The Sherburne County Board is concerned about the impact the closing of the Becker and relocation of the Big Lake Post Office will have on the residents of the area.
Tuesday, the board discussed some of the issues, and possibly a preferred resolution to the problem that they outlined in an Oct. 15 letter from Board Chair Gary Gray to the Postmaster General.
“I am writing on behalf of the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners to express serious concern regarding the potential closure of the Becker, Minnesota Post Office and to strongly advocate for the continued operation of United States Postal Service (USPS) facilities in both the City of Becker and the City of Big Lake,” wrote Gray.
The USPS plan is to consolidate mail operations for Becker and Big Lake at the Monticello Post Office, which would be a burden for Becker and Big Lake residents.
“While we understand the USPS must evaluate operational efficiencies, consolidating operational services into the Monticello Post Office would present substantial challenges,” he wrote. “Monticello is not centrally located for either Becker or Big Lake residents, and the increased travel distance would create unnecessary burdens for customers and strain the capacity of the Monticello facility.”
Members of the board suggested a combined operation location that would serve Becker and Big Lake instead of moving operations to Monticello.
“...which would be less impactful on these communities than the closure/operational consolidation plans currently under discussion.”
Tuesday, some of the commissioners weighed in on the issue.
Commissioner Gray tried to put the issue into perspective, comparing other communities with post offices.
“We have to look no further than Clear Lake. It’s only got 660 people and it’s got a post office,” he said. “Clearwater’s got 2,500 people and its got a post office. Becker and Big Lake combined have three times that amount of people, and they’re not going to have a post office? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“This is a situation where everybody wants to have a post office in their community, but we also have a post office that loses money every year,” said Commissioner Andrew Hulse. “I think we need to have some creative solutions. I think there’s some middle ground to find. I would just like to understand the big picture, so it might be a good workshop to have at some point.”
The Becker P.O. building was scheduled to close Friday (Oct. 24). For now, the USPS has agreed to put temporary post office boxes at the Becker Community Center.
Messelt Evaluation
The board approved a performance evaluation rating of “Exceeds Standards” for Administrator Bruce Messelt.
The commissioners met with Messelt Oct. 7 to discuss his performance from the period of Aug. 19, 2024 through Aug. 19, 2025. Members of the board felt Messelt’s performance over the past year has exceeded the county board’s expectations.
Messelt’s salary increase for 2025 will result in an annual salary of $235,062. The salary increase for Mr. Messelt is 8.25% or a $17,914 annual salary adjustment.
Vape Collection
The board approved an amendment to the SCORE line item budget to provide $1,500 towards vape disposal.
The HHS Dept. is partnering with Planning and Zoning to provide safe collection and disposal of vapes that are confiscated in schools within the county.
The Sherburne County Substance Use Prevention (SUP) Coalition conducted a survey in 2023 to better understand how county schools collect, store, and dispose of confiscated vaping devices. The survey results showed that collection and disposal processes varied by school, highlighting the need for consistent and safe procedures.
Other Business
In other actions the board:
• Approved a donation of $2,500 from Mr. Gary and Mrs. Ann Gray to the Health & Human Services Department’s (HHS) Therapy Dog program. The donation will be put towards the cost of training services and care needs for the HHS therapy dog, Peach;
• Approved the transfer of $100,000 from the Energy Transition Aid to support additional Workers Compensation Self Insurance costs. With the closing of Sherco Unit #2, the county received one-time state energy transition funds of approximately $455,000 in 2025, placed into the General Fund. The transfer will help cover any future unexpected large workers compensation claims.
