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Jan Callison
Commissioner
6th District
612-348-7886
Allyson Lueneburg
Principal Aide
612-348-6885
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners consists of one commissioner from each of seven districts. I am proud to represent Deephaven, north Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Greenwood, Hopkins, Long Lake, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, northern Mound, Orono, Shorewood, Spring Park, Tonka Bay, Wayzata and Woodland.
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Find past issues of my monthly newsletter.
County departments, agencies & other entities
Elected & appointed officials
Hennepin County libraries
Hennepin County Medical Center
Hennepin volunteers
Online services
Phone directory
Service Center information
Southwest light rail
Understanding your property tax
Life jacket loaner stations are self-service stations that provide free life jackets for a day of boating. At each station you can select a life jacket that fits properly and then return it at the end of the day. The loaner stations are located at the following public boat launches:
- French Park in Plymouth (Medicine Lake)
-
Baker
Park Reserve in Independence (Lake Independence)
-
Gray's Bay in Wayzata (Lake Minnetonka)
-
Sheriff's Water Patrol Headquarters in Spring Park (Lake Minnetonka)
-
Maxwell Bay in Wayzata (Lake Minnetonka)
The
Minnesota Water Safety Coalition operates the program. The Hennepin
Sheriff Foundation is among the partners.
 Photo courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Learn about how county roads are plowed every winter, how
the county is involved in light-rail transit, and about how county taxes are
assessed and where your tax money goes.
The seven weekly sessions (Wednesdays from 6:30-9 p.m.) meet
at various locations throughout the county where you will get information about
many departments at the county. You also receive a rare opportunity to tour
county facilities and meet county leaders.
Learn more and register for the fall 2015 session at www.hennepin.us/citizensacademy.
As part of an effort to make healthy eating more effortless,
Hennepin County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Hennepin County Public
Health have combined forces to create a mobile-friendly web mapping application
to help residents and visitors find farmers' markets and mini markets in their
neighborhoods, or while they are on the go.
From a tablet or mobile phone, residents and non-residents can
click on the Farmers' Markets and Community Food Gardens page
to open a Hennepin County map. They can make the map close and personal by
entering a home zip code or current street address. The map will zero in on the
selected location; users can click on individual locations for an address, days
and hours of operation, contact information and a website link, when possible.
Users of desktop and laptop computers still can access the same information in
larger format on the full map.
The map also includes the specially marked locations of
community gardens, where people can grow their own fresh produce for personal
use, not for public sale. For more information, see Gardening Matters or contact the group or
organization regarding membership and plot availability.
The application is only one part of a larger initiative to make
public information more usable for Hennepin County residents. Other projects
include park maps, public health information, construction, property values and
taxation. Applications are scattered throughout the county website, but
several can be found at www.hennepin.us/gis.
Users familiar with GIS software can also download data directly.
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Greetings,
I hope you are enjoying my electronic newsletters, and find them interesting and informative about county activities. In addition to my monthly newsletter, the county sends various
newsletters and notifications available by email or text message. To explore the many opportunities to
subscribe or to change your preferences, visit the subscription webpage.
Please feel free to send me your comments through my feedback form on issues that concern you or you would like covered. I value your opinions.
Warm regards,
Jan Callison
June 2, 2015
Public meetings set for 2016 budget
A series of public meetings has been scheduled regarding the
2016 budget and property tax levy. There will be presentations from county
staff to the county board about the proposed budget, followed by public
comments on the proposed budget on the following dates:
- Tuesday, September 8 at 1:30 p.m. – proposed budget
presentation
- Wednesday, September 9 at 1 p.m. – budget hearing for
operations, library and public works
- Thursday, September 10 from 9 at 11 a.m. – budget
hearing for human services and public health
- Monday, September 14 at 9 a.m. – budget hearing for
public safety
- Tuesday, September 22 at 1:30 p.m. – Hennepin County
Board adopts 2016 maximum tax levy and budget
- Friday, September 25 at 9 a.m. - budget hearing for
human services and public health (follow-up if needed)
- Monday, November 2 at 1 p.m. - budget hearing for
capital budget and fees
An
additional public meeting will be held Tuesday, December 1 at 6 p.m. for public
comment on the 2016 budget. The public meetings will take place at the Hennepin
County Government Center downtown Minneapolis. The final levy adoption is
scheduled for December 15, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. at the regular county board
meeting.
June 16, 2015
County to offer additional recycling grants to cities
The county is increasing funding to cities for recycling and
organics recycling programs for food and nonrecyclable paper waste. More than
$3 million will be available for metals, paper and plastics recycling, and more
than $400,000 for organics recycling in 2015. The funds will be distributed to
each city based on the number of households that receive curbside recycling and
curbside organics services. In 2016, approximately $3.2 million will be
available for recycling and $300,000 for organics recycling. These funds will put
the county’s program in compliance with state requirements that half of
additional SCORE funding be spent on organics recycling. This will help support
the development of city organics recycling programs. About one-third of the
trash currently discarded is organic material, but less than two percent of
households have organics collection services. Improvements to organics
collection will help the county reach the state’s 2030 requirement that at
least 75 percent of waste generated in the county be recycled.
Board appoints member to Lower Minnesota Watershed District
The board appointed David Raby to a three-year term on the Lower
Minnesota Watershed District Board. The watershed district coordinates the
management of the water and related land resources in the watershed that drains
into the Lower Minnesota River from the north and south bluffs of the river to
the confluence of the Mississippi River at Fort Snelling.
To apply for a citizen advisory board position visit www.hennepin.us/advisoryboards.
Contract approved for girls' treatment program
The board approved a four-year contract with Nexus Diversified
Community Services to provide treatment programming to as many as 12 girls,
ages 14 and older, who have a history of serious psychological, psychiatric and
behavioral issues. The program will be based at the Hennepin County Home
School, in Minnetonka. Some facility improvements also will be needed at
Cottage 1, and in the administration building. This program is designed after
similar successful programs that Nexus operates in other states to meet the
needs of difficult to place adolescent girls who have not been adjudicated as
delinquent but have typically failed multiple placements in residential
treatment. Until now, they have had to be placed out of state with very limited
access to their families. The Nexus program will be operated under contract by
the county Human Services and Public Health Department and licensed by the
State Department of Human Services as a secure mental health program.
Agendas and minutes of action taken by the Hennepin County Board are posted under Hennepin County meetings and agendas. For greater detail on the above agenda items and additional board actions, visit county news releases.
In addition to our regularly scheduled board meetings, the board
often meets on Thursday mornings to receive board briefings. These are
informal opportunities to discuss emerging issues. No decisions are
made. Board briefings occur in the board room on the 24th floor of the
Hennepin County Government Center and are open to the public.
June 11, 2015
Hennepin County Medical Examiner
Medical
Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker and staff reviewed the history of the Hennepin County
Medical Examiner’s office, the challenges and opportunities of its current
operations, and the possibilities of regionalization. Currently, services are generally provided to
Hennepin, Dakota and Scott Counties at a location near the new Vikings stadium. Among the challenges the office faces are a
growing workload, a national shortage of medical examiners and space
constraints at its existing facility. It
recommends starting to plan for a new regional facility at a new location and
asked for support to begin program development, engage in the site selection
process and identify potential additional partners.
June 16, 2015
Joint Hennepin/Ramsey County residential treament facility for youth
This
briefing summarized work that has been done to explore the possibility of
constructing a new joint residential treatment facility for youth (to replace
the County Home School in Hennepin County and Boys Totem Town in Ramsey
County). The following findings were
presented: similar services and
treatment approaches exist at both facilities, opportunities to close service
gaps would be created, and a joint facility would benefit youth and/or families
in each county. The staff recommendation
was to continue to work on this initiative so that final recommendations can be
brought to each board relating to program development, governance/ownership,
siting options, employment and finances.
If this next step is approved by each county board, these recommendations
should be available by November 1, at the earliest.
June 25, 2015
Hennepin County Child Protection Services
Staff
and representatives of the Casey Family Foundation briefed the Board on the
results of their assessment regarding child safety. This is part of a comprehensive review of
children and youth services that has been requested by the County. Data presented by the Casey Family Foundation
compared Hennepin County child protection services to services in seven similar
counties and to national and state child protection results. Using this data and interviews with a wide
range of individuals, the Casey Foundation is recommending significant changes
to child protection services in Hennepin County including modifications to
“screening criteria, guidelines for track assignment, use of the Family
Assessment track, development and implementation of in-home safety plans, and .
. . [the level of priority assigned] to reports/cases of child neglect.” The Casey Family Foundation report is
available here.
July 17, 2015
Economic Development Initiatives information session
On July 17, 2015 there will be an information session on two new trial programs launched by Hennepin County Community Works with the goal of stimulating economic development.
The
Business District Initiative (BDI) is a one-time funding source designed to
strengthen priority small business districts and main streets in the county’s
suburban municipalities.
The Economic Development Infrastructure Fund (EDIF)
aims to enhance the county’s economic competitiveness by supporting projects
that create and retain jobs. Infrastructure and extraordinary costs associated
with business expansion or recruitment projects are eligible for EDIF
assistance.
At the July 17
information session, you can:
·
Learn about funding for both programs and
successful examples of business district strategies and business expansion
projects in the county
·
Get program guidelines and criteria
·
Consult with staff on your project or
proposal
The county welcomes proposals for both programs from municipalities, housing
and redevelopment authorities, economic development authorities, and port
authorities in Hennepin County. BDI proposals will be accepted until October
30, 2015 (suburban Hennepin only); EDIF proposals are accepted anytime
following the info session on July 17, subject to funding availability.
You can review additional information on each program
in the attached documents, or visit www.hennepin.us/businessassistance.
County Road 101 summer construction
Contractors have begun removing pavement on County Road 101 south of Gray's Bay Marina to Sanctuary Drive. Marina users should follow posted detour signs from Minnetonka Avenue or County Road 101 to Maplewood Road and continue on Breezy Point Road to the Marina. This detour will be in place throughout the summer.
Project activities:
- The contractor continues
installation of watermain and storm sewers north of La Salle Street.
- Contractors continue to install retaining
walls along the railroad corridor and causeway. This work can create noise
and vibration.
- The contractor is installing sanitary and
storm sewer, along with other utilities, at the intersection of Eastman
Lane, McGinty Road, and Bushaway Road. The contractor is working to
complete and open the bike trail at the same time McGinty Road and Eastman
Lane open, prior to the July 4 holiday weekend.
- Installation of a gas line continues along the
east side of the causeway along with service connections on the south end
of the project.
- The remainder of paved surface between the
causeway and Locust Hills has been reclaimed. The gravel roadway will be
in place for the summer. The suggested 20mph construction zone speed will
help to assure a smoother road surface and minimize impact to vehicles.
Project contact information:
Hotline:
866-981-1101
Email:
countyroad101@hennepin.us
Website:
www.hennepin.us/countyroad101
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/hennepinCR101
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