A forestry update, an annual report, emergency operations, the purchase of a WWTF vehicle,  an update on Hwy. 10/1st Street and a visit from dozens of area volunteers were all part of Tuesday’s Becker City Council meeting.

 

Sherburne County Resource Conservationist Gina Hugo brought along Minnesota GreenCorps Member Samuel Edwards to help her give an update to council on the community forestry program instituted in the county since 2013.

 

Hugo said the program’s efforts  have since been expanded and it is striving to engage community volunteers in tree planting and care of the trees. 

 

In 2015, the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) was awarded a fulltime GreenCorps Service Member for an 11-month term, increasing  the SWCD’s capacity to serve areas like Becker and other communities.

 

Edwards spoke on behalf of the Citizen Pruner Program which is a pilot program through the University of Minnesota — modeled after the highly successful volunteer program that originated in New York City. Certified volunteers, like Edwards, receive eight hours of training and are required to pass a competency assessment. The SWCD will work closely with Clear Lake Public Works to utilize citizen pruners to assist with pruning maintenance of park and boulevard trees.

 

Hugo said in 2016, the SWCD will be rolling out a new addition to the community forestry efforts called, My Neighborhood Trees Program. The goal of the pilot program is to increase resiliency of existing tree populations, identify those that are vulnerable and empower homeowners with knowledge and skills to plant more trees on their own.

 

“Community forestry isn’t about trees,” Hugo said. “It’s about the people.”

 

Bob Kost of SEH appeared before council to ask for approval of moving ahead with the plans to provide a framework for the transformation of the corridor area along Hwy. 10 and First Street into a more physically attractive, economically vibrant, mixed-use corridor that will be recognized by residents, visitors, business owners and investors.

 

Kost gave council a quick view of the short-term (1-3 years), mid-term (4-9 years) and long term (10+ years) vision of the plan to bring great places to shop, work, live and entertain in the future. He apprised council that in order for most of the plans to move forward, the city will need to “add rooftops to drive big businesses to the area and allow local businesses to expand.”

 

Supervisor Dave Pesola asked council to approve the purchase of a new, 2016 Toro Workman utility vehicle to replace an older one.

 

The current utility vehicle, a 16-year-old Toro Workman, is used to gather samples from process areas around the WWTF and is also used to transport light equipment and tools to worksites.

 

Pesola says the new Workman will have cab and doors to facilitate usage during inclement weather and will also feature a light package, enabling it to travel on streets to be used in other areas of the city if need be.

 

The funds for this purchase are deemed to come from the domestic WWTF enterprise fund and the industrial WWTF revolving capital fund.

 

The current vehicle will then be auctioned off once the new vehicle arrives and the proceeds from the sale will be divided evenly and credited to the domestic and industrial enterprise funds.

 

Becker Police Chief Brent Baloun gave his 2015 Becker PD annual report.

 

Baloun mentioned to council “you likely won’t see many significant changes from 2014 to 2015,” but hopes the report is “worthwhile and informative.”

 

Baloun pointed out the staffing changes that included a sergeant leaving Becker for Texas as well as another officer leaving the BPD for a job closer ot the metro area.

 

He said the police budget had a nearly flush bottom line, enjoying a $35,000 increase in revenue. The increase, Baloun said, was mainly due to increases in Safe and Sober monies, state police aide and fines.

 

Becker saw their calls for service increase by three percent and those calls have increased by 39% since 2010. Wednesday through Saturday remain the busiest days of the week as well as the summer months although Baloun said 2015 saw the area’s winter and spring months being the busiest.

 

Major and minor crimes saw slight increases with theft, vandalism and DUI arrests being up. The BPD issues warnings through traffic stops at a 74% rate as opposed to citations.

 

The volunteer reserve officers with the BPD donated 1,085 hours.

 

Baloun said the past 12 months, his department saw 2015 as their busiest year on record. With the increase in arrests, success in locating drugs and in the number of investigations resulting in prosecutions, Baloun said he has seen the fruits of labor of his squad’s hard work.

 

Emergency Operations Plan

Baloun asked council to approve a recently-completed emergency operations plan for the City of Becker.

 

The plan is designed to make sure procedures are in place should the surrounding area experience some sort of disaster. The last major update to the plan occurred in 2010 and Baloun has spent the last several months updating and editing the plan to better reflect state and federal recommendations.

 

Mayor Lefty Kleis proclaimed April 5 as National Service Recognition Day in Becker and invited volunteers from the Minnesota Foster Grandparents and RSVP programs to give testimonies and pose for photos. (See full story on the volunteers in this edition of the Citizen-Tribune.)

 

Anita Pularski mentioned an ad for Pebble Creek’s Open House this past weekend and asked council how she — as a taxpaying member of the city — should have to foot the bill for paying for free beer and hor d’douvres during the open house.

 

City Administrator Greg Pruszinske advised Pularski that the free hor d’oeuvres were paid for out of the pockets of staff members with the golf course. He also said the free beer was paid for by the men’s and women’s clubs — assuring Pularski no city funds were used to pay for the open house festivities.

 

• Cindy Kazeck (22 years), Alan Foss (20 years), Connie Robinson (2 years), Sarah Brunn (1 year) and Paul Hickerson (1 year) were all mentioned to be celebrating employment anniversaries with the city;

 

• LPI donated $15,000 to the Becker Polcie Dept. for the purchase of police radios;

 

• The city’s personnel policy was set to be approved at Tuesday’s meeting, but Member Rick Hendrickson asked Pruszinske if the policy could be tabled until the next council meeting so he could get a chance to review it more thoroughly;

 

• Mayor Kleis balked at the idea of Member Lori Keller and her husband donating $1,000 to the golf course to be used at the golf course’s discretion. Kleis said he felt uncomfortable that a council member was making any donation to a city entity and also said he thinks the donation should go directly into the general fund to be used by the city as they well see fit;

 

• Another citizen from the audience spoke up during open forum and commended council on their stamina for attending all the committee hearings they are assigned to. The citizen also said they object to the mayor’s censureship.

 

The next Becker City Council meeting is April 19 at 6 p.m.