Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Tomorrow at 10:00am I will be hosting my first monthly 'Coffee with Chris'. I invite you to join me virtually, here, for a cup of coffee and an informal conversation.
One of my top priorities is building strong relationships with our partners in local government. That is why I’m continuing former Commissioner Jan Callison’s practice of City Council meetings in each of District 6’s 16 municipalities at least once annually. This week, I attended a Hopkins City Council meeting to provide an update on the work underway at Hennepin County as well as ways we can partner together.
Read more below about the opportunities I had to join an EMS ride along and tour the new Avivo Village shelter as well as updates on the Tanager Bridge construction and vaccines. Additionally, don’t miss the Star Tribune’s coverage on the Hennepin County Climate Action plan including a few comments from me, below.
As always, please reach out to my office using the contact information at the bottom of this newsletter with any questions, comments, or concerns.
In service,
Chris
Join me for my first monthly "Coffee with Chris", a place where you can enjoy a cup of coffee and have an informal virtual conversation with me. Saturday, March 6th anytime between 10:00am-10:45am
Stay as long or short as you'd like. I encourage you to come with questions, comments, or concerns.
To join the meeting simply click here tomorrow to join the Microsoft Teams meeting.
Avivo--a Minnesota organization helping Minnesotans through chemical and mental health services while assisting with housing and career services--will be opening their new indoor tiny house village this month. I toured the village of 100 new units as this first in-the-nation project will provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness, help them find permanent housing, all while providing critical social services. Proud of Hennepin County's partnership on this.
Every 7 minutes EMS responds to a new call for emergency assistance in Hennepin County, from car accidents to fires, drug overdoses to mental health crises. This week I joined Chief Scheerer and our Hennepin EMS paramedics for a ride along. Grateful for their service to our community.
More than ever, people are looking to local government to model the kind of leadership they deserve, and that work starts with meaningful partnerships.
This week I was grateful to spend time with Hopkins City Council members to provide an update on the work underway at Hennepin County and find ways to continue partnering together.
Hennepin County expects to begin the Tanager Bridge reconstruction project in Orono on Monday, March 8. The location and the extent of early construction activities will require closure of the bridge for up to 60 calendar days when construction begins. Through traffic will need to use the signed detour during the closure.
The bridge carries Shoreline Drive (County Road 15) over Tanager Lake. The existing bridge has reached the end of its service life and needs to be replaced.
Over the course of this year, we will construct a new bridge adjacent to the existing bridge, realign Shoreline Drive to connect to the new bridge and remove the existing bridge. This project will not only improve safety for people using the bridge but will also increase channel clearance under the bridge.
To learn more about this project, visit www.hennepin.us/tanager-bridge.
Please contact transportation@hennepin.us or call 612-348-8448 with any questions about the project.
View of the signed detour map
Plan includes more than 200 strategies, including electric cars, efficient buildings
By David Chanen, Star Tribune
Chris LaTondresse, one of the three new commissioners on the board, said he learned on the campaign trail that residents have an intense interest in environmental justice. That included high school students who started a group called the Minnetonka Climate Initiative, aimed at encouraging young people to be leaders on climate change.
"This plan consists of hundreds of hours of community conversation and engagement," he said. "We are setting the gold standard."
Access the full story, here.
Each week, the Minnesota Department of Health determines the allocations of vaccine dosage for local public health agencies, including Hennepin County Public Health.
Learn more about Hennepin County’s role, including the number of vaccine doses we’ve administered: hennepin.us/vaccinationupdates
Sign up to receive this data weekly, via email or text.
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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Chris LaTondresse Commissioner 6th District 612-348-7886
Jessica Oaxaca District Director 612-348-6885
Kyle Olson Policy Director 612-348-3168
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