draft
Lutsen Township Board Meeting Minutes
October 20, 2026
Lutsen Town Hall
Present: Carl Friesner, Chris Homyak, Dayna Johnson, Dale Sunstrom, Samantha Mcquatters-Spangle, Sharon Hexum-Platzer, Steve Duclos, Tim Lien, James Coleman
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by Vice Chairperson, C Friesner at 7:00 pm.
Approval of Agenda: C Homyak motioned to approve the agenda. Seconded by D Johnson. Motion passed.
Approval of September Meeting Minutes: C Homyak motioned to approve the updated minutes. D Johnson seconded. Motion passed.
Commissioner’s Report: (Ginny Storlie) N/A
Clerk’s Report: S. Mcquatters-Spangle Deputy Clerk: S. Hexum-Platzer
Correspondence: Correspondence: 5 New townhall rentals; 8 phone calls forwarded
Email correspondences: Seasonal Closure Information for Superior NF Campgrounds, DAWN Business Resource Summit & Pitch Competition, Sept 24, Cook County Planning Commission Public Hearing Notice October 14 (Lutsen property involved; BBC to supervisors), OSA Weekly Update, citizen requesting contact with building codes department; forwarded, DAWN Success Story: Timber Wagon Artisan Bites, Superior National Forest begin prescribed fires, Emerald Ash Borer in MN updates, City of Grand Marais Weekly Update, Minnesota Association of Townships newsletter, PERA webinar Guidance for Election Worker Pay and Upcoming Employer Education, SLFRF September 2026 Newsletter, Fire Department Survey; forwarded to fire chief, Fire State Aid and Police State Aid Update - 2026 Aid Amounts Posted, CTAS 2026 Update 3 Now Available in SAFES (will update after 3rd quarter taxes submitted), MnDOT projects in Cook County: cost participation spreadsheet; forwarded, Arrowhead Age-Friendly Exchange on October 28, 2026, Lutsen Township - Unmanned Aircraft Liability Policy Attached; forwarded, Como appt verified; forwarded to chairperson,
A. Liquor license renewal letters of support submitted to auditor
B. Fall Celebration info posted; helped with donations, Duluth pick up and hosting/clean up
C. Sharon; Fall celebration outreach with WTIP
D. Sharon; highway 61 safety concerns letters and outreach
E. 3rd quarter taxes
F. Meeting with state auditor CTAS on investments and corrections
G. EMS supplies ordered
H. Election judge information request for March local elections
Treasurer’s Report; Dale Sundstrom: As of September 30,2026;
C Homyak made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. D Johnson seconded. Motion passed
Review and Approval of Claims:
· Clerk S. Mcquatters-Spangle provided the invoiced October Claims totaling $17,679.26. Details including 3rd quarter taxes in the amount of 3,319.56 (this includes taxed times for fire fighting mutual aid), $622 in annual liability drone coverage, $8,925 for budgeted short term emergency shelter work at Lutsen Townhall.
· C Homyak made a motion to approve October claims. D Johnson seconded. Motion passed.
· Clerk provided October 2026 payroll; 7 claims totaling $2,921.58; 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 October 2026 presented and which matches with treasurer’s report
Fire and EMS Report:
· Chief Duclos reported 2 fire call and 16 EMS calls.
· 2 new members added to complete Fire 1 and 2 training over this winter season. This fills the rooster at 19 fire/EMS members for Lutsen township
· Training for this month included
o Annual physicals
o SCVA checks
o Pump upset cop
o Cardiac arrest training
o EV fire and hazmat training
· Pre-production review for newly order rescue truck in November
· Communication with emergency management about upgrading short term emergency shelters to include evacuation for wildfire smoke and that might consist of.
· Lutsen resort property fire hydrant is still disabled but is currently undergoing review on how to fix with the responsible parties. There are currently two other fire hydrants located in Lutsen; one at the golf course and one at the top of the ski hill which is connected to a smaller pond located on top of one of the mountains.
Supervisors’ Reports
C Friesner:
o Emptied garbage at dog park
o Talked with plumbers about short term shelter set up
o Hosted Lutsen Fall Celebration
D Johnson:
o Communicated with citizens about current township issues including highway dangers in Lutsen
o Talked with WTIP
o Hosted Lutsen Fall Celebration
o Donations and media outreach for Fall Celebration
C Homyak:
o Gitchi Gami trail association meetings; talked with citizens, DNR and MN DOT and culvert project with plans happening in 2028.
o Supervisor Homyak will be running for county commissioner; if elected he would need to resign at the December 2026 meeting from the Lutsen township board.
o Hosted Lutsen Fall Celebration
o Drone liability insurance finalized
Old Business:
· Lutsen Township Short Term Emergency Shelter: Both hawt dog heaters are installed. It was advised to have supervisor carl look at the propane lines as they are not set up to access the generator. Review of event situations and how each event is handled; basic logistics to be reviewed. Advised to review if outside pipes need to be capped. Additionally, communication with Emergency management on adding an evacuation plan for residents effected by wildfire smoke. Supervisor Friesner also worked with Thompson Gas on propane line installation and fill. Supervisor Friesner will work on logistics needed for running the short-term shelter when called for, purchase of totes for blanket storage and phone charging stations for emergencies.
· Grandview Park Pavillion: Plan of action to repair damage to the pavilion legs by replacing posts and then raise the posts by 6 to 7 inches on concrete so the wood does not sit in water during spring. Supervisor Friesner will reach out to a few companies to inquire about possible bidding and plan of action
· Fall Celebration: Attendance of 32 local resident gathered for a potluck; Dana Johnson won the best dish award. Thank you to those that helped set up the event; Rae Phiepho and Meradith, the decorations and flowers were beautiful; Thank you Clearview and supervisor Homyak for donating brats, hotdogs, apple cider, pop and water to this event! Lutsen township also received multiple door prize awards to be handed to attending citizens and all donations we given to Lutsen fire/EMS!
Thank you:
Arrowhead Electric Solbakken Resort
Caribou Highlands East Bay Resorts
Isak Hansen North Shore Winery
Lutsen Ski hill shop Dana Johnson
Sharon Hexum-Platzer North Shore Federal Credit Union
Johnson and Johnson Foods Lawn Bowling and Popcorn
Superior Golf Course
· Bulletin board: Supervisors will review options and cost-effective designs as a great number of citizen use the dog park/ball park daily and would be a much better outreach and updating the community on township events.
· Gitchi Gami Trail extension: IRRRB pass through money have been secured and Sharon has been working on the process required to access and use of the $550,000 grant money when requested by DNR when construction begins; addition information is needed from DNR and MN DOT is still currently on going with changing designs and addition factors. Lutsen township will be contact will any updated details as they are done.
· Grant opportunities: Sharon Hexum-Platzer will be helping the fire crew to look into grant opportunities for help supplement additional funding to the newly ordered rescue truck over the next year along with the current loan awarded.
· Drone update; grants, fundings and outreach:(Sharon Hexum-Platzer)
o Two additional grants to be applied to over the next month including the Gary Sinise Foundation
o Waiting to hear back on additional grant opportunities
o Outreach Arrowhead board has not yet met but Sharon will continue to check in until we hear back
Anyone wishing to donate to this life saving device, please write your check to Lutsen Township and put “drone” in the memo line. Mail to P.O. Box 151 Lutsen, MN 55612
· Highway 61 letter of support; Due to an ongoing highway safety issue and a recent increase in vehicle accidents or near accidents between Grandview Park and Issak Hansen it has been discussed by supervisors and citizens to draft a letter to MN Dot and the highway department to strategize a fix to this problem. Suggestions ranging from painting a double yellow do not pass in this area to moving the slow speed signs from their current locations to cover from Alta Mikana all the way to Caribou trail. Over the last month Sharon Hexum-Platzer has written out requests and reviews to locals and local businesses to review this issue and if agreed on submit a letter of support to the township that can be submitted in mass to the correct departments. At the moment more than 18 letters have been submitted by effected business owners and citizens in the Lutsen area with more currently being written.
After all letters are collected Sharon will create a cover letter which now include the accident rate and speeding tickets from this area from both the highway department and sheriff’s department for a better overview for MN Dot.
If you feel you effected by the speeding rates and accident rate on highway 61 in the Lutsen area please email Lutsentownship@gmail.com with your concerns or questions on this topic.
· West end road speed sign: The Lutsen west end road speed sign has been inoperative for the last few months and after speaking to a tech consultant it was advise to replace. Given a few options the board has decided to go with the cheaper $500 solar sign to replace all the internal parts for a trial run through the winter. C Friesner made a motion to move forward with consulting Sundew Tech in purchasing a new speed sign to replace the nonfunctioning sign located next to Arrowhead Electric. C Homyak seconded. Motion passed
New Business:
A. Liquor license renewal letter of support for on-sale liquor from Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, Summit Cafeteria, Rosie’s Café and Lofty Gondola; Supervisor Friesner made a motion to writing a letter of support; D Johnson seconded. Motion passed. Clerk will write a letter of support and submit to auditor.
B. Liquor license letter of support for Lutsen liquor store LLC off sale intoxicating liquor license; Supervisor Friesner made a motion to writing a letter of support; C Homyak seconded. Motion passed.
C. Sanding Bid; one sanding bid was submitted by Superior properties in the same amount for the previous year along with an offer to volunteer hours to plow the Lutsen bike bath at no cost to the township. Supervisor Friesner made a motion to accept the bid; C Homyak seconded. Motion passed
D. Robbie Haus email: Currently this is a solely an informational update on a possible cost sharing with MNdot from the Cook County highway department on projects, updates and repairs that would become a fiscal responsibility for the township and taxpayers with how truck highways are now updated and maintained which highway 61 is considered a trunk highway. Supervisor Homyak will contact the highway department and update on this if it becomes a reality as it is currently only in the “talks” phase. Currently no highway projects are slated for Lutsen through 2030 (Gitchi Gami trail culvert project is not considered a highway project)
E. Supervisor appointments; Currently supervisor Homyak is running for Cook County commissioner and if elected will resign from his supervisor duties at the December 2026 meeting. In align with Minnesota Township rules if a supervisor resigns a qualified candidate may be appointed by the remaining supervisors to cover the remainder of the term and then run at the next local election. At the moment James Coleman is a current possibility as a Lutsen resident, former fire chief and attendance at many of the township meetings and knowledge of the current issues.
F. Supervisor Computer; Lutsen township currently has an older laptop no longer in daily use that can be offered to supervisors to aid in maintaining job duties. Supervisor Friesner made a motion to approve updating, wiping and use of the older laptop for supervisor duties; C Homyak seconded with the caveat that is can be updated and formatted. Motion passed.
Donations: Thomas Kindler, Donald and Joyce Elvestrom, Birch Cottage (Carl and Jeanna Lojovich) Thank you!
Citizen Comments: Thank you EMS crew for your quick and professional responses to emergencies at all hours on behalf of Lutsen citizens, it is truly life saving and appreciated.
Adjournment: C Friesner motioned to adjourn Seconded by C Homyak. Motion passed; Board adjourned at 8:05pm
Respectfully Submitted, S Mcquatters-Spangle; Deputy Clerk Carl Friesner; Chairperson