County Board Actions: Hopkins Dispatch and an Interchange Project

Editor’s Note: The following announcement comes from Hennepin County.

 

County Board Actions includes summaries of only a portion of the total actions of the board, selected for general news interest. For complete information on all resolutions and actions by the board, see the information on the last page.  

 

Design-build contract approved for Interchange project

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners awarded Knutson Construction the design-build contract for the Interchange project. For more details, visit www.hennepin.us/news.

 

Hopkins to come under county safety dispatch system

The board approved a resolution, offered by 6^th District County Commissioner Jan Callison, providing county public safety dispatch services to Hopkins.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office provides dispatch services to 23 law enforcement agencies and 19 fire departments. Nine county cities (including Hopkins) operate their own systems or contract with other jurisdictions. Hopkins handles approximately 21,500 calls annually – the smallest number of calls among those cities. In 2003, the board passed a resolution prohibiting any of those cities from joining the county system, but that restriction expires Nov. 30. There is currently a study being conducted of countywide dispatch integration.

A resolution to add Hopkins to the county dispatch system was tabled by the board May 15, based on concerns that the request was premature because of the countywide study underway, and that conclusions of that study might be available in July. It has since been determined those results won’t be ready that soon.

Hopkins also recently disclosed that two of its dispatchers are leaving for other employment. In light of those factors, as well as the relatively minor impact Hopkins’ dispatch call volume will have on Hennepin’s system, Callison introduced the resolution again.

Hopkins could come under the county’s safety dispatch system as early as Aug. 1. The transfer will include a one-time setup fee by Hopkins to the county of $54,000, and transfer of Hopkins’ annual 911 state reimbursement (currently $24,859) to the county.

The action does not obligate the board to any specific course of action for future requests from other cities to join the Hennepin system.

The Sheriff’s Office dispatch facility in Golden Valley will be able to absorb Hopkins’s calls. Groundbreaking will take place for the new 911 emergency communications facility in Plymouth in October or November of this year, with expected occupancy in 2014.

 

Environmental Response Fund grants approved

The board authorized negotiation of agreements awarding $1.3 million in Environmental Response Fund (ERF) grants for eight projects.

The program, funded by a county mortgage registry and deed tax, provides grants for environmental assessment and cleanup of sites that present a known threat to human health or the environment; provide community benefit from the cleanup; and lack funding from other sources. Priority is placed on projects that promote public/green space, affordable and moderately priced housing, and economic development.

Since November 2001, when the ERF program was established, a total of $39.9 million has been awarded for 280 grants.

The current grant awards will clean up contaminated soil, renovate or create affordable rental housing, manage storm water, allow commercial development of vacant properties, and clean up asbestos and lead-based paint. The awards will assist in the renovation or construction of 532 affordable housing units.

Grants include:

• $100,000 for soil cleanup at 1101 University Ave. S.E. in Minneapolis for proposed residential development.
• $248,502 to 1515 SIB, LLC, for soil cleanup at 1505 and 1515 Central Ave. and 1600 Fillmore Ave. in Minneapolis, for proposed commercial development.
• $146,437 for abatement, soil cleanup and vapor mitigation of A-Mill Artist Lofts at 301 Main St. S.E.  in Minneapolis, creating 252 units of new affordable housing.
• $27,465 for soil cleanup of Brunsfield Place at 915 Washington Ave. N. in Minneapolis, for proposed commercial/residential development.
• $278,917 for soil cleanup of Dwell at Calhoun Greenway, 3140 Chowen Ave. S., in Minneapolis, for proposed residential development.
• $218,760 for abatement and soil cleanup of the historic Cameron at 756 Fourth St. N.  in Minneapolis, for proposed residential development.
• $240,000 for soil cleanup of the former Lifetime site at 4001 Lakebreeze Ave. N. in Brooklyn Center, for proposed light industrial development.
• $80,409 for soil cleanup of the Wirth Beach Phase 3 improvements at 3200 Glenwood Ave. in Golden Valley, for a proposed bio-retention pond for treating storm-water runoff.

There may be only one more round of ERF grants, since the legislation that provided the authority to collect funds for this program expires Jan. 1, 2013, and the Legislature failed to extend the expiration date.

 

Board endorses plan to address long-term unwanted medicine collection

The board approved a resolution, offered by commissioners Callison and McLaughlin, endorsing a plan for the Great Lakes region that envisions a future in which all residents have access to convenient, secure ways to get rid of unwanted medicines.

The plan – “Key Elements of Pharmaceutical Collection and Disposal Programs: A Vision for the Great Lakes Region” – was developed with input from government officials and organizations in states around the Great Lakes.

The document supports the concept that those who benefit from the manufacture, sale and use of pharmaceutical drugs have the greatest responsibility to ensure their proper and safe disposal, including funding expansion of existing disposal programs and creating new ones.

Until federal regulations change, only law enforcement officials are authorized to collect prescription drugs that are controlled substances. Hennepin County has installed medicine disposal drop boxes at Sheriff’s Office locations, and provides periodic collection events for unwanted medicines.

 

Stable housing helps homeless kids succeed in school

The board approved an agreement, including $25,000 in funding, with Lutheran Social Services (LSS) for It’s All About the Kids – a collaborative program of the Minneapolis Public Schools, the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and LSS.

The program identifies families with children in the Minneapolis Public Schools who are homeless and works with them to find stable housing.
Over the past decade, the program has served more than 1,000 children in 334 families.

• 92 percent of those families remain in stable housing.
• More than 90 percent of the children improved their school attendance.
• There were also improvements in academic performance – math and reading test scores increased significantly.
• The average family income rose from $815 to $920 a month.

It’s All About the Kids is a vital component of the Hennepin/Minneapolis 10-year plan to end homelessness. The program is funded through a combination of federal, state, city and philanthropic sources. Because of reduced funding from Minneapolis, the program is facing a reduction in services, annually impacting 30 families and 100 children.

This is the first time Hennepin has become a funding partner – the county has stepped forward to bridge the gap in city funding. The program saves the county money – it helps families find and keep housing at less than half the annual cost of a shelter stay.  

 

Volunteer appointed to Workforce Investment Board

The board reappointed Bruce Krupnick to the Workforce Investment Board. This 27-member board develops and studies programs to provide jobs for unemployed persons in suburban Hennepin and Carver counties, by increasing the involvement of the business community in employment and training. The board also analyzes needs for employment and training services, makes recommendations about program plans and basic goals, evaluates employment and training programs, recommends strategies to increase private-sector employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged residents, and appoints and oversees a local Youth Council.

For more information on advisory boards and to apply online, go to the Hennepin County website – www.hennepin.us/volunteering.

Indicating a measure has passed the board does not imply a unanimous vote. The actions of the Hennepin County Board, including a record of how individual commissioners voted, are posted under “Hennepin County Board Meetings” on the front page of the Hennepin County website – www.hennepin.us. This portion of the site includes agendas, minutes and resolutions for all committee and full board meetings. Also, from time to time, individual commissioners may post their own viewpoints, news and information on their own websites.  

If you’d like to watch committee and full board meetings, they are generally broadcast live on Tuesdays, beginning at 1:30 p.m., and rebroadcast the Friday following the meeting, beginning at 8 p.m., on Metro Cable Network/Channel 6.
Meetings also are streamed live on the Hennepin website. Look under “Hennepin County Board Meetings,” “Board meeting videos.” Archived videos of past meetings also are available on that site.