Lutsen Township
Board Meeting Minutes
March 17, 2026
Lutsen Town Hall
Present: Sharon Hexum-Platzer, Ashley VanDoren, Ginny Storlie, Dale Sundstrom, Lollie Cooper, Carl Frienser, Dayna Johnson, Steve Duclos, Tim Lien
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by Chairperson, C Friesner at 7:00 pm. Happy St. Patrics Day!
Approval of Agenda: C Friesner made a motion to approve the February agenda, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
Approval of February Meeting Minutes: L Cooper made a motion to approve, C Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
Lutsen Treasurer position: After the March 10, 2026 election Julie Buskovick won the treasurer position with 56 votes to be sworn in after the regular March 17, 2026 meeting. Julie came before the supervisor and let the board know that after the election extenuating circumstances came up and she will be moving away from the area in the near future and will be unable to fulfill the treasurer position. In the event the position becomes vacant the town board supervisors may interview and election an individual to the position until the next voting cycles happens on March 9, 2026. The supervisors thanked Julie for her participating in the election and wish her the best on her future ventures.
Dale Sundstrom offered his services and interviewed with the supervisors at the March 10, 2026 meeting; he is currently retired but has previously works with accounting and is confident in his ability along with training provided by the now appointed deputy treasurer (formerly Lutsen township treasurer) Ashley VanDoren. Supervisor C Friesner made a motion to accept Dale Sandstrom as the Lutsen township treasurer until the next voting cycle in March 2027. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
Commissioner’s Report: (Ginny Storlie)
· Capital improvement update: the law enforcement center renovation is going smoothly; North Shore Waste renovation is closed from the elements and construction continues on the interior with hopes to open up in the late summer 2026. Tofte recycle center renovating will begin in the spring with expanding the area; removal of trees in the area will begin before the bat migration season starts.
· Land services director Tim Nelson is retiring after 27 years
· Sheriff Eliason put in a notice that he will also be retiring on May 8, 2026; he has recommended to appoint Ben Halberg in his stead.
· Robbie Haus updated on completion of projects:
Spruce creek bridge will be finished by the end of the summer
Tofte Park Road will be competed by the end of the summer along with some vegetation work, reminder that there was no levy for the work done on Tofte Park Rd with the estimated completion project of the road being about $780,000 with the funding coming from a half percent sales tax.
Arrowhead trail will have two sections being worked on in 2026
· Gunflint trail will also have two sections being worked on in 2026 including lobbying to finish the last 10 miles of the Gunflint trial; resurfacing, ditching and culverts with is estimated at almost 10 million.
· Gitchi Gami Bike Trial was voted as the nominated as one of the best bike trials in the United States; you can vote online until April 10, 2026
· Highway 61 will be resurfaced starting in 2027; a committee was formed which will include commissioner Storlie with special focus on the concerns about flooding issues that occurred a few years ago in the west end. The first public meeting was held and citizens were able to point out areas that need to be looked at and where issues tend to occur.
· Health and human services meeting held in February focused on updating the very outdated software systems that can take up to 30 minutes to load all relevant information for a single individual. Every county has this same software and it needs to be updated.
· Grand Portage received a donation of 3 parcels of land on the south side of Grand Portage reservation. Lloyd K Johnson organization provided them with the $227,000 purchase of the land from the Lloyd K Johnson family after it was originally purchased after the 1854 treaty was signed.
· Chief Duclos and deputy clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer requested commissioner Storlie to look into any available funds that can be donated to the purchase of a search and rescue drone that would be used for Lutsen and mutual aid; requested amount of $9,000. Commissioner Storlie agreed to look into funding that might be available.
Clerk’s Report: S. Mcquatters-Spangle Deputy Clerk: S. Hexum-Platzer
Correspondence: 15 calls, 10 forwarded, 3 new hall rentals Emails; CCHE February Newsletter, Tofte township donation request, City of Grand Marais Weekly Update, 2026 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2027 HTC Round 1, Emailed requested cartway overview for procedure clarification, Minnesota Office of the State Auditor weekly update, Minnesota - Half-Staff Alert - Jesse Jackson, Bound tree/EMS training arm order reprocessed, Public invited to Superior National Forest open house events, Minnesota Association of Townships newsletter, Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging newsletter, Invitation to Join: Cook County SS4A Task Force; forwarded, Rural Capacity Program Newsletter - February Edition, GMSB and NSFCU statements, CCHE March Newsletter, DEED is hosting a Connecting One Minnesota: 2026 Broadband Summit, April 29 2026, safety training assistance - grant funded; forwarded, 2026 Spring Short Courses, Nelson-Harris Cartway; forwarded, Invitation to Participate in Regional Economic Development Engagement Sessions, Cook County Land Services Update and Job Opening, Lutsen pronunciation clarification, FOX 9 inquiry - fire update 3.16.26
1. Ordered EMS/Fire supplies; cleaning supplies, office supplies
2. Retrieved voting materials; returned after election
3. Signed up for Gather; election materials
4. Office opened for absentee ballots (requested ballots mailed)
5. Audit/Budget meeting prep and minutes
6. Election/Voting set up
7. Annual meeting prep and minutes
8. Audit and Budget meeting prep
9. MATIT reporting completed
10. Sharon; fire grants; T mobile grant submitted
11. Sharon; Board of Canvas
12. LBAE meeting date set:
May 5, 2026 at 6pm; Lutsen Townhall
13. Public notices posted; Annual meeting, voting and LBAE
14. Clerk requested biographies from all Lutsen township staff including Fire/EMS to update the website
Treasurer’s Report; Ashley VanDoren: As of February 28,2026;
North Shore Federal Credit Union-Checking $218,612.71; General Building Fund-savings $22,585.14, General Money Market $86,591.50, Fire/EMS truck fund $105,074.59 totaling $432,863.94; CD investments;
o 29 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$109,215.38 at 4.5%
Matures 6/2/25
Fire truck fund
o 24 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank- $10,249.18 at 4.0%
Matures 10/22/27 (Vehicle Refurbish/Maint)
o 24 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank- $10,249.18 at 4.0%
Matures 10/22/27 (Equipment Replacement)
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank- $35,000 at 4.0%
Building fund/ Matures 8/27/26
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank- $100,000 at 4.0%
General/Fire Fund/ Matures 8/27/26
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State Bank- $112,817.63 at 4.0%
Truck Fund/ Matures 8/27/26
Total funds including CD investments $377,531.37
Year to Date Receipts $55,304.66; Year to Date Disbursements $38,370.49.
2026 General town Budget $63,200.00, 2026 Fire District Budget $290,395.00 for a total budget of $353,595.00.
2026 General town Levy $40,000.00, 2026 Fire District Levy $275,000.00 for a total 2026 Levy of $315,000.00.
C Friesner made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed
Biggest changes over the last month are the period 3 property tax payments on both the general and fire side. Fire side of the budget did have a larger disbursement amount due to fire/EMS radios and pagers purchase for about $12,000.
7-month CD at Grand Marais State Bank matured on 2/19/26 for and put back into the truck fund for discussion to open up to the public at the annual meeting on if the money should be rolled back into a CD or kept in the truck fund for the requested new search and rescue truck in the near future. At the Lutsen annual meeting most citizens in attendance overwhelmingly supported using the funds to help purchase a new truck for search and rescue. It was also recommenced looking into requesting a county loan a they are often geared towards larger purchases for townships like a new fire truck and have very low interest rates. Supervisor C Friesner recommended putting the funds into a short-term CD to continue growing funds for a handful of months while the loan request process and truck bid and search process take place. C Friesner made a motion for the treasurer to inquire about the available rates and converse through the clerk to decide on a new CD investment for the truck fund money before the next regular meeting. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. Chief Duclos requested for commissioner Storlie to see if any types of loans or funding is available through the county for the new search and rescue truck. Chief Duclos explained that the Lutsen Fire/EMS is currently in the process of trying to buy a new search and rescue truck as all of the other fire trucks are currently overloaded and unable to put all the needed rescue gear in one location; often all gear is having to be offloaded and sorted between all the trucks and before any rescue operations begins which is very inefficient and wastes time where every minute would count in a search and rescue or gear has to be left behind when any of the trucks is called out for a service where the space is needed. Chief Duclos is estimating the cost for a new truck to be about $400,000 with all the specifications needed along with an estimated 600-day turnaround from initial purchase. Commissioner Storlie requested to have someone come before the full commissioner’s board to present all this information.
Review and Approval of Claims:
· Clerk S. Mcquatters-Spangle provided the invoiced February Claims. Details; 18 claims for a
total of $7,189.61, This included $992.94 for air pack annual services, $1,245 for grant writing services for multiple grants over the last year, $1,767.39 for EMS medical supplies and townhall office supplies.
L Cooper made a motion to approve claims, C Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
· Clerk provided February 2026 payroll; 24 claims totaling $9,386.87 which includes 2026 first quarterly taxes for fire and EMS crew.
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.
· Cash Control for February 2026 presented and matches with treasurers (off .01 cents will half pennies calculated for PERA); Both signed by all supervisors and on file in town office.
Fire and EMS Chief’s Report: (Steve Duclos)
· EMS responded to 2 calls and Fire responded to 9; 3 were call backs to the structure fire at Caribou Highlands
· Fielding a lot of media calls about the structure fires at Caribou Highlands; Caribou sent out a thank you letter the fire department and all the mutual aid departments that came and helped to not only keep the fire from spreading but also help to calm the guest, answer question and keeps the area organized. They have set up a thank you gathering after the ski season ends for Lutsen and all responding departments. Chief Duclos wanted to thank the community and its citizens for all the support that they receive!
· Air packs were serviced this last month for their annual inspection
· Chief Duclos requested clarification for payroll; on fires this the Caribou structure fire and all the hours spent on it. Do call backs to the same fire over a long duration (sometimes days) count as an extension of the fire and get paid as stated for extended hours of $25 per extra hour after the initial 2 hours of service or as a new fire call at $25 per call under two hours? Supervisor Friesner stated that for call backs to a previously services fire such as the Caribou structure fire it would be an extension of the original call.
· Chief Duclos will be seeking insurance payment from the Caribou structure fire for Lutsen township and for all the responding mutual aid departments.
· Blood borne pathogens training
· Truck checks
· Chief Duclos requesting permission to start the process for sealed bids for the new search and rescue truck? The fire crew will draft the requirements and sealed bid statement and have the clerk put into the newspaper and physical posting places at the townhall and bulletin board outside of Clearview.
· Request from town board for new lights in the fire hall/ switch to LED with an estimated cost around. C Friesner made a motion to purchase new lighting for the new fire hall bay for $1000. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
Supervisors’ Report:
C Friesner:
· Talked with Tim Geottle for short term emergency plumbing set up
· Changed dog park bags multiple times
L Cooper:
· WTIP radio
· West end emergency group meeting May 5, 2026 Tofte townhall to discuss the community emergency plans and contacts for citizens; she will remain on this board
· This will be the last meeting for Supervisor Cooper; Thank you for your services to Lutsen Township!
C Homyak:
· N/A
Old Business:
· Lutsen Township emergency shelter; generator has been delivered and has been placed on property; now waiting for electrical hook ups to be installed. Lutsen already has a working kitchen, cots, blankets, showers and has already talked with other emergency shelter groups on needs. Commercial propane application submitted with propane installation anticipated. Supervisor L Cooper will be the main contact for Mr. Keyport about his hazard mitigation request. Supervisor Friesner will be working with setting up the necessary work to have propane tank installed, new heater and furnace.
· Citizen request for installation of personal convection oven at town hall kitchen; Finalized draft was completed and send to Tabitha to review with a security deposit and request to lock and unplugged when not in use to prevent damages of personal property and logistics with preplanning rentals and usage. Tabitha came back with a few concerns and questions about the contract for the supervisors:
1. Rent Billing
Monthly Rent~~ Rent: $10 per hour of use of the Premises. Rent is usage-based and not
charged on a monthly minimum basis. Rent shall be billed in arrears with a minimum charge of
$10 per usage/booking. Hours shall be billed as whole hours, with any overage counting as an
additional hour of use.
“This could be a significant additional cost to the business when I am often only using the hall for a partial hour. I have been prudent about tracking the time to the quarter hour and sending full payment for the usage. Would the advisors be open to continuing to bill for the time spent rounded up to the nearest quarter hour?’’ The Supervisors agreed that the $10 per hour would stand as stated in the contract and billed to the whole hour.
2. Utilities
"Tenant shall be responsible for and pay ~~all utilities and services furnished to or used by it,
including gas, electricity, water, and trash~~ no separate utility charges."
All utilities associated with Tenant’s use of the Premises are included in the hourly rental rate and I question the need for additional utility fees without the means to measure usage. The utilities will be included with the included with the charge of $10 per use. No separate utility charges.
3. Workers’ Compensation
"Tenant shall obtain and keep in force, during the term of the Lease and
any renewal term, a policy or policies of workers’ compensation insurance in accordance with Minnesota
State law."
Workers' Compensation is not generally required by Minnesota State law for a Cottage Maker's License if it is a sole proprietor without employees, and I would ask that it be removed from the contract in this case. Or add language that states, either "where applicable," or requires that the business and License be in good standing with the state following all insurance and workers' compensation laws. Liability insurance cover this as it is your own person.
4. Deposit - In this section, I'm just looking for clarification as to how the deposit is utilized and at what point(s) could the township decide a withdrawal of portions of the deposit were appropriate. For example, if I have utilized the space within a given week and there was a mess left either by me or someone after me. How would the township make a determination as to whether my deposit was going to be utilized for the required clean up and/or what is my recourse to dispute if applicable. Or, is the deposit specifically held for end-of-lease purposes - meaning to address any discrepancies to the facility upon the end of the agreement. The deposit would be used if insurance would need to be applied; in the case an incident occurred and the township is waiting for it to be approved the security deposit would be used then. Should insurance not need to be applied once the agreement/lease has ended then to security deposit would be refunded.
Multiple people pointed out the need for a lock on the personal convection oven as it has been used by other rentals and is a liability.
· Drone update; grants, fundings and outreach: (Sharon Hexum-Platzer)
As of 3/17/26, 110 of the 700+ letters send to short term rentals. Over $18,600 have been raised so far in support of purchasing a drone for rescue and search. Waiting to hear back from grant programs, ski hill advised fund raiser. Second grant from chamber of commerce was also advised however we were informed no funds were available. Third grant applied to is the Cook County Community fund run through Boreal Waters and due in early February, administrator advised the most they would be wiling to give is $5000. The Lloyd K Johnson grant that opens in spring. Tofte township will be donating $5000 as they are a mutual aid. T-Mobile grants
· Nelson-Harris Cartway petition; a petition was signed with the request for the petitioner to submit a security deposit of $20,000 to cover any expenses occurred from the cartway and cartway process within 60 days of the February 17, 2026 meeting. At the March 17, 2026 meeting the petitioner requested for a hold to be put onto the cartway process as they were working with a family member on creating a road on land that sits next to the currently landlocked property. The Lutsen township attorney advised that after the 60-day period either the cartway if disillusioned or an extension can be requested. Clerk sent the current lawyer fees occurred to the petitioner as it was agreed upon before the Cartyway process was started that any fees incurred would be paid by the petitioner. Supervisor Friesner advised the board that at the Next meeting on April 21st, 2026 if the security deposit is not submitted to Lutsen township to not grant an extension but close the cartway and if the issue is not resolved at a later date a new cartway can be requested; the others supervisors agreed.
New Business:
· LBAE meeting date: LBAE to be held May 5th at 6:00pm at Lutsen Townhall
Donations: Drone donations: Labore’s Enchanted Shores Trust, Brian Kyal Woods/Mossy Hollow Cove, Wally and Brenda Boyer, Steven and Brenda Joul, Tyan and Michelle Petz, Birchwood on the Lake LLC; C Friesner made a motion to accept the donations, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed and resolution 2026-3 signed and on file in the townhall office.
Citizen Comments: Sharon Hexum-Platzer:
Adjournment: C Friesner made a motion to adjourn; seconded by L Cooper. Motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 8:42pm
Respectfully Submitted, S Mcquatters-Spangle; Townhall Clerk Carl Friesner; Chairperson