Action on a nuisance property was on part of a list of items discussed Tuesday night at the Becker City Council meeting.
Property Nuisance
For several months, the city and the Becker Police Dept. have been dealing with a problem property located at 12099 39th Ave. Neighbors have constantly complained about the eyesore of garbage, junk and vehicles located in and around the front, back and sides of the home.
The property is owned by Gina Menard and occupied by Menard and Clark Fox.
Police notified the owner of the neighbor complaints and how the blight was in violation of a city ordinance, giving them deadlines to get the situation rectified only to be stonewalled.
Tuesday, the city got their attorney involved and have issued an order to Menard to bring the property into compliance with all city ordinances by removing all scrap, debris, materials and junk within thirty days of Jan. 20.
If the corrective action is not taken within those 30 days, the city will bring forth a motion in court enforcing an abatement of the hazardous conditions with the cost of cleanup being charged against the property owner and occupying tenant.
County Attorney Report
Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney gave a presentation to council as part of her annual report on cases filed through the county.
Heaney said that in 2014, there were 213 gross misdemeanor cases opened, 487 felonies, 1,574 misdemeanors, 695 juvenile cases, 528 family cases, 623 civil cases and seven appeals.
Streets Dept.
Streets Supervisor Joe Danielson asked council to approve the purchase of a new snow plow truck. Danielson said the truck has been budgeted from the public works capital improvement plan and his department is using a state contract to get a good price for the new vehicle.
Danielson said the estimate for the new truck is around $189,138 which includes the truck and the equipment attached.
Danielson said his staff will then be trading or auctioning their 1990 L8000 dump truck, valued at approximately $20,000.
Danielson also asked council to approve the purchase of a snow plow wing to be used on their loader for snow removal operations on parking lots and cul-de-sacs. Danielson said the new plow will cut down on time and the plow is in the 2015 budget.
A state contract price is estimated at $22,899.60.
PW Union Contract
Attorney Scott Lepak presented a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement for the years, 2015-17, with the City of Becker and city employees with union local 363.
The key provisions in the agreement the duration (three years), wages (2% increase in 2015, 2% increase in 2016 and 2.5% increase in 2017), clothing allowance increase of $25 per year and overtime pay increase from $35 to $40.
Other News
• A public hearing was held to give an overview of the well head protection plan that was recently sent to local governments for a 60-day comment period;
• Council Member Adam Oliver gave a summary on a closed meeting held at the Dec. 17 meeting to discuss the performance of City Administrator Greg Pruszinske. Oliver said the consensus was the CA was performing his job satisfactorily and the city will continue its working relationship with him;
• Treasurer Sarah Brunn clarified some issues concerning the 2104 year-end transfers and said after the budget & finance committee reviews them this week, she will present final tallies at the Feb. 17 city council meeting.
The next Becker City Council meeting is Feb. 3 at 5 p.m.
