Mayor Tracy Bertram was absent for the Tuesday, October 5, 2024 meeting of the Becker City Council.  

City Administrator Greg Lerud gave his update on the progress of the City Hall/Police Station project. 

“Footing and foundation work is done,” he said.  “Compaction has been going on the last couple of days. Block work now started along the PD garage side, and the sub cut for the drive around the northside for the garage entrances and onsite storm water work has been going on.  So, you’ll see some more visible progress in the next couple weeks with the block work.”

Pine Street

A public hearing was held to consider vacating SE Pine Street between Beck’s Pub and Bill’s Superette.  Jacob Sanders, Community Development Director, explained the vacation and proposed a resolution for the council to consider.  The public hearing was closed at 5:12 p.m. and Resolution 24-86 was passed. 

Annexed Land

Associate Planner Austin Petersen walked the council through a number of actions that needed to be completed to rezone recently annexed land in the SE corner of Becker that was acquired by Breakwater Technologies.  

Breakwater was requesting that the three parcels be designated as Heavy Industrial (I-3) instead of Agriculture.  In their application, Breakwater wrote, “rezoning will facilitate the establishment of future industrial operations that align with the City of Becker’s zoning regulations and economic development goals.  As the project is still in its early stages of development, the exact property use is yet to be determined, but potential uses may include multiple industrial buildings or facilities and their supporting infrastructure.”

Unpaid City Charges

Finance Director Mark Ebensteiner proposed a public hearing regarding unpaid city charges.  They include utility charges greater than 60 days past due and unpaid grass and weed removal charges for city residents.  The public hearing will ask the county to consider collecting these charges with the 2025 property tax.  The hearing, which was approved by the council, will be held during the regularly scheduled City Council Meeting on October 15, 2024. 

Community Energy Transition Grant

Council formally received $770,000 from the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development.  The grant will assist in the interchange planning for the Hwy. 10 and Hwy. 25 intersection.  The grant will be combined with another $3.8 million congressionally-directed appropriation.  The city will be leading the planning effort.