Sauk Rapids city council

The Sauk Rapids city council continues to move ahead with their plan to consolidate the city's garbage collection. During tonight's (Monday) meeting, the council made a number of decisions about what should be included in a city contract with a garbage hauler.

The Sauk Rapids City Council will begin the process of filling a soon-to-be vacant council seat. The vacancy will happen in early January, when current council member Brad Gunderson gets sworn-in as the new Mayor.

Be prepared for some construction work on Benton Drive in Sauk Rapids. Officials plan to redo a three-block section of the road from 2nd Street South to 5th Street South.

The Sauk Rapids City Council has voted to make a change to a busy intersection. For several years the council has discussed the need to make improvements to the five-leg Benton Drive/5th Street South/2nd Avenue South intersection.

It took nearly five years, but Sauk Rapids is finally getting it's out disc golf course.The city council voted 3-2 on Monday night to approve a new 18 hole course at Mayhew Creek Park, adjacent to the Sauk Rapids-Rice high school.

The Sauk Rapids city council approved a preliminary budget and levy for 2012 that's basically the same as this year. The city council will vote on the final levy and budget for 2012 on December 12th.

The new Sauk Rapids City Council member is Bill Bard. He was appointed to the council on a 3-1 vote, during Monday night's council meeting. The lone council member voting again Bard was Paul Weber.

City officials say 11 people have applied for an open seat on the Sauk Rapids City Council. The four current city council members -- including new Mayor Dave Saunders -- will conduct interviews with the 11 candidates on Tuesday.

The Sauk Rapids council has selected the city's next mayor. Current Council member Dave Saunders will take over on Friday, when current mayor Mark Campbell steps down, and will fill the remainder of his term.

The Sauk Rapids City Council has voted to spend more money now, in order to save money in the long run. During last (Monday) night's meeting the council approved $93,000 in energy efficiency upgrades for their new Government Center.