The Becker City Council met Tuesday to deal with an electric heating project, plat applications for Stolt Trucking, an easement vacation, replacement of a street sweeper, and heard from Wilbur Lemon and his ongoing issues with the city.
Open Forum
Lemon, a Becker resident who through the years has fought with the city and county over developments along the right-of-way in front of his home in Becker.
Lemon used the limited time during open forum to protest an easement that was put in the ditch outside his home as well as snowplowing problems, a citation for not mowing grass and a trail crossing.
Lemon claims the city never listens to him and the CA laughs at him and this reporter from the Citizen-Tribune writes false stories about him and mocks him.
Public Services Director Phil Knutson told council he talked briefly with Lemon before the meeting and planned to visit with him at his property the next day (Thursday) to hear more of his charges and view the situation.
Golf Cart Fleet
Josh Kuha said Pebble Creek Golf Club is currently under a lease agreement with EZ-GO golf cars. Under the current agreement, staff are given the option to “roll out” of that lease after year four of five, and into a new five-year lease agreement from the same manufacturer. Approximately 95% of customers choose to do this for varying reasons. They include:
1.) In year five, all golf cars would not be covered under warranty. It is common for batteries in electric golf cars to become weak in the fourth and fifth year of use. The cost of one new battery is $205. The exposure to unforeseen expenses is a high risk;
2). New golf cars are attractive to guests and tournaments. They are one of the most important “first impressions” of a facility.
In July, Kuha engaged EZ-GO to learn the new lease amount should they “roll out” and begin a new lease in 2020. The current lease expense is $54,600 per year so Kuha placed $60,000 in the budget for that line item.
A motion and a second to authorize staff to enter a five-year lease agreement with Versatile Vehicles was entered Tuesday.
Plat Applications for Stolt Trucking
Marie Pflipsen said at a special meeting Oct. 30, the City of Becker Planning Commission held a public hearing with Stolt Trucking present to provide comments regarding the approval of the preliminary and final plat applications for the plat of Stolt Landholdings along Industrial Blvd. and Sherburne Ave.
The final plat would result in three parcels. One parcel will be approximately 5.00 acres, one parcel will be approximately 6.80 acres, and Outlot A will be approximately 48.46 acres.
Stolt Trucking, Inc. intends to purchase the 5.00-acre lot with plans to develop their second location within the Becker Business Park. The other two lots will remain under ownership of Northern States Power Co.
Easement Vacation
Pflipsen said back on Oct. 28, the City of Becker Planning Commission held a public hearing, with no public comments being made, and approved recommending the vacation of the majority of the 40’ drainage and utility easement located on Lot 1, Block 2 of Energy Park Fifth Addition.
The 40’ easement lies in the western ½ of the property and was originally dedicated as part of the Energy Park Second Addition Plat. Staff is recommending that the majority of the 40’ drainage and utility easement be vacated except for the northernmost 20’ as there is a manhole here that the city needs to maintain access to.
The 30’ drainage and utility easement on the northside, the 10’ drainage and utility easement on the southside and the 10’ eastern drainage and utility easement would remain in place.
Street Sweeper
Chris Lisson said his staff is recommending the purchase of a 2019 Deluvo sweeper from Hardlines, Inc. He said the current Elgin Pelican sweeper is 13 years old and is experiencing more downtime and is requiring more maintenance time and expense to remain operational.
$250,000 has been set aside in the 2020 Public Works CIP fund for the replacement of the existing sweeper.
Lisson received quotes for three sweepers from two companies — Hardlines and MacQueen. Lisson had staff test drive the sweepers and provide feedback on operation, safety and efficiency.
Lisson recommended the purchase of the Dulevo demo sweeper at a total cost of $218,720 and if approved, staff would execute the purchase and take possession of the Dulevo sweeper in 2019 after a $10,000 deposit is paid to Hardline Equipment.
Electric Heating Installation Project
Lisson said the MAU units that were installed on the Domestic and Industrial Headworks buildings when they were built have a design heat rise capability of 82° F. In operation, the units have proven to be able to create a heat rise of 52° F. That means when it is 20° below zero, these units can only heat the buildings to 32° F. Due to this, staff struggle to keep pipes and machines from being damaged by freezing temperature inside the buildings.
In addition, Lisson says these units heat continuously during severe cold, which leads to greater frequency of failure and increased repair/maintenance costs.
Originally, staff recommended the installation of an infrared heating system in each headworks building. Staff felt this would be the most cost-effective way to provide back-up heating to these buildings. During the installation process, it was determined that infrared heating did not meet the classification requirements for the Class 1, Division 1 space as each headworks building is defined. Staff consulted with SEH, and their HVAC expert determined that electric heat was the only option for these spaces. SEH created plans and specs for the electric heat, which city staff submitted to contractors for bids. The following bids were received for this project: Hubbard Electric at $84,434.47, McDowall Company at $92,288.00 and Egan at $99,350.00.
The 2019 Domestic WWTF CIP has $70,000 and the 2019 Industrial WWTF CIP has $46,000 budgeted for this project.
Hubbard Electric was awarded the project.
Up Next
The next Becker City Council meeting is Nov. 19 at 6 p.m.
