During their regular Tuesday meeting, the Becker City Council heard some interesting updates from their committee representatives, including welcoming a new city clerk, talking about Recycle Day, and sharing industrial park updates. 

The personnel committee introduced to the council Shannon Mortenson, the new city clerk. They also noted approving costs for Finance Director Mark Ebensteiner to attend a conference and were looking to review an employment contract to remove contradictory language pointed out by the employee. 

The public works committee noted that Recycle Day will be May 18 at Northern Metals Recycling as it has been in years past. See the the city website for more information.

Finally, the Xcel Advisory Committee noted discussions about the new Microsoft data center which was announced last week (See story in this week’s Patriot).

Financial Report

Finance Director Mark Ebensteiner gave the fourth quarter financial report for 2023.

The city spent about 91% of their budget last year, and some revenue sources including investment, building permits, and police aid came in higher than anticipated, so the city ended the year in an excellent financial state.

The Becker Community Center (BCC) is continuing to see membership increase from the large drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pebble Creek Golf Course again had an excellent year, as it has for the past several years.

In 2024, Ebensteiner expected to see greater expenditures in capital improvement projects for the city.

As the city grows in size, they have become eligible for state aid for road maintenance. After applying for aid, Ebensteiner noted that the estimated contribution from the state was calculated to be higher than he originally expected.

WWTF Storage Building HVAC

There is a storage building at the Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) which was previously used as a biosolids processing equipment area. 

In 2017, the biosolids equipment was removed and the area has since been used as a parking garage and work area. The HVAC equipment used to heat the building has come to the end of its life, and while seeking bids to fix the issue, contractors raised concerns about the intended purpose of the building and making sure they had the correct equipment to complete the job. 

One contractor refused to submit a proposal due to lack of information about this. So city staff asked the council to approve hiring HR Green to conduct a survey of the building and get these questions answered.