In a nearly three-hour meeting Monday, the Becker Twp. Board met to discuss a road name change, road issues, snow plowing contracts and speed zoning. They were also introduced to Marie Pflipsen, the city’s new community development coordinator.

 

Several residents from a township residence north of Edgewood Street gathered to petition to the board to have a road in their neighborhood changed from four identities to one.

 

The road referred to is just north of Shepherd of Grace Senior Community and starts off with being identified as Garden Drive SE. After it heads east and starts curving north, the road’s name changes to 130th Avenue SE. When the road again turns right to go east, it changes to 108th Street SE and finally when it veers south/southeast, it again changes to 134th Avenue SE.

 

The residents in the are want the complete road changed to one name — Mallard Drive.

 

Every one of the residents said the road’s confusion has caused emergency vehicles (police, ambulance, fire) to show up late or have to call back to locate homes. The residents complained that there have been delivery issues as well.

 

To avoid all the confusion, residents who showed up and those who couldn’t have signed a petition to change the name to Mallard Drive — a name the road originally held for a brief time when the first homes were constructed on the site dozens of years ago.

 

The town board had lengthy discussions but agreed with residents that something needs to change to aid emergency services in finding homes. They told the citizens it won’t be easy and could take some time for things to straighten out due to the fact the homes will need to be renumbered and emergency systems, GPS and mapping companies will need to be notified.

 

It was also suggested a sign be put up along Edgewood pointing to the new road name to aid drivers.

 

The board received a copy of the new snow plowing contract and snow plowing policy to review.

 

In the contract, specific verbiage was scrutinized and debated and talk of sending out RFPs for the next season was considered. The contract covers the services provided by the contractor, the performance and specifications, the terms, insurance, indemnification, payment, default, remedies, modifications, termination, legal compliance, subcontracting, state laws and severability.

 

The policy outlined town road priorities when it comes to snowplowing, emergency response vehicle assistance, when snowplowing begins, when it is delayed or suspended, how it will be plowed, sanding and salting, storage of snow, the snowplowing of private property, right-of-way obstructions and how the township will handle complaints and request.

 

Engineer Terrance VanderEyk said surfacing projects piggybacked with the county are delayed since new requirements and materials are being debated. Eyk also said the delay is attributed to the fact the public works director (retired) at the county and the county engineer (resigned) are no longer part of the process at this time.

 

Eyk also talked briefly about the possibility of some roads’ speed limit signs changing due to state statutes. He plans to do a search to see how many roads exceed a half a mile and allow for the township to do a speed study.

 

Eyk mentioned he and the contractor plan to fix the issue in Hidden Haven where erosion on the pond needs to be stabilized. He also talked about how the township plans to deal with over-grown trees along the pind shores that could be a major problem down the road. The board said they will implement a budget in next year’s cycle to deal with the issue.

 

The board discussed getting quotes for brushing, crack sealing and gravel for roads identified in need during the recent road tour.

 

Kelli Bourgeois said the planning commission met the previous week and discussed a few draft variances, which she said generated a lot of discussion. She also introduced Marie Pflipsen as the new community development coordinator with the city and had her talk about her background and recent job experience.

 

Sgt. Dan Franks said Sherburne County Sheriff’s Dept. fielded 108 calls for service from the township for the month of March. Eighty-seven of those calls were for traffic situations.

 

Franks mentioned the DNR is strictly enforcing a fire restriction because of the extremely dry conditions and he also warned citizens the county and throughout the state, law enforcement officials will be diligent in trying to crack down on distracted drivers. He mentioned the streets, highways and roads will be deluged with unmarked law enforcement cars in the hopes of curbing this unfortunate trend.

 

The next Becker Twp. Board meeting is May 16 at 7 p.m.