|
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
Marion Greene
Commissioner, 3rd District
612-348-7883
@MarionGreene
Ray Hoover
Principal Aide
612-348-7125
Pam Fahlstrom
Administrative Assistant
612-348-0863
Join me in my effort to expand awareness of and involvement with Hennepin County! I'm holding office hours across the district each month. Come with questions, come with opinions, or just come to say hi.
This month's office hours are August 21 from 2-4PM at Honey & Rye in St. Louis Park at 4501 Excelsior Boulevard.
The 3rd District serves
the city of St.
Louis Park, and parts of west and downtown Minneapolis.
 View larger map
Join the SWLRT Project Office (SPO) for a Community Workshop
The Kenilworth Landscape Design project is a unique opportunity to shape the Kenilworth corridor and balance transit and active trails with the natural surroundings. Join the SPO and Met Council from 9-11:30 AM at the Blake Upper School on Saturday, August 8th. For more details, click here.
Hazardous Waste Collection Events
Hennepin
County organizes collection events to give residents more convenient local
options for disposing of household hazardous wastes.
Collection events are held Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
August 20 – 22 in south Minneapolis
Learn more about event locations, guidelines and
materials accepted.
Fix-It Clinics
Fix-It Clinics provide an opportunity to
receive free, guided assistance from handy volunteers on disassembling,
troubleshooting and repairing small household appliances, clothing,
electronics, mobile devices and more.
Upcoming Fix-It Clinics are scheduled for the following dates
and locations:
Sunday, August 9 from noon to 4 p.m. at Arc’s
Value Village in Bloomington
Saturday, September 19 from noon to 4 p.m. at
the University of Minnesota Reuse Program warehouse in Minneapolis
For more information or to volunteer, contact Nancy Lo at nancy.lo@hennepin.us
or 612-348-9195.
County departments, agencies & other entities
Hennepin County libraries
Hennepin County Medical Center
Hennepin volunteers
Online services
Phone directory
Service Center information
Southwest Light Rail
Understanding your property tax
City of Minneapolis
City of St. Louis Park
|
Greetings!
I hope you enjoy this month's District 3 newsletter. Visit our website to
find more ways to connect with the county.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
I value your opinions.
My best,
Significant change begins in Child Protection Services
On July 7th, the board initiated significant changes to Child Protection Services (CPS) by implementing an Oversight Committee, and instructing administration to:
- Create a data unit to compile statistics on CPS
- Improve early intervention responses for chronic
neglect cases, cases screened out by CPS and cases closed by CPS
- Complete a comprehensive Workload Study for CPS
staff
- Provide a comprehensive evaluation of the
“Results-Only Work Environment” program for CPS, including consideration of
changes at existing facilities as well as spatial planning for future buildings
- Make operational changes such that all child protection
calls are received by county staff, during and after business hours
- Communicate to the board a list of social
service providers used by CPS, with most recent annual expenditures for each
agency
Hennepin County will also hire 68 more social workers, 30 case support staff, and five attorneys. In order to pay for this, the board approved a transfer in contingency funds, and accepted a state funding infusion expressly for this purpose. The additional funding will enable the Human Services and Public
Health Department to begin to adopt a series of recommendations put forth by Governor
Dayton’s Task Force on the Protection of Children, and by a county-initiated
comprehensive review of services to county-involved children and youth.
Following the meeting on July 7th, I released a statement on
the board's actions, which
you can read here.
 Board approves funding for reduced-scope
SWLRT
On July 7th, the Hennepin County board 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. This is consistent with the funding plan approved last week by the
SWLRT Corridor Management Committee.
|
 National Night Out on August 4th
National Night Out is an annual nationwide event that encourages residents to get out in the community, holding block parties and getting to know their neighbors. This year, National Night Out will be held on Tuesday, August 4th.
For more information about National Night out in Minneapolis, click here. For St. Louis Park, click here.
|
Board passes Stepping Up initiative
On July 7th, the Hennepin County Board voted to endorse the Stepping Up initiative. Stepping Up is part of a broader national action to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in our county jail; to commit to sharing lessons learned with other counties in Minnesota and across the country; and to encourage all county officials, employees and residents to participate in Stepping Up.
Measures include:
- Convening a diverse team of leaders and decision makers from multiple agencies, committed to safely reducing the number of people with mental illnesses in jails
- Working 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 outcomes
- Creating a process to track progress, and report successes
Much of this work is already being done by the County Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Office, and public safety and human services departments. To learn more, click here.
 West Lake Multimodal Transportation Study Update
The West Lake Multimodal Transportation Study is a cooperative effort between Hennepin County, Minneapolis, the Metropolitan Council, and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board that is being conducted to identify motorized and non-motorized traffic needs, challenges, and opportunities in the vacinity of the planned West Lake LRT station.
The project team has been busy over the past few months:
- On April 21st, a walking tour of the area was conducted with more than 35 participants
- A community workshop was held on April 29th with 30 participants
- A series of meetings were held with Cedar-Isles-Dean Neighborhood association, West Calhoun Neighborhood Council, Minneapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Midtown Greenway Coalition, Private Business Owners, and Homeowner Associations
- Over 230 respondents completed the online survey and over 90 respondents provided comments on the Wikimap
- The project team began field reviews and data collection that will aid in the analysis to be conducted in the coming months
The project team is currently working to:
- Evaluate and quantify existing travel conditions and environmental considerations
- Analyze multimodal connectivity, safety, accessibility, and mobility
- Develop short, medium, and long term recommendations for the study area
To learn more about the study, visit the project website here.
|
 To
share more about the work of Hennepin County, we profile a county employee
who lives in District 3. Each month spotlights a person from varying
departments and occupations.
Lindsey Thomas
Lindsey
Thomas is a resident of the Lynnhurst neighborhood, and is an
Assistant Medical Examiner for the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's
Office.
Click here to find out how Lindsey Thomas makes Hennepin County tick.
Back to Top
|
Funding for homelessness prevention, rehousing
On July 7th the Hennepin County Board accepted 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 (CAPSH), 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.
New Facility Services director appointed
On July 7th, the board confirmed 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 included oversight of the city's communications, human resources and information technology services. Mike worked for Hennepin County previously, from 2002 to 2007.
Environmental Response Fund projects approved
On July 7th the board approved Environmental Response Fund requests
for 10 remediation projects. These grant awards 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, to assist with
contaminated soil cleanup and soil gas vapor mitigation associated with
development of affordable housing units
- 700 Central, 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, for
operation of a remediation system in preparation for the development of a
mixed-use commercial and multifamily residential redevelopment
- Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens, for contaminated soil cleanup
during park renovations
- North Loop Commons, 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, for
asbestos abatement as part of their renovation of two existing low
income/section 8 residential buildings
St. Louis Park
- The Shoreham, for contaminated soil
cleanup associated with development of market-rate and affordable housing
and office space
Board OKs $3 million in SWLRT infrastructure
costs and $5 million in environmental cleanup
At the July 21st meeting, 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 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.
The board also approved $5 million from the Environmental Response Fund (ERF) to address areas of contamination associated with SWLRT. Each Community Works and ERF dollar spent is matched by federal New Starts funding.
Board intends land transfer to Met Council for
SWLRT
At the July 21st meeting, the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority Board stated 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 Royalston Avenue in Minneapolis to approximately 2,000 feet west
of 11th Avenue in Minnetonka.
$12 million committed for Orange Line Bus Rapid
Transit to south metro
At the July 21st meeting, 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. 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, based on the number of stops and riders from Minneapolis.
New labor relations director appointed
The board voted to appoint Katherine Megarry to the position of
labor relations director at Hennepin County. She will begin her duties on
August 24. Megarry comes to the position with nearly 20 years of experience in
the labor relations field. She has experience in both the public and private
sector, most recently with Macy's Corporation. She currently has responsibility
for a number of union contracts for Macy's in their North, Midwest and Boston
markets. Megarry holds a Bachelor's degree from Hamline University and a
Master's degree in Industrial Relations/Law from the University of Minnesota's
Carlson School of Management.
Back to Top
You're invited! In addition to our regularly scheduled board
meetings, the County Board often meets for updates on Thursday mornings. These
are informal opportunities to discuss emerging issues. No decisions are made,
and the topics are subject to change. Board briefings occur in the board room
on the 24th floor of the Hennepin County Government Center and are open to the
public.
August 13
Specialty Courts
August 27
Long
term care services/staffing
Back to top
|
