This transcript has been processed to identify speakers based on the provided context of the Moose Lake City Council and staff. [0:04] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: I'll call the regular city council meeting for the city Moose Lake to order. And first is the pledge of allegiance. [0:10] **Group**: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [0:38] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Have you all had a chance to look at the agenda? [0:42] **Council Member**: Yes. [0:43] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any additions or corrections? There's a motion to approve the agenda. [0:47] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: So move. [0:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [0:49] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: Second. [0:50] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: All in favor? I. [0:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Those carried. Consent agenda. We have the regular city council meetings March 11th, 2026. The working city council meeting March 30th, 2026. The financial reports, city accounts payable, March 2026. City financial statement, March 2026. And the liquor store profit loss statement, March 2026. Any questions? Motion to approve. [1:25] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: So move. [1:26] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:27] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Second. [1:29] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [1:32] **Council Members**: I. [1:33] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. Public comment. This time is reserved for comments from the public on matters not listed on the agenda. Please keep comments to two minutes. [1:48] **Public Speaker**: Hello. Um just here cuz I'm still having some issues with the neighbor's dogs. Um I can say the frequency has decreased a little bit but not enough. I know I don't know how much information you guys can give out about where you're at in the process. [2:04] **City Administrator Ellissa Owens**: Um an administrative citation has been sent certified mail. Uh the city has not received confirmation that that has been uh received. Our next step is posting on the door uh of the residence. That has not occurred yet. Um we were trying to allow ample time for all other activities to occur with the post office and to get our notification back. Um it is on our radar and our next step will be posting on the resident's door if we cannot get confirmation of receipt. [2:33] **Public Speaker**: Awesome. Thanks, Dave. [2:36] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further public comment? Moving on to department reports, the Carlton County Sheriff's Office. [2:51] **Sheriff Kelly Lake**: Good afternoon. Uh you should have in your packet uh the March 2026 monthly uh law enforcement activity. As you can see, um, broke it down into extra patrol details, traffic stops, business checks, um, public assist, paper services, um, medical and other calls for service totaling 147 for the month of March. If anybody has any questions on anything? [3:22] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Just thank you. [3:23] **Sheriff Kelly Lake**: Thank you. Appreciate it. [3:25] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Congratulations. [3:26] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Congratulations. [3:28] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. And congratulations on your upcoming retirement. [3:39] **Sheriff Kelly Lake**: Yeah, it's going to be a little bit. I'll be around here still, so not going anywhere yet. [3:44] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: I guess I'm out of the loop. [3:46] **Sheriff Kelly Lake**: I announced my intent to retire at the end of this term, which will not be until January. Well, first week of January, a new sheriff would be sworn in, but um I will not be seeking re-election in November. So, but having said that, I will be around from now until then. Um and still working as dedicated as I have been from day one. So, I'm not going anywhere quite yet. You're not getting rid of me yet. [4:13] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Congratulations. [4:15] **Sheriff Kelly Lake**: Thank you. [4:17] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. [4:19] **Sheriff Kelly Lake**: Thank you. plenty of time to promote the city privacy act officer. [4:23] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: What city? [4:26] **City Superintendent Phil Entner**: Council, Ms. Owens, uh we'll start in the water department. Uh water department distributed 2.9 million gallons of drinking water in the month of March. Um definitely down since we fixed all the water breaks that we talked about last meeting. So that's uh moving in a really good direction there. Sewer department collection system collected 10.6 million gallons of waste water in the month of March. Uh the treatment facility we are uh still looking at more ways to create more capacity out there. We are doing a discharge here in April. So we have a lot of things going on there. Uh kind of opening up the facility for the summer. [5:06] **Phil Entner**: Um, street department rightways. Um pothole filling. I think everyone's seen the guys out there. Um, hot mix plants are opening up in May, so we'll be uh doing some bigger patching. Um, same as what we've always done in the past. Equipment, everything seems to be holding up at this time. Cemeteries have been very quiet last month. Uh, the campground, the park, they both will be fired up and cleaned up the third and fourth week of April. So that's all ready to go. The arena is all shut down. Ice is out and the building's closed up. [5:41] **Phil Entner**: Um storm sewer and sanitary sewer cleanings programs are in place already. We're starting to chip away at that. We're having a couple minor breakdowns, but we're uh we're back up and running as of today. So, that's all I have for right now, unless someone has any questions. Have more to come to the meeting. [5:57] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. [5:58] **Phil Entner**: Thank you. [5:59] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: This liquor store report. [6:11] **Finance Director Ryan McKeon**: Good evening, city council. Mayor Michalski, Administrator Owens. Things are going great down at the MUN. Um, few items. We have karaoke on the 18th. Uh, Aspen Lane music on the 25th. Uh, that's name the band. Mario will be attending the MMBA annual conference April 17th through the 21st. That's in Brainerd. A lot of good things on that agenda. And then we're still doing our 13th annual MMBA help our local animals drive and that goes through the end of the month. So everyone that's listening out there, bring down your donations, support the animals. So any questions? [6:53] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. All right. Like cat Google analysis. [7:07] **Ryan McKeon**: Yeah. So a while back uh the park board was deciding whether to go traditional advertising or um an idea was brought forward by Taylor and I to go a uh newer approach. Uh so we recommended uh Google Analytics AdWords specifically. Uh so to get on everyone's laptop or mobile devices is what you do. You put in some keywords. You can set a dollar amount so you don't break the threshold. I find you get a better bang for your buck and you reach a whole lot more people than just a billboard somewhere. So, what you'll see is just some insights from Google Analytics itself. Just a quick report. Uh impressions, that's how often your ad pops up first on the screen when someone's searching a keyword that you put in. And then your clicks is obviously how often someone clicks on it. But some pretty interesting stuff. Breaks it down by the county. Uh things we can use as we build a reporting trend off this stuff. So in for the future. Any questions on that part of it? All right. Pretty powerful stuff. [8:12] **Ryan McKeon**: Uh and then uh Taylor whipped up this really good year-over-year early booking comparison. So, as you can see, we are up as far as 2026 over 2025 by 238 uh night reservations. So, that's awesome. We're also up in revenue then. And then our seasonal comparison for the seasonals we are down a little bit. We have some people that we need to fill. Any questions on that? [8:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: We're doing well. [8:50] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Yeah, go for it. What do you think has made the difference between the two years for early booking? [8:55] **Ryan McKeon**: Um, that's a great question because we actually raised the price by $10 in a lot of those sites. So, I'm just going to say probably the economy is changing a little bit. People want to get out. They have a little more expendable income. Um, yeah, not sure. They want to get out and enjoy family time more. Well, that's my best guess. [9:11] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Yeah. [9:14] **Council Member Kris Huso**: When did you start the uh Google ads? Did you see an increase in bookings after that? [9:24] **Ryan McKeon**: Uh it's very possible you can attribute some of that to this that we don't have a direct way to correlate the two. Um so I'm not sure when we started until... [9:36] **Deputy Clerk Taylor Hansberry**: February 16th. [9:38] **Ryan McKeon**: February 16th. It's pretty early on, but we were already up in bookings before that, so it can't hurt. [9:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: All right, else technology department. [9:52] **Ryan McKeon**: That's me, too. Let's see. I'm getting back into the cyber security awareness stuff. Um, we have some arena speaker stuff coming going on that's later in the packet here. Yeah, that's all I got for tonight. Just a couple of things. Some stuff with the digital sign, but it's all handled. [10:19] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Finance part. [10:27] **Ryan McKeon**: That's me, too. Let's see here. Uh Taylor and I were on the same wavelength. She beat me to it. She has a really great breakdown. This is in your packet and it's just about our legal fees and kind of breaks down where they're all going. I would note something that's not in there is we budgeted 75,000 in the general fund this year for legal fees and we're already at $70,878.75. [11:00] **Ellissa Owens**: But you can see the breakdown kind of where those monies are allocated to. I think it's important to mention that the um arbitration costs within the sewer fund are not budgeted within that 75,000. So those are budgeted within the sewer fund and broken out. And then um we do have uh we do have items set aside here pertinent to like the the most recent costs, as you can see a breakdown for like the data center and things like that. So, we'll be working hand-in-hand with water and light. Um, and we just wanted to get a really good handle on exactly uh what departments were occurring, what type of legal fees um for some decision-making moving forward regarding modification of ordinances and things of that nature. Um, and so yes, as Ryan mentioned, we had $75,000 budgeted. That's going off of um a slight increase from 2025. You can see what was uh spent in the general fund in 2025 for legal fees. And so um we do we will have more discussion to come as far as making sure we stay within that threshold and what that looks like moving forward. [12:12] **Ryan McKeon**: Yeah, I guess just important to stay on top of since this is only through the you know end of March. So got a long ways to go. [12:20] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. Any other questions? Thank you. Y city report. [12:30] **Ellissa Owens**: Oh yes. So the city council received meeting minutes within the agenda packet regarding the April 1st monthly engineering meeting. Um, one item I wanted to make sure we discuss collectively is on page uh 62 of the packet regarding the water tower. So, the engineers have provided a great breakdown of um activities and costs related to the city's water infrastructure. And so this is based off of the project that occurred with the water tower rehabilitation project that we bonded for in previous years. So what they've done is they've kind of outlined a year-over-year list of and timelines for what repairs improvements um might be needed moving forward. [13:24] **Ellissa Owens**: And then what we're going to do with this information is we are going to look at presenting to council a means of um setting aside around $90,000 a year in order to save for the next round of infrastructure repairs and improvements that will be needed based on this timeline. Um so that when we get to that point um the intent would be that the city doesn't have to bond, that the city has that set aside in order to facilitate those um needs for the water infrastructure moving forward. So more to come for council, but it's a really great breakdown. I wanted uh council to have a reference moving forward as we continue dialogue regarding that. [14:03] **Ellissa Owens**: Um, in addition, uh, the city received a request to kind of itemize where we're at, um, from a grant perspective. And so all of that information is within the the engineering meeting minutes on a monthly basis. Um, but what I, uh, provided to council was essentially a list of all of the current grants and awards and projects that the city has going with grant monies at this time. Um, once we pulled it out and added it together, it's a it's a pretty phenomenal figure. So, um, the city is currently engaged in projects with over $3 million worth of grant funding, which is just absolutely outstanding. And the funding request that we have yet outstanding totals 4.4 million. And so, I provided a detailed list for council on that. I did want council to know that that has also gone to uh the editor of the Star Gazette based on uh her request. And so, um, hoping to share some really positive information. Um, and I wanted council to have visibility to it as well. [15:06] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Kris? [15:09] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Question on the water tower. So, it looks like this year um our general fund will cover any maintenance we need. So, we're not going to be looking at um anything really till 2031. So, we have that much time to save up for? [15:23] **Ellissa Owens**: Yes. Yes. Excellent question. Thank you for asking that. Yes. And so with that um the idea of having about $90,000 a year based on these calculations—and these calculations uh they have incorporated inflation as best they can. Um we'll present some ideas to council as far as what that looks like. Um, just to throw out what some of our internal dialogue has been about would be some type of um, availability uh, fee like was implemented for the sewer fund that then is put in a restricted fund for savings. Um, and just a minimal amount and then it grows over time um, and then can be utilized in order to prevent having to bond later on um, in the future. [16:12] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions? [16:14] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: I've got one. It's on the uh wastewater infrastructure funding. Uh it says MDH is looking at doing a pilot pothole project for the services identified at the curb stop location. What's all that about? [16:31] **Ellissa Owens**: We'll have Phil come up and assist with that particular question. [16:35] **Phil Entner**: So essentially uh that project um if selected um crews would go out and literally pothole—so use a hydro excavator to dig down to the service to obtain the make and type of material of the services. That is the next round of funding that is out there right now. Um I don't know how far along they are with that. [17:05] **Ellissa Owens**: We we don't know how far along they are. We do know that our engineers submitted um the city of Moose Lake and one other local community as a potential for this pilot program knowing that we are at that particular phase and ready for that phase to engage moving forward. There's a lot of uncertainty regarding what funding from a federal perspective is going to look like moving forward. Um so if we were able to engage in a pilot program that could that could be really helpful um in order to continue to make progress on uh towards the requirements—the state requirements, federal requirements for lead service. [17:41] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Thank you. [17:42] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions beyond the Moose Lake Chamber of Commerce? [17:45] **Ellissa Owens**: Oh yes. The chamber is very busy um as they're moving into their heavy planning seasons for upcoming events. Um a Fourth of July theme was selected at today's meeting. It is 250 years of freedom. So they'll be utilizing that particular theme for a lot of the Fourth of July activities. Um in addition they received a presentation from Savannah Gentry who is looking to reinstate the Miss Moose Lake um activities uh within the city and so it as it uh was presented today she will be partnering with the chamber in order to bring that opportunity back to the community. Um, any questions, please feel free to contact the chamber director, Michelle Anderson and, uh, we will be available for questions as well. All of their events are outlined on the website. There's a lot going on. [18:49] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Another previously discussed is this 8th Street road vacancy. [18:55] **Ellissa Owens**: So, um wanted to have council um have visibility to the progress that's been made. So, what we're doing right now is working with the um original requestee regarding uh the route for an easement uh in order to establish utility easements throughout the um current uh section uh while the road will be vacated moving forward. So, we are having those meetings. Those meetings have occurred. We'll do our surveying next. Um that particular request will come back to the city council for a public hearing. So, more to come for council. There will be a need to have a public hearing on the matter. Um and we are engaging in those activities in the background. So, uh more to come. We are at the process of re-surveying in order to establish the utility easements um for all utilities including power with water light. [20:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Moving on the public safety budget. [20:05] **Ellissa Owens**: Yes. So we have compiled a list of all suggestions um regarding the 2025 public safety budget savings. What we're in the process of doing right now is putting uh monetary dollar values um associated with each. We are also underway with the city's audit. We'll have our in-person um audit coming up in the end of May. Um so we will have a definitive figure regarding 2025 and what that savings amount looks like. We'll do our due diligence in the background to keep updating council on um costs related to the different ideas. If any other ideas arise, please feel free to bring them forward. But we'll also talk about these um this particular line item as we move forward uh with other items on the agenda and you know potential uses that council can entertain. [21:02] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? City moving parked parking lot update. [21:08] **Ellissa Owens**: So um where this particular agenda item stands is we have had the engineers design a parking lot in the designated area. What we are doing at this time is going out for bids uh requesting bid information. So getting estimates so to speak on the cost to construct uh that parking lot. We'll bring that information back to the council and update them. Um, I don't want any of these agenda items to fall off, so I'm keeping them on there um with the intent of providing updates on a monthly basis till we work our way through them. [21:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Subsurface sewer treatment system request. [21:54] **Ellissa Owens**: Yes. So, um, we have had discussion at the council level regarding this particular item. Uh where we're at right now is the city placed a request with the city engineers to, um, look for um, model ordinances in other communities regarding how this is how this particular situation is handled um, in other cities around us and, you know, within the state and local areas. So we're trying to have the engineers do a little bit of leg work for us before we have additional dialogue and then send it back to the attorneys. So don't want to pay the attorneys to do that leg work. So we're trying to use the engineers as a resource in order to gather information and ideas and then we'll put them together as an administrative team and bring ideas back to council uh for ordinance amendments and then uh engage the attorneys at the point of actual drafting. [22:56] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Shipping container discussion. [23:02] **Ellissa Owens**: Uh yes. So the um through the working meeting, the city administrative staff got direction regarding a path forward. Where we're at right now is continuing to work through um materials and items relevant to uh planning a planning commission meeting. So, we'll have to schedule a planning commission meeting moving forward. We have not done that yet. Um, but want to make sure that we have all of our information together prior to scheduling that um to then give the planning commission the opportunity to review and have time to assess what this looks like moving forward. And so, we'll continue to make sure we have our information together and then um a planning commission meeting will be scheduled. The planning commission will then make a recommendation to the city council. [23:47] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Moving on to new business. Malaha hockey lease agreement discussion. [24:04] **Ellissa Owens**: So the city council received in their packet an MOU from Malaha regarding um the uh effective dates of April 13th through September 20th. Again um looking to get this established um in order to accommodate um scheduling and planning needs from Malaha's perspective. We do have Mike here if there are any questions. [24:32] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? [24:34] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: I just wonder how it went last year. [24:36] **Mike (Malaha Hockey Rep)**: Sure. Um first of all, thank you for allowing us to try it last year. Uh spring. We did spring last year and then spring this year. Um we did see a decline this year, so we probably won't be asking Moose Lake for the spring ice anymore. Um we just wanted to try it out, see what happened, but we just didn't have the amount of kids that we wanted to for that. So most likely we won't be putting a request for that unless we have some sort of an event or something like that, but I don't foresee that happening. [25:06] **Mike**: Fall ice, however, um that's a good chance for us. I know last year we ended up having a goalie camp there. We ended up having 45 kids there uh from all over uh to come to that. He definitely wants to do that for sure this year. Um we do see a lot more kids showing up for the fall ice just because kids are excited to get back in hockey again. So um we probably will see a lot better turnout for the fall ice rather than the spring ice. Um and it seemed to work pretty well for taking out the ice. So uh we can still, you know, plan for that Octoberfest. So we should have no issues with that. Turn it off on Sunday, have it cleaned out by Tuesday, let it dry for a couple days. So, it worked out pretty well with that. So, there wasn't really a lot of issues with that last year. So, we'd like to try it again this year. I know I got um the uh goalie camp ready to be booked if we can. And then we also wanted to try to do a three-on-three tournament for the Mite 2s um probably late August. So, we want to get a couple weeks of practice in before we do a hopefully a Mite 2 three-on-three tournament there towards the end of August, maybe early September. So, that was the plan. [26:08] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Great. Any other questions? Thank you. Motions. [26:15] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: I'll make a motion to approve the uh memo of understanding of the hockey association. [26:22] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: Second. [26:23] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [26:26] **Council Members**: I. [26:27] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. First National Bank, the youth baseball request. [26:35] **Ellissa Owens**: Uh yes, the city has received a request from um I believe it's 11U's age range around that particular area regarding utilizing uh the arena um while the weather and field conditions are um not ideal for youth baseball outside. Um there won't be any batting occurring. It'll just be pitching, catching, and drills. Uh this was discussed at the park board level and the park board recommended um that uh brought forth a recommendation to allow um them to utilize the arena uh for those activities. Have discussed it with city staff as well and there were not any objections. [27:26] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? [27:28] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Will we have city staff down there during this time or we just haven't discussed that? [27:32] **Ellissa Owens**: I don't know. [27:42] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions? Any motion for that? Any motions? [27:46] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Motion to approve. [27:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [27:50] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: I'll second. [27:51] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [27:56] **Council Members**: I. [27:57] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed? Carried. City Gardener will relate a grant tree committee update. [28:06] **City Gardener Raenee Bennett**: Good evening, council, mayor, and city administrator. Just a quick update for you guys. We had our newly formed first uh tree committee meeting last night. And in case I hadn't told you guys before, this committee was formed for several reasons. Um, we have a Tree City USA designation and part of the requirements to maintain that is to have a tree committee. We just never have. So, we've got that up and moving now. Um, which I'm excited about. [28:47] **Raenee Bennett**: Uh the second reason I think it was it's so timely right now is because with this grant that we've been awarded uh for the uh ash tree removal, there's going to be a lot of decisions that are going to have to be made and I don't want to be the only one making them. So the more the merrier. So with that being said, at yesterday's meeting, we thought that it was probably a good idea to have a little bit more community involvement. We currently only have one community member that's not connected with the city in any way and I think that we need to have a better representation of the community um for many reasons. Um, so I'm going to create an ad and then we're going to place it in uh on our Facebook page as well as our website and then we'll see what kind of interest we can drum up and we'll go about the process and decide what kind of process we're going to use to choose those people. [29:48] **Raenee Bennett**: So that's our tree city update or tree committee update. Uh the second part um has to do with our grant. Um I received two different bids for tree removal. I went to Valhalla which is a local area tree removal service and then Rick's tree service in Duluth. The bids are in your packet. Um, the bid for Valhalla was 12,600 and Rick's tree service was 18,000. I'd like to proceed with recommending that we use Valhalla for that uh portion of the grant. [30:33] **Raenee Bennett**: And then secondly, the trees that the ash trees that are still remaining on the main Arrowhead Lane boulevard that are super visible when people are coming in and out of town. We want to try to retain them for as long as possible. So, I got two bids for tree treatment for those. Um, and it's a chemical treatment that transpires up into the tree and it kind of knocks the emerald ash borer back. It's not a long-term solution, but my opinion is is that it'll give us enough time to get our new trees planted while we still have some kind of um tree coverage and let them get up a little bit bigger and then we'll we'll do that over the next several years and then a discussion can take place after that to see if we want to continue that. I think it's well worth it uh to do that. [31:37] **Raenee Bennett**: My recommendation is that we go with the higher bid, which I know is kind of unorthodox, but Levy Tree Service, her bid was $616 higher than Rick's, who also gave us a bid for tree treatment. And my main reason for wanting to stick with her is her familiarity with the city. Uh we've worked with her for the last five years on treating some different trees that we've got, including the ones on the main boulevard. Uh her tags are already in the trees and she's got all the data that she needs in order to be able to treat those trees. So those are my two um recommendations and um I'm happy to answer any questions if I can. [32:22] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Kris? [32:24] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I don't know if this is more for you or for um Phil, but I noticed these are going to be disposed at at the city compost. Correct. How is that going to go with that? I mean, that's a lot of trees and they're—are these diseased trees, correct? [32:42] **Raenee Bennett**: Well, yes, but we already have emerald ash borer in Cloquet. We already have emerald ash borer in Pine County. We believe that we have it here. I think that that's one of the main reasons that they granted us this grant. Um, and so it's already in the area. So for the stuff that gets chipped, there's no more worry about that bug moving anywhere. And as soon as the tree dies, then they lose interest and they die off. That's my understanding of it, my very limited understanding of it. Um, but I have talked to the DNR, the people that have um, submitted this grant or allowed us to have this grant and they see no concern with our disposal method. So, my intention is I've talked with public works and both of the people that gave us bids and what they will do with all of the trees that are removed is they'll bring them to the compost area and set them off to the side. The public can have access to them for firewood. Um, we'll be doing chip drops for the stuff that gets ground for the stumps and the areas that get ground up and those will be available as well for for the public. [34:04] **Council Member Kris Huso**: How long does it take to dry before these people start packing off and bringing this home and—and without a... [34:11] **Raenee Bennett**: I don't think there's a requirement. I can check on that. I don't think there's a drying time commitment or requirement before they can move anywhere. [34:20] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I just don't want us to take them down, bring them up there, and then they get distributed throughout the city again. And you know, here we got another big problem. [34:27] **Raenee Bennett**: Well, it's if it's here, it's here. And there's 257 ash in the city. We're going to be removing 26 of them. The worst of the worst. So, we just don't have the money or the capability to go and remove them all and create a sterile environment for the whole city. It's just not realistic. Um, I think my main concern, and this is what I've tried to explain to these guys, too, and everybody's kind of clear on that, is the ones that are affected and the ones that are damaged already, I want to make it safe for the community because when they start coming down, they're really going to start coming down. So, if we can get ahead of the ball game, take advantage of this grant, get the most dangerous trees out of here... Are we gonna never have emerald ash borer problems? Of course we will. But this is a good way to at least make our city parks and our boulevards safer by trying to eliminate it as quickly as we can over the next two years. [35:36] **Council Member Kris Huso**: But I can get you more information. I'm just wondering if it would be something that once it's there, we should burn it and then it's eradicated that area and it's done there so it's not being brought little pieces to neighborhoods or whatever and then they're bringing a little bit home here and now we have taken 20 some down and now we got another 20 that are you know I don't know. [36:03] **Raenee Bennett**: I am more than happy to try to go get more definitive information for you on that. I'm not a tree expert. I'm just... [36:12] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Neither am I. [36:14] **Raenee Bennett**: Neither am I. So, yeah. Well, I'll try to get more information and have that reported back to the council. [36:22] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions, Doug? [36:24] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Yeah. Of the grant, yes, you have 12,600 for the tree removal, how much was set aside in the original grant? [36:34] **Raenee Bennett**: Uh 70,000 total, but for this portion of the tree, is it broken down? I had already had that pre-approved by the grant committee that was wondering... [36:45] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Of the total grant how much was tree removal that we had set aside or isn't it broken out that way? [36:51] **Raenee Bennett**: It's just not broken out that way. [36:53] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Okay. Then the other thing that you've stated is that the uh you want to go with the one that's a little bit more expensive. Let's say that the only thing that's major difference is that they are charging us for travel and that's $340. Otherwise the goods are still $76. Correct. So they're relatively close. [37:23] **Raenee Bennett**: Yes, I appreciate that. Thank you. [37:28] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions? Moving on to the Patricia will close. [37:34] **Raenee Bennett**: I think we need as much as... Yeah, if I get approval for either one of these, then I'm going to update my paperwork because I need to get new budget approvals for this part of it. Then we can get going. [37:54] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a time that they'll be doing this work? [37:57] **Raenee Bennett**: We're going to start this spring. [37:59] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Okay, we'll do them separate tree removal quotes. Is there a motion to accept those or one of the rules? That would be Valhalla. [38:11] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: I'll make a motion that we uh accept Valhalla. [38:14] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [38:16] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: Second. [38:17] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [38:21] **Council Members**: I. [38:23] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed, carried. Now moving on to the tree treatment quotes. [38:43] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I'll make the motion that we accept the bid for Levy Tree Care for the treatment of the ash. [38:49] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Second. [38:51] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion hearing? None. All in favor? [38:58] **Council Members**: I. [39:01] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. Thank you. [39:06] **Raenee Bennett**: One second. Thank you. [39:15] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Hold on. So, I just have to say um when this grant—when Raenee came to me and city administrator with this grant, um I I not going to lie to you. I kind of rolled my eyes. I hate trees. I'm a farmer. I've cleaned tons of land to plant crops, feed my animals, not plant trees. So when she wanted to do this and the administrator wanted to do this, sure, have her. Well, turns out she's done very very well. $70,000 that Raenee has gotten for this town um to to fix this problem that we have. Um if we didn't have this grant, if we didn't have her, I couldn't imagine where we're going to be. I mean, we have paid—not I, but the city has paid removal bills in the past that I have seen upwards of $3,500 a tree. So like for her to continue to do this, hats off. Well done. This city Moose Lake thanks you and uh very blessed to have you on our group. [40:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. Very nice. Thank you. [40:04] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Do you like Raenee a little bit more? [40:06] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Nope. Still a farmer. [40:08] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: I had one question. [40:11] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Oh yes. Uh will there be minutes from these meetings? [40:15] **Ellissa Owens**: Yes. We will incorporate minutes um moving forward uh with the other meeting minutes and reports of correspondence as well. [40:21] **Raenee Bennett**: Thank you. We are planning to meet on a monthly basis. So for at least while we're getting started here uh we'll continue to meet on a monthly basis and then work our way through the grant process and then you know might modify meeting dates and frequency uh moving forward. But for now we're going to meet um monthly and our next meeting is May 5th. [40:45] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions? Moving on. Independent school district facility lease agreement. [40:58] **Taylor Hansberry**: All right, I'm back. This is simply a renewal. The school district would like to continue to use our ball fields. Uh the only thing that changed in this from the previous one is the dates. [41:14] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Motions. [41:16] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: I'll make a motion. [41:18] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [41:20] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I'll second. [41:22] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [41:27] **Council Members**: I. [41:30] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. First National Bank arena speaker quotes. [41:36] **Ryan McKeon**: Yeah, you got a couple of different companies in there. Uh so bit of background, we have some failing speakers in the arena. So we need a fix for it. It's something we have to have functioning in there. Um so you have two different companies that quoted it out. Duluth AV actually gave two. This did go before the park board. Um they approved the 2,948 from Duluth AV. It is the more expensive one and that is due to the fact that these are 360 speakers and they are better. It is what I would recommend as well for a better sounding system in there. And then the CTI came in quite a bit higher. [42:15] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? [42:17] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Ryan, can you explain where the funds will be coming from for this particular expense? [42:24] **Ryan McKeon**: Yeah. So, every year as a part of our partnership with First National Bank, uh we get $10,000. So, we're just looking to reinvest in the arena. [42:35] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Motions. [42:41] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I'll make a motion that we um go with the recommendation of the park board for EV logistics estimate 1860 in the amount of $2,948. [42:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Was there a second? [42:58] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Second. [42:59] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Further discussion hearing none. All in favor? [43:03] **Council Members**: I. [43:06] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. Uh, First National Bank arena table/chair quotes. [43:12] **Ryan McKeon**: Yes. So, kind of along the same lines, we'll be utilizing some of these funds getting in from First National Bank. Um, one thing that's come up from multiple places—the library, the Octoberfest, Ag Days—they would all like some more tables and chairs down there. So that's why you're seeing this in there. The park board did approve or recommended uh Uline for the economy folding table and the deluxe folding chair. Um 10 tables and 20 chairs is what they recommend. [43:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions from Uline which is a little bit better of a table? [43:53] **Ryan McKeon**: Yeah, the other one did not have any um weight requirements capacity descriptions. [43:59] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Motion to go to recommendation. [44:03] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: So move. [44:05] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [44:07] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Second. [44:08] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [44:11] **Council Members**: I. [44:12] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed? Carries. Thank you. Uh Moose Lake congressionally directed spending request. [44:29] **Ellissa Owens**: Yes. I just wanted to have uh visibility for council regarding the two uh CDS requests that were submitted on behalf of the city of Moose Lake. Uh to provide some additional information, both requests were submitted for the amount of $2.8 million. Uh the $2.8 million would um essentially allow the city to extend uh infrastructure throughout the plotted development and then would allow us to move forward uh with building out the entire development in totality. [45:00] **Ellissa Owens**: In addition to the CDS request submitted to Senator Smith and Klobuchar's offices, um we had also submitted the $2.8 million request to Congressman Pete Stauber's office and we have been made aware that our request has been selected as a top 20 project to move forward through Congressman Stauber's office. So, we'll be working with um all pertinent individuals and parties regarding helping advocate for that request through Stauber's office. And then um I will keep council informed regarding any information we hear back um from Senator Smith or Senator Klobuchar's office. Um I will be meeting with the Carlton County EDA who has the lobbyist on board now in order to make sure that they're aware of our requests and that we continue to advocate for the city throughout this process. Any questions? [46:13] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Those... oh, good work. [46:17] **Ellissa Owens**: Thank you. [46:22] **Ellissa Owens**: Minnesota Department of Transportation 2025—should be 2026 LRIP project. Um so it is 25 but that's because the funds were allocated in 2025 um for a local road improvement program. So it's confusing but it is 2025 LRIP money. The city was notified that they have been selected for LRIP funds appropriated by the legislature in 2025. Um it has been identified that the city will be awarded up to $1.5 million for the road project. Uh the road project that was applied for um essentially runs from Highway 73 to the corner of Birch on First Street. [47:00] **Ellissa Owens**: And so where we're at now after receiving the information that the city has been awarded the monies is now working with the engineers in order to kind of hone in on design to get a better idea of cost. So in council's packet um you received a preliminary opinion of cost that was utilized in the application process. Um if you look at the bottom the total construction cost for the project is $3.5 million. That has a total of LRIP participating costs of 1.8 million. As just stated we were awarded 1.5 million. So a little bit of a difference there as far as what the city's contribution would be and the city's requirement to cover. And then the city's portion is $1.6 million. [48:00] **Ellissa Owens**: So what we've been doing in the background um and the mindset behind the city's original application is the city collects sales tax to be utilized for um infrastructure and road projects. At the end of 2027, we are estimating we'll have $2 million in the sales tax fund to be able to cover um the city's costs affiliated with this project. Um what's not listed on this sheet yet is the engineering costs. So there are engineering costs that are not LRIP eligible. Generally, it's about 10% for design and construction oversight is about 10% of project cost. So, what we're looking at doing right now is uh diving into design to get the project cost down as much as possible um while still meeting the requirements for the LRIP application and meeting our requirements that were established with our first road project on Fourth Street. [49:09] **Ellissa Owens**: So, we want to make sure we're mimicking those same standards. Uh so we'll be working with the city engineer on that. Once we hone in on the actual cost versus the preliminary opinion of cost, um then we'll have a better idea of what needs to be set aside for engineering from a design perspective and what needs to be set aside for um construction oversight. So while we're working through that, we are going line item by line item as far as um this opinion of cost. We've already identified some areas where there can be cost savings or um that we have additional information we can share with the engineers in order to whittle down the city's portion. Um so we'll be going through that process moving forward. [50:00] **Ellissa Owens**: The input that I'm looking for council today um is our original application had a 2027 construction year. Uh you can select 27 or 28. As we're looking at this, we want to make sure that the project result is premium and so we want to make sure we have enough time to go through the design process and also that we can budget for the engineering costs associated with the project. So wanting direction from council as far as do we want to push this and push for a 2027 construction year, or are we okay with 2028? That gives us a little bit of wiggle room as far as additional planning and prepping and coordination. Um, and want to have council input on that decision. Anything to add at this time? [51:03] **Phil Entner**: No, you did good. One thing that we are discussing with the engineers is the gravel pit and how we can utilize the gravel pit in order to get cost down. It's important to mention that the um the gravel is actually part of the road base and so the monies coming from LRIP are for the road and the city's contributions are the utilities underneath. So it actually falls in the category of what we're already receiving funding for. But if you remember that this opinion of cost has the LRIP portion at 1.8 and we received 1.5 in funding. So our idea and our hope is that we can utilize gravel, our own gravel from our own pit in order to get that cost as close to 1.5 as we possibly can. We don't want to go under because we don't want to give back proceeds that uh the city's been awarded. But if we could use enough gravel to get us down to 1.5, that's less out of pocket for the city. Um, and that's what we are going to be working on with the engineers moving forward. [52:15] **Ellissa Owens**: There'll be a magic number in there somewhere and and we'll work towards it. With a standard road project, um, our gravel pit can be utilized and we know it's about a 30% cost savings um, moving forward for the city. We definitely still want to utilize that resource and we're going to maximize it as best we can with this particular project as well. Um, with that being said, there are some steps in the background that have to occur. Um, we need to make sure that in order to be able to utilize the city's gravel for this particular project that it meets MNDOT specs and testing requirements. And so as we um get the gravel pit operational here in 2026, we'll be making sure that we take the steps um required in order to meet those specs. So a lot going on in the background. Um in my role there there were times where I was pushing for 27 and 28. You know, Superintendent Entner has been steadfast on 28. [53:18] **Phil Entner**: Pretty steadfast on 28. [53:20] **Ellissa Owens**: I am now leaning towards 28. Um, want council input, but we definitely want to make sure the output is premium. We have enough time um to analyze this down to the penny to make sure that the city's contribution is um as low as possible while maximizing the state funding that we've received. [53:42] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Kris? [53:44] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I just have a question for Phil. Um when will that pit be ready to work? [53:51] **Phil Entner**: We are crushing in June. [53:54] **Council Member Kris Huso**: You are? [53:55] **Phil Entner**: This summer. [53:56] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Okay. [53:57] **Phil Entner**: Yeah. That is you have you guys have already approved estimates for that last fall. [54:02] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions, Doug? [54:04] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Yeah. If it goes to 28, there's a very real possibility that if that project goes up 10% that we'll be going backwards. We bring in $250,000 a year. 10% is 350,000. So there's very real concerns that we could possibly be costing us more for the total project. [54:25] **Ellissa Owens**: Totally agree. I have stated that as my reasoning for wanting to push for 27. Um if we're looking at this particular opinion of cost, we're looking at upwards of $600,000 needed for engineering design and then construction oversight. And so we have the sales tax funds set aside for the city's portion of this project. Um, in totality, what we're looking at now is what is needed from a city perspective in order to be able to facilitate the engineering needed for the project. And so that's where what we're working on in the background is how much of the potential public safety savings could we utilize. Um how much—there's a natural gas franchise fee fund that we're looking at as well that we have not utilized. Um, and so with direction from council, we'll then dive back in to figure out: Are we looking to be able to have $300,000 in 26 for design? And then we budget for the $300,000 needed for construction oversight in 27 while the project occurs. Those are the the questions that we have and the direction that we're looking for. And if council wants to proceed in 27, then we're going to go back to the drawing board and bring forward recommendations on how to accommodate the $300,000 of engineering. [56:01] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: What was your thought process on 28? [56:04] **Phil Entner**: Uh it gives us more time for design so we end up with a perfect project on First Street. The second one was in the first beginning stages of the administrator's conversations and mine, the sales tax was looking kind of tight. We were right there. So I just immediately jumped to 28. Uh the inflation things going up. I totally understand that. Um it's just my recommendation. Just where I was at. If if we want to go on 27, that's fine. Let's go. I'm all in. I have no issues. We'll make it happen. But that was my only reservations. I'm a little more on the conservative side. So, I try to make sure everything is just... if we do something, we're going to do it. We're going to do it right. It's going to be perfect. That's what I try to shoot for. That's where I was at. [56:57] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Other questions? [56:58] **Ellissa Owens**: You're looking for direction. [57:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Yeah. Do we need a motion or consensus on a year? [57:04] **Ellissa Owens**: Um, don't need a motion, but definitely need consensus so that we know what our next step is. [57:13] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Well, when when I first got on the council, there was discussion about being able to do a road project every 3 years. Obviously, depending upon the road project, some are bigger than others. This one would be larger, but uh I just have a hard time going with 28 because that's 6 years in between projects. I mean, if 2027 is doable, you know, I don't feel like we have all the information like right here to make a solid judgment, but I would definitely like to see 2027 if the funding is there and all these issues can be resolved. [58:02] **Ellissa Owens**: I would agree with you, Councilor Lower, that um when we look at this opinion of cost that's utilized in the application process, we can pull out five line items that both Superintendent Entner and I are just scratching our heads at and it's not even close to that amount. [58:20] **Phil Entner**: We definitely have some questions about those numbers. [58:22] **Ellissa Owens**: We do. And so we're coming from the same place. If we start—well we have to then start design um in order to whittle this down um and then we need to know whether or not we're searching for money in 26 and bringing forward recommendations for that or we're budgeting in 27 and 28 for those engineering activities. Um I I think um I think we'll be able to get these figures down um which then impact the the city's engineering contribution as well. [59:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Other questions, recommendations? [59:03] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Well, you heard me on 2027. [59:05] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: I got 2027 as well. Unless there's a financial hardship that we can't do it because why make the citizens pay for the inflation if we can make it happen. We haven't pulled anything out of the liquor store yet. We have a bunch of other funds that we can pull money on to make this happen and it would be the nicest street that we have in the city. So... and I'm going to abstain from anything to do with this road because my home is on this road. [59:36] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: Yeah. I think if we can save money by doing 27 rather than 28 and we should make every attempt. Seems to be the financially smart thing to do. [1:00:02] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: As long as you think it could be done. [1:00:05] **Phil Entner**: Oh, we'll get it done. [1:00:06] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Okay. That... there's I haven't gotten anything done you haven't asked me to do yet. So, we're not going to start with this one. [1:00:15] **Ellissa Owens**: The report says they leave some wiggle room, but you know, money's a factor. [1:00:20] **Phil Entner**: And that's where I was at. So, I could go either way. We just both hit the same wall at the same time and we went—we hit the fork in the road and we both went different directions. [1:00:33] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: So, not opposed to either. We'll absolutely do what you guys say. Sounds like we have consensus to go for 27. [1:00:41] **Ellissa Owens**: Noted. [1:00:43] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Okay. Short Elliot Hendrickson Moose Lake trunk sewer renovation bid award recommendation. [1:00:54] **Ellissa Owens**: So council received in their packet the um city engineers recommendations regarding the um sewer lining project with the state facilities. Insituform Technologies came in at the lowest amount for $458,524.32. [1:01:21] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? [1:01:23] **Ellissa Owens**: We were actually a little surprised about the number of bids that came in for the project. It is slightly bigger than our previous annual lining projects and so it seemed to attract additional interest. Um I don't know whether or not it's an indicator that um there's a desire for work out there. Um if that would be the case then hopefully our bids for our First Street project would go similarly. Um but a lot of bids and they came in lower than the anticipated engineering estimate. Uh what we're in the process of doing right now is the city has been awarded over $700,000 um for the project through grant monies. So, we are spinning back with the city engineers and the MPCA to see if we can um do add-ons to the project at alternates um in order to add on to the project to get even more lining done. Um and so we'll bring more information back to council. We figured we might as well ask. Um, and so we're in the process of doing that now, but definitely need direction tonight uh regarding a bid award and then we'll work through the rest of that. [1:02:44] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Motions. [1:02:46] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Motion to go with Insituform Technologies for $458,524.32. [1:02:56] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there second? [1:02:57] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Second. [1:02:58] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? [1:03:00] **Phil Entner**: One thing I'll add is this is the same company we've used for the last four projects. Been very happy with them. [1:03:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: All in favor. [1:03:04] **Council Members**: I. [1:03:05] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. Thank you. Minnesota DNR outdoor recreation grant application. [1:03:20] **Taylor Hansberry**: Good evening council, mayor, Ms. Owens. This is just an update on the outdoor recreation grant through the Minnesota DNR. Our city engineers have worked really hard to get the very lengthy application done and submitted by the deadline which was March 31st. The application was submitted for $104,000. Um this is a matching grant. Part of the city's match was $60,000 that we had budgeted to go towards the equipment. Um, we will also be contributing costs for engineering services. [1:04:02] **Taylor Hansberry**: Public works—meetings with public works has determined that they are willing to do the curb for the container of the play area as well as for the parking lot. We've also discussed doing a community build which would save us on installation costs. This involves having volunteers from the community come and work on the installation by direction of a certified installer from the company. And the overall goal of this grant and our intention with this playground was accessibility. So in looking at the area that we had, we identified that the stairs down to the beach were not very accessible and also not in very good condition. [1:04:47] **Taylor Hansberry**: So, we took the opportunity to include that in this grant as well um to hopefully get some work done on that side of the beach house to make our beach accessible to everybody. So, um I think in your packet you were given some visuals. It looks pretty cool. I'm really excited about it. Uh this grant is unique in that in many scenarios when you apply for a grant you see if you get the funding before you do all the planning. For this grant we had to do all the planning in order to get the funding. So at a city admin level we had to make some decisions regarding the play area. [1:05:25] **Taylor Hansberry**: We handed it over to the playground company who has worked with this grant before and basically said: "Here's what we have to work with. Here's the size of the container. We need a play structure for the 5 to 12 range." And we'd also like to include something for that younger demographic, the 2 to 5 year olds. So, um, they gave us the best play equipment that we could afford with the grant in our play container. It's a really cool structure. There's a little just—I don't even know what to call it—for the little toddlers to go in and play. And there's some um little chimes and stuff for the younger kids as well as a swing set which includes a swing for the 2 to 5 year old group as well. So I do have if anybody wants it blown up bigger, but I bet it's easier to see on your iPad, the layout and the graphics. So just an update: the awards will be announced as early as June, and we're very very hopeful. I told Ellissa if there's one thing I do while I work for the city, it's gonna be getting new playgrounds. So, um I'm crossing my fingers. [1:06:45] **Ellissa Owens**: Taylor's done an excellent job with this um facilitating this with the engineers and um with the company that works with the grant. So, lots of hard work. The submission is in and now we wait. [1:06:51] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Go ahead, Kris. [1:06:54] **Council Member Kris Huso**: What um kind of warranty—what is this material made out of? Is it... [1:07:03] **Taylor Hansberry**: It's mostly um a plastic material with the metal poles and such. There is a warranty. I don't know that I have it accessible. It might be in my email and I can forward it on to you, but there is a warranty um included in the purchase of the equipment. [1:07:17] **Council Member Kris Huso**: Okay. Yeah. Beautiful job. [1:07:22] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any other questions? Thank you. Good work. League of Minnesota Cities 2026 annual conference. [1:07:35] **Taylor Hansberry**: So, the admin budget has allocated $2,000 for training. We try as an admin staff to attend trainings every year. We did not have the opportunity to attend one last year. Um, just as a side note, the council does have $500 in your budget for trainings as well. So, if anybody was interested in anything that the League of Minnesota Cities has to offer, um, let me know and we can look into that. The conference is June 24th through 26th. It is down in Rochester, so we would be closing the office for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to attend. [1:08:15] **Taylor Hansberry**: Some of the highlights um that we were interested in—the education blocks that are provided during those days—is investments in budgeting in grants with public funds, responding to misinformation, hiring and employee retention, data center development in cities, and the use of AI as those opportunities evolve. So um for our registration the cost would come in at 1,125 which is within our admin budget of 2,000 and then obviously we would be incurring some travel costs too. That budget is 1,500 and it looks like that would be coming in around 800 bucks. So um this might be the only training opportunity that we take advantage of this year. Um but it is within our budget and if council would like to attend, please let me know. [1:09:05] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions, comments? Any motions? Uh, city park special event application. [1:09:21] **Ellissa Owens**: Uh, yes. The city received a special event application from the Legacy of Excellence regarding the um 5K/10K run coming up. Um this is an annual event. Uh we've not had any issues. Uh the date is May 2nd. Um and um if approved by council, we will start coordinating regarding city needs in order to assist with facilitation. [1:09:46] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions, motions? [1:09:50] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: I'll make a motion we approve the special event application. [1:09:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:09:56] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: Second. [1:09:58] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? [1:10:02] **Council Members**: I. [1:10:04] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: All carried. Looks like campground picnic table quotes. [1:10:14] **Taylor Hansberry**: Yes. So, at the end of 2025, the park board had requested $10,000 be budgeted for new picnic tables at the campground. This was identified by staff as a need in the campground. With that $10,000, a quote was provided by Chadwick Manufacturing for 8-foot frame galvanized tables with lumber and pre-drilled router ends of the boards. These came in at $450 each. The park board approved the purchase of 22 of those um for $9,900 um and recommended that to council. [1:10:52] **Taylor Hansberry**: In addition to that, an opportunity was presented to us by Sam from First National Bank. Essentia has an opportunity for up to $5,000 to go towards causes like this. So, we have requested $3,600 from Essentia to buy an additional eight tables, which would bring us to 30 new picnic tables at the campground. I believe we have over 70 there. Um most of them are in need of replacing. So um the plan is to get a jump start with this $10,000 that we've budgeted for this year to replace a good portion of them and then to continue upgrading them on a smaller scale each year so that we don't get into a position where we have 90% of our picnic tables in bad condition. So, um I guess looking for a motion to approve the purchase of the 22 picnic tables at $450 each for $9,900. [1:11:54] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further questions for a motion? [1:12:01] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I'll make the motion that we buy the picnic tables from Chadwick Manufacturing—22 picnic tables. [1:12:08] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:12:09] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Second. [1:12:11] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Further discussion hearing? None. All in favor? [1:12:15] **Council Members**: I. [1:12:17] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Thank you. Part-time campground attendant hiring recommendations. [1:12:43] **Ellissa Owens**: Uh yes. So, um as part of our annual opening of the campground, we do assess staffing. Um it was determined that we need two part-time campground attendants based on previous employees not returning. That process has been facilitated by city staff. Uh the park board has also received the recommendation. It would be to hire Soren Hansen and Richard Schoffner. [1:13:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? Motion to approve the recommendation. [1:13:10] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: So move. [1:13:13] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:13:14] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: I'll second. [1:13:15] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Further discussion. Hearing none. All in favor? [1:13:19] **Council Members**: I. [1:13:21] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any opposed? Hearing none. Carried. Part-time lawnmower job posting. [1:13:35] **Phil Entner**: So I was contacted over the weekend that Mr. Steve Trenel will no longer be with us this summer. So that position... um yeah I believe a copy of the job description is in the packet. Um looking for consensus to post that position. [1:13:54] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Do we have consensus? [1:13:56] **Council Members**: Yes. [1:14:02] **Phil Entner**: Thank you. [1:14:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Thank you. Library board appointment recommendation. [1:14:10] **Ellissa Owens**: Oh yes. There was a vacancy on the library board. Uh the library director did facilitate inquiries regarding the potential vacancy and appointment. Um there was a response from Molly Hedberg. The library director then facilitated discussions with the library board and a recommendation is being brought forward from the library board to appoint Molly Hedberg as a member of the library board moving forward. Looking for a motion from council to appoint. [1:14:36] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? Is there a motion? [1:14:41] **Council Member Kris Huso**: I'll make that motion. [1:14:43] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:14:45] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: Second. [1:14:46] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [1:14:49] **Council Members**: I. [1:14:51] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. Carried. The LG 2020 application for exempt permit. [1:14:54] **Ryan McKeon**: Yeah. So Spencer Cloud—he's also the coach for the Moose Lake River Rebels baseball team, he's affiliated with Moose Lake Buzz—he submitted an application. Uh what they're doing is they're doing a raffle to cover expenses. Uh this includes league fees, ump fees, balls, equipment, etc. And then eventually they want to come back to the city and talk about improvements for the field. [1:15:30] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any questions? [1:15:32] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: I'm glad it was baseball. I thought it was a dance-ball. [1:15:36] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a motion to approve? [1:15:40] **Council Member Walter Lower III**: So move. [1:15:42] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:15:44] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: Second. [1:15:46] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Any further discussion? All in favor? [1:15:49] **Council Members**: I. [1:15:52] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed? Carried. Thanks. Reports of correspondence. We have the prescription drug takeback flyer April 25th, 2026 and the Hope Floats bingo flyer April 4th, 2026. Any questions on those committee board meetings? Looks like area fire protection district minutes from February 10th, 2026 and March 10th from 2026 and the Park and Rec board meeting April 6, 2026. Any questions? [1:16:42] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Moose Lake City Council regular meeting Wednesday, May 13th, 4 p.m. in city council chambers. Moose Lake City Council local board of appeal and equalization meeting Thursday, April 9th at 10:00 a.m. in the city council chambers. [1:17:02] **Ellissa Owens**: I think that's Thursday, April 9th, Jim, for the board. [1:17:05] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: It's tomorrow. [1:17:07] **Ellissa Owens**: Yeah. [1:17:08] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Did I say Wednesday? Tuesday. Tuesday. Thursday, April 9th for the board of equalization. Moose Lake Economic Development Authority, Wednesday, April 15th, 12:00 p.m. in the city conference room. Water Lake Commission, Tuesday, April 21st, 1 p.m. in Water Light Office. Moose Lake Housing Redevelopment Authority Board, Monday, April 13th, 11:00 a.m. at Hillside Manor West. Moose Lake Area Fire Protection District, Tuesday, April 14th, 6:30 p.m. in the fire hall and Moose Lake parking board, Monday, May 4th, 5:00 p.m. City Council Chambers. And that's all we have. Is there a motion to adjourn? [1:17:58] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen**: So move. [1:18:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Is there a second? [1:18:01] **Council Member Lou Ohly**: Second. [1:18:02] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: All in favor? [1:18:03] **Council Members**: I. [1:18:05] **Mayor Jim Michalski**: Opposed. We are adjourned.