BRAINERD — The city of Brainerd will send an official complaint to the Minnesota Attorney General about Lakes Media Collaborative.
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” council member Gabe Johnson said Monday, Oct. 2. “Could make $700,000 out of the deal.”
The nonprofit partnered with the city beginning in 2005 to air City Council meetings on a public, education and government access channel for the public to watch. The city paid franchise fees for this service until 2020, though no formal agreement between the two entities can be found.
The meetings stopped being aired in 2020, when City Hall was being renovated and the council met at the Crow Wing County Historic Courthouse.
During the renovations, city staff said they attempted to work with Lakes Media Collaborative to reinstall the audio equipment and purchase and install updated video equipment for the newly renovated council chambers in order to air the meetings on TV again. City Administrator Jennifer Bergman and Information Technology Director Shawn Strong said they were having a hard time coordinating with Lakes Media Collaborative to get and install the equipment, which triggered a council discussion about cutting ties with the group altogether.
While the meetings were broadcast, city officials believe the work by the collaborative was minimal and unreliable.
The city has since contracted with Central Lakes College to create
Brainerd Community and College Channel
, which is available on cable through CTC and Charter, through Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV and on YouTube and Cablecast.TV.
In 2021, Strong told the council there was about $700,000 in the Lakes Media Collaborative general fund, the vast majority of which was likely from Brainerd’s franchise fees that went unused.
While City Council members said they understood the collaborative had no legal obligation to return the funds, it couldn’t hurt to ask for that money back and agreed in August 2021
to send a letter
with a request for the funds.
After not hearing back from the group, the council crafted another letter in August 2022.
A letter from City Attorney Joe Langel stated the original request was not in jest.
“The Council provided a considerable amount of taxpayer funding for services that were not rendered, and it is the City’s understanding from the 2021 meetings that a large fund balance remains in your account,” Langel’s letter states. “Given that no services are being rendered, and it is anticipated that none ever will be, those funds need to be returned to the City.”
An April 2023 letter from David Archer, an attorney with Lathrop GPM representing the collaborative, states the city’s request had no legal basis, and Lakes Media Collaborative disputes that it owes the city any amount or has any outstanding obligations to the city.
Archer further states the collaborative provided “consistent and reliable broadcasting and other media services” to the city and other customers in the region for more than 15 years.
“Consistent with its commitments, Lakes Media completely satisfied all obligations it had to the city,” the letter stated. “…. the City’s allegation that the Council provided funding for services that were not rendered is completely without merit.”
Archer asserts the funds paid to Lakes Media Collaborative were always paid after services were rendered, so there is no legal basis for the city to demand payment.
After receiving the letter, council members decided to take what action they could, knowing there is no documentation of a written agreement between the two entities and therefore no official contract violation.
They agreed Monday to fill out an official nonprofit/charity complaint form with the attorney general’s office. The form will allege a possible violation of the contractual relationship between Lakes Media Collaborative and the state of Minnesota, as the collaborative is organized as a nonprofit.
Staff will complete the form and bring it back at the next city council meeting Oct. 16 for the council to review.
“I really struggle with all the money we’ve given them if we don’t do something,” council member Kevin Stunek said. “… It just kind of irritates me.”
“Maybe we’ll push the right button,” Johnson replied, speaking of the form.
Council member Kara Terry said she supports filling out the form but doesn’t want to do much more than that, as it would cost valuable staff time.
When asked about the council’s decision to file the complaint, Archer said in an email he and the Lakes Media Collaborative believe the complaint lacks merit and should be reconsidered, reiterating the nonprofit’s commitment to the city.
“We are, moreover, concerned with the precedent that the city council is setting by singling out individual nonprofits for investigation when even the council itself has conceded that Lakes Media did not violate any contractual promise to it,” Archer wrote.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at
theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com
or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa
.
Theresa Bourke started working at the Dispatch in July 2018, covering Brainerd city government and area education, including Brainerd Public Schools and Central Lakes College.
