Lutsen Township Board Meeting Minutes
January 21, 2025
Lutsen Town Hall
Present: Philip Creighton, Chris Homyak, Sharon Hexum-Platzer, Ashley VanDoren, Ginny Storlie, Steve Duclos, Carl Friesner, Lolli Cooper
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by Chairperson, C Friesner at 7:00 pm.
Approval of Agenda: C. Homyak made a motion to approve the December agenda, C. Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
Approval of November Meeting Minutes: C. Homyak made a motion to accept the meeting minutes, L. Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
Sound bar gift from Eagle Brook Church review: Clarification that the proposed sound bar would be gifted to the township for public use during rentals and be owned by the township with the ability to add insurance coverage. Supervisor Friesner made a motion to accept this donation with the condition that the town board be the ones to install the sound bar, Supervisor Cooper seconded. Motion passed
Commissioner’s Report: (Ginny Storlie)
· Commissioner Storlie attended the reorganizational meeting and Commissioner Storlie was elected as the Chairperson, Dave Mills re-elected as vice chairperson and a new commissioner was elected; Gary Gamble who formerly worked as a commissioner in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for district 3.
· Gitchi Gami trail meeting; No snowmobile signs placed on the Lutsen trail and after the completion of the first section of Gitchi Gami bike trail in Lutsen a ribbon cutting ceremony will take place in spring of 2025.
· New agenda item for the commissioners is finding a solution for Cook County not receiving an accurate radar report due to the land curvature. Mr. Keyport will take charge of this agenda item and request suggestions and solutions from experts.
· Power outages in Grand Marais on January 18, 2025 caused concern; some emergency management has been put in place for residents that experience no electricity for a prolonged period of time including shelter at The Hub and YMCA. Commissioner Storlie wanted to inform people that if you find yourself without electricity and are needing a warm place to stay to call law enforcement as they are a part of the emergency management team. They work together with the shelters and will help to get you to a warm place.
· Commissioners holding a committee as a whole for agenda items before the official meeting were presented with an issue of solid waste. North Shore Waste has secured a few grants including an IRRRB grant to design a new building and infrastructure. The prices have currently increased from 20% to 36% since 2013 with over 4 truckloads of solid waste being transported from Grand Marais to WI on a daily basis from June to September however the solid waste site in WI is set to be closed by 2026/2027. Assessor Bob will conduct an assessment to estimate the projected amount of income this new building will be able to process on a daily basis. Discussion and bonding on this subject will continue at the next commissioners meeting.
Eagle Brook Church Donation: (Brad Sillman) Not in attendance
· Clerk’s Report: S. Mcquatters-Spangle Deputy Clerk: S. Hexum-Platzer
Correspondence: 8 voice mails redirected to required sources; 4 new town hall rentals, Superior National Forest has finalized the Decision Memo for The Conservation Fund (TCF) Land Purchase, 2025 Township Day at the Capitol in St. Paul on Monday, January 27; forwarded to supervisors, PERA Employer Newsletter: Winter Edition, Northspan Group December newsletter, OSA Weekly Update, MN housing updates, City of Grand Marais Weekly Update, AAAA Newsletter, January Update, Request for Records; forwarded to fire chief, Half-Staff Alert; forwarded, Federal Grant Opportunity - Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas; forwarded, CTAS 2025 Tax Tables Now Available, Rural and Remote Grant Opportunity webinar, FEMA GO Enhancements Release Newsletter, CCHE January Newsletter, Superior National Forest's Fire Report for the 2023-2024 Season, Culture and Tourism Notice of Grant Opportunity, Public Is Invited to Share Input on the North Shore Management Plan; forwarded to supervisors, USDA Forest Service Tofte and Gunflint Gravel Pits Expansion Project Update,
o Ordered additional checks
o Shared Park electric bills sent
o Home Center account created
o Local election filing; office open
o SAFES updated
o End of year CTAS
o Additional persons training for election judge
o Posting for elections
Treasurer’s Report: As of December 31, 2025;
North Shore Federal Credit Union-Checking $290,674.59; General Building Fund-savings $35,761.96; Fire/EMS truck fund $51,468.32 totaling $377,904.87; CD investments;
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$100,000 at 4.5%
o 13 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$100,391.47 at 4.6%
o 29 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$100,000 at 4.5%
Total funds including CD investments $678,296.34
Year to Date Receipts $319,786.23; Year to Date Disbursements $328,853.35.
2024 General town Budget $41,450.00, 2024 Fire District Budget $201,645.00 for a total budget of $243,095.00.
2024 General town Levy $30,000.00, 2024 Fire District Levy $145,000.00 for a total 2024 Levy of $175,000.00. Treasurer VanDoren let the board know that the 13-month CD will mature in February of 2025 and be returned to the checking account. The annual truck fund transfer for $30,000 from one the checking account to the truck fund account will be in the February claims and the building fund payment will be due in June/July.
C Friesner made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed
Review and Approval of Claims:
· Clerk S. Mcquatters-Spangle provided the invoiced December Claims. Details; 19 claims for a
total of $106,604.81 This included $100,051.13 for 10 new air packs and containers for the fire crew that were budgeted for in 2025 (air packs being the apparatus needed for fire to breath in contaminated areas; our formerly used air packs were failing on a daily basis requiring more cost in upkeep then originally worth and were a risk to the health of the fire crew. Old air packs were donated for trailing purposes to Hovland); $2,546.16 for quarterly federal taxes; $470.24 for Election bill for both townhall and town park; $382.71 to townhall credit card for W2/1099 forms, first responder orders, Microsoft account renewal; $330 for plowing in the month of December and January; $442.42 for CTAS township laser checks; $504.16 for Minnesota association of townships annual dues.
C Friesner made a motion to approve claims, C Homyak seconded. Motion passed.
· Clerk provided December payroll; 4 Claims for a total of $2,061.48
C Friesner made a motion to approved payroll. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed
· 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)
· EMS responded to 8 calls, Fire crew responded to 1 false call and one minor car accident
· Training schedule for 2025 has been set
· Election result; Brandon Gilespie was elected for 1 year captain
Greg Muller was elected for secretary
Chris Homyak was elected for assistant secretary
· New air pack training continued
· EMS trained on bleeding control and splitting
· Alyssa started Fire 1 & 2 classes in Hovland
· Overhead door company arrived to replace broken fire bay door
· 2 old EAD’s that are no longer in use by the EMS crew; one will need a new battery and pads. Suggested to place one in the townhall next to the fire extinguisher. Supervisors requested the fire chief to buy a new battery; all agreed on placement of the EAD
· February 1st a handful of Fire/EMS crew will join in cold water training rescue with the coast guard.
· The newly elected 1-year captain Brandon Gilespie and Kassia will attend officer training in Detroit Lakes
· Lutsen fire relief who is a separate entity then the fire department and township received a $20,000 donation from the Johnson foundation who writes donation checks to different fire relief associations every year around Minnesota. The plan with this very generous donation will be decided at the next fire relief association meeting; currently this idea is to donate about half of the check to the township to buy and EV blanket and hydraulic stabilizing struts for the rescue truck for emergencies where uneven ground is like cars in ditches. Possibly buying a rip hose/pack that is a buddy hose that can be connected to the new air packs to; hopefully is will never be needed but is available in case of a dire situation.
Supervisors’ Report:
C Friesner:
· Talked with Tabitha about requirements for the installation of person convention oven
L Cooper:
· Waiting for contact with WTIP for monthly interview
· Waiting for a response from Mr. Keyport on emergency management
C Homyak:
· Talked with MATIT about the insurability for the fire hydrants located in Lutsen; currently waiting for a response
· Worked with Overhead door Company for the installation of the new fire bay garage door. This claim is close to being closed out; waiting for the final invoice.
· Reviewed insurance presented by Tabitha for the personal convection oven installation
Old Business:
· Consideration to make Lutsen township suitable for emergency shelter; generator. (Discussion located under commissioner report) Supervisor Friesner will contact Hank and Mal on getting a slab poured and possibly getting the generator ordered after snow thaws.Will call and talk to North shore plumbing about connecting generator to building needs and heating requirements; Supervisor L Cooper will be the main contact for Mr. Keyport about his hazard mitigation request.
· Request for Lutsen township to take over ownership of Lutsen fire hydrants; ownership of all the space although currently taken care of by the water association is not yet determined as multiple entities invested in the pipeline and hydrants. Who all has the right to request sale is not entirely clear at the moment. Supervisor Homyak has reached out to MATIT on logistics and liability of ownership; will call the MATIT insurance representative and look into full ownership rights.
· Citizen request for installation of personal convention 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 but currently does not have the space to house and would require a 240 outlet or a normal oven outlet which the townhall kitchen currently has. The Supervisors after reviewing the insurance Tabitha acquired from enrolling in the entrepreneur program from the Grand Marais community center found it sufficient and will only need her to add on the township address that the oven will be located at. As the oven only requires a standard oven outlet which is easily accessible in the open space near the current oven only one shelf will need to be moved. Township clerk will email Tabitha to set up access, go over times available to use the kitchen area and create a timesheet log to collect payment at the agreed upon $10 per use either weekly or monthly. Supervisor Friesner did ask for the kitchen to be reorganized in the near future.
· Insurance update for broken fire bay garage door. C Homyak is currently waiting for the final invoice from Overhead door Company to arrive to show as proof for the insurance company after which this claim can be closed.
New Business:
· Set meeting date for 2025 Audit and Budget meetings. After discussion supervisors agreed to set the meeting date for 2025 Audit meeting to February 6, 2025 at 6pm and 2025 Budget meeting to February 6th no earlier then 6:53pm; This is open to the public and are encouraged to attend.
· Set meeting date for LBAE 2025 meeting. After discussion supervisors agreed to set the 2025 LBAE meeting date to May 20, 2025 at 6pm as suggest by assessor Bob.
· 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 offered to meet with one of the supervisors to go put together a plan for budget, proposed changes, pay layout and page design to be presented at the next monthly meeting. 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. Supervisor C. Friesner offered to take the time to meeting with Mr. Crieghton for the webpage.
Donations: David & Cindy Johnson, Joann Peters & Kent Swanson, Judy M. Nelson, Cathedral of the Pines Camp, North Shore Winery LLC; Thank you all, it is truly appreciated!
C. Homyak made a motion to accept all donations, C. Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
Citizen Comments:
Adjournment: C Friesner made a motion to adjourn; seconded by L Cooper. Motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 8:28pm
Respectfully Submitted, S Mcquatters-Spangle; Townhall Clerk Carl Friesner; Chairperson