CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

Crane Lake Visitor Center

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 – 1:00 PM

The meeting was called to order at 1:00PM

Members present: Bonnie Caughey, Deena Congdon, and Rob Scott. Also present: Maintenance Worker Jeff Truebenbach, and Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman.

Members absent:  Mark Anderson and Darrell Scott.

Minutes: A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to approve the minutes of the 11/5/25 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 R. Scott, 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 October 2025 Financial Statements to the Board.  November 2025 payroll:  Admin – $2,342.00 & Operating – $9,680.25.  Payroll Taxes:  PERA – $2,268.82, Fed Dep. – $3,998.34, & MN Dep. – $689.00.  $2,494.07 was transferred from Capital Reserve Savings to Checking for New Equipment (Grinder Tarps)  $6,497.89 was transferred from Debt Service Savings to Checking for the MPCA-CWP Loan payment. The Oct 2025 Tax Apportionment was received:  Admin (Levy & Other Gov.) – $30,446.90, and 2025 Year End Advance – $2,473.31.  Special Assessment – $7,123.83.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and to approve the bills as follows:  Admin – $3,877.50, Legacy VI – $15,394.73, and Operating – $24,314.20.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Funding Balances:  The balances were presented to the Board.

Administration

• Board Requirement (Options): There was no action.
• Levy review:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by R. Scott, to leave the proposed 2025, payable 2026 levy at $83,400.00 as submitted to St. Louis County in September.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Board Appointments for 2026:  Applications need to be submitted to Crane Lake Township prior to their December 11^th meeting.
• Surveys Review:  The Board discussed the annual surveys provided by customers.  J. Truebenbach will call customers that submitted surveys that need clarification.
• Service Agreements:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by R. Scott, to approve signature of the agreements for Costin Group, Orton Construction, Rutchasky Enterprises, and Rob Scott, Jr. as presented – with the option to make corrections as needed.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by D. Congdon, to approve signature of the S.E.H. Agreement for general engineering for a total amount of $15,000 upon correction of the payment wording.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  The DNR Special Use Permit for water use at the Bayside Drive Public Water Access is being changed to a lease and will be reviewed for signature and approval at the January meeting.
• Meeting Dates 2026:  The Board reviewed the meeting dates presented by the Clerk with no changes made.  The Meeting Dates will be posted.
• Post Office Boxes:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by R. Scott, to approve payment to the US Post Office for the two CLWSD mailboxes amounting to $158.00 each yearly.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Infuser Rates:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, that the rate for customers that infuse water into the centralized system to prevent freezing remains the same at $75 per EDU per month.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Joint Powers Board

• State and Federal Grant Funding:  The JPB continues to secure future funding for the area.  The JPB has been requested to find funding for the CLWSD’s aging sand filters at the waste water treatment plant.

S.E.H. Engineering Update 

• District Update:  There was no update needed.
• Sand Filters:  There was no report.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – December 3, 2025

O & M. Update (Decentralized)

• Jeff Truebenbach Report: The heat tape has been installed at Schwanke’s.   The Driggs (Ouverson) ISTS is all wired.  Westons are fine with a holding tank. Canister – The missing parts for the canister roof just showed up.  Side-by-Side – EJ Dawson of Five Season’s said the side-by-side should be here mid-December. They’ll have to install the plow once it shows up.  The Ranger will be offered for trade-in as part of the new side-by-side purchase.  A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by D. Congdon, for Jeff and Rutchasky Enterprises to work together to enclose the ends of the new canister building with a target cost of $10,000 with a $20,000 cap.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Management Program Update:  The November 2025 Expansion Report was presented to the Board.
• Yearly O&M Review:  Jim Orton reported that three operating permits on the 2025 list that were not completed will be added to the 2026 list.

O & M Update (Centralized)

• Jeff Truebenbach Report:  Heat Tapes – All heat tapes have been turned on. Blankets have all been put out. Infusers are all turned on and have been checked.  Sludge – All of the sludge has been hauled.
• Operations Report:  Rob Scott, Jr. provided the following report:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of October.  The plant is operating well. The influent volume is running at normal autumn levels.  The new steel roof is up. The one container box now has a man door installed and has been spray foamed and wiring is installed. The insulated blankets are installed on all the grinder pumps. I ordered several new insulated blankets to get more areas covered. Water infusions are also turned on. I also had a diesel mechanic come up and do some preventative maintenance and install new batteries on the back up generator at the plant. Plus I added some diesel fuel to the fuel tank.
• Maintenance Vehicle:  See Jeff’s report above.

• Pumper Truck:  There was no new report.
• Biosolids:  The District needs to look into disposal options as Grand Rapids Public Utilities will no longer accept disposal from treatment plants.

Public Comments: There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00PM

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk/Treasurer

NEXT MEETING:   Board of Manager’s Meeting – January 7, 2026 – 1:00PM, Visitor Center

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.