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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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Southwest light rail
Understanding your property tax
Thank you for your patience during this road construction season as Shady Oak Road has been having extensive work done. Below is an update on the construction:
- Staff is anticipating having Shady Oak Road completed from Highway 7 to Excelsior Boulevard in time for winter. The surface course will be placed next year.
- In Hopkins, 2nd St and West Park Road are completed. The surface course will be placed on 21st Ave by winter.
- MnDOT is currently reviewing a proposal by the construction contractor to allow daytime lane restrictions on Highway 7 in order to complete the Highway 7 median work. This work needs to be completed in order to switch traffic onto the new lanes from 2nd St to Highway 7.
- The cul-de-sac off of the Lake Street Extension cannot be completed until the traffic switch onto the new alignment at Highway 7 is completed. Opening the Service Drive by winter cannot be guaranteed.
- The portion of Shady Oak Road north of Highway 7 is anticipated to be open on the new alignment this fall.
- Placement of the surface course and other work behind the curb lines will be completed next spring/early summer.
All 250 segments of Hennepin County's highways are currently adopted.
A giant THANK YOU to Hennepin County's businesses, clubs, families and other groups that are helping care for our communities by taking pride in our highways.
If you are interested in adopting a highway, segments will come available again soon. For more information, visit our webpage.
Through a series of practical tips, tricks and supplies, Hennepin County's new Recycle Everywhere campaign is aimed at helping residents make it easier to recycle more in every room at home.
Most people do well recycling kitchen items, but half of household recyclables - items often collected in other areas of the home - never make it to the recycling bin. Expanding recycling habits into bathrooms, laundry rooms and home offices will help make a signification step toward closing the recycling gap and keep the county on track to reach its goal of recycling 75 percent of waste by 2030.
Residents can visit HERE to tap into Recycle Everywhere resources, including free recycling labels, a hanging bag for collecting recyclables, a recycling guide and more.
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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
September, 10, 2015
Housing and redevelopment authority and regional rail authority maximum levies approved
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, acting as the
Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HCHRA), approved a $7.1 million maximum HCHRA property tax levy for 2016. The number
represents a zero percent increase from last year. The HCHRA was established in
1987 to serve the housing, economic development, and redevelopment needs of the
citizens of Hennepin County and its municipalities.
Acting as the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority
(HCRRA), the board voted to set the maximum property-tax levy for the
HCRRA at $30 million. HCRRA was established in 1980 as a separate
political entity to plan, design and implement light rail transit in Hennepin
County.
September, 22, 2015
Youth sports program fund to improve access to swimming lessons
The board approved a proposal to dedicate $35,000 of the 2016 Youth Sports
Program funding for a pilot project to improve access to swimming lessons for
youth and communities who are underserved in Hennepin County. The resolution
noted that during the first eight months of 2015, the Sheriff’s Office
responded to 11 drownings and 16 near-drownings, and that nationwide, drowning
rates for African American children are triple the rate for white children in
the same age range. The Youth Sports Program is an initiative that awards
grants to improve youth sports and recreation facilities as well as purchase
capital equipment in Hennepin County.
2016 maximum property tax levy approved
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a maximum property tax levy that would improve
the safety of children, modernize the county’s elections system and support
self-sufficiency and workforce initiatives.
The maximum property tax levy represents an increase of
$31.2 million or 4.48 percent from last year’s adjusted levy. The board is
required by state law to adopt a maximum property tax levy in September.
Commissioners may later approve a property tax levy that is lower than the
approved maximum, but they cannot set it higher than the maximum adopted. In November, property owners will receive a notice that
shows the impact of the county maximum levy on their properties, as well as the
impact of taxes proposed by other local units of government, such as cities and
school districts.
Hennepin County’s property tax levy has increased by an average
of 0.19 percent per year over the past four years, but changes in state and
federal funding, as well as onetime and systemic changes continue to make the
county more reliant on the property tax levy to fund programs and services.
12 members appointed to child protection oversight committee
The County Board voted to increase the maximum number of members
that could be appointed to the Hennepin County Child Protection Oversight
Committee, from a maximum of 11 to 12. The County Board authorized creation of
the committee in July to provide direction and oversight for implementation of
improvements in the Child Protection system in Hennepin County. These
system changes are the result of recommendations from the Casey Family Programs
study of county practices and new requirements issued by the state legislature
and Department of Human Services. Committee members will include:
- Ann Ahlstrom, Hennepin County
Human Services (co-chair)
- Mike Opat, Hennepin County
Commissioner (co-chair)
- Janis Callison, Hennepin County
Board chair
- Craig Enevoldsen, Brooklyn Park
Police Chief
- Eric Fenner, Casey Family
Programs
- Anne Gearity, University of
Minnesota School of Social Work
- Jim Koppel, Minnesota
Department of Human Services, Children and Family Services
- Judge Anne McKeig, Fourth
Judicial District Court
- Dr. Alice Swenson, Children's
Hospital and Clinics
- Darrell Thompson, Bolder
Options youth development
- Noya Woodrich, Greater
Minneapolis Council of Churches
- Tim Zuell, Hennepin County
Attorney's Office
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.
September, 17, 2015
Child Protection - actions/improvements to date
Staff and others reviewed developments in the child
protection area since the previous board briefing. Topics included progress on hiring additional
county staff, the committee structure that has been developed to guide county
work, the status of Governor’s Task Force recommendations and the work of the
Legislative Task Force on Child Protection.
The first meeting of the county’s Child Protection Oversight Committee
was September 24, 2015.
8030 Project photograph installation
September 04 - October 27, 2015
Every day an estimated 11 U.S. veterans and soldiers commit suicide. Every year that adds up to more than 8,000 lives lost.
The 8030 Project, a veterans’ suicide awareness project, was
created as a community participatory public art project to raise awareness of
these unnecessary and tragic deaths.
Images featured in the installation are culled from The 8030
Project’s open call to create individual memorials for these lost lives. The
memorials use everyday objects in everyday spaces; 22 items represent the 22
lives lost. They can be as simple as a circle of chairs, stones on a beach or a
drawing. More than 100 submissions have been collected over the past year on
the project’s website, www.8030project.com.
The exhibit is a selection of the submissions with the stories that accompany
them.
Despite increasing media coverage and heightened public
awareness, the number of deaths keeps rising. This project provides a tangible,
local experience to help people understand what the numbers truly mean.
The Hennepin Gallery is free and open to the
public Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the
Hennepin County Government Center, A-level, 300 South 6th Street,
Minneapolis. The exhibit is a project of Hennepin County Communications.
Property Taxes Due
October 15, 2015
The second half of property tax payments are due on October 15, 2015. There are four ways to pay your bill: Bill pay, escrow, in person and by mail. For information regarding payment methods and questions about property taxes in general, please visit the county webpage.
Pavement sealing projects
October, 2015
Residents
traveling on some county roads over the next few weeks may notice road
construction signs for pavement sealing or crack sealing projects. These
brief projects needed for road maintenance should not create extensive delays
for motorists.
Most of these projects will last only one day and occur between
9 a.m. and 3 p.m. First, crews will use saws to clean up the cracks. Then, they
will clean out the cracks with air pressure. Finally, they will seal the cracks
and cover them with a thin paper that will dissolve in a few days.
Starting September 30 and continuing through late October, crews
plan to work on projects in the following order:
- County Road 81 (West Broadway
Avenue) from Girard Avenue to I-94 in Minneapolis
- County Road 152 (Washington
Avenue North) as it parallels I-94 between 22nd Ave North to where it
crosses over I-94 in Minneapolis
- County Road 152 (Osseo Road)
from Oliver Ave North to the Canadian Pacific Road in Minneapolis
- County Road 66 (Duluth Street)
from Douglas Drive to Toledo Avenue in Golden Valley
- County Road 26 from the county
line to County Road 92 in Minnetrista
- County Road 110 from County
Road 110 Extension to Halstead Avenue in Minnetrista
- County Road 15 (Lynwood
Boulevard) from County Road 44 (Westedge Boulevard) to Old School Road in
Mound
- County Road 51 (North Shore
Drive) from County Road 19 (also North Shore Drive) to the Noerenberg
Channel in Orono
- County Road 19 (North Shore
Drive) from County Road 51 (also North Shore Drive) to Vine Place in Orono
- County Road 146 from County
Road 51 (North Shore Drive) to Orchard Lane in Long Lake
- County Road 19 from U. S.
Highway 12 (Babcock Boulevard) to Morris T Baker County Park in
Independence/Maple Plain
- County Road 3 (Excelsior Boulevard) from Glen Oak
Street to immediately west of County Road 61 (Shady Oak Road) in Minnetonka
Upcoming key budget dates
December 01, 2015
Truth-in-Taxation public meeting
6:00 PM at the Hennepin County Government Center
December 15, 2015
County Board vote on the 2016 budget and levy
1:30 PM at the Hennepin County Government Center
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