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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn
Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969
County board actions
Votes Tuesday will set an additional public hearing for new transportation and transit sales tax, provide funding to support small businesses, approve an application for $5 million to conserve and restore natural areas, approve an agreement to reduce violent crime in Minneapolis and award a contract for criminal justice adult diversion services.
 Additional public hearing set for new
transportation and transit sales tax
The board approved an
additional public hearing to obtain public comment on the imposition of a new
sales tax of up to one-half cent and the potential uses of that revenue for
transportation and transit projects.
This tax would replace the
current sales tax of one-quarter cent imposed by Hennepin County for the
Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB).
The public hearing will be
held before the Public Works Committee on Tuesday, June 6, at 1:30 p.m. in the
Board Room (A-2400) of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South Sixth
Street, Minneapolis.
All are welcome.
The board held a previous
public hearing on the sales tax on Tuesday, March 21, continued that hearing on
Tuesday, March 28, and laid the matter over to the call of the chair.
Read
more about the action.
See
the sales and use transportation tax implementation plan.
Learn more about how
Hennepin County is connecting people to places.
The board awarded two grants totaling $80,000 to support economic vitality of small business districts in suburban Hennepin County. Business District Initiative grants will leverage about $84,000 in matching investments and benefit as many as 80 small businesses.
Funding awards
- City of Hopkins: $30,000 for placemaking projects to drive traffic to small businesses in downtown Hopkins
- City of Richfield: $50,000 for storefront improvements and marketing for the Penn Avenue business district
Read more about the funding awards.
Read more about the Business District Initiative program.
The board approved a grant
application to the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council for $5 million to acquire
conservation easements and restore natural areas. A conservation easement is a
set of restrictions a landowner voluntarily places on property to preserve its
conservation value. The grant would facilitate protection of unique and
important remaining natural areas in the county, including the remaining portions of the historic Big Woods forests,
tamarack bogs and native tallgrass prairies. The
Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council will make funding recommendations in
December 2017, and, if successful, the grant would take effect after approval
by the legislature in the summer of 2018.
Read more about this action.
The board approved an agreement aiming to reduce violent
crime in Minneapolis. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is working with the
Minneapolis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to increase
law enforcement presence in the city. The agreement will provide Joint
Enforcement Team patrol between May and September in neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.
Read more about the Joint Enforcement Team.
The board approved a $325,686
contract to divert first-time nonviolent adult offenders from the criminal justice
system. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office awarded the contract to Diversion
Solutions, which beat out two other companies that responded to the November
bidding process. Diversion Solutions received the highest rank while coming
in with the lowest bid of the three companies. The new contract will save the
county thousands of dollars annually and make better use of existing county
services.
Read
more about the contract.
The board is hosting a public hearing on the proposed sale
of a .06 acre parcel of tax-forfeited land to Mound Cemetery in Brooklyn Center.
Public hearing
details
- Tuesday, June 6, 1:30 p.m.
- Hennepin
County Government Center Board Room (A-2400)
- 300
South Sixth Street, Minneapolis
Read more about the public hearing.
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Look for more news on
the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
Discover how we're making a difference in our communities at www.hennepin.us/stories.
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