A full agenda and brooding conversation about roads and properties kept guests and the board busy for nearly two hours during Monday’s Becker Twp. Board meeting.

 

Twp. Engineer Terrance VanderEyk introduced Wes Davis, a new engineer to the Bogart-Pederson firm, who will assist Eyk on issues related to the road project of 185th Avenue.

 

Eyk said the scope of the 185th Ave. project has moved north to 109th St. past Majestic Ponds. For muck excavation, a bid package will be ready by January or February for spring work.

 

A town board member asked Eyk if the township was going to piggyback the work onto the county, but Eyk told him the township will do the work independently and will be worked on in stages.

 

Discussion transpired on the 168th/Oak Crest development where many property owners have complained about drainage issues in the cul-de-sac.

 

Eyk said the property was platted in 1987 and the developer at the time built the road as-is and the township accepted it even though it was a bad road design. Eyk said in order for the problem to be fixed, an easement would need to be obtained all around the cul-de-sac and to take out the blacktop and create a swale.

 

“The water runs perpendicular to the contours and onto a homeowner’s property,” Eyk said.

 

One suggestion from Gary Hammer was to create a holding pond to alleviate the problem. The board decided to have Eyk continue to assess the issue and bring forth cost estimates to best fix the situation.

 

Another problem Eyk has been dealing with is a property located on 103rd Street in Hidden Haven Estates. Eyk said the home was originally built with a full basement, but the owner excavated his property to make the basement a walkout.

 

Eyk told the board the excavation encroaches on the township’s easement, but the slopes have created drainage issues for the next-door neighbor.

 

Eyk said even though the landscaping is in effect on the township easement, he feels the issue is a civil one between the two neighbors.

 

Attorney Kelli Bourgeois agreed.

 

Eyk said he will talk to the property owner who excavated to explain and try and resolve the issue.

 

The board discussed information brought forth about certificate of survey requirements. The township’s planning commission and joint powers board said because of a discrepancy, they feel the township should have in place survey requirements based on acreage.

 

Currently the township follows the county’s requirements, but members of the TPC/JPB suggest the township clarify how and when a survey is to be required on properties of certain acreages. 

The board agreed to research and come to an agreement down the road.

 

 

Brian Kolbinger was named as township liaison and the board examined areas of the contract that featured changes from the original. The board also reviewed specifications, standards, performance deadlines and rates for services performed.

 

Mississippi River Crossing Coalition

The board agreed to join the Mississippi River Crossing Coalition with multiple jurisdictions to collaborate on establishing a river crossing in the Monticello area.

 

The financial impact to the township would be around $12,500 if the coalition gets funded by an applied-for grant. There likely would be ongoing costs to coalition members based on upcoming work plans that will be determined at a later date.

 

Becker Twp. Board also appointed Brian Kolbinger as the township representative on the coalition with Jamie Johnson being the alternate.

 

Dep. Dan Frank said his office received 169 calls for service in the township with 74 being traffic and nine being theft. Frank also warned people of a fraud situation involved with Craigslist. Frank says the complaints are from people receiving fraudulent checks that when submitted to their banks, cannot be honored.

 

• The 2016 mileage certification was reviewed (same as last year) and approved;

 

• Joe Danielson was nominated as township road supervisor with Johnson being named as an alternate;

 

• An issue from Yvonne Nogel at 77th Street was looked at by Danielson and he said the depression in the road will be fixed this week and grading will be done twice a year;

 

• Township parking bans on township roads have gone into effect from Nov. 1 to May 1;

 

• The first snowplowing of the year went well for contractor Tony Wruck, who also went over a map of roads to verify what needs to be plowed and what is shared with surrounding communities.

 

The next Becker Twp. Board meeting is Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.