CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

April 4, 2007 – 7:30 P.M.

CRANE LAKE CHAPEL FELLOWSHIP HALL

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rob Scott at 7:30P.M.

Members present:  Managers Dave Adams, Darrell Scott and Rob Scott.

Members absent:  Bill Congdon and Mike White.

Also present: John Jamnick of RLK-Kuusisto, Mike Appelwick, Kenny Winkler and Jim Pohlman of NTS, Clerk/Treasurer Jo Ann Pohlman, representatives from the Cook News-Herald and Voyageur Sentinel, and 4 members of the community.

BUSINESS:

Opening Comments:  Chairman R. Scott stated that Mike Appelwick of NTS would be discussing the NTS contract renewal coming up in June and that Laurie Brown of the U of M Extension Service was unable to attend the meeting as planned.

A motion was made by D. Scott, supported by D. Adams, to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 7, 2007. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

The correspondence was presented to the Board.  A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by D. Scott, that the correspondence be placed on file and acted upon as required.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Clerk/Treasurer J. Pohlman stated that Glorvigen had completed the 2005 audit, printed reports had not been received as anticipated, but should arrive soon.  $4,450.00 was transferred from the Base/Volume Charge Fund to the Operating Reserve Fund on March 28^th as approved at the April meeting and recommended by Scott Harder.  The quarterly transfer of $4,000 was moved from the Base/Volume Charge Fund to the Operation Transfer Fund on March 30^th to apply to the Rural Development Loan payment due the end of December.  A question arose regarding the responsibility of sewer bill payment by rental tenants.  Mary Frances Skala of Fryberger, Buchanan et al responded that the sewer bills are the absolute responsibility of the property owner, not the renter, and that the property owner should make their own arrangements with their renters to collect those payments.  R. Scott will review this further with Mary Frances.  The February 2007 Financial Statements, reviewed by the Glorvigen Accounting Firm, were presented to the Board for approval. A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by D. Scott, to approve the Treasurer’s report as presented.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.   Invoices on Hand were presented for payment as follows: Administrative: V.T.S.I. – $2,067.49.  Plant Operations:  Lake Country Power – $106.70 & $1,222.51; NTS – $3,639.75; Hawkins – $363.23; V.T.S.I. – $941.18; MPCA – $350.00; Voyagaire Lodge – $14.50; Jim Pohlman – $55.07; and A-1 Services – $1,187.50.  Project: Meadowland Surveying – $1,345.00.  A motion was made by D. Scott, supported by D. Adams, to approve the payment of invoices on hand.   All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Administration

• I.S.T.S. Grant:  A letter was received from Jerry Esget requesting MPCA assistance for sanitary sewer development.  J. Pohlman will forward his request to the MPCA and inquiry about the possibility of further grant extensions.
• Emergency Response Plan (ERP):  RLK & NTS are reviewing the ERP to include the recent updates to the plant.
• Capital Asset Plan:  Jennifer Hanson of the Glorvigen Accounting Firm will provide the plan upon comparison to the Duluth/North Shore Sanitary District’s plan, which she feels would be an appropriate model for the District to follow and which is being currently updated.  She anticipates their plan being ready in about one month.
• Billing Volume Adjustments:  Due to the freezing issue, volume use will need to be adjusted for billing purposes.  A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by D. Scott to average November 06, December 06, and January 07 hourly use for each affected property and compared to March 06 hourly use.  The lower of the two hourly figures will be used as the adjusted rate. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Financial (EFG, Costin, RLK)

• Grant Funds: Gary Cerkvenik of the Costin Group prepared a Crane Lake project description for Representative Oberstar requesting $2,000,000 to be matched by $600,000 from the CLWSD and other sources. The rationale is that the small number of residents and businesses and the large geographic area with soil, water, and rock constraints would be unable – on their own – to afford quality treatment facilities. The need to protect one of our country’s finest wilderness and national park areas calls for assistance by the federal government. This will be a slow process.  Congressman Oberstar has requested further information.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – April 4, 2007

Financial (EFG, Costin, RLK) (Cont.)

• RD Loan Relief:  RLK has prepared a draft letter to Rural Development requesting loan relief.
• Clean Air Act:  State Representative Dill will continue to address this funding issue, which is considered in even numbered years.

Legal Issues (MFS, EFG, RLK)

• There was no new update due to manpower changes at our legal office.  R. Scott will continue to work with our lawyer on the issues.

Sewer Freezing Issue Review and Elevated Pump Readings (NTS, RLK)

• John Jamnick reviewed the progress thus far.  Two meetings have been held to discuss the freezing issue; one on March 13^th and the other on April 2^nd.  The meetings addressed getting the system back on line, keeping it on line, arriving at a permanent fix and construction issues.  NTS was not successful with the recent thawing process at the corner of Handberg Road and Bayside Drive. NTS is currently pumping the affected properties and will continue.  Mike Appelwick and John Jamnick will review the thawing plan, create a backup plan, and determine what equipment is needed to begin the thawing process again next week as the weather warms.

Eastern Service Area Update (U of M, RLK, NTS)

• M. White and B. Congdon were not present to report on ESA progress. A motion was made by D. Adams, supported by D. Scott, to address five points in the ESA: (1) Establish points of contact in St. Louis County, the MPCA, and the Otter Tail District, (2) Establish ranking of 6 ESA areas utilizing RLK and Advisory Committee recommendations, (3) Develop Advisory Committee tasking, (4) Continue working with Laurie Brown, (5) Work with NTS on their potential contract support.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• J. Jamnick presented a draft edition of the Revised Preliminary Engineering Report for the ESA to the Board.

RLK Engineering Status (RLK)

• Hoff Easement:   Easement needs to be recorded.
• DSR Sales Easement:  After discussion with the land surveyors, it was agreed to record the recent survey/easement information onto the property and delete reference to the Crane Lake Easement Plat.
• Pine Point Modifications:  RLK is communicating with the Ericksons on their modifications.
• Lake Shore Estates Modifications:  RLK is working with Mr. Braaten who will be submitting plans to RLK.
• New Insurance Claim:  An insurance claim has been filed related to the freezing issue.  Data will be needed from RLK and NTS to determine what expenses may be considered by the insurance company as allowable for coverage.
• DeFries Tank:  Correction work will be done in the spring.

• Punch List:  Items remaining will be addressed by RLK in the spring.

Operations Report (NTS)

• Mike Appelwick reported that all discharge standards were met for the month with no bypasses or overflows. System freezing problems in the collection system are being thawed with portable heaters and steam jetting of sewer lines.  Wastewater collected in affected IPS’s is being pumped and hauled to the main lift station.
• Quality Flow Cost Proposal:  Quality Flow’s cost proposal for lift station calibration is still being considered.
• NPDES/SDS Permit Application:  The application is nearly completed and will be to the Board by early next week for signature and forwarding to the MPCA prior to May 1^st.
• NTS Contract:  NTS would like to look at a 3 to 5 year contract and will address further after the thawing has been completed and before June 1^st.   They do feel they could provide management service for the ESA.  M. Appelwick has spoken to Laurie Brown; they discussed the various options presented by the Advisory Committee – including clusters, on-site systems, holding tanks.  They agreed that a certified inspector would be needed; which NTS will soon have on staff.  R. Scott stated that NTS would need to articulate what services they could and could not provide for the ESA.  R. Scott suggested that a meeting be scheduled prior to the May meeting to review contract options.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes – April 4, 2007

PUBLIC COMMENT (5 Minute Limit)

Dave Beckmann requested clarification of the method used for billing adjustments.  Clarification provided.

Charlotte Bystrom asked for clarification of the Special Taxing District amount on property taxes, which had increased. Clarification provided.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10PM.

J. Pohlman, Clerk

NEXT MEETING:  REGULAR MEETING, MAY 2, 2007, 7:30PM, CRANE LAKE CHAPEL 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.