Prior to the start of the Clear Lake City Council meeting Monday night, newly elected Council Member Kristin Brandt and re-elected Mayor Tim Goenner and Council Member Dale Powers were sworn in.

 

 

Tom Cruikshank, formerly planning manager for St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission (Metro Bus) and now senior transportation manager for WSB Engineering, was in attendance to discuss the possibility of a Northstar Link commuter bus stop with the council; he had previously attended a council meeting just over a year ago to discuss the same project.

 

He explained that before he left Metro Bus he had begun looking into the potential for a bus stop in Clear Lake. Metro Bus is the operator of the Northstar Link commuter bus from St. Cloud to the Northstar Commuter Rail Line station in Big Lake.

 

Cruikshank said he was there to see if a bus stop in Clear Lake was warranted  and find out if there was anything he could do to help the city move forward with the project.

 

Sherburne Co. Commissioner Felix Schmiesing was also in attendance, and told the council if there was potential to build ridership on the rail line he was for it, as the goal of Northstar is to reduce traffic during peak periods and provide commuters an option.

 

“I’ve done some background work and met with Metro Bus,” said Schmiesing. “They’ve agreed to have discussions with MnDOT about the possibility of a bus stop here. My expectation is that MnDOT will want a study done, which would involve some expense.”

 

MnDOT pays 90% of the Northstar Rail Line’s costs.

 

Schmiesing said he would like to have more conversations with the new government administration, although he admitted he felt it was a long shot.

 

Powers asked if the Becker Park and Ride was considered under-utilized, and said he felt Clear Lake may be in a better position to capture commuters from Clearwater. There are around 12 to 15 vehicles at the Becker stop each day.

 

Cruikshank explained Becker was originally chosen as a site for a rail station; when the Northstar Corridor wasn’t extended to St. Cloud the city was offered a bus stop instead.

 

“In my mind Northstar hasn’t performed as expected,” said Schmiesing. “It’s been a bit of a disappointment in regard to ridership. The numbers are rising, but slowly.”

 

Powers noted the Big Lake lot was full on special event weekends, and many of the riders were coming from areas further away such as Alexandria. Clearwater to Clear Lake would be more convenient for them. Schmiesing agreed, but stated Northstar is a commuter rail and that needed to stay the focus. 

 

Cruikshank and Schmiesing both agreed to help facilitate discussions of the project. A meeting with all the parties that would be involved in the project will hopefully be set up sometime in the spring.

 

 

The council passed six resolutions; 19-01Rules of Procedure, 19-02 Official Appointments, 19-03 Clear Lake Lions 2019 Gambling, 19-04 St. Marcus Church 2019 Gambling, 19-05 Amending City Fee Schedule and 19-06 2019 Polling Place.

 

Motions also passed approving the 2019 special permits and the land sale purchase agreement.

 

 

Powers informed the council the city attorney had a few changes on the first draft of the new solar ordinance he had completed. He expects it will be ready for review at the next council meeting.

 

Public Works Supervisor Dustin Luhning informed the council an ad had gone out for a new public works employee before the first of the year and will run through Jan. 14. The 32-hour a week position is for a licensed water sewer operator with a D license who would have the same responsibilities as Luhning.

 

The sheriff reported 29 points of contact for December, including seven traffic, one accident, one medical and one domestic.

 

The next Clear Lake City Council meeting will be Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.