CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 – 10:00 A.M.

Members present: Bonnie Caughey, Deena Congdon, and Rob Scott

Members absent:  Mark Anderson and Darrell Scott

Also present: Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman

The meeting was called to order by Rob Scott at 10:10A.M.

Minutes: A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by B. Caughey, to approve the minutes of the 1/5/22 Regular Meeting with the following correction reflected under Administration, Professional Services Agreements, Orton Agreement:  After D. Congdon stated that the County and the State are OK with the same firm providing design and inspection services and the District could consider separating design and inspection when they wished to; B. Caughey added:  “The County and State are only checking that the contractor is certified and the jobs have been performed adequately.  They are not commenting on or validating the business practice of using a single contractor for both septic inspection and design.”    All voted in favor of the 1/5/22 minutes with the correction and the motion carried.

Correspondence:  The correspondence list was reviewed by the Board.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, 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 December 2021 Financial Statements, which were Previous Year Comparisons and were reviewed with Jennifer of Glorvigen, to the Board.  January 2022 payroll: Admin – $2,981.00, Operating – $5,128.00.  Payroll Taxes: PERA – $900.90, Federal Deposit – $1,452.78.  The 2021 Year-End Tax Apportionment was received:  Levy – $519.89 (in addition to advance of $778.06 received 12/3/21), S.A. Revenue – $945.18.     A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by R. Scott, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as presented and the payment of bills as follows:  Admin Fund – $1,479.45; and Operating Fund – $17,357.32.   All voted in favor and the motion carried. 

Funding Balances:  A Report of current grant funding balances was presented to the Board.       

Administration

• ISTS Construction and Managed System Agreement (Outside CLWSD Boundaries): The Board discussed the changes that Mia Thibodeau of Fryberger made to the document.  A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by B. Caughey, to approve the changes adding that all ISTS installation requests presented to the District Board, by properties outside of the District boundaries, would be reviewed with approval provided by the Board; and reiterating that an additional administration fee would be included with the monthly bill.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.    
• MPCA-CWP Loan Review:  The loan will be reviewed by R. Scott & J. Pohlman with the MPCA next week. 

Joint Powers Board

• VNP Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Plan is in its final form and is out for review.  R. Scott did not attend the last meeting.
• Grant Funding: The District will be receiving $200,000 in Legacy Grant funds in 2022 and $400,000 in 2023. Gary Cerkvenik and Jeff Anderson of the Costin Group along with Mike Larson of S.E.H. are working on a DEED grant application for continuation of the CLWSD plant updates.  Application forms are being completed for $200,000 in COVID funds to be used as a match for the DEED grant.  The District is reviewing the Legacy IV grant fund budget.

S.E.H. Engineering  

1. District Update:  Jason Chopp provided the following report:     WWTP Project  Flow Equalization System project Update;  1)  Design review meeting with SEH and Rob Scott Jr. occurred in January.  2)  S.E.H. will provided final bidding documents to the board by the end of February for review.  SEH will attend the March 2^nd Board Meeting to review the project and request approval to advertise for bids.  VNP Visitors Center and Campground;  1) SEH is still waiting on feedback from CLWSD on the proposed design for the campground sewers? This was a question SEH submitted to the board last month. The Board is in support of what was presented by S.E.H. and will review all at the March 2^nd meeting.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – February 2, 2022

O & M. (Decentralized)

• Management Program Update:  A report was presented to the Board.  D. Congdon advised the Board that the invoice received from J & R Wastewater, Inc. for jetting frozen sewer lines should be paid by the customers that required the service.  She also suggested that a note be included with the next billing advising customers of the possibility of freezing lines. 
• B. Caughey has been working on rate requirements and will be emailing her assumptions to the Board members for their feedback.    

O & M Update (Centralized)

• Operations Report:  Rob Scott Jr. provided the following report:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for last month. The influent flows to the plant have increased which is evident from all the snowmobiler traffic in the area.  I have had a couple of meetings with SEH this last month regarding the upcoming plant construction project this year. Everything is looking good and on track for the board to review the construction plans soon. It sounds like SEH will be sending Jo Ann the drawings and specifications on February 18 to distribute to the board members. Then for the board meeting in March, a representative from SEH will be at the meeting to go over any final questions or concerns that need to be addressed, so the board can approve the construction documents to be released out for bid.

• Mark Anderson Report:  M. Anderson was not present to report.
• Winterization:  The maintenance staff has checked the infusers.
• Water Temps:  The water temperatures are around the 42-degree mark. 
• Norway Lodge Expansion:  David Tufte is applying to St. Louis County for a Conditional Use Permit to develop an RV campground on the hill behind Norway Lodge and next to the cell tower, and has asked for a letter of support of the project from the District.  The District is in support of the project and is requesting that Mr. Tufte provide more detailed engineering information from his engineer; the Board could then have that information reviewed by the District engineering firm, S.E.H., prior to proving a letter of support to the County. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS (5 Minute Limit):  There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:10AM

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk

 NEXT MEETING:   Board of Manager’s Meeting – March 2, 2022, 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.