CRANE LAKE WATER & SANITARY DISTRICT (CLWSD)

BOARD OF MANAGERS’ REGULAR MEETING

Crane Lake Chapel Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – 1:00 PM

The meeting was called to order at 1:05PM

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

Members absent:  Mark Anderson and Darrell Scott.

Minutes: A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by R. Scott, to approve the minutes of the 2/5/25 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 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 January 2025 Financial Statements to the Board.  February 2025 payroll:  Admin – $2,270.00 & Operating – $7,265.00.  Payroll Taxes:  PERA – $1,441.40, Fed Dep. – $2,372.98, & MN Dep. – $425.00.  A motion was made by B. Caughey, supported by D. Congdon, to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and to approve the February bills as follows:  Admin – $1,297.25, Legacy Fund/ARPA Fund – $6,003.90, & Operating – $7,745.13.  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): The Board is reviewing their account distribution within the District funds with the advice of their accountants.  A motion was made by R. Scott to use up to 25% of Admin Funds to pay Operating Expenses that are considered appropriate.  The motion died for lack of support. Operating Expenses will be reviewed.

Administration

• Rate Study:  D. Congdon & Bonnie Caughey continue with the study. Deena emailed 2024 Centralized Operating Expenses to the Board prior to the meeting.  The Board will review.
• Board Requirement (Options):  Legislative action would be needed to reduce the Board from 5 to 3 Managers, which is being pursued. A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by D. Congdon, to approve the Board of Managers being reduced from 5 Managers to 3 Managers, should there be a legislative change. All voted in favor and the motion carried. 

Joint Powers Board

• State and Federal Grant Funding:  1.2Million has been approved by the Clean Water Council, per the JPB request. The amount that Crane Lake will receive to continue ISTS installations is yet to be determined.
• WWTP Testing:  The expense of required testing at the plant is extremely high.  R. Scott requested that the JPB & St. Louis County help in the search for a remedy.  No resolution has been found.

S.E.H. Engineering Update 

• District Update:  There was no update needed. 

O & M. (Decentralized)

• Management Program Update:  The installation of a heat tape at the Schwanke Outpost was discussed.
• Yearly O&M Review:  There was no update.

O & M Update (Centralized)

• Operations Report:  Rob Scott Jr. provided the following report:  We met all the MPCA effluent limits for the month of January.  The plant is operating well. The influent volume is at a moderate level, running at the seasonal average for winter business. The plant water temperature is 42 degrees.   The issue at the Crane Lake Visitor Center has been resolved and their grinding station is back in full operation.   I recommend we install more water infusion systems throughout the district. At one point this winter, the plant water temperature got down to 29 degrees, early to mid-January.  This was before there were many snowmobilers coming into the area, and the influent volume was at the typical seasonal low level. Once the influent volume increased due to all the snowmobilers coming into the area, the plant water temperature shot up to 39 degrees a few weeks ago, during that really cold weather in early to mid-February. So, to increase the influent volume during the slow season, I feel installing water infusion systems to all the part time users in the district would be a good idea.

CLWSD Meeting Minutes –March 5, 2025

O & M Update (Centralized) (Cont.)

• Pumper Truck:  Scott Halldorson reported on the pumper truck update. The truck was moved from Schlomka’s to Scott’s garage in Anoka.  It was discovered that the truck needed to be returned to Schlomka’s for some repair that was thought to be completed. It was also discovered that the MN Dot work was not complete. The truck is now back at Scott’s garage.  The repair/update of the truck will be compared to the Schlomka invoice, when received.  Estimated in-house repair costs are around $10,000. A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by R. Scott, to approve in-house repair of the truck up to $10,000.00.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
•  Gas/Septic Incident.  Invoices for the total cleanup repair are being compiled.
• WWTP Road Maintenance:  A motion was made by R Scott, supported by D. Congdon, to begin billing the private property owner using the WWTP road to access their property at $80 per month in April.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.
• Winterization – Plant Temps:  The plant temperatures are between 33 and 43 degrees.
• Jeff Truebenbach Report:  Jeff will provide a WWTP sludge report in a couple of weeks.  Jeff requested a list of the grinder stations and property owners to begin inspection of the grinders this spring.  He also requested a list of the ISTS’s that will need inspection this summer.  Jeff will communicate with Rob Jr. on expected repair expenses for 2025 and then look into a 3-year plan.
• Infusers:  A motion was made by R. Scott, supported by B. Caughey, to begin planning for future installs of infusers in an effort to avoid freezing for customers that come and go throughout the winter.  R. Scott and B. Caughey voted in favor, D. Condon abstained needing more information, and the motion carried.

Public Comments: There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00PM

Jo Ann Pohlman, Clerk

NEXT MEETING:   Board of Manager’s Meeting – April 2, 2025 – 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.