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Lutsen Township
Local Board of Appeals & Equalization Meeting Minutes
May 5, 2026
Lutsen Townhall
Meeting Called to Order: C Friesner called meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance Recited
Meeting Attendees: Rachel Espe, Bob Thompson, Kyle Monson, Carl Friesner, Chris Homyak, Samantha Mcquatters-Spangle, Karen Ketchmark, Jason Ernst
Approval of Agenda: C Friesner addressed the room and asked if an item needed to be added or removed from the printed agenda? No objection C Friesner made a motion to approve agenda; C Homyak seconded. Motion passed.
LBAE 2025 Meeting Minutes: Read by all supervisors; previously approved at the 2025 May regular meeting.
Supervisor C Friesner acknowledged assessor Bob and gave him the floor.
Assessor Thompson provided packets;
The Final Ratio Print – This shows the median sales ratio for various property type aggregations and the sales counts.
Lutsen PRISM Mini – This compares changes to values, new construction, and acreages of various property type aggregations from 2025 to 2026.
Lutsen Sales Information – This is a list of all Lutsen sales that were used in the 2025 study period.
Lutsen Reject Information – This is a list of sales that were rejected from the study period for various reasons.
Appeals & Equalization Handbook – This is the MN Department of Revenue Training Manual.
County-Wide Information – This is county-wide statistical data.
Advised discussion topics to go over with assessor Thompson at the meeting was supervisor training for the LBAE which should be completed by February prior to the same years meetings which will then be signed off with the assessor’s office for at the LBAE meetings.
Lutsen’s property value increased at a slightly higher rate then the county average over the past year. Lutsen increased by either 4.5% while the county average was 3.5% mostly due to the sales on Cascade Beach Road and at Caribou Highlands however they will go down as there are already listed properties at below the assessed value.
No public appeals presented.
There were no appeals presented either before or during the meeting and no motion was needed to pass.
C Friesner made a motion to adjourn; C Homyak seconded. Motion passed and meeting adjourned at 6:14 p.m.