Tuesdays’ Becker City Council meeting began with a site certification presentation by members of Xcel Energy.

Ryan Bruers and Mark Osendorf presented Mayor Tracy Bertram with an acrylic placard and  a framed certificate thanking the City of Becker for partnering with Xcel Energy in their certified site program.

Public Hearing

Mayor Bertram opened a public hearing to hear from property owners on a the changes proposed for the city’s fee schedule.

No one from the public spoke at the hearing.

After closing the hearing, council voted to approve the fee schedule changes which included the addition of compost card fees, changes to the ROW permit fees, an increase of 2% to utility rates, an addition to the state testing fee, increase to grass cutting fees, additions to the sidewalk snow removal fees and an addition of ROW tree trimming fees.

Toolcat Replacement

Streets Supervisor Chris Lisson asked council to approve the purchase of a new 5600 Bobcat Toolcat. 

“Because of the utility box and the number of attachments (bucket, plow blades, tillers, augers, brooms, snow blowers), these pieces of equipment are being utilized by staff which accounts for the high number of hours that are on a four-year­-old machine,” Lisson said. 

The hours equal 2,800 and the vehicle is used year-round while maintaining the streets, parks and trails in the City of Becker.  

Lisson added that the 2016 Toolcat requires approximately $3,800 in repairs and is not in optimal condition.

The new Toolcat would be purchased at the state bid pricing of $54,599.20. With a trade-in value of $22,000 on the 2016 Toolcat, the city could acquire the new one for around $32,600.

Lisson said the department has over $52,000 left in the street crackfilling budget, which is where the funds for the new Toolcat would come from.

Funds Transfer

Connie Robinson of the finance department says the 2019 Business Park Expansion has a budget of $6,803,305. She noted there are two external sources of funding for the park that include: BDPI ($1,546,615) and Direct Legislative Appropriation ($3,300,000).

Robinson says there are funds available from the 2011 Industrial Street and Utility Improvement fund of $949,991, leaving a balance of $1,006,699. 

Robinson recommended transferring funds from the Future Improvements fund to the 2019 Business Park Expansion fund to cover the balance not covered by external funds and the existing internal fund.

Council approved.

Pebble Creek

Josh Kuha said the golf committee has been working to develop a strategy to expand space to the bar/restaurant at Pebble Creek.

Kuha said the proposed Capital Improvement Project is to knock out the top-half bar wall and merge the “game/meeting room” with the currently used bar/dining space. The back-bar counter would then be modified into a new section of a new horseshoe-shaped bar. 

“This would allow us to place guests in the ‘game room’ and effectively expand our service area,” said Kuha. 

Other parts of this project would include: new flooring in game room to match that of the rest of the bar; Custom cabinetry and a bar top to complete the horseshoe bar to match the existing; Tongue-and-groove ceiling updates to expanded area to match; Retro-fitting the game room exterior door with a window to match bar entrance; Expanding the game room hallway to allow for more bar space and passage into the new seating area; Completion of Phase 2 of the audio improvement project that began in 2019; Add five new TV locations in expanded area and add fixtures, Furniture and equipment for expanded area.

Kuha says revenue growth at Pebble Creek has been consistently 30% over the previous year’s month and he believes they will continue to add guests. 

“With our strategic direction to continue to grow the wedding and event business, simply adding seating in the banquet area is not good option long term,” Kuha said.

Kuha said staff has selected local vendors and awarded work based on recent bid results, positive work history with the City of Becker and project cost. They include Joel Toedter of The Toedter Team, Doug Watercott, for the bar, Russell Security for the light kit in the door and carpet from Cheney Carpets.

Pond Restoration

Kuha said over the past few years, staff at the golf course have not been filling the pond on #4 due to a large amount of water loss through visible damage in the clay liner near the fill areas, drain tiles, and where the creek flows into the pond. This year, he said, they kept the pond full and had multiple issues that arose that they did not experience the previous years when the pond was left natural. 

The water that was escaping the pond was creating wet spots near the tee box on #4 and near #2 to the point that there was running water on the cart path at times near the silver tee on #2. 

“When we stopped filling the pond this fall to let it drain for the eventual project, we monitored the water loss,” Kuha said. “The surface level of the pond dropped 2.5 feet in 11 days once we stopped filling it.” 

With the surface area of the pond being 1.3 acres, this puts the golf course at right around one million gallons of water lost over 11 days. When calculated for the entire season, this is a substantial amount of water that is lost, Kuha said.

Herbst Excavating of Clear Lake was chosen to do the pond restoration at a cost not to exceed $28,000.

Up Next

The next Becker City Council meeting is Jan. 7 at 6 p.m.