Lutsen Township Board Meeting Minutes
April 15, 2025
Lutsen Town Hall
Present: Carl Friesner, Chris Homyak, Lolli Cooper, Philip Crieghton, Samantha Mcquatters-Spangle, Sharon Hexum-Platzer, Ginny Storlie, Steve Duclos, Rene Swadburg, Nicole Tibbetts, Nicolas Reineccius
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by Chairperson, C Friesner at 7:00 pm.
Approval of Agenda: C. Friesner made a motion to approve the March agenda, C. Homyak seconded. Motion passed.
Approval of February Meeting Minutes: C. Homyak made a motion to accept the meeting minutes, C. Frienser seconded. Motion passed.
Commissioner’s Report: (Ginny Storlie)
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Commissioner Storlie gave a big thank you to Deputy Clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer and Supervisor Carl Friesner for attending and presenting to absolute need for a short-term emergency shelter for the west end of Cook County at Lutsen Townhall and for the requested support of the commissioner’s board to financially contribute to the combined effort of all the west end townships in buying a new generator in the amount of $8,500 which was approve after the initially request over two and half years ago. 5 pages of signatures were also presented to the commissioner’s board in support of the Lutsen Township short term rental.
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Combined efforts from first responders and firemen presented a report to the commissioners at the end of March 2025 that the County received the most money from the state to go towards ARMOR radios at $389,503.65.
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County administrator job has been reposted, interviews at the end of March were unsuccessful and new candidates will be selected to restart the interview anticipating new hired personnel in June 2025
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3 Commissioners including Ginny Storlie attended leadership training in Nissaw
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Comity of the whole heard from planning and zoning land services, Neva Maxwell started discussion on changes in the zoning and subdivision ordinances. The idea having more modifications to the open spaces within a few miles of highway 61. With in a few weeks a legal notice will be posted to the public and brought to the commissioner’s board in May.
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Open culvert located on Caribou that posted a danger was looked at by the highway department and will be discussed on solutions
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Supervisor C Friesner asked Commissioner Storlie what the plans were for cardboard trailer located at the bottom of Caribou Road was now that the bike trail is developed at the end of Ski hill road as the small access road near Caribou is hard to access with the mud and pot holes developing because of consistent use and could pose a serious safety rink. Commissioner Storlie agreed to look into finding another located
Clerk’s Report: S. Mcquatters-Spangle Deputy Clerk: S. Hexum-Platzer
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Correspondence: Correspondence: 8 phone calls forwarded to fire dept; 2 property inquiries delegated to planning and zoning; 4 new townhall rentals booked, Email; 2025 Spring Short Courses for MAT; forwarded to supervisors, 2025 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2026 HTC Round 1 estimated resources, Lutsen Board response to Lake Superior Poplar River Water District re hydrant ownership; District; forwarded to supervisors, OSA Weekly Update, FEMA GO Quarterly User Focus Group Webinar, City of Grand Marais Weekly Update, Employer Feedback: PERA Logo Survey, Minnesota's State Legislative Session in St. Paul kicked off mid-January and will meet through mid-May. Minnesota's State Legislative Session in St. Paul kicked off mid-January and will meet through mid-May. Their top priority is determining the state's two-year budget; Their top priority is determining the state's two-year budget, Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine Expansion, Sen. Robert Farnsworth elected chair of IRRR Board, Advocacy alert: Email state legislators on township bills for transportation and annexation
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fairness, CCHE April Newsletter, Navigating SLFRF Reporting the in 2025 Annual and Q1 P&E
Report Workshop Series; webinar,
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Property stickers and helmet stickers for fire crew ordered/received
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Replacement tables ordered for township
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Deliberator case order for township
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Mowing bid posted for 2025 summer
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CTAS meeting held with OSA representative
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TBall/Parent pitch dates posted for ball park use
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Attended webinar: PERA Q&A Session: Demographics Reporting
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Meeting minutes draft sent to Brian and CCNH
Reorganization Meeting as Required/ Change/Review of Information A. Designate by motion a chairperson; L Cooper motioned to nominate Carl Friesner as Chairperson, C Homyak seconded. Motion passed. B. Designate by motion a Vice-Chairperson; C Friesner motioned to nominate Chris Homyak as Vice-Chairperson, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. C. Adopt a schedule of regular meeting dates: Currently: 3rd Tuesday of every month; C Friesner made a motion to continue regular meeting dates on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. D. Select by motion an Official Township Newspaper: Currently: Cook County News Herald. L Cooper made a motion to continues using Cook County News Harold as the official township newspaper. C Friesner seconded. Motion passed. E. Designate by motion posting places: Currently: Town Hall, Clearview/Post Office Bulletin Board, and Website. C Homyak made a motion to continue using the 3 current posing places. C Friesner seconded. Motion passed F. Review Resolution No. 2014-09 – Policy for the Compensation of and Reimbursement of Town Officers [Note capital R and S is for town meetings.] 1. Compensation for Supervisors a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Hourly work on behalf of the Township: Currently $20.00/hour 2. Compensation for Clerk: a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Hourly work: Currently $25.00/hour 3. Compensation for Deputy Clerk: [To be employed only if Clerk is unable.] a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Hourly work: Currently $25.00/hour 4. Compensation for Assistant Clerk
a. Hourly work: Currently $20.00/hour –for record retention 5. Compensation for Treasurer: a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Hourly work: Currently $25.00/hour 6. Compensation for Deputy Treasurer: a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Hourly work: Currently $25.00/hour C Friesner made a motion to change the deputy treasurer hour work amount to $25 per hour and approve all other current amount. C Homyak seconded. Motion passed
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VII Mileage Reimbursement Rate for Town Officers: $.67 –Currently; The federal 2025 IRS mileage rates are .70 cents per mile for business purposes, 22 cents per mile for medical and moving purposes. C Friesner made a motion to increase our current amount to match the federal amount at $.70 per mile. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
VIII. Meal Reimbursement Rate for Town Officers: Currently $37.00/day--adjusted the meal rate to the same as the County: $10 per breakfast, $12 for lunch, $15 for dinner. No liquor included. Commission Storlie informed the board that the county is current $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $18 for dinner totaling $43 for a full day of meals. C Homyak made a motion to match the county $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $18 for dinner. C Friesner seconded. Motion passed. G. Review
Resolution No. 2014-12 – Policy for the Compensation of and Reimbursement of Town Employees: Currently in addition to pay per call, Incentive pay for fire fighters/EMS is $100 if officers attend %65 of quota for calls, training and functions met. 1. Compensation for Fire Chief: a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Monthly Stipend: Currently $200/month 2. Compensation for Assistant Fire Chief: a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Monthly Stipend: Currently $150.00/month 3. Compensation for Assistant EMS Chief a. Regular and Special Meetings: Currently $85.00/meeting b. Monthly Stipend: Currently $150.00/month 4. Compensation for Fire and EMT/1st Responders: a. Fire Department: Currently $25.00/fire call b. First Responders: Currently $25.00/call 5. Compensation for Fire senior captain
a. Monthly Stipend: Currently $50.00/month 6. Compensation for Junior captain
a. Monthly stipend: Currently $25.00/month 7. Compensation for Fire secretary a. Monthly stipend: Currently $25.00/month 8. Fire/EMS compensation for fire/EMS calls a. Pay for the first 2 hours of service: $25.00 b. Pay for more then 2 hours of service: $25.00 per each additional hour $25 per hour after an initial period of 2 hours for a call is met. (Hours will be logged and any additional pay will be signed off by either a chief or assistant chief) C Friesner made a motion to accepted corrected pay amount to Fire/EMS including pay for services calls and pay for excessive of two-hour service calls. L Cooper seconded. (C Homyak abstained from voting due to conflict of services)
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9. Mileage Reimbursement Rate for Town Employees: Currently $.67 per mile; 2025 federal rate is now $.70 per mile. C Friesner made a motion to increase and match the federal milage rate of $.70 per mile. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. 10. Meal Reimbursement Rate for Town (Fire/EMS) Employees: Currently $37.00/day --adjusted the meal rate to be the same as the County: $10 per breakfast, $12 for lunch, $15 for dinner. No liquor included. C Friesner made a motion to match the county rate for meals at $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $18 for dinner. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. H. Designate Financial Institution as the Town Depository: Currently North Shore Federal Credit Union and Grand Marais State bank are in use. C Friesner made a motion to continue use of the townhall banks. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. I. List of Officers –submitted to MAT and Cook County. All Supervisors, clerk and treasurers submitted J. Supervisor Liaison Posts/Assignments and Review job descriptions as needed: Lolli Cooper: ALCCTO [Association of Lake & Cook Township Officers] liaison WTIP Carl Friesner: Fall Lutsen Community Celebration – Usually 2nd Tuesday in October Fire and EMS Department liaison, Building & Grounds: Fire & Town Hall and Grandview Park Chris Homyak: Gitch Gami trail liaison for Lutsen MATIT insurance/ Contracts C Friesner made a motion to accept the adjusted duties and descriptions. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. K. Consider any potential conflict of interest issues: Employers and employment roles; Chris Homyak abstained from voting on any Fire/EMS motions due to conflict and any claims for clearview; no other conflicts were observed.
Treasurer’s Report; Ashley VanDoren: As of March 31, 2025; North Shore Federal Credit Union-Checking $162,460.04; General Building Fund-savings $35,770.78; Fire/EMS truck fund $81,892.01, General Money Market $85,457.86 totaling $365,580.72; CD investments;
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$100,000 at 4.5% (The 7 Month CD accrued interest will not show until the CD matures because of the short length of time but is earmarked to return to the fire truck fund)
o 29 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$104,512.33 at 4.5% (maturing 6/2/26)
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank-$10,000 at 4.25% (maturing 10/20/25)
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank-$10,000 at 4.25% (maturing 10/20/25) Total funds including CD investments $590,093.05 Biggest changes from the previous month include a $20,000 donation from fire relief; 1st half of the 2025 taconite tax for $13,000; funds from the most recent maturing CD were transferred from the truck fund and directed to the correct money market account. Disbursements to note, building maintenance and fire fund are at 73% the majority due to the fixed garage door which we did receive reimbursement from MATIT insurance. Year to Date Receipts $59,020.37; Year to Date Disbursements $144,721.57. 2025 General town Budget $40,850.00, 2025 Fire District Budget $363,795.00 for a total budget of $404,645.00. 2025 General town Levy $40,000.00, 2025 Fire District Levy $300,000.00 for a total 2025 Levy of $340,000.00.
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C Friesner made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. C Homyak seconded. Motion passed
Review and Approval of Claims:
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Clerk S. Mcquatters-Spangle provided the invoiced March Claims. Details; 14 claims for a
total of $20,018.498 This included $2,256.98 for 1st quarterly taxes, $655.25 for Arrowhead electric bill, $8,734.60 to MacQueen emergency for fill hose; fire blanket; optifilter; waster mister; extension set, $1,015.05 reimbursement travel fire 1 and 2 classes in Hovland over 3 months, $1,500 for Tofte fire works donation, $$1,750 donation to Lutsen Jr. Alpine Ski Team, %5,447.26 to Cook County for primary general election 2024.
Clerk Mcquatters-Spangle informed the board that the current cash controls between the Clerk and Treasurer are off by 19.93 due to CD input and interest rates not yet completed on the CTAS program; to be completed once the treasurer returns.
C Homyak made a motion to approve claims, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
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Clerk provided April 2025 payroll; 6 claims totaling $2,163.45
C Friesner made a motion to approved payroll. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed
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Claims approval and Payroll distributions were signed by Supervisors; copies are on file
in the town office.
Fire and EMS Chief’s Report: (Steve Duclos)
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5 Fire calls, once of which exceeded two hours and a structure fire call; 8 EMS patient calls
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Training; wild land, air packs, testing of new equipment and bloodborne pathogens
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New fire crew member Steve Olsen joined and soon be going through emergency vehicle operation training
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Newly trained Fire 1 graduate Alyssa Elliot will be fitted for turnout gear that will be ordered after completion of the Fire 2 class; estimate amount will be $6,300. Lutsen fire/EMS department now have a crew of 17 people.
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Repairs needed on the tender needing a new back leg and the pumper vehicle will need a tank to fill levers
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New battery for AED received to hand in the townhall but a case will need to be ordered. Clerk Mcquatters-Spangle has already ordered that case.
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New equipment received including fill hose, EV blanket, adapters for air masks; 5 new flashlights ordered
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Talked with insurance companies again about Lutsen Resort fire
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Signed annual agreement with DNR for wildfires; no changes made
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Internet connection to the fire hall meeting room is not sufficient and request that it be fixed; Clerk Mcquatters-Spangle will contact Arrowhead to find a fix.
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Discussion about who needs to be sending out fire invoices; supervisors agreed that fire chief Duclos should continue to send out invoices and give a copy to clerk to file. Fire chief Duclos asked for a notice if the clerk or treasurer does receive the payment.
Supervisors’ Report:
C Friesner:
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Fixed townhall front door
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Will be fixing Grandview Park outhouse door lock
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Talked with Hank about purchase of generator
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Attended Cook County commissioner board meeting
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Talked with Steve Finskey at Mat and rental contracts
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Talked with KTM about pavement
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Talked with bob about picking pothole near the cardboard trailer
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Talked with Brandon and Tabitha about rental contract and use
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Talked with Solveig Vick about table and chairs rentals
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Continued changing dog waste basket at Lutsen park every saturday
L Cooper:
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Worked with Sharon on commissioners’ presentation for short term rental
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Represented Lutsen on WTIP radio and updated events
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Requested information to attend via Zoom meeting for LBAE on May 15, 2025 at 6pm
C Homyak:
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Penned a letter about fire hydrant ownership to the water district
Old Business:
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Consideration to make Lutsen township suitable for emergency shelter; generator. Sharon Hexum-Platzer started a local petition in support of making the Lutsen townhall a short-term emergency shelter and will continue to gather names and support, this was all presented to the commissioner’s board along with Carl Friesner on why this is an essential service to provide to the west end of Cook County; The board agreed to fund $8,500 towards purchase of a generator for Lutsen Township. Supervisor Friesner has contact Hank about buying the generator; Supervisor L Cooper will be the main contact for Mr. Keyport about his hazard mitigation request.
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Request for Lutsen township to take over ownership of Lutsen fire hydrants; after much discussion with insurance companies, it was determined not a viable option for Lutsen township. Supervisor Homyak and Deputy Clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer collaborated together to contact Mr. Tom Rider, the representative of the water district that we have maintained contact with and have since maintained an ongoing email chain with other impacted personnel. Clerk Mcquatters-Spangle has also forwarded the information to the other supervisors.
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Citizen request for installation of personal convection oven at town hall kitchen; Tabitha Blanchard requested discussion about installing a personal high end convection oven she has received through a grant to help grow her cottage license baking business; Judy Motschenbacher advised the board that a full lease with terms of service will need to be drafted and signed along with hand full of Questions including the liability being placed on the community.
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Is enough to cover full loss should anything happen to either the building or if the oven would be damaged by a renting party?
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Where is the line drawn as this is a type of rental?
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What would happen if someone because sick from the food would the town be liable for be sued?
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Is there a timeframe for this rental/lease to be held to?
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What would happen if this person were to move away and left the oven?
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Why use Lutsen Townhall as it is not a commercial kitchen instead of Grand Marais or Birchgrove?
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Legality of hosting a cottage law business in the Townhall?
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Deposit for damage to the kitchen like any other rental with kitchen use?
Supervisor Friesner; the personal insurance acquired from Tabitha verified through our collaboration with Musty Barnhart to be sufficient at almost 2.5 million and we are listed as the address the oven is currently residing at so we would be notified if it was cancelled. Currently it is locked and will only be used by Tabitha and not accessible to other rentals. The current license Tabitha has is the MN cottage food license that means she would solely be held accountable should any issues like illness occur. Supervisor Friesner has taken lead in talking to Tabitha about the questioned items and collaborate to draft a legally binding lease to better protect the interests of the community and the Townhall with an attorney. Fire Chief Duclos requests additional clarification on what would happen to all the townhall fire equipment if something catastrophic does happen?
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New web design for township suggested. Deputy Treasurer Philip Creighton presented the topic of a new web design and layout for Lutsen township as the current webpage is about 10 years old and outdated. Philip met
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with Supervisor
Friesner and developed a basic outline. The only stipulation Philip mandated was that once the page is approved, designed and personnel trained he would not be tasked with maintaining the page on a daily basis. Phil presented the initial outline of the page to the supervisors and all agreed the direction was great. Media was requested to fill the current spaces along with bios of each townhall employee. The current projected timeline and ETA is to present a launched site before the continued annual meeting in August 2025. Great job Phil!
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Sound Bar installation; C Friesner has agreed to install
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Resurfacing of townhall parking lot: C Friesner will contact KTM about setting up a resurfacing time in the summer months. Line striping will come after the resurfacing is completed
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Shingle repair on townhall roof: Superior Properties was able to repair and replace the missing shingles and roof area damaged during the last wind storm; possibly have a roof inspection done (Miller was suggested from Fire Chief Duclos or Carlos)
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Ballpark summer dates for youth sports; posted flyers around the townhall ball park and normal posting spots
Season dates: June 9, 2025-July 26, 2025
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T-ball will be every Monday at Lutsen ball park 4:15pm-5:15pm
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Parent Pitch will be every Monday and Tuesday at Lutsen ball park 5:30pm-6:30pm
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Painting Townhall interior; Due to high traffic use of the townhall many chips, scratches, wear and tear have developed and will need to be painted. Supervisor Friesner agreed to collaborate with Fire Chief Duclos on finding paint and labor to paint the interior of the Townhall paint some sample swabs for other supervisors and fire chief to look at over the next month and pick a color.
New Business:
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Solvieg Vick request for chair and table rental: request to rent out chair and tables on September 13, 2025; supervisors advised to not rent out chairs as they are fabric but the tables would be fine.
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Fire Chief Duclos request something be done to fix the internet connection to the fire hall meeting room; Clerk Mcquatters-Spangle will contact arrowhead and set up a meeting to figure out a solution.
C.
Fire Chief needs additional fire office keys made; C Friesner will obtain townhall letter head and approval to bring down to Arrowhead Locksmith and have official keys made for the Fire Chief.
Donations: North Shore Winery; wine proceeds donation; Supervisor C Friesner made a motion to accept the donation. C Homyak seconded. Motion passed.
Citizen Comments: Residents residing on Honeymoon question why the tax levy was so high; Sharon Hexum-Platzer informed them that it was due to the needed replacement of out of date fire equipment mainly air packs and turnout gear that were no longer OSHA compliant and were serious risk for our fire crew.
Adjournment: C Friesner made a motion to adjourn; seconded by L Cooper. Motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm
Respectfully Submitted, S Mcquatters-Spangle; Townhall Clerk Carl Friesner; Chairperson