CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, July 10, 2024 – 1:00 P.M.

Members present: Deena Congdon, and Rob Scott.  Also present: Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman. Member Bonnie Caughey arrived at 1:10PM.

Members absent:  Mark Anderson and Darrell Scott.

The meeting was called to order at 1:00PM.

Opening Comments:  Chairman Rob Scott stated that the meeting would be administrative only until a quorum was present.

Treasurer’s Report:  Clerk/Treasurer J. Pohlman presented the May 2024 Financial Statements to the Board.  May & June payroll:  Admin – $4,094.50 & Operating – $14,874.50.  Payroll Taxes:  PERA – $2,583.91, Fed Dep. – $4,563.98, & MN – $645.00.  May 2024 Tax Apportionment was received:  Levy – $44,258.10, Taconite – $520.73, SLC Other – $42.37, Special Assessment Revenue – $12,3247.96.   $12,347.96 S.A.R. Checking was transferred to Capital Reserve Savings. $24,933.54 S.A.R. Savings was transferred to Capital Reserve Savings – Closing out S.A.R. Savings. Bonnie Caughey arrived during the Treasurer’s Report, providing a quorum for the meeting.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and to approve the June bills as follows:  Admin – $10,205.50; Legacy V/ARPA Fund – $1,686.21; & Operating – $10,474.47.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by R. Scott, to approve the July bills as follows:  Admin – $1,703.76; Legacy V/ARPA Fund – $11,848.60; & Operating – $9,608.66.   All voted in favor and the motion carried. 

Minutes: A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by R. Scott, to approve the minutes of the 5/1/24 Regular Meeting.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  There was no June meeting.

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.

Funding Balances:  The balances were reviewed with the Board. The MPCA-CWP Loan was unchanged.

Levy Considerations (Admin/Operations): No action.

Liability Waiver:  A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by D. Congdon, that “the member Does Not Waive the monetary limits on municipal tort liability established by Minn. Stat. 466.04.”  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Insurance Deductible:  The Board considered raising the Liability Insurance Deductible and will continue their discussion.  The item was tabled. 

Bank Check Signers:  A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by B. Caughey, to approve Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman as a signer on the District’s bank accounts, for administrative purposes.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Administration

• Rate Study:  The Board will review near the end of the year. 
• Private Property Road Agreement:  It was determined that the easement for the WWTP road, which was part of the Cowden property purchase, included responsibility for road maintenance.  The District’s attorney will be asked for their opinion on pursuing with the new property owners.

Joint Powers Board

• JPB Update:  R. Scott did not attend the meeting.  The JPB is working on future funding for the 2025 legislative session.  The District has requested $800,000 to continue with ISTS installations.  The soonest any funding would be received would be July 2025.  R. Scott will continue to look for funding elsewhere.

S.E.H. Engineering Update 

• District Update:  There was no update needed.  The Township Visitor Center/Campground should be operational by the end of July.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – July 10, 2024

O & M. (Decentralized)

• Management Program Update:  A report of current ISTS activity was presented to the Board. Spring/Summer work is in progress.
• Yearly O&M Review:  B. Caughey advised the Board of the urgency to begin ISTS pumping and inspections. 

O & M Update (Centralized)

• Operations Report:  Rob Scott Jr. provided the following reports:  June:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of April.  The plant is operating well.  There is a noticeable increase in the influent volume as the summer traffic is starting to increase in the area. There is a noticeable benefit to having the additional flow and equalization tanks in the treatment of the wastewater since they were installed last year.   July:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of May.  The plant is operating well. The sludge truck will still be pumping out the Voyagaire holding tank to remove the sludge as a preventive measure to ensure good flow into the collection system. This should only occur once or twice a month to remove the sludge. This will then be hauled to International Falls rather than Grand Rapids for disposal.

• Maintenance Facility: There was no action.
• Maintenance Vehicle:  There was no action.
• Debora Scott variance letter:  A motion was made by B. Caughey to reduce the billing rate on Debora Scott’s grinder near her garage to ½ or $43 per month.  The motion died due to a lack of support.  Conversation will continue.

Public Comments: There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:50PM

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk

NEXT MEETING:   Board of Manager’s Meeting – August 7, 2024 – 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.