CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall

Saturday, September 7, 2024 – 11:00 AM

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

Members absent:  Darrell Scott and Rob Scott.

The meeting was called to order at 11:10AM.

Opening Comments:  There were none.

Minutes: A motion was made by M. Anderson, supported by D. Congdon, to approve the minutes of the 7/10/24 Regular Meeting.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  There was no August meeting.

Correspondence:  The correspondence list was reviewed by the Board.  A motion was made by M. Anderson, 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 June 2024 Financial Statements – which were reviewed with Jennifer of Glorvigen, and the July 2024 Financial Statements to the Board.  July & August payroll:  Admin – $4,290.00 & Operating – $14,878.00.  Payroll Taxes:  PERA – $2,782.10, Fed Dep. – $4,778.44, & MN – $659.00.  2^nd Quarter QuickBooks entries were reviewed with Jennifer of Glorvigen.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by M. Anderson, to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and to approve the August bills as follows:  Admin – $3,944.00; Legacy V/ARPA Fund – $5,988.00; & Operating – $19,849.82.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to approve the September bills as follows:  Admin – $1,791.50; Legacy V/ARPA Fund – $114,000.14; & Operating – $6,697.63.   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.

Administration

• Rate Study:  No action
• Private Property Road Agreement:  The Board requested that the Clerk communicate further with the attorney on the property owner’s road maintenance responsibility.
• Levy:  The District must provide an Admin. Levy for 2025 to St. Louis County by September 15^th.  A motion was made by B. Caughey to set the levy at $90,000.00.  The motion died for lack of support.  A motion was made by M. Anderson, supported by D. Congdon, to set the levy at $98,000.00.  M. Anderson & D. Congdon voted in favor, B. Caughey voted against and the motion carried.
• CWP-Loan Resolution:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to adopt Resolution #2024-01 to submit a proposal with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to conduct the following Project:  Sewer Management & Expansion and that Robert J. Scott, Chairman, is authorized to submit and sign the proposal and this resolution for the above-mentioned project and shall have the authority to represent this body in all matters that do not specifically require the action of this body.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Bank & Credit Card:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to approve Lance Ulen, Jeff Truebenbach, Craig Campbell, Scott Halldorson, and Rob Scott as signers for the District Credit Card.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to approve Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman as a signer for all District bank accounts (Checking and Savings).  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• County Road Plowing Agreement 2024/2025:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by M. Anderson, to approve signature of the agreement and payment of $855.00 to St. Louis County for the 2024/2025 winter plowing season.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Easement:  A Right-of-Way Easement was received from Lake Country Power for approval for erecting, operating, maintaining, repairing, rebuilding and burying overhead and underground electric distribution lines and related facilities crossing District land to the private property owners beyond the WWTP.  The Board did not approve the Easement due to the location of the lines and will request that Lake Country Power relocate the lines.  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by B. Caughey, to approve the Right-of-Way Easement upon line relocation and Board review.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Berling Variance Application:  A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by M. Anderson, to approve and sign Berling’s Variance Request as received from St. Louis County.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes –September 7, 2024

Joint Powers Board

• JPB Update:  There was no update.

S.E.H. Engineering Update 

• District Update:  There was no update needed. 

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:  Pumping & inspection of ISTSs is in process.
• Jim Orton Update:  Jim has been updating the District throughout the summer on ISTS designs.
• Connection Fee Increase Discussion:  Tabled until the October meeting.

O & M Update (Centralized)

• Operations Report:  Rob Scott Jr. provided the following reports:  August:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of June.  The plant is operating well. We will be replacing some sludge valves in the plant in August.  The seals are starting to wear out. Looks like we had a busy day on the 4^th of July this year, despite it falling on a Thursday. We hit our usual annual peak flow of 20,000 gallons of influent into the plant that day. FYI, the 4^th of July is typically the highest volume the plant sees in one day. September:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of July.  The plant is operating well. The influent volume has been running close to typical for the season. The sludge truck drivers are glad to be hauling most of their loads to International Falls now rather than everything going to Grand Rapids.

• Maintenance Facility: There was no action.
• Maintenance Vehicle:  There was no action.
• Debora Scott Variance: The Board reviewed Debora Scott’s variance request. A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to grant the variance request.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• WWTP:  M. Anderson reported that dumping into the District’s system by other pumper truck owners is throwing off the chemical balance of the plant – due to the quantity being deposited at one time.  M. Anderson will communicate with Rob Scott, Jr. to arrive at a solution.

Public Comments: There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:30PM

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk

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