During the June 3 meeting, the Becker City Council approved a proposal from city staff to submit for a grant from the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure program. 

The funding would be used to develop Lu Ann Dr. SE to Edgewood Dr. SE. The proposed development project would serve the housing needs of middle-income families. The project is estimated to be around $1.95 million, with an estimated $430,325 being covered by the grant. If the grant is awarded, design should begin this year and construction would occur in 2026 and later.  

Freedom Day Proclamation

Mayor Mark Kolbinger proclaimed June 7-14 as the Becker Freedom Days. Kolbinger urged citizens to take advantage of the events planned throughout the week, culminating in the grand day activities on the 14th. 

Committee Reports

Budget and Finance is beginning work on the 2026 budget. The city applied and qualified for aid from the state to help cushion the tax blow from the Sherco units shutting down, and this coming year will be the first the aid will be given to the city. Council Member Rick Hendrickson also discussed water shutoffs, and urged anyone who had difficulties paying their bill to just reach out to the city to work out a solution. 

The City Hall Project is coming along and the construction crew was getting ready to start on sheetrock around the time of the meeting. 

City Ordinances

City staff has undertaken a project to update the city zoning and subdivision codes to make it more user-friendly and understandable. Unfortunately, since two of the council members were not in attendance at the meeting, the adoption of the changes had to be tabled for the June 17th meeting. 

City staff is next pursuing codification of the city ordinances. To do so, they will engage with American Legal, who will perform the work, host the ordinance code on their website, and keep the code updated for the city on an annual basis.