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Marion Greene Commissioner, 3rd District 612-348-7883
Ray Hoover Principal Aide 612-348-7125
Pam Fahlstrom Administrative Assistant 612-348-0863
The 3rd District serves
the city of St.
Louis Park, and parts of west and downtown Minneapolis.
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Don't have plans for New Year's? Click here to see what's happening in the area courtesy of Meet Minneapolis.
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Southwest Light Rail
Understanding your property tax
City of Minneapolis
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Wishing you a joyous and safe holiday season,
December focused on completing the 2016 budget and planning for the year ahead. I led three amendments to the 2016 budget, all at the intersection of social services and the judicial system, and all focused on increasing stability for children and families:
- For case management services in the Homeless Outreach for Minneapolitans Establishing Stability (HOMES) Court, to improve housing stability and reduce recidivism, street homelessness, and incarceration time
- For a pilot with Legal Aid and the Volunteer Lawyers Network to provide legal services for meritorious eviction cases to improve housing stability
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For the Children's Law Center to provide full legal representation to Hennepin County’s state
wards: children whose parents’ rights have been terminated due to abandonment,
abuse or neglect
It has been an amazing year. Please look for my "Year in Review" Letter in January. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
My best,
2016 county budget approved
The County Board voted Tuesday to approve the county’s 2016
budget of $1.9 billion. The budget reflects the
significant level of service demands across the county.
Learn more about the 2016 county budget and property tax
levy.
2016 railroad authority budget approved
The county approved a $63 million budget for the Regional
Railroad Authority.
Learn more about the Regional Railroad Authority's 2016
budget.
Labor agreement sets minimum Hennepin County employee wage at
$15 an hour
The board approved six labor agreements with AFSCME Council 5 and various locals. Among other elements, the agreements ensure that members of the county’s largest union are paid a minimum of $15 an hour.The three-year agreements cover approximately 4,000 employees
from the clerical, social services, probation/parole, legal, adult corrections
and professional units.
Learn about the labor agreements with AFSCME.
Youth Sports grants continue to fund
playgrounds, facilities
The County Board awarded 39 Youth Sports Grants for projects, including an exercise facility at Washburn High School, and a recreation center and ice rink in St. Louis Park. The board approved 12 other large facilities projects, and 25 small equipment grants.
Search the list of 2016 Youth Sports Grant projects.
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Volunteer at Hennepin County
Make a difference on issues, programs
and policies. All interested residents are welcome to apply for membership on an advisory board. Current board vacancies are listed below; click on the links for duties,
meeting schedules and other information for each board. Note that legitimate
expenses related to serving on an advisory board (which may include child care,
travel and parking) are reimbursable.
Applications are due December 31
and the board will interview qualified applicants in January 2016.
For more information, contact Yolanda
Clark, Board Clerk’s office, 612-348-3257 or visit www.hennepin.us/advisoryboards
Join the Met Council's first ever Equity Advisory Committee
The Equity Advisory Committee will advise the Council in
advancing equity in the region, and specifically how the Council implements the
equity commitments in Thrive MSP 2040, the region’s long-range development
plan. Members of this committee will influence Council decisions related to
regional policies on transportation and transit, local planning, housing,
environmental issues and more.
Applications will be accepted through at least Jan. 4, 2016.
To apply, visit the Equity
Advisory Committee page or contact the Council’s appointments coordinator
at 651-602-1630.
Plans move forward for
joint youth residential treatment facility with Ramsey County
The County Board agreed to proceed with plans for a joint
Hennepin-Ramsey County residential youth treatment center. Two existing
residential treatment centers, at the Hennepin County Home School and Ramsey
County’s Boys Totem Town, are in need of significant ongoing preservation and
maintenance efforts. For the past 18 months, the counties have worked toward
creating a joint facility replacement. Together with Commissioner Jan Callison, I sit on the joint task force.
Learn more about the joint treatment facility.
Hennepin County hosts first
utility summit
Hennepin County Public Works hosted a utility summit on
Wednesday, December 2, with representatives from cities in Hennepin County and
private utility companies participating.
The goals of the summit were to engage in discussions and develop
ideas for improving coordination and collaboration on utility issues associated
with road and bridges programming, construction and operations. The summit was a
brainstorming session for mid- to high-level representatives from local and
regional government entities and private utility companies.
World AIDS Day marked at HCMC
Tuesday, December 1 was World AIDS Day, and to mark the occasion, Hennepin County Medical Center's Positive Care Center hosted a World AIDS Day event in the hospital's Red Skyway.
Staff provided education and resources, and distributed red ribbons to show support for those living with HIV/AIDS.
The Positive Care Center at HCMC is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team committed to providing quality, comprehensive health and psychological services to those living with HIV. HCMC's LGBT & Allies Employee Resource Group co-sponsored the event.
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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.
Angela Conley
Angela is a resident of the Kingfield neighborhood, and is the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) Operations Coordinator in the HSPHD Eligibility Work Services department.
Click here to find out how Angela makes Hennepin County tick.
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Solid Waste Enterprise Fund grants expand recycling opportunities in public spaces
On December 1, the board awarded eight grants to improve recycling in public spaces. Grants were awarded to the cities of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, New Hope, St. Bonifacius, and Tonka Bay and the University of Minnesota. The projects will add recycling receptacles to parks and high-traffic pedestrian routes and expand organics collections programs.
The public space recycling program, established in 2014, provides a financial incentive to municipalities and public entities to explore new opportunities to reduce, reuse, recycle or compost waste. The Solid Waste Enterprise Fund is funded by fees that waste haulers pay to dispose of garbage generated by residents and businesses in the county, and is available annually for these grants.
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Negotiations authorized for Southwest Light Rail trail crossings
On December 1, the board authorized negotiations with the Metropolitan Council to fund three trail grade-separated crossings adjacent to the Southwest LRT (METRO Green Line Extension) route, in Hopkins and St. Louis Park. Construction of the three trail grade-separated crossings will be incorporated and move forward as part of the METRO Green Line Extension project.
Learn more about the proposed trail crossing projects.
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Three Rivers Park District 2016 budget approved
On December 1, the board reviewed and approved the Three Rivers Park District superintendent’s proposed $35.9 million operating budget for 2016. The proposed budget reflects an increase of 3.45 percent from 2015. The total budgeted property tax levy including debt service is about $41.5 million, an increase of 0.66 percent over last year.
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Sentencing to Service Homes program contracts
approved
On December 1, the board approved two contracts for the Sentencing to Service (STS) Homes program effective January 1 to December 31, 2016. This construction and
carpenter training program will receive funds from Greater
Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC) and the Three
Rivers Park District, for STS Homes work crews to assist with home rehabilitation,
new home construction and other construction related projects for both
organizations.
STS Homes has partnered with GMHC since 2007 and with Three
Rivers Park District since 2004. Program participants are men and women,
primarily Hennepin County residents, who are incarcerated in Minnesota
Correctional Facilities such as Lino Lakes and Stillwater, or who are on
probation in Hennepin County and participating in the Summit Academy OIC
Rehabilitation Technician Program. They are expected to be ready for pre-apprenticeship,
apprenticeship, or union-scale jobs once they complete the program.
Learn more about the STS Homes program.
Grant offers program oversight for people in
long-term homelessness
On December 15, the board agreed to accept a two-year grant from
the Minnesota Department of Human Services to oversee supportive housing
programs for people who have experienced long-term homelessness, and families
who are at risk of long-term homelessness. Hennepin County has been designated
as lead and fiscal agency for a multi-county collaboration. As part of
the ongoing plan to end long-term homelessness, the county will work with St.
Paul-based Hearth Connection to provide supports across county boundaries,
training to service providers, client monitoring and tracking, data collection
and reporting and connections for clients to permanent supportive housing.
Learn about the supportive housing proposal.
Study to assess contracted food support
programs
On December 15, the board agreed
to support a study of current contracted food support programs, to look for opportunities
for increased efficiency, effectiveness and maximum accessibility. Currently,
the county works with six providers of emergency food support, while 80 programs provide food support in the county. The Human Services
Department will report back to the board with recommendations by July 1, 2016.
Learn more about the food support study.
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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.
January 14
- Vendor Compliance: workforce contracting goals
- Detox / Crisis Stabilization
January 28
- Bonding: support the efforts of others
- 2040 Comprehensive Plan
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