County Board Actions: Service Centers, Legislative Priorities and More

(The following announcement comes from Hennepin County.)

County Board Actions includes summaries of only a portion of the total actions of the board, selected for general news interest. For complete information on all resolutions and actions by the board, see the information at the end of the article.

Study group will review service centers

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution, offered by 5th District Commissioner Randy Johnson, directing the county administrator to appoint a study group to review the county service centers.

The county’s six service centers offer more than 40 services, including driver’s license duplicates, renewals and reinstatements; motor vehicle tabs, plates, titles and registrations; and passports. The resolution states that the portion of fees the county is allowed to retain is often less than the cost of offering state license services, resulting in “sharply increasing Hennepin County property tax support for service centers’ operations.”

The county closed its Eden Prairie Service Center last Friday, Jan. 20. The resolution says review of the service centers is needed so that “important public policy questions concerning the long-term viability of the centers” can be addressed by the board.

This includes the option of eliminating county operation of the centers, except for mandated operations, and “more aggressively seeking market share to reduce property tax subsidy.”

The study group, which will include private-sector representatives, will report back its recommendations to the board by April 16.  

Hennepin state legislative priorities and bonding requests approved

The board approved state legislative priorities, bonding requests, and a preliminary legislative platform for 2012.

Legislative priorities include:

• State bonding requests.
• Create a mechanism for sharing the burden of uncompensated care created by changes to Emergency Medical Assistance.
• Remove Environmental Response Fund sunset date.
• Transfer Hennepin Conservation District duties and authority to the board.

State bonding requests include:

• 911 Emergency Communications Facility: $10.3 million
• The Interchange: $19 million
• Southwest Corridor: $25 million
• Bottineau Corridor: $2.5 million 
• Access to I-35W from Lake Street:
  $6.75 million
• Franklin Avenue Bridge: $11.75 million

Support efforts of others (related to bonding):

• Counties Transit Improvement Board bonding requests
• Regional Medical Examiner Facility
• Washburn Center for Children (county as fiscal agent)
• Northern Lights Express

Callison reelected chair of Housing and Redevelopment Authority

The board, acting as the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, reelected 6th District Commissioner Jan Callison as HRA chair, and 3rd District Commissioner Gail Dorfman as vice chair.

Funding will provide further public improvements to Village Creek in Brooklyn Park

The board approved an agreement, including $1.4 million in funding, with the City of Brooklyn Park Economic Development Authority for public improvements to the Village Creek Redevelopment Project.

In 2000, Brooklyn Park created the Village Creek Master Plan to address ways to eradicate blight; enhance the tax base; provide decent, safe and sanitary housing; develop commercial property; and create jobs in the area around Brooklyn Boulevard and Zane Avenue. Out of that plan, a 33-acre Village Creek Redevelopment Project was initiated. But redevelopment success was threatened by the area’s underlying instability and relatively high rates of crime and obsolete housing.

In response to those obstacles, Hennepin County partnered with the city to create the Stable Neighborhoods Action Plan (SNAP) in 2005. Hennepin contributed $4 million to SNAP, including $2 million in funding for public improvements (new roadway and pedestrian paths, park space, lighting, and improvements to Shingle Creek) within the project.

In 2009, Hennepin provided $400,000 in funding for development of the Brooklyn Park Police Village Creek Station in a former bank building.
These large-scale public investments are transforming an old commercial corridor into a new neighborhood with easy access to housing, commercial areas and recreation. Since 2005, Brooklyn Park has invested approximately $48 million to the project, in addition to other investment in policing, civic engagement and recreation center programming. The assessed value of property in the project area has increased from $20.5 million in 2000 to $62.8 million in 2012.

The current allocation of $1.4 million by the county will support additional improvements, including pedestrian lighting, sidewalk and pedestrian connections, creek crossing improvements, flood mitigation measures and civic space improvements to the Old Town Hall Square area.

Environmental Response Fund grants approved

The board authorized negotiation of agreements awarding $1.4 million in Environmental Response Fund (ERF) grants for 10 projects.

The program, funded by a county mortgage registry and deed tax, provides grants for environment assessment and cleanup of sites that present a known threat to human health or the environment; provide community benefit from the cleanup; and lack funding from other sources. Priority is placed on projects that promote public/green space, affordable and moderately priced housing, and economic development.

Since November 2001, when the ERF program was established, a total of $38 million has been awarded for 270 grants.

The current grant awards will provide for soil and groundwater evaluation, asbestos and lead-based-paint assessment and abatement, and contaminated soil cleanup. The awards will assist in the renovation or construction of 532 affordable housing units.

Grants include:

• $385,362 to Pillsbury A-Mill in Minneapolis, for contaminated soil, asbestos and lead-based paint removal; prior to development of a project to renovate historic mill buildings and create 255 units of affordable rental housing.
• $235,600 to Spirit on Lake (formerly Spirit of the Lakes Ecumenical Community Church) in Minneapolis, for contaminated soil removal, prior to construction of 46 units of affordable rental housing and commercial space.
• $200,000 to Ellipse II in St. Louis Park, for contaminated soil removal, prior to development of a 58-unit apartment building.
• $150,000 to Hennepin County’s Lead-based Paint Hazard Control Program, for lead abatement to approximately 122 affordable housing units throughout Hennepin.
• $140,620 to 700 Central in Minneapolis, for removal of contaminated soil, prior to conversion of two vacant warehouse buildings and a vacant lot into a seven-story mixed commercial and residential development.
• $135,000 to Seward Commons Phase II – Snelling Ave. Apartments in Minneapolis, to remove contaminated soil and asbestos, prior to construction of a 60-unit affordable senior apartment building.
• $112,408 to West Broadway Hub (WB Equities) in Minneapolis, for removal of contaminated soil, prior to a project to demolish eight buildings, relocate two buildings, and construct a Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department hub.
• $50,000 to Osseo Block 6 Redevelopment Project for subsurface and building assessment, prior to development of 95 affordable and life-cycle housing units.
• $26,943 to Heritage Park Senior Living in Minneapolis, for contaminated soil removal of a site that includes a senior health and wellness center and a 48-unit senior assisted living facility.
• $12,480 to 1100 Second St. S. in Minneapolis, for contaminated soil removal, prior to construction of an Izzy’s Ice Cream manufacturing facility.

An 11th project – funding for 430 Oak Grove in Minneapolis to seal an abandoned well and remove asbestos in an historic building that is being converted into 75 rental housing units – was referred back to committee for further discussion.


Bottineau Transitway Health Impact Assessment approved

The board approved the funding of a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) along the Bottineau Transitway. The county received one of 15 national grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The HIA is being conducted concurrently with the Bottineau Transitway Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The HIA will:

• Identify potential health risks and benefits of the proposed Bottineau Transitway.
• Recommend mitigation strategies for any negative health impacts identified.
• Engage community members around health issues in the corridor.

The results of the HIA will be available online at www.bottransit.org.


Indicating a measure has passed the board does not imply a unanimous vote. The actions of the Hennepin County Board, including a record of how individual commissioners voted, are posted under “Hennepin County Board Meetings” on the front page of the Hennepin County website – www.hennepin.us. This portion of the site includes agendas, minutes and resolutions for all committee and full board meetings. Also, from time to time, individual commissioners may post their own viewpoints, news and information on their own websites.  

If you’d like to watch committee and full board meetings, they are generally broadcast live on Tuesdays, beginning at 1:30 p.m., and rebroadcast the Friday following the meeting, beginning at 8 p.m., on Metro Cable Network/Channel 6.
Meetings also are streamed live on the Hennepin website. Look under “Hennepin County Board Meetings,” “Board meeting videos.” Archived videos of past meetings also are available on that site.  

For more information about these news items, call Carolyn Marinan: 612-348-5969, or Carol Allis: 612-348-8536.
Look for more news on the Hennepin County website – www.hennepin.us.