During its March 10 meeting, the Eagle River City Council okayed a bid from Aqualis for $30,450 for an annual cleaning and televising of the sanitary sewer system, but also opted to skip 2026’s work in order to allow the sewer fund, managed by Eagle River Light and Water, to rebuild its reserves.

City Administrator Robin Ginner explained that they have used Aqualis for more than a decade for this service, but the bid-seeking was to see if prices were in line with what others were charging. After receiving bids, Ginner learned that Aqualis is low on the spectrum of expense, with the other bid coming in at $17,000 more.

Mike Sanborn, utility manager of Eagle River Light and Water, provided an update on the sludge tanks that are filling up and need to be emptied later this year. He has been looking for viable land areas to spread the sludge on, but they are still in need of another location.

“We are doing whatever we can to come up with a field to spread on locally,” he said.

Medford, where they currently deliver their leachate, said it would accept the sludge but the high cost is giving Sanborn pause. He indicated it would cost $115,000 for them to take the sludge, but added there would also be significant transportation costs associated with that option in the $100,000 range.

Sanborn said the best long-term solution is likely going to be for the city to purchase a piece of property, but in the meantime they still need somewhere to spread the sludge in mid- to late summer. He’s hoping to find a field that meets necessary requirements that is located within a half hour of Eagle River to keep transportation costs to a minimum.

“Keep your ears open for any fields we can spread on,” he told the council.

EMS care lacking

Fire Chief Jim Randall introduced himself and provided his first update to the city council in the new position.

He brought forward concerns regarding the wait time residents are seeing for ambulance calls, and also noted that there has been a big increase in calls already received by ERFD for this year.

The department does not have its own medical staff, but is called to offer support when other EMS services in the vicinity are called in.

So far in 2026, there have been 69 calls, which Randall noted is equal to where they were at at the end of May last year. “It’s not gonna stop with the influx of people here,” he said.

When Aspirus ambulances are not available, the nearest EMS service has to come from Conover, which can cause wait times of 30-45 minutes in some cases.

“This is a huge concern if it’s a bad call like a heart attack,” Randall said, noting that when you only have 60 minutes to administer care, that kind of wait can be a death sentence. “We need to up our medical coverage here. It’s not fair to our residents.”

Alderman Jerry Burkett recommended they call a meeting with the towns of Washington, Lincoln and Cloverland to look at options.

Turkey’s Clubhouse bills owed

Blaze Champeny has a past due sum of $1,143 for garbage service paid by the city and not reimbursed from his tenure as operator of Turkey’s Clubhouse at the Eagle River Golf Course.

The city also was responsible for a $900 cleaning bill for tasks not completed by Champeny at the end of the season. “The city has taken on its share of his expenses,” Ginner said to the council.

The council passed a motion made by Burkett to pursue Champeny for a total bill of $1,500 which includes the outstanding garbage bill as well as half of the cleaning bill.

“Take him to small claims court or get him to pay,” Burkett said.

In other business

The council decided a number of other topics during the meeting, including:

— Giving final approval for the Eagle River Lions Club to install municipal bathrooms at Gremban Park that will be similar in layout to the bathrooms currently used at Riverview Park;

— Approval of a public records fee policy to be put in place that states charges clearly;

— Okaying street closures for the Eagle River Chamber of Commerce’s busy upcoming event schedule;

— Granting picnic licenses to the Lions club, chamber, and Great Headwaters Trails Foundation for summer and fall events;

— Granting a number of operator’s licenses;

— Allowing for a direct sellers permit for Tree Ripe Fruit Company’s sale of produce; and

— Granting a taxi business license to Eagle River Taxi, Kurt Schels and four taxi drivers licenses for Eagle River Taxi.
A motion to decline or participate in the National Flood Insurance Program was tabled until more information can be gathered on the topic.