Boy Scout Charlie Stejskal and Maple Lake Chamber of Commerce President Paul Manuel stood in front of one of the two city signs that were renovated this summer for Stejskal’s Eagle Scout project.
inspections in an effort to cut down on water infiltration into the sewer system.
• Received a plan from the Maple Lake Chamber of Commerce and Boy Scout Charlie Stejskal to renovate the 11-year-old “Downtown Maple Lake Welcomes You” signs on each end of town, with funding to come from the Chamber of Commerce and labor to be provided by Stejskal’s group of volunteers.
• Set free outdoor movies on Birch Avenue for July 8, August 19 and September 24. Business sponsorship would be sought but since the
Chamber of Commerce was not hosting the August Days of Old festival, plans were to use a portion of the $2,500 budgeted for the festival to sponsor the movies.
June
• Heard that the city’s bill for May at the Annandale-Maple Lake-Howard Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant was a sky-high $60,000. Part of that increase was due to a very wet spring, but council members said it underscored the importance of the city inspection process underway to find and fix water infiltration sources.
• Discussed whether Jude Hall in Bolduan Park was worth the amount of money it would cost to repair damage to the roof when a storm brought down a portion of a tree. Damage to the building was estimated to be about $1,200, with about $7,000 needed to reshingle the entire roof. Jude hall was constructed in Bolduan Park by the Maple Lake Jaycees in the mid-1980s and is currently used for Boy Scout meetings.
July
• Heard from Boy Scout representatives seeking to save Jude Hall, which was estimated to have a value of $30,000. Issues of mold in the building and other needed repairs brought concerns over safety from council members, who directed staff to undertake an inspection of the hall.
• Approved a contract for patrol services from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office for 2012 and 2013 at a first year rate of $59.75 per hour and a second year rate of $60.50 per hour, representing a $.75 per-hour increase from the previous contract.
• Approved bids for the city hall renovation project to make the building more handicapped accessible. A bid to renovate the building restrooms and water fountains was awarded to Construction Results Corporation in Plymouth at a cost of $67,359 and to Todd Borell of Maple Lake for a revamped counter area at $1,890.
• Approved a quote of $32,515.75 from Paumen Excavating to remove fill at the airport. The issue had been a source of council irritation for years because the fill had been dumped into a wetland at the airport without a permit in a project under the direction of former city consultant John Meyer.
• Attended the annual joint meeting with the Maple Lake School Board, with discussion topics including the effects of the housing bust, construction on the community ball-fields, city park fees, a need to attract industry and the end of marching band appearances in the
Annandale Fourth of July Parade.
• Reached an agreement with Windstream, which was no longer going to provide cable service to Maple Lake residents. Windstream had a franchise agreement with the city that provided fees to the Sherburne-Wright Cable Commission which funded equipment for government public access television. The settlement released
Windstream from certain parts of the franchise agreement and Windsteam paid a lump sum of $10,000 to the cable commission.
However, an ongoing city concern is that former Windstream customers directed to satellite
providers for cable television would no longer receive the city’s public access channel.
August
• Discussed the lack of communication from the county regarding the scheduled installation of a new three-way stop at the intersection of County Roads 8 and 37. There were also concerns voiced by neighbors on how the new stop signs would affect the area. However, council concensus welcomed the new stop signs, which had been sought by the city since 2003 as a means of slowing traffic.
• Approved Sewer Reroute Change Order No.
-continued on page 8