FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 07/07/2015
Contact:
Carolyn Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969
Board approves funding for reduced-scope SWLRT
Hennepin County leaders Tuesday became the first elected body to
offer a formal funding commitment to a Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT)
plan that reduces the project’s scope by more than a quarter billion dollars
and adds other local investments to the funding mix.
The Hennepin County Board approved $5 million from the Environmental
Response Fund to address areas of contamination associated with SWLRT. This is consistent with the funding plan
approved last week by the SWLRT Corridor Management Committee.
Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, who chairs Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority,
said the approval is the “first down payment on a shared investment by the
county and the cities along the corridor,” and that this sort of collaboration
and joint problem solving is why this region is highly regarded by the federal
government and why we succeed in obtaining federal funding.
More approvals in the works
The Metropolitan Council is expected to vote on the plan later
this week. Eden Prairie is expected
to donate city-owned land worth $3 million; Minnetonka, St. Louis Park and
Hopkins also have indicated a willingness to make a financial investment to
allow the project to go forward.
“The success that we have achieved through this collaborative
process shows our commitment to improved access to quality transportation for
residents and visitors in Hennepin County,” said Board Chair Jan Callison. “I
would like to thank the many partners who came together to focus on the
well-being and development of the region.”
Commitments to the plan will keep the project’s ranking by the
federal government unaffected, and are expected to maintain the project’s
forward momentum toward a Full Funding Grant Agreement in late 2016. The line
is currently scheduled to open in 2020.
Related board actions
In addition to support for the SWLRT scope reductions, the board
also voted Tuesday to submit a $20 million 2016 State Capital Bonding request
for the Bottineau Light Rail Transit project and support the Met Council’s
request for the balance of the state contribution for SWLRT.
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 created
The board also 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.
Tasks created related to child protection recommendations
The board also voted to assign a series of tasks to county administration and human services leadership. Those tasks were related to the recommendations from the Casey report and the Governor’s Task Force. County administration will report back to the board on their progress by October 1, 2015. The tasks include:
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Instituting an impartial data unit to compile statistics on Child Protection Services.
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Making operational changes so that child protection calls are received by county staff throughout the day, including after business hours, and make improvements to the manner in which calls are communicated for further action.
- Completing a comprehensive workload study for Child Protective Services staff.
- Communicating to the County Board the list of social service providers used by Child Protective Services for either Family Assessment cases or traditional Investigative cases, including the most recent annual expenditures available for each agency.
- Providing a comprehensive evaluation of the Results Only Work Environment program for Child Protection Services. This evaluation should consider changes at existing facilities as well as spatial planning for future buildings.
- Improving early intervention responses to cases of neglect, including educational neglect, as well as cases screened out and closed by Child Protection.
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.
Committing to justice
for people with mental illnesses
The Hennepin County Board voted to endorse the Stepping Up
initiative to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in our county
jail, commit to sharing lessons learned with other counties in Minnesota and
across the country to support a national initiative and encourage all county
officials, employees and residents to participate in Stepping Up.
Some measures could include:
- Convening a diverse team of leaders and decision
makers from multiple agencies, who are committed to safely reducing the number
of people with mental illnesses in jails
- Studying the problem to better identify those
who enter jails with mental illnesses and assess their recidivism risk, then using
that baseline information to guide decision-making at every level
- Examining treatment and service capacity and
access to determine which county programs and services are available for people
with mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders
- Developing a research-based plan with measurable
- Creating a process to track progress, and report
successes
New Facility Services director appointed
The county board voted to confirm the appointment of Michael Sable to the position of Facility Services director. Mike holds a MBA from the University of St. Thomas and brings many years of local government leadership experience. He most recently served as Interim City Manager for the City of Brooklyn Park, where his duties have included oversight of the city's communications, human resources and information technology services. Mike will begin his new role in early August.
Environmental
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.
Projects include:
Minneapolis
- 4041 Hiawatha Avenue—$130,135 to the City of
Minneapolis/Hiawatha Partners LLC to assist with contaminated soil cleanup and
soil gas vapor mitigation associated with development of affordable housing
units
- 700 Central —$140,620 to the City of
Minneapolis/Nolan Properties Group for contaminated soil cleanup and soil gas
vapor mitigation associated with renovation of vacant buildings into market
rate apartments and new commercial space
- Former Superior Plating— $118,233 to the City of
Minneapolis/Lennar Multifamily Communities for operation of a remediation
system in preparation for the development of a mixed-use commercial and
multifamily residential redevelopment
- Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens—$209,500 to the
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board for contaminated soil cleanup during park
renovations
- North Loop Commons—$61,123 to the City of
Minneapolis/NHH Olson Memorial, LLC for contaminated soil cleanup and soil
vapor mitigation to renovate a vacant building for future charter school,
commercial use, and office use
- Seward Towers East and West—$221,250 to the City
of Minneapolis/Seward Towers Corporation for asbestos abatement as part of
their renovation of two existing low income/section 8 residential buildings
Hopkins
- Oxford Village—$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
St. Louis Park
- The Shoreham—$200,000 to the City of Saint Louis
Park EDA/Bader Development for contaminated soil cleanup associated with
development of market-rate and affordable housing and office space
Bloomington
- VEAP-Former Viking Foods—$75,334 to Volunteers
Enlisted to Assist People, Inc. (VEAP) for soil vapor mitigation in a food
production and distribution center and office space for the Hennepin County
Human Services and Public Health team
Medina
- Hamel Road stormwater infiltration pond—$62,500 for asbestos waste removal costs, associated with pond construction
Measure approved to
explore joint youth treatment center with Ramsey County
Staff will move ahead to develop
recommendations for principles, terms, practices and policies relating to a new
joint Hennepin County-Ramsey County residential treatment center for youth in
both counties.
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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