The Becker Twp. Board met Monday to discuss general maintenence bids, residential concerns, joint planning updates, roads and engineering, and other miscellaneous agenda and non-agenda items.

 

The meeting concluded after two hours and 15 minutes.

 

Oakwood Church’s CUP application was discussed at length. The church plans to operate in the old “Foley Building” on 142nd St. SE.

 

The joint planning board held a public hearing and many area residents appeared to express concern about traffic and parking. None of the residents were in opposition of the church moving there.

 

Oakwood Church members plan to remodel the Foley Building and build a 180-seat sanctuary. They were also told they need to stripe the parking lot to accommodate up to 86 stalls.

 

They were also told they will need to take dust control measures for the driveway or have it paved.

 

The CUP was recommended for approval by the joint planning board and eventually approved by the Becker Town Board after  a lengthy discussion. The old CUP attached to the property will eventually be removed within the next month or so.

 

Josh Petroski brought up an old abandoned road near his property along 67th St., west of 155th Ave. and wondered what the situation is since he is seeing more and more traffic coming through the area.

Petroski said he’s worried more vehicles and off-road vehicles will use it if it is not signed with a “no trespassing” notice. He also asked the board about the maintenance of the road.

 

Board members told Petroski that they mainly just “brush” the township road every so often, which needs to be done to keep the road from converting to forfeiture. Otherwise it is just not dealt with very often.

 

The planning commission held a public hearing Dec. 11 to consider an application by Beverly Aubol to subdivide Heritage Trails 5th Addition along 188th St. NW.

 

It was noted only one portion of one lot would be within Becker Twp.

 

If any construction, grading, etc. is done on the Becker Twp. side of the line, approval by the town board is necessary. Also, if the development continues to the west, the roadways must meet township standards.

 

The PC and the town board unanimously approved the preliminary and final plats.

 

Michelle Bourquin advised the board she recently purchased a home at 13448 Mallard Dr. and she immediately noticed a lot of things had been done to the home that did not have building permits pulled for them. She told the board there are lots of issues with the home and the property including septic, electrical, mold and drainage, amongst other things — that were not disclosed as she considered the purchase.

 

The building has been so violated that it has ultimately been considered to be condemned.

 

Attorney Kelli Bourgeois said the situation does not fall back on the township or the planning commission and not much can be done for new purchases.

 

The owners of the Hideout Restaurant were cited for violation of displaying certain signs along the roadways that are in the right-of-ways and on adjoining properties.

 

Jacob Sanders said county right-of-ways are also being used by the business, who have already been issued two violation notices. Sanders said another notice was being sent this week and the business would have to come into compliance by Dec. 28 — and if not, the township would have the right to go out and remove the signs and charge the business for the time associated with doing so.

 

Sanders also indicated the signage is not only improperly installed but one sign’s directions can be attributed to a recent car accident.

 

Wes Davis said the design for the grading and paving project for the 185th, Phase III, is ready and he is looking for further direction. He was instructed to get costs for paving the Phase I and Phase II parts of the project as well as costs projected for Phase III.

 

With this information, the board would be able to project a funding budget for Phase III more completely.

 

Joe Danielson said there are parking issues within the township where snowplows would not have access to streets needing to be plowed. Clerk Lucinda Messman reminded everyone the township has a policy restricting parking on township roads during the months from Nov. 1 through May 1.

 

Danielson said 185th St. will continue to be maintained until spring, when more work can be performed.

 

He noted 117th St. SE — a minimum maintenance road — is lower than the ditch nearby and will be further looked into come spring’s road tour and be discussed at an upcoming workshop.

Grinding on 169th St. was performed by Wruck Excavating and Danielson said it “turned out good”.

 

Danielson said residents will have to be notified that some garbage cans are being placed too far onto the roads, causing a problem for snowplow trucks. In  some instances, the snowplow truck operator has had to exit their vehicle and move them in order to get the streets cleared.

 

Wruck was asked to keep a log of residences who are causing this problem and report to Clerk Messman.

 

Deputy Dan Frank said the township had 214 calls for service with 101 being traffic situations. He also said there were 20 vehicle accidents and five vehicles found the ditches during the last snow storm.

 

Messman said the new Becker Twp. website is active and has a plethora of new information. She encourages all to check it out for public notices, policies, ordinances, zoning and road and tree projects, amongst other things.

 

Tues., March 13 is on the calendar as Township Day where there will be an annual meeting and election.

 

The next Becker Twp. Board meeting is Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.