procedures over the next few months.  
• MPFA Grant Agreement:  Peter Bradshaw of the MN Public Facilities Association (MPFA) plans to complete the Agreement for the grant to receive funds to pay off the Rural Development loans this week.
• Rachel Contracting Pay Request #6:  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to approve and sign Rachel Contracting’s Pay Request #6 amounting to $12,782.02.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Rachel Contracting Change Order:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to approve and sign Rachel Contracting Change Order No.2 decreasing the total project cost by $4,087.31.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Costin Group Agreement:  The Costin Group forwarded their Agreement for 2024 with no changes made from 2023.  A motion was made by M. Anderson, supported by D. Congdon, to approve and sign the Costin Group 2024 Agreement.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Joint Powers Board

• JPB Update:  The September JPB meeting was held at the Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall.  R. Scott attended, as well as, B. Caughey and J. Pohlman.    

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – October 4, 2023

S.E.H. Engineering Update  

District Updates:  Plant Upgrade:  Jason Chopp provided the following report:  Visitor’s Center and Campground

Ongoing construction and coordination for connection to existing utilities.  Grinder Station should be installed in October.

Crane Lake WWTF – Flow EQ Project update:  Last week the startup and training for the new flow equalization system was completed and the system is running.  Today (Oct 4) the MPCA Engineer, Wes Leksell from Duluth, is visiting the site and Cameron, SEH RPR, will be on site to walk around with Wes and answer questions.  Rachel contracting the general contractor and their subcontractors will be finishing punchlist items in the coming weeks and final closeout will be completed this month with one remaining final pay application to be submitted.  Change order 2 is the final change order and was submitted last week.  Record drawings have been prepared and an Operations & Maintenance supplement is being prepared for submittal to the MPCA.

  O & M. (Decentralized)

• Management Program Update:  A report of current ISTS activity was presented to the Board. 
• Rate Study:  B. Caughey continues to work on the project.
• District Yearly O&M Review:  B. Caughey has contacted all of the District’s ISTS customers.  Not all have returned her calls.  Bonnie estimated that there are about 10 systems that will need to be pumped in the Spring.  Other options for ISTS maintenance were discussed.
• SLC Yearly O&M Review:  The three properties that need review will be done in the spring by Jim Orton.

O & M Update (Centralized)

• Operations Report:  Rob Scott Jr. provided the following report:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of August.  The plant is operating well, and the influent volume is getting lower, which is normal for this time of year.  Rachel turned on the valves last week to divert the wastewater influent from the force main into the new settling and equalization tanks. So now all the wastewater influent will be flowing into the new system constructed this last summer.  Now the plant will be better able to treat the wastewater influent by removing the solid particulates earlier in the treatment process. The treatment will also be improved with the addition of screens located in the settling tank. These items greatly improve the overall treatment process and will allow for an increase in wastewater influent volume, such as from Voyagaire Houseboats and the new city campground.
• D. Tufte RV Site & Twp. RV Site:  There was nothing new to report.

• Maintenance Building:  There was nothing new to report.
• Collection System Bridge Repair: Rutchasky Enterprises will be reminded to complete the repair. 
• Job Descriptions:  D. Congdon provided an update on job descriptions for Board review. Input needs to be provided by those performing the jobs.

Public Comments: There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:15PM

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk

NEXT MEETING:   Board of Manager’s Meeting – November 1, 2023, 1:00PM, 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.