The Becker Twp. Board met Monday evening and heard an update on several shared roadway projects, as well as a request for the consideration of a trail installation along Co. Rd. 23.

Sherburne County’s Gina Hugo addressed the board to gauge their interest in participating in a grant program to partially fund a trail connection from Edgewood St. in the city of Becker to 103rd St. just north of Becker City Park.

The trail would be installed on the west side of the road in the county right-of-way, and would start with a township application to the state’s Local Trail Connections Grant program.

Under the proposal, the county would provide engineering services, which account for $140,000, while the estimated total cost is in the $700,000 range.  The grant would be a 50:50 match type of award from the state, with Hugo indicating that the county would also contribute $74,000 of cash towards the costs. In the end, a total remaining cost of $376,000 would be bore by the township, although Hugo indicated that with the township’s permission she would contact the City of Becker to gauge their interest in participating in the project.

Wetland mitigation is a major component of the proposed trail and a driver of the costs of the installation.

Supervisor Luke Babler asked if there was a most cost effective approach in siting the trail through the county property to the west, along 27th Ave., as that piece of property already connects to Becker City Park.

Hugo said that had not been considered, as she believed there was a benefit to run the project down CSAH 23 because there are future considerations for more connections to the north of Becker.

The board thanked Hugo for her presentation and may discuss the concept more in the future.

Roads

Despite the frigid temperatures and snow on the ground, the board still had plenty of road construction items to discuss.

Engineer Wes Davis asked for and received unanimous approval to seek bids on four projects starting in January, including 164th, 82nd, 157th and the shared project with the City of Becker on 127th/153rd.  Bids will be sought starting Jan. 5, with a Feb. 4 deadline. The early process should be economically beneficial and also allow the work to be scheduled earlier in the construction season.

Attorney Kelli Bourgeois spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the cost sharing agreement with the township, as costs will basically be split 50-50 with the City, except for the installation of a light at the intersection which is to be done at the city’s expense.

Supervisors Robin Boros and Joe Danielson reported on their recent visit to Santiago Twp. and the progress being made on 67th St.  

The cartway on 102nd St. was approved for a change in designation to a minimum maintenance road, while that same road and a portion of 67th St. will also receive signage closing them to winter traffic.

Zoning

The board approved a new encroachment agreement for a sign located at the old Accurate Automotive site, as the new owners of the property are assuming control of the auto repair business and wish to keep the current signage location. The CUP associated with the business automatically transferred, but a new agreement was needed for the right-of-way sign.

Township Planning consultant Ben Wikstrom discussed several issues with the supervisors, including a CUP on 112th St. and continued progress on the issue of landlocked parcels. In addition, the planning commission continues to work to explore issues relating to home based businesses, with the ultimate goal of making it easier for people to do this at their place of residence.

Sheriff

Sgt. Dan Frank reported on a busy month with 230 calls for service within the township, including 87 traffic stops and two cases of fraud. In one case, it was a familiar ruse that tricked a citizen, as a thief called a local resident and purported to be a representative of a sheriff’s office in California who had arrested a relative, who in turn needed bail money. Of course, there was no such arrest but the local resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars.

In a new type of deception, Frank reported that hackers are using Venmo to trick people into transferring money and then the funds are not retrievable.  Frank asked the board to help get the word out to residents to not be victims of these scams.

Finally, Frank shared a request for residents who will be out of town for longer periods of time to contact dispatch and ask to be part of the security watches program, wherein a resident can register their house with the SCSO and security checks can be conducted at an increased level. This is a good way to deter thefts and burglaries, as well as trespass complaints.

In Other Business, the Board:

• Approved usage of some Twp. roadways as designated snowmobile trails;

• Approved the appointments of Brad Wilkening and Cole Petroske to the Planning Commission and Mark Rask and Wilkening to the Joint Planning Board;

• Approved the 2022 budget;

• Voted to discontinue the current contract for cleaning services at the Town Hall and will explore other options.