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Jan Callison
Commissioner
6th District
612-348-7886
Allyson Lueneburg
Principal Aide
612-348-6885
Becky Westergren
Administrative Assistant
612-348-3168
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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 HCSO Swap Spot Logo
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office introduced a new crime prevention initiative known as "swap spots". Swap spots are public spaces where community members can go to make their personal online purchase transactions.
Swap spots are located in the lobby areas of Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Water Patrol, Enforcement Services Division, and Public Safety Facility. They are only available during normal hours of operation and designated by the swap spot logo.
Swap spots can be used for:
- Child custody exchanges
- Retrieving property from family members or acquaintances
- Exchanging of goods bought online
For more information check out the swap spot locations.
The Minnesota Medical Manufacturing Partnership led by GREATER MSP in Minneapolis is one of the 12 recently announced communities that have received designations under the Obama Administration's Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative.
From the communities that applied this round, 12 were selected by an
interagency panel, based on the strength of their economic development plans,
the potential for impact in their communities, and the depths of their partnerships
across the public and private sectors to carry out their plans.
The 12
designated Manufacturing Communities will receive coordinated support for their
strategies from the following eleven federal agencies with more than $1 billion
available in federal economic development assistance:
- Appalachian Regional Commission
- Delta Regional Authority
- Environmental Protection Agency
- National Science Foundation
- Small Business Administration
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Department of Transportation
For more information on IMCP, please visit their webpage.
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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
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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
July 7, 2015
Funding approved for 98 Child Protection, five County Attorney hires
The board approved a transfer of $429,000 in contingency funds, and accepted a state funding infusion of nearly $2.2 million to increase staffing and enable systems changes in the Child Protection Services unit.
The additional funding will enable the Human Services and Public Health Department to adopt a series of recommendations put forth by Governor Dayton's Task Force on the Protection of Children, and a county-initiated comprehensive review of services to county-involved children and youth.
Changes will include the hire of 60 child protection social workers, and 38 supervisors, legal services staff, case management assistants and support staff. New staff will begin arriving in August, and will continue to start work every four to six weeks through the end of the year. The measure also includes $255,000 to cover five new hires in the Hennepin County Attorney's Office; new state requirements are increasing both the number of cases Hennepin County must handle and the work done on each case. At least five additional positions will improve legal access for Child Protection staff.
Child protection oversight committee
The board voted to establish an oversight committee for
child protection services in response to new State of Minnesota child
protection requirements and Casey Family Programs report. The committee will
consist of 7-11 members including two Hennepin County Commissioners, as well as
community members, individuals with professional expertise in child protection,
and others. The committee will regularly report to the Hennepin County Board of
Commissioners.
Funding for homelessness prevention, rehousing
The Hennepin County Board has agreed to accept more than $4.2
million in state funding for the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance
Program. Services are aimed at preventing homelessness and quickly re-housing
people who become homeless. Interventions include:
- Financial assistance to pay
rent
- Legal services to negotiate
tenancy and eviction issues
- Rapid re-housing services to
resettle homeless families and singles staying in county-paid shelters
- Youth services to either
reunify families or stabilize youth housing
- Transitional housing for
families at high risk of homelessness recidivism
Community partners include Community Action Partnership of
Suburban Hennepin, Catholic Charities Community Emergency Assistance Program,
Lutheran Social Services, People Responding in Social Ministry, Mid-MN Legal
Assistance, Simpson Housing, Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People (VEAP), St.
Stephen's, YMCA, YouthLink, Oasis and The Link.
Environment Response Fund projects approved
The board voted to approve Environmental Response Fund requests
for 10 remediation projects. These grant awards will preserve or support
development of 799 affordable housing units, enhance green space, significantly
increase tax base, and provide new construction and permanent jobs.
The District 6 project is:
- Oxford Village (in Hopkins) —$167,385 to
Project for Pride in Living Inc. (PPL) for contaminated soil cleanup,
asbestos abatement, and vapor mitigation associated with development of
affordable rental housing units
July 21, 2015
Board OKs $3 million in SWLRT infrastructure costs
The
board agreed to set aside $3 million for infrastructure costs associated with
the Southwest Light Rail project. Potential uses are creating elements that
connect the communities to station areas, acquiring needed lands and improving
water quality. The county funding will come from the Southwest Community Works
program, and will be available 2016-2019. Each
Community Works dollar spent is matched by federal New Starts funding.
The
Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) project (METRO Green Line Extension) will
operate from downtown Minneapolis through the communities of St. Louis Park,
Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie, passing in close proximity to Edina. The
project includes 15 new stations, will serve more than 34,000 trips per day,
and is anticipated to cost $1.74 billion to construct. It will be part of an
integrated system of transitways, including connections to the METRO Blue Line,
the Northstar Commuter Rail line, bus routes and proposed future transitways.
Hennepin County is the lead agency for the Southwest LRT Community Works program,
working in collaboration with partner cities Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins,
Minnetonka, Minneapolis, and St. Louis Park.
Board intends land transfer to Met Council for SWLRT
The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority Board voted to
state its intention to transfer portions of the Kenilworth and Cedar Lakes rail
corridor for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project, subject to certain
conditions and future actions. The Board's action will assist in receiving
matching federal dollars for the project. The land includes portions of
the Kenilworth and Cedar Lake rail corridor from approximately 2,000 feet west
of 11th Avenue in Minnetonka to Royalston Avenue in Minneapolis.
$12 million committed for Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit to south metro
The board committed to provide as much as $12.8 million of the
local funding for the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit Project capital costs. The
line will extend from downtown Minneapolis, 17 miles along Interstate 35W to
Burnsville. The project will have 11 stations in Hennepin County and one
station in Dakota County. The total capital cost for the project is estimated
to be $150.7 million. The Metropolitan Council will be the lead agency for
project development and operations. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2017
with operations beginning in late 2019. The federal government will provide 50
percent of the funding; 30 percent will come from the Counties Transit
Improvement Board; 10 percent from the state; and 10 percent local. Hennepin
County’s allocation represents 86 percent of the local share.
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.
July 16, 2015
Innovation Funding Recommendations
The purpose of the briefing was to discuss the project recommendations for use of designated innovation funds in Hennepin County. Direction for the 2016 innovation funding was also sought from the Commissioners for six recommended projects. Innovation Funds are awarded through a competitive process that allows ideas created by county employees that will reduce costs and improve collaboration and efficiencies within the county to be implemented.
July 23, 2015
Transportation Capital Program
This briefing addressed the Corridors of Impact in Hennepin County and the Transportation Department's project prioritization criteria and related data. The advances in the transportation program focus on economic competitiveness, national policy and data supported decision making.
September 3, 2015
One vacancy - Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Board
Applications are now being accepted for one board position on the five member watershed district board. The application period will close on September 3, 2015, with interviews being held on September 8, 2015. For more information or to apply please visit the county advisory board webpage.
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