Lutsen Township Board Meeting Minutes
January 20, 2026
Lutsen Town Hall
Present: Carl Friesner, Chris Homyak, Lolli Cooper, Ashley VanDoren, Samantha Mcquatters-Spangle, Sharon Hexum-Platzer, Steve Duclos, Julie Buskovick
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 January agenda, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
Approval of December Meeting Minutes: C Homyak made a motion to approve, L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
Commissioner’s Report: (Ginny Storlie) Not in attendance
Clerk’s Report: S. Mcquatters-Spangle Deputy Clerk: S. Hexum-Platzer
Correspondence: 8 phone calls forwarded; 4 new townhall rentals booked, 2 Calls forwarded, 1099 FEIN’s received for taxes, Sharon reviewed with clerk procedures, Verification on Tax Exempt status for EMS orders (issues with Bound Tree services), OSA Weekly Update, Minnesota Housing eNews, Minnesota Association of Townships, City of Grand Marais Weekly Update, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Remittance Advice Notification; forwarded to treasurer, Talked with Como oil and Propane to verify check sent, corresponded with supervisors about Kitchen Lease, Affidavits received from NewsHearld, AAAA Newsletter, January Update, 2026 CTAS ready for update after end of year forms completed, Fire State Aid and Police State Aid Forms Now Available; forwarded to fire chief, Forest Service offers permits for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, CCHE January Newsletter, invitation: 2026 Township Day at the Capitol - March 2, 2026, Next Live Q&A Session 1/22: Paid Family and Medical Leave, Community Grant Funding Assessment, 2026 Workers Compensation Certificate of Coverage for Lutsen Township, Confirmation of your Registration for *NFPA 1001 Registration - Hovland VFD , 5 U.S. Flag Half-Staff Days for 2026, Public Official Employer Webinar: Thursday, January 29, Filing candidate names sent to Gregg at newspaper, Monthly Public Hearing Notice – Cook County Board of Adjustment, Corrected Date - W-2 Newsletter,
A. Multiple orders for EMS/Fire
B. Clerk while filing 3rd quarter taxes filled the paperwork however forgot to schedule to actual payment; Clerk has offered to pay the late fee applied to the tax filing. Supervisor Friesner advised and made a motion that as it was an accidental overside the township can pay the $150 penalty fee. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed. C Homyak advised clerk to get a large wall calendar for the more important dates. Clerk will purchase a calendar and planner.
C. Electric Park invoices sent
D. Sharon/Sam finalizing 1099/W2’s
E. End of year object codes/ review with treasurer
F. End of year meeting dates posted
G. Meeting minutes submitted to Supervisor and Newspaper
H. Office open/Notices posted for election filing
I. PERA exclusion reporting
J. Township computer repair/Sundew
K. Renewed Clerk’s SAM account; Sharon Hexum-Platzer
L. Townhall open for filing for open offices;
Supervisor 3-year term; Running for office is Stacy Scheiblauer and Katie Oakes
Treasurer 2-year term: Julie Buskovick
Lutsen Township election to be held on March 10, 2025 from 5pm-8pm. At 8:05pm will be the Lutsen township annual meeting and election results.
Treasurer’s Report; Ashley VanDoren: As of December 31,2025;
North Shore Federal Credit Union-Checking $329,057.72; General Building Fund-savings $57,577.75, General Money Market $86,423.79, Fire/EMS truck fund $82,817.63 totaling $555,876.63; CD investments;
o 7 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$102,613.70 at 4.0%,
(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) Matures 2/19/26
o 29 Month CD at Grand Marais State bank-$104,512.33 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 Banke- $10,249.18 at 4.0%
Matures 10/22/27 (Equipment Replacement)
Total funds including CD investments $227,624.39
Year to Date Receipts $435,191.14; Year to Date Disbursements $333,875.23.
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.
C Friesner made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. C Homyak seconded. Motion passed
Biggest change the last month was receipts; property tax payments from the county and quarterly taxes
Truck fund transfer claim will be filed for a $30,000 transfer; check to transfer between both banks.
· Account donations; noted that any donation written out to “Lutsen Fire Department” will be deposited into the Lutsen Fire Relief account as the Lutsen Township account is labeled as only Lutsen Township. Treasurer VanDoren has since adjusted the funds however this will become an issue or donations going forward; especially since so many donations were deposited with the drone donation requests from short term rental owners. Grand Marais State Bank manager has approved the deposit of any donations received written out to “Lutsen Fire Department” in response to any drone donation request letters currently sent but going forward a new solution will be needed. Possibly a seconded checking account with a different name or having all future donations written out to “Lutsen Township” which might be harder to enforce since most donations are for “Lutsen Fire Department”.
In order to add the name “Lutsen Fire Department” the township would have to go through the state and add on a DBA to get a checking account with multiple names which is not ideal.
C Homyak requested and has offered to research the best options to solve this as it will be an ongoing issue with all future donations.
· Funds received from matured CDs at Grand Marais State Bank; discussion on how much can be left in the township checking fund and possibly putting a majority of the available not immediately needed funds into CDs to grow the money. State auditor recommends 35% to 50% of operating revenues or no less then 5 months of operating expenditures available; advised $200,000 for Lutsen township.
Treasurer VanDoren advised that some of the building funds account money is meant for short term emergency shelter; propane lines, 2 heaters, furnace and labor which Tim is scheduling installation estimated cost to be around $20,000. $21,000 was placed into the account with an average roll over amount of $35,000.
o C Friesner made a motion to approve a $30,000 truck fund transfer and move it to the actual truck from checking account at Grand Marais State Bank. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed
o C Friesner made a motion to move the entirety of the Fire/EMS truck fund sitting in the money market account for $112,817.63 to a 7-month CD at 4% interest at Grand Marais State Bank. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed.
o C Homyak made a motion to move $35,000 from general building fund to a 7-month CD at 4% at Grand Marais State Bank. C Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
o C Homyak made a motion to move $100,000 from general fund checking account at North Shore Federal Credit union to be put into a 7-Month CD at 4% at Grand Marais State Bank. C Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
Review and Approval of Claims:
· Clerk S. Mcquatters-Spangle provided the invoiced January Claims. Details; 18 claims for a
total of $15,566.12, This included $2,089.90 for 4th quarter federal taxes, $572.72 4th quarter MN taxes, $858.31 townhall electric bill, $504.16 Minnesota association of township dues, $4,335 for public safety EMR training and BLS certification
C Homyak made a motion to approve claims, C Friesner seconded. Motion passed.
· Clerk provided January 2026 payroll; 6 claims totaling $2,289.42
C Friesner made a motion to approved payroll. C Homyak seconded. Motion passed
· Claims approval and Payroll distributions were signed by Supervisors; copies are on file
in the town office.
· Cash Control for January 2026 presented and matches with treasurers (off .02 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 7 calls and Fire responded to 2; 1 evacuation call to help with broken ski lift
· Officers met at December and create training schedule
· Election
· 12 New emergency radios received and handed out, 2 dual band radios for rescues; older radios and pagers to be recycled
· Rescue truck quote of $386,214 from Rosenbauer but if Lutsen fire pays for the chassis a discount would be applied; Heimen fire equipment with an order timeline of two years. Supervisors requesting a detailed breakdown of how much a downpayment would be or if a progress payment and present at the annual meeting March 10, 2026. Fire chief Duclos will get back on a detailed price and timeline breakdown with an assured quote price up until 2/28. Supervisor Homyak suggested looking into the possibilities about needing to request a bid; MN township statutes related to contract and bidding- “contracts over $100,000 seal bids solicited by public notice and subject to the particular requirements of governmental subdivisions.” Best value for price, quality and maintenance can be factored into the bid. Supervisor Friesner requested Fire chief Duclos bring this to the annual meeting and Lutsen citizens.
· EMR refresher course completed; CRP refresher-refresher can mostly be reimbursed
· Entry door on fire side man door not working/freezing
· Steve Olson started fire 1 and 2 classes
· Fire department rules and regulations; needs approval from the township board. C Freisner made a motion to approve the fire department rules and regulations. L Cooper seconded. Motion passed (C Homyak abstained).
· Requests to look into a digital donation option for Lutsen Fire, Fire Chief Duclos will look into a Kickstarter or other type of receivable form for donations that can work with the volunteer fire department or township.
Supervisors’ Report:
C Friesner:
· Talked with Tim Geottle for short term emergency plumbing set up
· Changed dog park bags multiple times
· Contract for superior properties sanding finalized
· Truax tree cutting scheduled
L Cooper:
· WTIP radio
· Reached out to Tabitha about kitchen lease contract
· Invoice for Smith Law submitted to clerk
· West end emergency group meeting 1/27/26 5:30pm Tofte townhall
C Homyak:
· Gitchi Gami trail; Lobbying in February 2026
· Sanding contract discussion with citizens
· Talked with a few citizens about personal convention oven in townhall kitchen
· MATIT to talk about truck bidding
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.
· Grand view park: Pavillion restructuring and upkeep to be discussed in March once the snow melts.
· Citizen request for installation of personal convection oven at town hall kitchen; Finalized draft 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.
· Drone update; grants, fundings and outreach: (Sharon Hexum-Platzer)
As of Friday 1/16/26, 103 of the 700+ letters send to short term rentals. Over $16,000 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. Last grant available at the moment is the Lloyd K Johnson grant that opens in spring. Tofte township will be donating funds in the future and other sources of funds and grants or fire departments will continue to be sought out.
Supervisor Homyak also advised that the chamber will write letters of support for any grants and an option to budget to pay year to meet the 3-year contract at $25,000 per year; a second drone added at no cost after the second year and full maintenance and full warranty.
New Business:
· Nelson-Harris Cartway petition; Clerk will send petition to township attorney specializing in cartway to review and advised on the next steps to be taken. Clerk will keep supervisors up to date with progress up to the next meeting date.
· Audit and Budget meeting date:
o Audit Meeting to be held February 17, 2026 at 5:00pm at Lutsen Townhall
o Budget Meeting to be held February 17, 2026 at 5:53pm at Lutsen Townhall
o Regular Meeting to be held February 17, 2026 at 7:00pm at Lutsen Townhall
· LBAE meeting date: LBAE to be held May 19th at 6:00pm at Lutsen Townhall followed by the regular May meeting 7:00pm at Lutsen Townhall.
· Request for township to plow Lutsen trail head parking for snowmobile trailers. Kevin Johnson requesting Lutsen trailbreakers or Lutsen township to plow a trailhead. Supervisors advised that once the land is developed, we can review the request again however the donated snowplowing services currently in service to the townhall will not be requested additional services. Things to consider is who is liable should any issues occur. At the moment the county is plowing ski hill road so bring this up with Ginny Storlie.
· Flags need to ordered; find a company that makes them in the continental united states please. Clerk will order flags and request dimensions form the fire crew.
Donations: Odyssey Resorts(townhomes and poplar ridge homes), Linda Elaine Herron
Drone donations as follows: Thank you on behalf of Lutsen township and Fire crew!
(Clerk will look into finding post card thank you cards for donations)
Mike peters, Chateau Leveaux LLC, Kevin & Tammie Pattison, Lynskey Investments, Beth Moorhead, Calvin Gloor, Wendy Isley, Maureen Cuthbert, Stuart & Kathy Noun, Brad & Tina Larson Frederick Morlock, Mary Tofte-Kleese, Dan Scheller, Fiedler Family, Tamara Ober, Tox Trot Ridge LLC, Sue McConville, Therese Mathews, Sarah Ogilvie, Russell & Janice Michaletz, Elizabeth Lampert & Eric Tjossem, William & Renee Burns, Ernest Lampe, Terry & Marie Flatten, Cynthia Poundstone, BLT Family LLC, Eric & Jenna Burfeind, Naomi Quillopoa, Patrick & Paul Burns, Jack & Linda Breviu, Anne Strub, Mark Gilbert, Debra Mcguire, Larry & Linda Berger, Carol Taylor, Drake Rosenwinkle, Andrew Herman & Jane Powers, Carolyn Deters, Brennan Malanaphy, Benjamin Miller, Julie Kmoch, Erin Sjoquist, Jay & Peggy Halvorson, Edward Kleinwort, Robert Ebbert, Lee Broadston, Lara Martinson, Greg Weyandt.
Dave & Mary Nickel, Kittie Franz Trust, Thomas & Sarajean Herrmann, Mary & Todd Wenck, Jeff Indrelie, Susan Ahlquist, Tullio J Alessi, Nancy & Alan Frerich, Absolute PCA LLC(Lisa and Dead Carsrud), Ben & Abby Erickson, Elizbeth Mcshare & Francis Murphy, Glen Fuller & Lisa Zellar, James Gilbert, Nancy Tracy, Madhu Kannapiran & Kelly Ishizuka, Zavadil Limited Partnership, Gregory Keel & Deb Schmidt, David & Marion Hanold, David Stuart, Matthew Mittag, Tricia & Paul Hinz, James & Carold Youdas, Twelve Mile Rock(Steve Stule SP), John & Kathryn O’Brien, Ryan & Amber Filip, Joann Peters & Kent Swanson, Paul & Nancy Andraschko
Craig & Lynn Blake, Rob & Anne Wight, Lutsen Lookout LLC (Todd & Pam Robinett), Catherine & Michael Brennan, Mark D. Svendsen, Paul & Laura Bergren, Godward 2 LLC (Thomas & Kimberly Godward), Emily & Mike Scheuerell, Andrew & Sandrea Schultz, Barbara Linell Glazer, Larry & Mary Ness, David & Susan Trudeau, Odyssey Resorts, James Demas, Dale & Lynnette Kenne, Maryann & Joseph Schwebel, Ann Pifer, Bryan & Jennifer Kemnetz, Michael& Tamira Holsten, Jennifer Kramer & Claire Beaty, Thomas Bergstrom, James & Elizabeth Fritz, Richar Markowski, Jill & Joseph Driscoll, Brad & Katherine Hawks, Thomas Holm, Dominic & Allison Cecere, William Kirwan 3rd, Matt & Darlene Bratager
Supervisor Friesner made a motion to accept the donation; Supervisor Coooper seconded. Motion passed.
Citizen Comments: N/A
Adjournment: C Friesner made a motion to adjourn; seconded by L Cooper. Motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 8:48pm pm
Respectfully Submitted, S Mcquatters-Spangle; Townhall Clerk Carl Friesner; Chairperson