Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the administration's operations and budget committee of Thursday February 5th. We begin our agenda with a presentation. Um, our first item is a presentation from Metropolitan Mosquito Control District Executive Director Daniel Huff is here to share their annual update with us. And I'll turn it over to Mr. Huff. Welcome. >> Thank you, Madam Chair and Commissioners. Uh, my name is Daniel Huff. I'm the executive director of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. as we serve the seven county uh area, we like to come and give an update on our work in York County and Henipin County. I also want to thank uh Commissioners Anderson, Connley, and Eden for representing Henipin County on our commission. Uh and a shout out to Commissioner Connley who is my uh Henipin County Commissioner. Uh but thank you all for your service to the county. I know that these are trying times and your service as public servants is uh greatly appreciated. Alex is going to provide an update on what we did this last year uh to control mosquitoes in uh Henipin County. I do want to uh just mention though that sadly last year we had a a real surge of West Nile virus in Minnesota. We had our highest levels ever and we had 16 residents of Henipin County who were confirmed cases. Nine of those were actually hospitalized with neuroinvasive disease as a result of Westnile virus and unfortunately one of those uh uh patients did pass away of Westnile last year. West Nile is a mosquitoborn disease and really uh highlights the important public health mission that Metropolitan Mosquito Control District uh carries out. But with that, I'd like to turn it over to Alec to talk more about our operations last year in Henipin County. Thank you. >> Welcome, Alex. >> Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair and commissioners. I always like coming when mosquitoes are top of mind for everybody, February. Um, but I'm going to I I've been here a couple times now, so I've restructured the presentation a little bit just to really highlight what we did this past year and kind of what we have going forward. Um, so just a reminder, we have been around since 1958. Our governance is elected county commissioners and as uh Dan mentioned, we have Commissioner Anderson who's also on our executive committee, Commissioner Connley and Commissioner Eden who serve for this year. Um, our service area is over 2900 square miles. We're actually one of the largest mosquito control districts in the entire country. Um, we serve about 3.2 2 million people in our areas and importantly we have over 88,000 wetland habitats which Minnesota has a very unique ecosystem in terms of how mosquitoes are able to proliferate because we have a lot of standing water and that leads to a lot of mosquitoes. Um go to the next slide. So how what we do is we practice what's called integrated pest management. The idea here is we want to target the specific mosquito species that are causing a public health concern by spreading disease or just a high annoyance concern that can really affect people's quality of life in the summertime. Um, and so we do that with surveillance, identification, control, review, and education. Basically, we've we've restructured our program to really focus on the methods that are the safest, the most environmentally sensitive, and the most effective um at controlling the specific target species that we're after. Go to the next slide. And then in addition to mosquitoes, we have mosquitoes in our name, but we have other services as well. We do control for blackflies or biting gnats which emerge from moving water and rivers and streams. And also we do monitoring and surveillance for t the tick population and communication with local public health when tick numbers are elevated. Uh we also have some great content and great interactive elements for people to learn more about mosquitoes and educate themselves, but also learn about the work that we do in the community. Um so I encourage people to check out our website. Uh and then we do source reduction. And I'll talk later on a little bit about what we do with tire recycling, which is an important part of our mission to protect public health and reduce mosquitoes. So, the big stories from 2025, Dan already mentioned this, but um it was a record year for West Nile. Um in the district, we had 45 human cases, uh more than double that statewide outside of the district. And then we had um an 18% positivity rate of the mosquitoes that we collected and tested, which is over 25,000 mosquitoes, which was very high um compared to the average. Um the other thing we saw last year was disease activity came earlier than normal. West Nile tends to be a late summer disease. Last year it was here at the end of July. Um and so we had our work cut out for us. Um another big story from last year was the cattail mosquito population return. So we had the highest number of cattail mosquitoes since 2020. Um so that midsummer surge that we hadn't seen in a couple years was back last year. And then we didn't have a lot. We had a slow start to the season last year. So spring mosquitoes really didn't show up. So this year we don't know um if we're going to see what we've have prior to 2025 when we saw a really active spring or if we're going to see another year like last year where it starts very slowly. Go to the next one. This is just a graph of showing in insect abundance from the past year. But the peak of the week or the peak of the summer last year was July 8th uh which is when they saw that cattail mosquito emergence. The the x-axis there is every week during the summer. So we do a lot of different methods to collect mosquitoes. Um, this is using our CO2 traps where we set up traps that lure mosquitoes with carbon dioxide. Um, and then there's a little fan that blows them into a net that we then collect and send to our lab to count up. Um, we also do some human baited collections where we stand out with a with a net and we wait for the mosquitoes to come to us and then we collect them that way. U to, you know, give back the community by sacrificing ourselves to mosquitoes. U, and it really helps us collect the data on what mosquito species are out there. Go to the next one. Um, we did a lot of um, laral control last year. I mentioned integrated pest management and really the safest, most effective way to control mosquitoes is to target them when they're in standing water. Um, and so last year we did over 240,000 acres of helicopter laral treatments. Um, 12,000 acres by drone, which was our highest year for drones. Um, and then 16,000 acres by hand or by backpack. Um, another big story from last year was our drones were more widely used than they had ever been before. For the first time last year, drones were in use in every county that we service. Um, and we're going to continue to expand on that going into this year. Go ahead. the next one. Um, and then this just shows kind of how we've really shifted our program. So, laral control really is our focus. Adult control still is very effective when it comes to targeted mosquito populations, especially when we're looking at West Nile virus. Um, so most of our adult control, which is the more on the ground backpack spraying or from a fogger truck. Um, that's in areas where we see an elevated risk of West Nile virus. So, the only time we'll go out with those trucks is u when we see that as a as a potential concern. And you can see we did about 1,400 acres compared to the you know 250,000 acres of larville control. Go ahead to the next one. Specifically for Henipin County last year. So just they're just kind of the numbers. Um I will send um I've emailed the commissioners on our board the city summaries for each city in the area and I will send those to um all commissioners just you can see a snapshot of your specific cities. Um, but for Henipin County, we did um significantly higher numbers of laral treatment, um, more um, catch basins and a lot more tires. And I'll talk about tires here in a little bit. Go ahead to the next one. Um, and then our funding comes from property taxes. So, the median homeowner pays about $11 per year um, for their property taxes. Um, and this just shows the Henipin County portion of our overall levy. looking up looking ahead to 2026. Um last year we talked about how we just finished our strategic plan and this year we're initiating that strategic plan. So we're going to be focusing on outreach um resources and capacity environmental sustainability and then expanding our IPM program. A big focus on research. We've hired some new hires in this past year which have been um very exciting. Um a new vector ecologist. Uh, and then we have a a new research entomologist who's basically going out and enhancing our program by learning more about the species that we have, any resistance that we're worried about, non-target impacts, all that good stuff. Uh, that we can then present and help direct our program. Um, and then construction projects. We're renovating the St. Paul Lab. And then we continue to expand our events and presentations and just getting out to the community more. We want people to see us, know who we are, know what we're doing. Um, so that they know, you know, when they see the people in the the bright vests with mosquito control on the back, they know exactly who we are and what we're out there to do. Uh, so this is a big change for us coming into this year. We're changing our tire procedure. So waste tires is a big problem, not only just for the environmental impact, but also they collect standing water that becomes a habitat for some of the more dangerous mosquitoes that can potentially spread diseases like West Nile virus or lacrosse and sephilitis. So, we have a program where we would go out to residences and pick up a select number of tires and then take them back and we would recycle them or work with partners to recycle them. Um, well, the tire program really kind of um blew up in the past couple years. We doubled the number of tires last year that we had the year before. We collected over 22,000 tires. Um, and it just takes a lot of staff time, a lot of expense. Um, and it's there's always just the safety concern too of staff lifting so many tires. So, we're restructuring things this year so that we're doing drop off events. We piloted this in Dakota, Carver, and Scott County last year, and now we're expanding this to everywhere. So, instead of residents calling us for us to pick up tires at their residence, they can bring a select number of tires to specific drop off events that we'll be holding throughout the summer. Um, so we're going to do a couple at the beginning of the season and a couple at the end of the season, and then we're going to have one big district-wide event in October for anybody who might have missed during the summer. Um, so this is it's a change from previous years, but hopefully it's going to help with our staff allocation. Um, and then just help us make sure that we're eliminating this this habitat that breeds mosquitoes while also being fiscally responsible about it. Go to the next one. I like to add with just some frequently asked questions because probably not in February, but once the summer actually gets here, you're probably going to get these questions from residents when they hear about mosquito control. So, one of the questions we always get is, "I'm having issues with mosquitoes or blackflies or ticks. What can I do?" Well, we have a form on our website. It's called the submit a tip form. So, during the summer, if somebody's saying mosquitoes seem abnormally high or unusual. Um, they can submit that form. It goes actually directly to the field facility that covers that area as a concern. Um, and then they will go out and investigate and determine if there's, you know, it could be that there's an additional source that we didn't have on our maps or something that, you know, is causing the mosquito issue. Um, so that's a great resource for people, um, just to submit that information. They can also call us during business hours. And then we have a lot of resources on our website too for things you can do to your yard or yourself to protect yourself from getting bitten. Another question we get is what are you using and is it safe for my kids, for myself, for my pets, you know, for wildlife, for pollinators and stuff like that. Um, and the answer to that is the most common active ingredients we use are laral control materials which are very specifically targeted to laral stage mosquitoes in standing water. Um, so they're materials that are safe to handle. They don't harm non-aquatic insects. So bees and butterflies and things like that, they don't harm fish or other animals that are in the water. They have a very specific strain of bacteria that disrupts the alkaline gut of a mosquito larvae. If you're not that specific type of animal with that specific type of gut, it's not going to harm you. So um we we are very targeted about the way that we do this because we live in Minnesota and we want our environment to be healthy as well. So it's very important to us. Final question we get, can I ride in the helicopter? No, you cannot. I'm sorry. Even I can't ride in the helicopter. So, uh, and then I always like to put in a plug for our maps. Um, a great resource. People can pull up your address and see exactly where the wetlands are, the breeding sites are in your neighborhood. Um, and it's kind of it's got about 20 years of history, so you can see when we were last there, what treatments were done, what mosquito species were found. Um, and it's actually getting an update this year to be even more user friendly. So, really, really good tool for people. Um, and then finally, I think u just outreach. I like to put in a plug, too. We're trying to get out there as much as we can. Um, we did a lot of events in Minneapolis and in Henipin County this past year. Um, including the Henipin County Fair. U, I know we did Open Streets Minneapolis in the Cedar Riverside area, which is a great great uh, event, huge success. Um, and we do parades and other events like that. So, if you know an event in your area you think, you know, mosquitoes should get out there. We may bring our our mascot. There she is, Victoria. She makes appearances throughout the summer. Um, so you might get to meet the inflatable mosquito or Victoria, but it's just a good way for people to know what they can do to protect themselves, um, but also what we're doing out there in their community. And the one last thing I'll plug in before I open for questions is our seasonal application opens next week. So if anybody out there is listening and they think, I'm looking for something, a summer job this summer, if you have, you know, kids in college, stuff like that, application opens next week. It's a great summer opportunity. >> With that, I'll open up to questions. >> Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate this presentation and these great annual updates. And did my colleagues who served know that you can't get a ride along on the on the on the helicopter? I bet I bet you're disappointed. >> I I've been able to sit in it and that was exciting because I can use my imagination. So, >> did my colleagues have questions or comments? Go ahead, Commissioner Eden. >> Okay, there it goes. I I just want to thank Dan and Alex. Um, Alex has spoken to my interns for a day multiple times and I actually think you're going to get some applications for them to be interns. I do remember there was a few that were really interested. Um, and then I would love to see you at the Edina and Hopkins parades. There was those those are big ones in my district. And then I just would say too I love the the drops up drop offs for the Tyrus. It's such a great idea. And then you just want to tell everybody the locations approximately if you have an idea. >> Those are still being uh figured out. So, uh, we will we will announce those as soon as we have official locations. Thank you. >> Okay. Commissioner Lundy. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, I just want to thank for the update. I I do appreciate it. It's not something I want to think about, but I do I know when they're bad. Everybody knows when the mosquitoes are bad. And so, I don't think we appreciate when they're not. Um, but I did a question I have is as a person who's represented the Mississippi my entire elected life and I'm very fully understand the difficulties of 8,000 overlapping agencies who have some level of control on that little tiny bottle uh water. How do you guys work with uh DNR, the uh the federal government, all that? I'm just kind of curious. >> Yeah, go ahead. Um, Madame Chair, uh, Commissioner Lundy, it's a great question. So, we, uh, actually will be meeting with the DNR very soon to talk about, uh, Mscina management in Fort Snowelling. We do surveillance. Um, our treatment in our, um, parklands is mostly focused on disease response. So, it's not about nuisance there. It is about um, uh, protecting folks from disease. We are also working with the fish and wildlife service to uh uh develop additional surveillance there. So by surveillance I mean catching mosquitoes and identifying them and testing for disease so that we can do the same thing. We are unique in the Twin Cities and that we have these two wonderful waterways, the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River. We have a lot of wetlands that are great uh breeders for mosquitoes and uh we always want to be good partners with those agencies. But as you pointed out, we have a lot of agencies involved. There are competing demands sometimes for uh which values we are are putting forward for those public lands, but we continue to be um active partners with with those state and federal agencies. Um just as a followup, thank you and fully understand the difficulties uh you know as person who's represented residents who just wanted to do something on the back of their property because it sits on the Mississippi and the eight layers of permissions and laws that go back a thousand years I swear some days. Uh the only thing I was going to point is, you know, recently the Mississippi will by the end of summer it really kind of shrinks up lately, last couple years at least. Uh, and that does leave some of the what is riverway, leaves it as ponds and basically swamps because as the river recedes, it just leaves a body of water orphaned. I'll put it that way. Um, and so not saying that that's a top target for you guys, but I know that on a map it looks like it's a river, but by, you know, July, August, it's not a river. It's, you know, people can walk across the Mississippi by probably about first week of August. you can get walk across it pretty much except for a couple spots. So, you will see people actually in the middle of the river because you can get there. So, um that's all I had. Thank you, >> Commissioner Green. >> Um thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you both so much for the presentation. So interesting. And I do remember having a greater sense of urgency last time because I think mosquito season was upon us. So, it's not too bad to talk about this in February. Although, I also remember that this was a very popular update in my newsletter. So, I'm hoping we'll hear from you again in the springtime. Um, I wanted to ask a question about the West Nile virus. So, I was interested. I think you said that 45 people tested positive. Uh, which, you know, I interpreted as a lay person might interpret the number 45 in the state of Henipin County or I'm sorry, the the Southern County metro, I should say. Um, but then I was interested when when we got into it further that 18.7% of mosquitoes tested tested positive and that made me think, oh wait, we're not necessarily going to be able to put a the lid back on this and so I wondered if you could reflect a little bit on sort of the epidemiological analysis like what is has a tipping point been reached? What does that mean? Thank you. Um, Madame Chair, Commissioner Green, um, as with a lot of vectorbor diseases, so a vectorbor is where an insect or an animal transfer the transfers the disease to humans. Um, we have a a reservoir that's birds. Birds are the ones that carry West Nile and spread the mosquitoes spread it among them. Um, we're considered a dead-end host. So, the mosquito bites a bird that's infected, then bites a human and then infects that human. It's a very complicated cycle and it tends to it does tend to cycle to go up and down. What we have seen in the last two years is a dramatic increase in that percentage. Uh we do not know what the future holds. Westnile virus has only been in this country um or detected in this country since the 2000s. Um our first case I think was in 2010 in Minnesota. Um, and so it's a fairly new disease in the United States. Um, our job or our goal is to suppress the population enough of the mosquitoes that carry it, those are the cullex mosquitoes, so that we have a less of a chance of spread with people. We will not eradicate it, but our goal is to suppress it as much as possible. I will also add that uh on our technical advisory board, we uh do have a public health subcommittee. Um Henipin County is represented as a member of our board, public Henipin County Public Health and uh we very much appreciate our partnership with all the local public health departments in the Minnesota Department of Health, but especially Henipin County with the expertise that you provide uh on our technical advisory board. Um, thank you. And, um, Mr. Carlton, just so you know, you'll hear from me about a parade in St. Louis Park, which may already be on Victoria's list, but this one >> uh, Madam Chair and Commissioner Green, is that the ParkTacular parade? It is. >> I believe we've been attending that one for several years. >> Thank you so much. >> Other colleagues, >> I just want to say that Richfield has a Fourth of July parade, too. So, I'll make sure you get on that list. You guys are going to be really busy once you said something like this. >> Great. >> Yeah, that's wonderful. I can't thank you enough for being here. Really appreciate it. >> Thank you for having us. >> Moving on to our agenda. Item two is the minutes from our previous meeting of January 13, 2026. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Any corrections, changes. >> All those in favor signify by I. I >> I motion carries. We have a couple of items for new business. They're routine. Item 3A is an agreement with senior community services for the provision provision of digital readiness training from February 1st of this year through um January 31st of 2027 and not to exceed of 30,000. >> I'll do it. It's >> been moved and seconded. Any conversations? Anybody wants any background? Please, Mr. Anderson. >> Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Just curious on this one. um what the funding source is on it. >> Um Madam Chair and Commissioner, I'll have uh Kamal Nazaric uh who's online uh answer that question. >> Welcome Kamill. >> Thank you. I have a bit of a statement. Chair Gutell and commissioners, good afternoon. And after I'm through with this, I can hopefully answer your question. Any other further ones if that's okay. Mhm. >> Excellent. My name is Kamal Nazarvich and I serve as a manager in the broadband and digital inclusion department. The board action you have before you is for agreement PR 0000007893 with senior community services for the provision of digital readiness training during the period of February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2027 in the amount not to exceed $30,000. The agreement provides targeted services to equip residents with essential digital skills. Following a request for proposal issued by the broadband and digital inclusion department, the vendor was selected to provide digital skills tailored to seniors, including easy to understand monthly digital skills training program, guidance to help vulnerable seniors stay safe online, and instructions offered in a either one-on-one or small group formats. This initiative supports the county's disparit elimination efforts by helping bridge the digital divide. Senior Community Services has a strong track record with the county as consistently met often exceeded performance expectations in their previous contracts. Their experience working directly with older adults combined with their accessible and culturally responsive training model positions them well to continue advancing digital inclusion for this population. The contract will ensure that more seniors across Henipin County have the digital tools, confidence, and support they need to stay connected, access services, and fully participate in today's digital world. Thank you. And I will answer that question. The funding comes directly from our department, which is taxpayer funded. >> Follow-up question. >> Property tax. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Correct. Um, is this a an existing contract and how many seniors do we anticipate um serving through this? >> Yeah. Um, Chair Gotel, Commissioner Anderson, thank you for the question. It is a new one, but we have a track record in the past working with this specific vendor. This contract is newer, continuing some of the existing services. We're working on a model where we're expecting them to serve anywhere between 80 or so residents per month for the duration of the contract. >> Follow question. >> 80 >> per month. >> Um is this in service or related to any required um like statutoily required uh services that we're obligated to provide? Uh, Madam Chair, Commissioner Anderson, this is a function directly out of the broadband digital inclusion department directed towards the senior community to help to navigate the ever so complicated digital space today. It is not mandated. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> But it does Oh, sorry. But it does work really to support disparity elimination work. Further questions? All those in favor signify by I. I >> opposed. >> Nay. >> One opposed. Item 3B is amendment two with Quest Corporations for Enterprise Telecommunication Services extending the end date to February 28th, 2027, increasing the not to exceed by $265,440 with a new note total of not to exceed of just over 5.5 million. I'll move this. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Does anybody want a further explanation of this one? >> All those in favor signify by I. >> I. I opposed. Motion carries. And that concludes our agenda for today. Thank you everyone. I will call to order our public works committee for today. Um, our first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes from our January 13th meeting. >> Moved. >> Uh, thank you. We have a motion and a second. Any additions or corrections to the the minutes? Hearing none. All those in favor say I. I. >> I. Any opposed? The minutes are approved. Um we are we do have a slightly out of normal order uh for our public works um committee today. We are going to be starting our committee with a presentation from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency uh on the Henipin County's leadership in solid waste systems uh presented by uh Kirk Kudel Codelka. Um so thank you Mr. Cadelka for for joining us today. Um and I'll turn the floor over to you. >> Thank you chair and commissioners. I appreciate the opportunity to speak today. Want to talk a little bit about solid waste and really want to thank the county for its leadership in this area. uh continuing to push forward new areas especially as we look at waste prevention and recycling organics. As we put together the metropolitan solid waste plan, one of our first pieces was to really catalog what various counties were doing so we could then see how we wanted to move forward as a region. And as we did that, many times Henipin County was the leader or putting something forward that we then made to be required for the region because you had um blazed that path and shown that it could be done and the results of the of those and the benefits that resulted from it. And so, uh, today just want to really talk about your most recent plan and the support for your resolution to continue to push towards that zero waste vision and want to talk about a couple opportunities that we can partner as state and county to move that together jointly. On the next slide, you're all familiar with the waste hierarchy and we often talk about this and say, well, this is what's in state law. I really want to talk about the why because that's important. It's not in state law just because it's in state law. It's because as we move further to the left, there are greater environmental benefits, economic benefits, and social benefits as we handle waste or materials in this way. A good example is food, wasted food or organic material. If we landfill it, we have very large amounts of methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas that is created. As we get better results, if we move to composting, we now have a product that we can sell to market, help with soil health, and have those additional benefits and reduce our carbon footprint. But if we go all the way to the left and prevent food waste, whether food rescue or working with restaurants, for instance, on lean path, we are able to reduce greenhouse gases by over 20 times. You just see the greater benefits and it starts to multiply as we get further to the left and work on prevention prevention efforts. So next I want to talk about five um kind of focus areas that the state has and really see where we can partner together. The first is looking at waste prevention, reuse and repair as a whole across the whole sector whatever the materials are looking at those opportunities as we move forward. And this is an area where we are starting to see things on the ground and many of the things uh on the slide here such as the fix it clinics, the reuse pickups, the food waste prevention are things in your solid waste plan. I'm very appreciative of that and the additional innovation that you're looking to move in this area and additional resources to help this out. On the state level here, this is where we have also started to invest. In 2023, we had our first grant to really move this area forward. But also, we're looking to help with pilot projects and working on state procurement, state contracts to make sure that we can do waste reduction or other types of waste prevention activities through that opportunity that you and others can use with the local jurisdictions. also looking at how do we make our decisions, funding decisions to focus on the prevention area and really have that be a driver for how we make decisions on a state level. The next slide talks about food waste and organic waste. This is a huge priority to us and I know to you also about 18% of what we throw away in the trash today is food waste. If you add on other things that are compostable that went with it like the paper plates and that we're looking closer at 25 almost 30% of the materials. So if we want to reduce the amount of waste that goes to a landfill or waste energy facility, this is a prime target. Again, this is where we see food waste prevention being first and foremost. And I think it's something that's very important to you as county commissioners because you also have a health and human service function and efforts too and where we can see food rescue playing into that. So that as we're trying to address our solid waste issues, also then having an opportunity to have that synergy on the health and human service side, provide food and and deal with food and hunger insecurity. Uh just want to really quick highlight on this is that we have the climate smart food systems. This is part of our effort to work on climate change. The state has $200 million. The chart you'll see has a number of focus areas that we're going to be targeting. It's not only MPCA, but Department of Health, a egg, and our Department of Natural Resources. Just want to talk about a couple. One right now, as you see, $33 million for food scraps and wasted food. There are opportunities open today. Last month, we opened up a $10 million grant for organics management. So, that could be the collection side or anorobic digestion or composting. This is a great opportunity to move that forward in your county. And on Monday, we just opened up a $12.5 million grant for food waste prevention and rescue. So, this could be providing additional resources not only to the county, but to nonprofits that you're working with and partnering with to make sure that we're rescuing foods. And I think most folks think about grocery stores and that kind of area, but how do we move into institutional settings? if there's that uh tray of potatoes that no one ever put a fork into, how do we move that into a place that can be used beneficially? These are great opportunities. I just want to highlight a couple other areas too is there's money there for food security as we move forward. uh in addition to looking at industrial innovations for food waste, food and waste processing. An example of this is we did give out a $10 million grant, $10 million grant to Ramsey Washington to help with their system to move to anorobic digestion. So these are great opportunities that are open today to the county and others. The next slide, we're going to focus a little bit on construction and demo waste. often not something that we think about when we talk about recycling rates and and our solid waste plants. It's really focusing on the trash you and I throw away at our homes and our businesses, what we call municipal solid waste. We have just as much if not more waste being created through our construction and demo area. And there are so many opportunities here. 60 to 80% of this material could be recovered and put to greater use. And this is one of those areas as we were looking through the various counties and what they were doing. And if county was a leader starting to put in training for demolition, putting in incentives to have the reuse of the material to deconstruct the building instead of just pushing it down with a back hole and bringing it to a landfill. This is also something the state has started to add more funding to. We provided about $2.4 million in 2023 for grants in this area and we have a person dedicated to this to help with the outreach and the technical assistance that may be needed. The next slide goes to our extended producer responsibility and this is really more a philosophy and policy on how we handle waste in general. Right now solid waste activities is largely led by the state local units of government and then we have a public and private partners what we call in the solid waste industry. This brings in a very large group the producers and manufacturers to play a role in it for the products that they create. You may be very familiar with it in some cases such as our paint product stewardship where now the paint industry and the manufacturers are responsible for the collection and proper management of it. We're expanding this out beyond just those items to reduce the financial burden that is falling largely on counties to deal with these waste. Looking at problem materials to start with. As we look to move forward, one of the things we'll be doing is the paper and packaging product stewardship program and that is a direct result of the advocacy of Henipin County and the partnership for waste and energy. Without it, Minnesota would not have been the fifth state to pass this policy. We are now as the MPCA looking to implement this and moving forward on it. But it really moves forward, brings another partner to the table and reduces costs for our residents and also local units of government. Some of the areas that we're targeting next are on batteries and electronic stewardship, excuse me, electronic devices. We're working with uh private companies along with our counties to move this forward this legislative session and on deck we're looking at solar panels. We've put together a number of stakeholder groups to come up with some concepts and we're now putting on the final touches for it. It'll probably be more a 2027 legislative agenda item, but looking how do we get those critical materials and minerals back into the marketplace. And the last item I want to highlight real quick on our focus areas is the market development. Recycling can only be completed when it turns into a new product. And that's where something that we as a state are really want to invest in. We have ongoing grants to businesses that may find new ways to use these materials or ways to sort them or clean them up so that they're available to a manufacturer. We uh make those offerings every year. Uh so there are ongoing grants. We had in 2023 $5.3 million we put forward in that area, but we also have no interest low interest loans available to companies to make those investments. Now there's a lot of economic value here too. one, the higher we make those commodity prices, the better it is for those who are providing the recycling services because now we have a pull to it and it reduces their costs. In addition, it is able to create jobs uh throughout the the system. Investing in Minnesota locally also make sure that we're not dependent on others. You may remember um in the news, West Coast states really relying on China and when they changed their policies really put a crimp on where they could send their recycled materials and put many recycling systems on edge in Minnesota because we invested in local markets, local manufacturers and we were able to um be more resilient to that push. And so the last thing I just want to talk about is we are dedicating a lot of our time and and you are too on making sure waste doesn't get to disposal. But at the end of the day, unfortunately, we still have waste that has to be disposed and it needs to go somewhere. And that's where we go and look at the waste hierarchy and see that there is the preference for waste energy over landfilling. Appreciate the county's efforts to move forward and continue to to do that. And the reason, the why again is because there are lesser climate and long-term pollution impacts from waste energy compared to to landfilling. Landfills are there forever, continue to grow, continue to create contamination and pollution in the communities that they are located. But what our joint goal is from everyone from the county, the state level, uh folks that are working heard from earlier today during the open comment period is we all agree we need to work on prevention, recycling, and composting. And I think that's where we can all come together to move things forward and that's where we're very happy to see Henipin County and their solid waste plan do that. the resolution today that strengthens that commitment to the zero waste efforts and so really do appreciate your leadership for not only the county but the region. So, thank you. >> Thank you so much. Um colleagues, uh I'll open it up. I do have one question if uh if you're amendable to it. Um I know uh solid waste management has been a conversation for counties across Minnesota. Um, and there's often a conversation around uh the amount of what we're looking to do and being asked to do and the resources available to actually perform that. Um, one of the things that we've been looking for uh on a ongoing basis is seeing if SCORE funding can keep pace with the increased uh demand of it. Um, can you talk about what resources are being made available either through the MPCA or plan through the state to help uh bridge that gap between what's available and what's needed to accomplish these goals? >> Chair and committee members, appreciate the question. Couple areas. One is we are looking at and have been more successful at the legislature for targeted grant efforts. So in 2023, we were able to get over $20 million that focused on a number of things from organics management, uh, food waste prevention, reuse, and that. And so that's where we've been very successful at the legislature. Come with a theme, make those grants available for a community. Uh, they are one-time efforts, that's the downside, and you have ongoing operational costs, but that is one of our focuses. The second is extended producer responsibility and that's bringing in another partner bringing in the manufacturers to have a economic and fiscal role in this too. So for instance with the paper and packaging extended producer responsibility having them help come in and cover some those operational costs or the highost household hazardous waste facilities that you guys are are operating having them help cover those costs. So those are two of the areas we've worked on. I know AMC is also a leader on moving forward the more dollars from the solid waste management tax to ger score funding and that is something that we also support. So those are the three areas that we've been looking at. How do we bring more resources not only to the state but also to those public and private sector. We want to make sure we invest in our private sector too to move forward this effort. >> Thank you colleagues. Uh Commissioner Connley and then Eden Lundy. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you so much for the presentation. It's always very helpful to get updates on what state uh what the MPCA is thinking about waste and how we're moving up that hierarchy. So, I have a few questions for you. I think what makes Henipin unique is we are the only county that has an incinerator in a major metropolitan area, right? So, we have our incinerator next to two major freeways, interstates, and then we have an residential community next to that, right? Um what I hear and what you heard uh at public comment was a uh long-term position of residents to close down our incinerator for the reasons that I just mentioned. Right. In addition to that though, um there's this idea that we can landfill temporarily. And so, you know, I've heard conflicting information and and conflicting um stories about the capacity of landfills within the Twin Cities metro area and how fast they're filling up. Um, right. And and so I wondered if you could just speak to the current and projected landfill capacity. Like when I do my research, when when folks say close it, close your incinerator and send the trash to a landfill, I want to be able to have data that is strong. So, can you speak to that inconsistency with the capacity at landfills? Like with the hierarchy, waste to energy and landfill are at the very bottom and there's not enough landfills that do methane recapture anyway. So, speaking to that capacity would be helpful. >> Thank you, chair and and committee members and commissioner. The capacity really depends on the landfill. There are two things when we look at capacity and sorry to get a little bit into the details here, but there's one where people think of the design capacity. what is the future total look at how big a landfill can be and then in Minnesota we have certificate of need and that's where we piece out to make sure that we have the orderly and deliberative development of landfill space we don't want an overbuilt landfill system where there's multiple ones that don't get used and they become problems into the future the state unfortunately we're now operating over a 100 old landfills that we have to take into perpetuity those costs are only growing there the cost because of new contaminants is just neverending cycle of a financial obligation. As we look at landfills, some of them are towards the end of their life even on the capacity side. Uh for instance, Pine Ben has said their recent expansion in Evergrove Heights that is it for their footprint. Others may have more opportunities to grow, but that is a landfill that's there for perpetuity. And growing means growing in height and and outwards and then impacting those communities too. Unfortunately, our disposal facilities, whether waste energy or landfills are a number of them are located in environmental justice areas, too. So, those impacts are being felt there. The closure of a waste energy facility like Kirk would mean we would need like that a new landfill to be the second largest in the state or be divided up other places. So, I think it's a little bit of both. Some landfills have space, others do not. And we would likely need to see landfills grow much larger or new ones to be located in the county or the metro serving the metro region. >> Mr. Chair, and just a couple a followup and then another question for you. So, thank you. It would be helpful to get some of that information out to residents, right? Because there is that there's room, but yet there's not. And if we were to end incineration tomorrow, then we need a gigantic new landfill. So, um I think there's there's more attachment to the Yeah, there's room. When I even googled landfill capacity, there's a document that comes up that says there's room enough to take at landfills what is currently going to the herk. So, and then there's your document you like the MPCA website comes up next. So, it'd be really important to kind of handle that misinformation or bring it from the weeds into palatable information that we can give to residents. It kind of explains landfilling isn't an option. It really isn't. Um, so I think that for a county like ours who, as you stated, we're we're moving the needle. We're really, you know, the blueprint on how we move to move up this hierarchy, it'd be helpful to be able to show residents that landfilling isn't an option and why. So, thank you for that clarification. The last question I had is Commissioner Eden and I visited the Dakota Prairie Composting Facility and it's incredible there what they're doing. But one of the things that that we heard was how um plastic contamination is a huge issue. So they sometimes turn trucks away that have food waste because if there's a certain percentage of plastic contamination, they just can't take it. They can't compost it. And so I wondered what the state's position is on single-use plastics. February right now is our plastic free challenge at Henipin. And so I think the timing is right, but also um what what is the state thinking about single-use plastics? Do you have a position on it? I'd love to hear that. Thank you. >> Thank you, commissioner, chair, and committee members. It is a problem. It is one that we've worked with some partners on. Uh one of the things that we've are implementing right now is making sure that when things have labeled compostable or biodegradable, they actually are. Usually they were marketing terms, but now under state law, they actually have to be. So that that is one of those possible contaminations that you talked about. Someone thinking they're doing the right thing, wanting to do the right thing, inadvertently creating contamination. So that's one effort on the the state level. Unfortunately, it's those other materials, too, that are are still an issue. Um, part of that is going to be education. Part of that is the paper and packaging EPR program will make sure more things are recyclable or compostable and help make sure there's a proper space for it. But it will end up being just individual decisions when we are in front of our trash can or compostable bin and a recycling to make the right decision. We're trying to get more information out there to folks. In terms of other things the states have done, we put together every four years a solid waste policy report and we make a number of recommendations and one of them is looking at what are their efforts for reducing singleuse plastic. There are some other states that have done things such as requiring someone to ask for utensils or that when they go to a restaurant instead of just having it thrown in there. Those type of things were are going to take leadership by our our state legislators. We have some ideas out there. I know that from the zero waste plan and the legislative recommendations that the counties have put together, you have ideas, too. But we will need those the legislature to help us move those forward. >> Commissioner Ellison, >> thank you. Um, thank you, Mr. Kadulka. Um, with with that, uh, I just have a few things. Uh, thank you, Commissioner Connley, for bringing that up. And from our visit, it was making me think too of the food waste they were talking about where some of the producers in our state, Mr. Kadulka, will uh they'll generate say 10,000 I'm trying to think of how to not call somebody out ice creams and even though they need 9,300 because it's just how their machines are set up and then they'll just send the rest to this food facility where they're going to be. So, it's just interesting too. Hopefully, you're working with um some of the makers um on that. I think that's that's a problem. But one of the things I was looking at is for the MPCA recycling marker development grants that you have. I love the idea of us reusing and building things with it. So I think that's great. Um I I'm wondering are we seeing that industry grow more over the last 5 years, last 10 years. And then also lithium batteries. I know Commissioner Anderson had brought up the score grants. Um the reality is lithium batteries are destroying counties. they're so expensive to to deal with and we need the state's intervention here. Um so we are a very large county and so on those three issues I'll just let you answer. Thank you, >> chair, commissioner, and committee members. Um, on the last one, just because it's most familiar, the battery piece, we are advancing legislation. We've been working with RA, which is a consortium of small and medium recyclers and the private sector and counties on it. One of the things right now is we have a law on the books that says battery producers have to have a product stewardship program. However, it is not functioning as desired and that's why the impetus is to move forward on it because it isn't covering things like new chemistries like lithium and so the program would require not only smaller batteries to be handled uh which um the battery network today has a program that does some of that. But what we're seeing in household hazardous waste facilities are larger batteries coming in the stuff that's powering our lawnmowers or we're now seeing these battery generators. They're about this big. Um, and when they come into one of your household hazardous waste facilities, that's hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to dispose of. To your point, the bill would require manufacturers to cover those costs. So, we look at not only the small batteries, but looking at medium and what we call large format batteries would need to be covered under them. So, the goal is to get that past this legislative session to help relieve those costs from the household hazard waste facilities that counties operate. Um the the other question on recycle markets um I would need to get back to you in terms of our our team on development of that. Each of our proposals come in we do look to see what are the FTE what are the amount of tons that are moving into the various areas to be able to make gains. Unfortunately at the same time we do see locations closing too. So it's a it's not unfortunately always a history of moving forward, but we are able to develop some of these markets locally to be able to take that capacity on. A lot of the materials that are generated here in Minnesota can stay in the the region compared to other parts of the country and we're hoping to strengthen that. One of the ways also is the going to keep bringing up the paper and packaging extended producer responsibility piece is we not only looked at recycling rates when that law was created. We really wanted to push through um postconumer content rates too so that there is that pull that manufacturers have a a duty to put it into new products which will help with development in Minnesota and commissioner there was a third thing you mentioned there and could you repeat that I apologize >> you know it was about food waste you don't you don't have to the only thing I will say is I I hope that MPCA will consider you know as we look at data centers we're looking about tax incentives I think for these building out recycling grants and how we're reusing, we should look at tax incentives for these businesses. Um, so not just grants, but looking at other mechanisms to help them because I know exactly what you're talking about as the recycling plastic facility that went under, but we should be tracking them and trying to monitor how we build them back up and then you can move to somebody else. I'm all done. >> Commissioner Lundy. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. U just also want to thank you for the presentation. I want to thank you for something I uh I like to learn something every day and if I listen well enough I often have that opportunity and you talk about you know shutting the herk down today would mean we'd have to have another landfill that would be the second largest state. Today was the first day I've heard that. I think that uh is impactful. Um, you know, a couple things I was just curious about is I think there's a disconnect between there are people who want to change the environment, they want to do all this stuff and then there's the people are like the financial cost of doing that but we don't have that middle ground um to talk about you are paying today for all the bad stuff that we are doing and everyone just says oh my god it's going to cost more and so I'm wondering you know uh I would love to talk more with your agency to actually what is the person who puts of trash at the end of their driveway who just wants that trash to be picked up tomorrow. I want to pull the can up or tell one of my kids to do it or however that happens. That is my world. And I pay a monthly fee to have my waste picked up. But no one ever puts things in perspective of like you're paying for this. You're paying for the Lundy's to have Amazon arrive every day with bad packaging. When my neighbor who is retired, they pay for it. they pay for me to get bad packaging that's not recyclable because it shows up in their rates as along with mine. I think there's a financial opportunity to explain to people that this is a losing proposition but no one wants to hear that. Uh one side will just talk about can I save a tree today and the other side's like I can't afford a buck and somewhere in between I think there's an opportunity to explain to people that this you are paying for this stuff. you are paying so that Amazon doesn't have to have uh take responsibility that they can deliver whatever they want the cheapest possible packaging and then you get to pay for the next 50 years of your life for the landfill the collection the fees and all the stuff that goes into that package and I don't have a choice when I order no one says do you want packaging that's different even if they said they'd charge me another more money and no one's going to check that box except a few uh so I I I have a couple other questions I'm just curious about that cuz um and before I kind of give you that space to answer that question when we did the composting fee it was like this NPC did it oh it's not our job it's the city's job the city was like it's countyy's job it's the hauler's job the everyone pointed fingers at everyone and no one you know answered the question this fee why didn't someone tell people about it and everyone found out when they opened their bill in January including all my residents and they all called me and They and I found out that no one did anything and yet everybody was responsible. So it just seemed like that information the last people we tell is the person who brings their trash down to the street and I'll give you space to respond. >> Thank you. >> Thank you commissioner chair and and committee members. You're right. We do need to do a better job of the costs. Um, as my role as assistant commissioner, I only work on solid waste and sustain um, materials management. I also deal with our cleanup programs. And I will tell you, we've invested over $400 million for landfills that are no longer accepting waste. Those costs will continue to go into perpetuity. We're scheduling for the next 20 to 30 years 3 to$400 million will be needed to take care of these landfills that are long closed and someone else's decades trash ago that we need to move forward. So there are those costs, but they're hidden costs because you and I as state taxpayers are paying that somewhat. The solid waste management tax, a portion of that goes to taking care of those landfills into the future. There's a metropolitan solid waste fee. Um that a portion of that goes to dealing with those old landfills and we can do a better piece on that in terms of the manufacturers and that and I think and their role in this and bringing them into the fold. That is one of the visions behind extended producer responsibility is having them bring in while they are uh creating these products helping them to see the benefit of designing them in a way that makes the end of life easier to handle safer to handle and then rem removing those costs from consumers. Now, I understand that may somewhat be somewhat shifting the cost, but if we're looking at scalability, having it being designed on that stage makes it much easier and we can see cost savings to it. We're not blind to the fact that that there are still costs no matter who does it because solid waste does cost money. So, that's uh some of the efforts that we're looking to to help bring on those costs. In terms of the roll out, agreed. It was not our finest moment in terms of the solid waste policy plan and the charges going out for organics. We will work to partner more. We know more counties and communities uh have that moving forward. Independent has already gone through that. We're looking to do that. We have a web page dedicated to help explaining the why of it because as you noted, everyone benefits from our integrated solid waste system and this helps. It's not something you can just pull out on its own. You have to have the combined efforts that being done here in Henipin. >> Thank you. >> And one more question. Okay. I just want to thank you. And when I talk about responsibility, I include us. >> Not it's not a fingerpointing at you. It's kind of like all of us involved in this process and haulers and everybody uh and I, you know, I think the national haulers just don't care because for them it's a a money game. They're just gonna offer more incentives. They lose a customer. I think local haulers have a different mindset because they tend to fluctuate higher. Um, and so I would love to talk more with whoever that is to to talk about that. The other thing I'd like to talk about and I brought up with this board a few times is I would love to actually track if our recycling ends up in the recycling. Um, I've seen a couple studies out of California that show that they do a horse crap job on many levels, but one of them is they talk about their recycling, but a lot of the recycling ends up in the trash. and it's not being recycled. And I've often asked, could we do Air Tags? We actually see if I put a can, where does that can end up? And the haulers will tell me that if aluminum is king, the rest is uh, you know, everyone's interested in cans, but they're not interested in plastic so much. And so, I would love to know, are we being effective on that? And then that would inform not like, oh, we should stop doing it, but like, what can we do differently to make sure waste ends up where it is? uh students in one of my cities, I'll leave them nameless to protect the guilty, uh tracked the recycling canisters at parks being picked up and all of them were dumped in trash can. Every single recycling at the park was just dumped in the same place that the trash went into right next to it. And so, you know, that was the report from the students. I took that pass it to the county. County kind of had conversation with that city, but it was example and I don't believe they're the only ones. the idea that oh my god it's the only entity in the entire state of Minnesota that has done this or does this I don't buy that for a second. So, you know, that's an example. If if we're not looking for those things, we're turning a blind eye. And so, I I would ask the same questions. Who could we talk about to run that test? I would love to see does our recycling end up at recycling centers because that would inform us to say, are we being successful or is some of the recycling that 30 35% that we're trying to capture just ending up at the same landfill. So, um thank you, Mr. Chair. >> Thank you. Um thank you. Thank you so much for your time and uh taking the time to answer questions. Um colleagues, any other final comments? Yes, Commissioner Fernando. >> Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Appreciate the presentation uh as a follow-up to the letter that the county received uh in November. Obviously, this is a very activated topic and so looking forward uh for more partnership. Um I have three encouragements for our staff and our partnership with MPCA around additional data to ensure that we are u moving forward with uh the information that can make the biggest difference. I was struck by slide six. So CN is construction and demolition, right? Just to make sure that I'm here. Yeah. So 60 to 80% diversion is you know that that the the scale of that amount of diversion from a construction project compared to the aggregate of all individual recycling is not even comparable I would assume but that's that is data that we need to really be bringing forward. If all of our efforts are producing a fraction of what the construction industry can be taking on, then we must be prioritizing our efforts and our funding and our advocacy towards what can have the greatest and lasting impact. So that begins with uh information. Uh slide seven, of course, EPR uh was a very big deal when we were able to contribute to that. Um the ba the lithium batteries. Did you say hundreds of thousands or did you say tens of thousands to to uh process a lithium battery this size? I wanted to make sure I know how much it the amount of money that you cited >> chair and committee members for one of the larger kind of like generators but they're now batteries can be hundreds to you know a thousand dollars for recycling an individual one. when we start to get that scale, say over 2,000 watt hours. >> Wow. Okay. Uh so chair, I'll finish here. Um greater data on the impact of specific items is needed. I mean, if we're in the multiple thousands for processing, that's not labor, that's not insurance, that's not physical property. So we uh more that's the second um encouragement with respect to data followup. And then uh the last one is uh inspired by my colleagues here. I am very interested to know how much property tax dollars are being contributed to trash from 40 40 years ago. Like I mean we have to mathematically understand that if they if if the people's present property taxes are paying for trash that was generated longer than a lifetime you know or my lifetime that's that's just data that is necessary as we inform uh next steps. Thank you chair. >> Thank you. Any other? Oh yes, >> chair and comm just real quick, the 60 to 80% is what's possible. It is not what occurring today. It is one of the things that we're looking to build a better data system for exactly the reasons you said. So we don't have what's there fully on recycling and it's largely driven by weight. So concrete can make everything else look off. But it's something we're working on. I just want to make it clear the 68% is the potential, not what we're doing today. Thank you, chair, for the extra time. >> Of course. Thank you so much for your for your time and expertise and sharing the the update with us. So, I really appreciate it. Um, colleagues, moving on. Our next item on the agenda is our we've moved an addendum to the the top here. Uh, reaffirming the county's plan to reinvent the solid waste system offered by Commissioner Fernando. Would you like to move it? >> Yes, I'll move it, chair. >> I will second. Uh, I'll hand it over to you. >> Thank you. Uh, we all talked quite a bit during the presentation. Uh so uh my interest in moving it up was to uh have it be aligned with uh Mr. Kudelka's presentation. Um I offered this resolution for the purpose of reaffirming the county's commitment to a zero waste future and our commitment to partnership with the state, the MPCA, and with the cities who use the facility because only by working together can we accelerate zero waste outcomes as well as the closure and repurposing of the Herk facility. Uh, I want to reiterate that I do not believe landfills are the solution. Limiting landfilling is necessary alongside significant expanding and funding of zero waste efforts in order to achieve the end of burning at the Herk responsibly. The county's climate and equity commitments mean we cannot depend on landfills to manage our trash. So, we must reinvent the solid waste system. And I'm uh grateful for the county staff and residents who've contributed to our plan to reinvent the solid waste system. In this plan, as has been referenced uh many times, there is a a very large time range for uh for which uh this board has asserted a responsible closure or conversion of the herk facility between 2028 and 2040. Obviously, 2020 is 2 years from now. And I want to acknowledge that this board also passed uh several operating agreements with municipalities uh last year. What I mean is all of the users of the HERK, including the city of Minneapolis, requested two-year contracts to use the services at the Herk. So, I do want to uh kind of gently offer that timeline piece. Uh two-year contracts means the current 2026 calendar year and the 2027 calendar year. So, it's very clear that users are not yet ready to stop utilizing the HERK as a service, but it is important to myself and residents and many people in this room to conclude burning at the HERK on the fastest responsible timeline. This requires an operational plan for where waste would go within the Minneapolis geography and I'm appreciative that the city of Minneapolis policy makers have expressed interest and openness to repurposing the herk site due to land and which is necessary partnership because of their land use authority and regulatory dynamics. So, we have not advanced that completely yet, but I think in December uh this board was able to uh receive some updates from the city of Minneapolis that indicate that partnership uh is possible and that we are um moving forward in that way. Uh so, uh I hope that uh colleagues will support this reaffirming action. This is not uh different in substance, but it does offer some updates. Um, and acknowledging that the HERK site is within my district, I do want to reiterate publicly my opposition to the full decommissioning of the HERK facility. I'm aware that that has been a request and that um there have been policy makers within Minneapolis's geography that have expressed that full decommissioning is the appropriate outcome. Um, I believe that there are important opportunities for energy infrastructure on this site that must be considered. And I also maintain that a facility within Minneapolis is the best solution to meet various and complex needs of our growing population. The best way to address waste generated by consumerism and capitalism to contribute to the intensifying climate reality. And as a Minneapolis resident myself, I believe strongly that the largest generator of waste, which happens to be in this kind of downtown core, must have a facility to process solid waste at scale. That's what I have. Thank you, chair. Thank you so much. Um, colleagues, any further discussion on this reaffirming action? Uh, Commissioner Conley. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just that I support it. I think that this makes complete sense and the timing is impeccable. So, um, great job there. Um, the the only thing that stood out is I'm um and not to the resolution. wholly supportive, but we've done so much in the last two years since we took that action at the end of 2023 that I'm so proud of and that Mr. Kodulka mentioned um um several times and and the messaging is going to be important. So, um I do hear from residents, what have you been doing for the last 2 years? What is going on with zero waste acceleration? Well, there's so much. So my only thing is I would really hope that as um we move forward our messaging around from 2023 to 2025 the the dollars we've invested into zero waste recycling champions like how many people have signed up for the plastic free challenge and just all of the ways that I know we've been working hard to accelerate zero waste over the last two years because that is how we get to ethical closure um is important to me or or ethical repurposing Um, but I do think that our messaging should be clear, concise, and um, and out to residents so that there isn't this idea that nothing is being done or we're sitting idly by. Um, because we certainly aren't. Our public works team, our environmental energy team have been hard at work and I'm proud of it and share it every time I see a new post about uh, you know, green notes so is what I think we're calling it on social media. So, just my only comment is uh to amplify messaging of what we're doing, how we're doing it, how we're how we're really moving uh our county to move up that that hierarchy. Thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner Lundy. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um just want to reiterate, which I'm going to do every time as well, which is I won't uh vote to shut the herd down unless we have a plan for three to four transfer stations. Right now, there is one. uh all paths to that one go through the heart of my district which uh I find interesting with since my district is the most diverse district uh that it goes right through the heart of that to get to that one transfer station and I will also uh allow that from there it goes through Elk River which goes through the heart of another commissioner's district I think we need not only if it's three or four and Minneapolis gets one and it can be in Minneapolis that um it still has to go from Minneapolis apolis through my district through commissioner Anderson's district to get to Elqu River assuming that is the logical outcome for this or as we've been told today which is I think now needs to I need some answers is where's that one uh new landfill going um I'm guessing Commissioner Anderson's not going to volunteer I'm pretty sure of that and I don't think anybody else here is as well um so that is important and the finances and so I think the the days of the money at from the state have ended. I think we got made some really good progress at the state laws, but I question if we're going to get that again. The money that we would ask for, we've tried for score funding to be dedicated that has not been successful. I don't think that's going to be more successful next few years. So, uh, I do think in order for the hurricane to shut down that that transfer station has to be addressed, um, adamantly because there is only one and I know exactly where that sits. And, uh, and also I'll just remind people that until the bridge is fixed, um, we're not going to be able to fully use the transfer station if we wanted to increase uh, the amount of weight that was carried there because the bridge is damaged uh, by another vehicle. I think I know which one it was, but um and so that bridge is under due to be reconstructed and I think the city of Maple Grove is the lead agency on that reconstruction, but that is also another factor and that'll probably take two to three years before that is done as well. So, thank you, >> Commissioner Green. >> Um thank you, Mr. Chair, and and um thank you for this resolution. Uh you know, yes, and great job on the timing. as has been said, I wanted to just add to Commissioner Connley's questions um because I'm hearing the same things, surprise surprise, like what have we been doing in the last two years? And I know that we've been busy and I I want to just layer on um as well as uh the increased level of activity of um activities where we're working with people to drive recycling and drive reduction etc. I'd like to know the incremental changes in those activities. So the ways in which it's not just been business as was before but what has changed since we passed our resolution two years ago and then also the actions on the policy side because I also know there's been a lot going on there uh that you know as as we said at that time and as this reiterates this has got to be um in partnership with many other jurisdictions. There's just no way to do it all on our own. And so I'd like to be able to outline very specifically how we have um ma made those connections and you know advanced the conversation with all its complexity. Thanks so much. >> Thank you Commissioner Eden. >> Thank you. And I just want to thank um Commissioner Fernando for this and I think you know we had several people speaking out today. Um and I agree Commissioner Fernando, we can't do this alone and I think a lot of really good points were brought up today. Um and you know some of the the people that spoke today um said we have to hold multiple things at the same time. That's we all do that as elected officials. We have done that. I have been in government for eight years. Trust me I can walk and chew gum at the same time. And we are mo we are we are honestly looking at you know 15 different issues in a day. And we also have a budget that is not sustainable. We have a hospital that might close this year. The idea that we are only thinking about one thing is just absolutely wrong. Um, and I will say I am I am really taken aback by the hunger strike that is being proposed because quite frankly I am on the phone multiple times a day in a district that has a lot of wealth. A lot of wealth my district does. and the idea that people do not have right food right now. And then if we close this, first of all, if we close the herk and there's no place for the trash to go, we will have a public health crisis. So, I just want to be very clear, I am not supporting a vote. My district would not want me to support a vote to close the herk until we have a plan for where this trash will go. So, I just want you to know if your residents are asking, you can also tell them it's my fault. And I'm happy to respond to their emails. Thank you. Um, I will just uh wrap up here unless Commissioner Fernando if you had any other parting comments. Um, I I appreciate the reaffirming of our solid waste plan and our zero waste plan. Um, and part of that has been stated multiple times throughout this whole process is that we need we will not add to our landfilling as part of this. In order to accomplish these really monumental goals, we need to get to a zerowaste future which uh to the your presentation is very complex and is going to require uh producers uh markets like a completely restructuring of how we manage solid waste from removing things that shouldn't be in it in the first place to repurposing uh into new products and pushing manufacturers to to utilize them in a different way. Um, all of this is terribly complex and is going to require sustained effort across all of our jurisdictions to be successful. Um I have heard from a number of people this um feeling of it is impossible so why try and refuse to believe that because I know that we can do hard things and Henipin County is the place where we lead and show that we can do hard things and I'm really really proud of the work that our staff is doing day in and day out to lay the groundwork that's needed in order to show how these things can happen. Um, and so I just want to thank our staff for building those partnerships um, and so that we can show the rest of the state um, how we can lead on deconstructing uh, diversion of food waste uh, managing electronic waste and uh, like building new facilities so that we can actually manage waste in a in a different way. So, um I'm incredibly proud of the work that our staff is doing and I know that this is going to be a hard thing for us to do. Um it's not going to happen next year. It's like I don't know if we will be successful in a timeline that we've set for ourselves, but I know like we are going to try like hell to make it happen. So, um, let's we'll keep on doing it and we'll keep on uh making progress where we can. So, thank you. With that, the vote. All those in favor say I. >> I. I. Any opposed? >> That item is passed. Um, we have a few routine items which I items well they're they're labeled as 3A through 3E. Um, and I would look for a motion to bring all of these before us. >> Block, Mr. Chair. >> Second. >> All right. I will read them into the record. Um, item 3A is to negotiate an agreement with Mandot and the city of Minneapolis for improvements on Trunk Highway 55 and CASA 46, a sub project of this one listed, estimated county cost of $25,000 of state aid. Uh, item 3B is an agreement with Mandot for the reimbursement of road life consumed by trunk highway number 12 on detour onto County Row or Cass 101. uh estimated receivable of just over $2,600. Uh item 3 C is an amendment to an agreement with Alliant Engineering for final design engineering professional services on Minnotonka Boulevard extending the period to 123129 increasing the county cost not to exceed of $3.5 million of state aid. Uh 3D is a work order for an agreement with Houston Engineering for final design services uh for CASA 10 uh sub project uh listed in the bar with a not to exceed of just under $600,000 in county bonds and three E is to negotiate various 2025 fall ERF grant agreements for one or twoyear periods combined total not to exceed of $2.252 252 million. Um, colleagues, I do want to just um bring one of these out unless my colleagues have anything else that they would like to, but I would like to highlight ERF grants. Um, and staff, if we could have just a quick um background on the ERF grant portion. >> Chair, commissioners, Mary Finch is available and can provide background information. >> Thank you so much. Miss Finch. >> Thank you, Miss Whittman. Thank you, Chair Anderson and commissioners. I'm Mary Finch. I'm the supervisor of the Contaminated Lands Unit in the Environment Energy Department. The resolution before you request authorization to award nine new environmental response fund grants totaling over $2.2 million. The ERF helps redevelop vacant and underutilized brownfields into community assets that bring needed housing, jobs, and services to communities and gets properties back on the tax roles. ERA funds the assessment and cleanup of contaminated sites, helping to fill that gap where the added costs of environmental contamination cleanup can hinder redevelopment. Projects in this round of funding support the renovation or construction of 180 units of affordable housing in St. Louis Park and then South Central and Northeast Minneapolis as well as 529 units of market rate housing in Rogers Weisetta and St. Louis Park. These projects also support important community resources such as the expansion of a performing arts center and renovation of a clinic and commercial space in Minneapolis, creation of new commercial space in Weisetta and St. Louis Park and environmental improvements and expanded storm water management capacity in the city of Hopkins. In summary, ERF grants support projects and communities facing disparities in housing, health, employment, and income. Cleaning up these contaminated properties protects groundwater and drinking water and improves indoor air quality and environmental health. Furthermore, many of the projects include the construction or renovation of buildings that incorporate sustainable features which support the county's climate action goals. I'd be happy to take any questions at this time. >> Thank you so much. Um, Commissioner Conley. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. No question. I'm just uh this is always a really good resource and one of the I'm excited and congratulations to everyone who was awarded. I'm specifically excited um especially excited about the Native American Community Clinic. They're doing some really great work along the Franklin corridor with their clinic and the deeply affordable housing that's attached there. and the way that we've been able to contribute to this project is just immense. So, I'm glad to see so many awards this round. Um, and thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner Green. >> Um, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the presentation, and thank you to everybody who's a part of this great work. You know, the projects awarded this year, like each one has its thing that makes it exciting and inspiring. And I I want to second what Commissioner Connie said about how uh this is such a sort of neat space of work. I also wanted to mention I noticed that 2026 is the ERF's 25th year. So I hope there'll be appropriate celebration and fanfare and and sort of a look back at all that's been accomplished because what's accomplished this year is great and there's 25 years of that. It's tremendous. So thank you. >> Thank you. Um I also want to highlight thank you so much for the for the presentation. Um the background mentions the return on investment on this uh which is like a 7 to1 return on investment of generation of property tax revenue. Um which for the small fee that gets paid that pays for this on our like mortgages and uh like it's not property tax that's creating this revenue source. it is a separate thing that's happening that then creates sustainability. Um, I think it's it's a remarkable uh testament to the creativity of how we're able to make sure that we're focusing this investment uh in sustainable projects that make it uh worth our while and worth the community's while uh across the county. you know, I really appreciative of seeing uh projects like this out in Rogers, too. You know, it's not just a a Minneapolis or, you know, like the traditional redevelopment uh areas. So, this is it's just such a great program, and yes, I I look forward to seeing something about the 25 years of um of great work that's been done. So, thank you. Seeing no other comments, all those in favor of uh approval of the block say I. I. >> Any opposed? Uh those items are approved. Uh our last item for discussion and action is a uh staff review and recommend updates to Henipin County's cost participation and maintenance policies with partner agencies for cooperative county road and bridge projects offered by myself and Commissioner Catel. I will move this. May I have a second? second. >> Thank you. Um I just wanted to this the conversation of um cost participation has been a an ongoing conversation with cities who've uh obviously had some advocacy to our office, but we've also heard a number of uh the state agencies. Mindot is looking at updating their cost participation um this year. And so, uh, this seems like from my perspective, uh, a really important time to evaluate how we're, uh, engaging in cost participation with our local units, um, and making sure that we're, um, framing our policies in alignment for sustainability for projects that we do across the county. Um, I know I want to thank staff for helping uh us craft this and I don't know if there's anybody uh that would like to speak to this item. >> Chair Commissioners Carla Stewie is available and can provide some background information. >> Wonderful. Um, Miss Die. >> Thank you, Commissioner Anderson and Public Works Committee. Um we are beginning the process to update our cost participation and maintenance policies. We have formed an uh city partner workg group that we are going to begin meeting with them uh this month later this month. So we look forward to uh hearing feedback from our city partners, analyzing that and um sharing that feedback with you later this summer and then providing recommendations later this year. >> Thank you so much. Thank you, >> colleagues. Any questions? Yes, Commissioner Lundy and then Commissioner Green. >> Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. Just want to uh thank uh Commissioners Gotel and Anderson for bringing this forward. Um, I think it's important. I know Mand is looking statewide. I think that's a good thing because, you know, a mile of of a project, the cost doesn't change, but the entity of who where that mile is, their ability to pay for that. I know uh Brooklyn Center looking at highway 252 is like it would take the next I think six years of their capital improvement would get evaporated just for one project for MDOT and so those things those impacts you know AIO always has a problem if we do anything on 81 or 93rd because their participation would is you know it it's not that they don't want to it's just sometimes it's they don't have the money uh while if it's in Brooklyn Park or Maple Grove or somewhere else they have more wherewithal all to kind of work these through the system. So, I do think that's good to look at it. I do like how Mindot's doing it. I don't know how the county is working on it, but ability to pay I think does matter. Um, and I I know we shouldn't, you know, say that, but it's just a fact. If if uh we could, you know, if MDOT does the two and if they force that process on is the city of Brooklyn Center, they have no choice. they are and they will not have the ability to do other projects for a number of years because all their money will go into a project that at best they're lukewarm uh for. So I think it's important for us to do that. I think it's a good conversation to have. Um but you know I always remind my cities the money's coming from somewhere. Is it county money or is it city money? I understand their argument about that you know we have more ways to raise money but let's not sugarcoat it. It's the same people paying whether it's a city or a local. Cuz as a recovering mayor, I know if you want to start a holy war, start talking about cost participation on a city street on how much does a resident pay for that? And if a resident lives on a corner, do they pay for both sides of the road? Uh all those things are just as uh a tough example because at the end of the day, the project's got to get paid for. So, thank you for looking at this. I want to thank the commissioners for bringing this forward. Thank you, Commissioner Green. >> Um, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you and Commissioner Gatel for bringing this forward. And I also want to thank uh the public works team for taking this on. This is, you know, speaking of holy wars. This always, this conversation reminds me of our library hours fairly allocated across the seven districts of Henipin County and like God only knows you don't want to sort of open the box of that conversation and and this is a similar one and yet we are taking it on. It sounds like there's been sort of a a unanimous request from many of our partner jurisdictions and a diversity of partner jurisdictions which I think is important um because there are trade-offs to make there so many levers to balance and I appreciate the responsiveness of the public works team. Um, I also wanted to sort of second what Commissioner Lundy just highlighted, which is essentially that this is yet another way in which we can take the lens of disparity elimination and bring it to the work that we do. Um, and so, um, thank you, Commissioner Lundy, for naming that and I look forward to the continued engagement and conversation on this. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other comments or questions? I appreciate the discussion. and I appreciate the work that uh the public works is is doing with this. So, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? That item passes. And that concludes our agenda. Good afternoon. I'll call today's health committee to order for this Thursday, February 5th, 2026. The first item of business today is approval of the minutes from our meeting held January 13th, 2026. Is there a motion to approve? >> Second. >> The minutes have been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? The minutes have passed. Um colleagues, item 2A on today's agenda is a public hearing on the staffing requirement of Ordinance 9, Emergency Medical Services. This public hearing will be conducted in person and via telephone. Persons not in attendance today but interested in commenting on section 7 subsection 1 of ordinance 9 are invited to call the toll-free dialin conference number now and that phone number is 18553408151. It's on the screen again. That number is 1-855-340-8151. And again, as it's displayed on our screen. While we wait for callers, I would like to ask Kristen Melstrom to provide a background on the staffing requirement for ordinance 9. Thank you, Chair Connelly and commissioners. Just a quick background um on ordinance 9. Since 1984, ordinance 9 required two paramedic staffing model for all ALS responses in Henipin County when people called for 911 service. On June 7th, 2022, public health on behalf of the EMS council presented several amendments for Ordinance 9 to update the ordinance, including uh proposed changes to a staffing requirement to change the requirement to model um state statute chapter 144E. And that statute requires a minimum of one paramedic and one EMT for responses to ALS. Um the proposal also included BLS responses to 911 calls. So that is in the current um ordinance. However, it was suspended at that time to give public health and the EMS council time to study it. So currently that's suspended until March 31st um of this year. uh this is the first part in the process to have the public hearing and then this will come to the board again on March 10th at the health committee and then on the 17th for a final decision. So that would meet the requirement to make a final decision on the staffing section of the ordinance by March 31st. Otherwise the um previous requirement for two paramedics would be reinstated. So, okay. Thank you, Miss Melstrom. Um, so at this time, I'd like to ask staff if there's any callers currently on the line. >> Madame Chair, there are no callers at this time. >> Thank you. So, there are no callers right now. So, I'll open up comments to folks here uh in person today. I have a list of of people who would wish to speak. So, welcome. For those of you that are here in person, you'll have three minutes to speak. Please step up to the podium when I call your name. On the podium, there is a set of three lights. The green light starts your time, and when you see the yellow light uh illuminated, you have about 30 seconds left to conclude your remarks, and the red light indicates that your time is up. Um, so if you would like to speak, I'm going to go through the names that I have. Um, so first up, I have Sam Ericson. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, commissioners. Um, so, uh, my name is Sam Ericson. I'm a Richfield resident. I'm a paramedic at Henipin MS and a union leader. Uh, I think I've been up here quite a bit talking to you folks about this, but I think one more time can't hurt. Um, so, ordinance 9, two paramedics on an ambulance. The analogy I always make is the civil aviation model. When you get on a Delta plane, an American Airlines plane, what you look at in the cockpit is two pilots. That's been the way for many, many years in the United States, and we did that because 99% of the time in a in a commercial airline, one pilot would be fine. There's no issues. Landing, takeoff, no problem. But in those instances when there are issues, having two experts in those seats is key. you, I think, would all have take issue if you got onto a Delta flight tomorrow and there was one pilot and one flight attendant in the cockpit. And that's essentially what we're proposing with this reduction in staff to uh ordinance 9. Okay. Being the only ALS provider on an ambulance is mentally, physically, and emotionally draining for providers. So, in a busy metro area, I'll I'll speak to Henipin EMS. We're already talking about providers who have dealt with um the killing of Renee Good, Alex Prey, annunciation, school shooting, bridge collapse, COVID, uh civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd, right? Like that's just Henip and EMS. Okay, I can't even speak to what all these other providers are going through. And so to to shoulder that burden um functionally alone as far as the highest level provider is exhausting. Henipin County has always led the way in this regard. You uh I think Kristen quoted it. This ordinance went into effect when I was two. Okay. Like we've been doing this for a long time. Part of the issue is in my opinion, we have five ambulance services in Henipin County. Three private and two public. So the public ones are Edina Fire and Henipin EMS. We provide paramedic paramedic service almost exclusively or exclusively. The private services are the ones that are going to come to you and say, "Oh, we can't afford it. We don't have enough staff. We we can't hire fast enough." But they haven't invested in those mechanisms. Henipin MS has a vast training program where we take folks from the community and train them. We even pay them to become paramedics and serve this community. We've invested in it because I know that our residents expect it. They expect those health outcomes. Last thing I'll say, this ordinance has protected health equity. Okay? If this ordinance and the two paramedic system breaks down, what you will see is the same thing we have seen in other health equity systems where affluent white cities will have very robust coverage. They will have two paramedics, mini ambulances. They'll get great services. Municipalities who happen to fall into an area that has a private ambulance provider or has a large percentage of black and brown community members where money maybe isn't there will not get the same level of service and we will see those health equity outcomes decrease. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. Ericson. Next, I have Susan Long. >> Good afternoon, chair and commissioners. My name is Susan Long, and I'm the president and EMS chief of Alina Health EMS. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today as we consider those actions on the staffing requirements outlined in ordinance 9. I appreciate the thoughtful consideration that the board has given to this issue. As you know, the staffing committee has been suspended while the county gathered data, heard from EMS agencies, and reviewed workforce realities across the region. I'm here today to express strong support for eliminating the mandatory true paramedic standard and aligning the ordinance with Minnesota statute 144E. Over the past several years, EMS agencies throughout Henipin County and the state have faced significant workforce challenges, especially in the paramedic job class. These shortages have been well documented and impact response times, operational stability, and the well-being of our EMS uh workforce. Reinstating the two paramedic requirement on every ALS response would place additional strain on an already challenged workforce, reduce system flexibility, and risk slower response time in our communities. Equally important, modern EMS research and experience demonstrate that requiring two paramedics on every call does not improve outcomes for the vast majority of 911 responses. Most emergencies do not require advanced procedures that necessitate dual paramedic crews. The state staffing model, which allows either two paramedics or a paramedic plus EMT crew, is clinically sound, evidence-based, and used effectively across Minnesota and the nation. Aligning Ordinance 9 with state statute accomplishes some key goals. It strengthens response reliability, flexibility and staffing, allows EMS services to put more ambulances on the road, adjust resources dynamically to call volume, and reduce delays caused by paramedic shortages. It supports workforce sustainability. We must retain and support the clinical the skilled clinicians we have. A rigid staffing mandate could increase burnout and overtime at a rate time when EMS systems nationwide are struggling to stabilize staffing. This alignment also ensures a consistency with statewide standards. Minnesota statute 144E establishes a uniform framework for ALS staffing across the state, helping ensure patients receive the appropriate level of care promptly and without unnecessary cost burdens. The question before you today is not whether or not paramedics have a vital role. They absolutely do. The question is whether the county should impose a staffing standard more restrictive than the states despite clear evidence that such a requirement does not improve outcomes and could negatively impact service reliability. I respectfully submit that the answer to that question is no. I urge you to support the elimination of the two paramedic mandate and adopt staffing language consistent with Minnesota statute 144E. This change could help ensure all Hannipan County residents continue to receive timely, highquality emergency care delivered by clinicians in a system designed for today's reality. >> Thank you for Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your commitment to a sustainable EMS future for Henipin County. >> Thank you, Miss Lon. Thank you, Scott. >> Thank you and um glad to be here. My name is Scott Sampy and I'm the vice president and chief of North Memorial Ambulance Service. And I know over the c last couple years some of you visit us, rode with us, did things, investigated and we appreciate that. And I know on a daily basis EMS is not your primary goal or know you may not know a lot about it but I also have a long career actually 49 years in EMS and been across the country at many ambulance services and I can tell you by far the EMT paramedic ALS combination is the best in the country. That's why we follow it. Other countries even put doctors on their on their ambulances don't necessarily have better stats than that combination. And I'd like to offer you also an analogy, a healthc care analogy. If you went to the emergency department day, and I hope you don't have to, um, would you expect two doctors to greet you as you walked in? You'd probably get a nurse and a physician. And those two professionals working together give you a great combination of different skill set to give you the best care. And that's exactly what we're asking for to follow the state statute, to have an EMT and paramedic. That way we have equal distribution to all of our areas that we cover of good health care. And it also gives us an opportunity. If we just hired paramedics, you have to be an EMT before you become a paramedic. Where are these EMTs coming from? Are they coming from other areas than Henipin County? So that's why we believe and ask you to please support following the state statute. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Sampy. Next I have Tim >> chair and commissioners. Thank you for having me speak. I'm a captain paramedic with North Ambulance. Um prior to actually having the role as a captain, I worked on an ambulance on an ALS rig and I had EMT partners um that I worked with frequently. So I feel that I am able to speak to this as well. Um, obviously I think we can all agree that when someone a resident of Henipin County calls 911, they expect fast and good care. I think that would be something that every one of us in this room would agree about. Um, but with the EMT paramedic ambulances, they they are able to work together, as Scott said, um, as a team and able to access the care of that patient from kind of different angles, so to speak, um, just as a nurse and a doctor. Uh, if we are able to staff, uh, ambulances with EMT and paramedic, um, we are able to staff more ambulances. Uh, I know at North Memor North Memorial if we went to that paramedic paramedic role, we would have roughly about a hundred people that we would have to uh paramedics that we would have to hire to keep our current staff level of ambulances, those ALS ambulances on the street. So, that would slow our response times and be less meaningful care for the uh residents of Henipin County. The last thing I wanted to say is that ordinance 9 as we talked about was enacted years ago. Um and that was when EMTs did not have near the scope of practice that they have today. Uh their scope has increased significantly and that is by state. Uh and they have been able to uh provide further um I'm losing my word but uh interventions. There we go. Um than they had when ordinance 9 was originally enacted. Thank you. >> Thank you. I appreciate it, Peter. >> Thank you, chair and commissioners. My name is Pete Tangy. I am the chief medical director for North Memorial Ambulance. I'm an EMS and emergency medicine physician. I've been in EMS since 1988. And I would like to share three perspectives why I am in favor of updating the language of ordinance 9 to better match the state and uh national standards. So the fir first perspective is while I'm not a resident of Henipin County, my parents and family members and many of my friends are and I think from a patient perspective if and when I've called 911 I've wanted a quick and timely response with people who are trained and know what to do. So by limiting and requiring two paramedic staffing as the only model of ambulance response in the county, we limit the number of ambulances that can be available and therefore the uh we risk the timeliness of response. And as been mentioned uh that by Tim, current EMT training does allow for a lot of appropriate response to emergency requests for help. So this uh leads me to the second perspective which is uh the operational efficiencies of having paramedic allowing for paramedic and EMT responses as well as other BLS responses. And it's simple math. If we have 100 paramedics and we require two paramedics per ambulance we can have 50 ambulances if we allow for a EMT and a paramedic staffed ambulance. Now we can have a 100 ambulances and therefore distribute them appropriately and have more timely response. And as Tim mentioned, EMTs and paramedics working together uh have been a proven model for appropriate response. And it's interesting because the other wrinkle to this is if we have more ambulances around for calls that require two paramedics, the likelihood that we have two paramedics that can respond and continue to care for the patient during transportation is increased. So whatever value we have with two paramedics, if one has to drive, we uh reduce that the positive uh times when two paramedics are needed. And then finally, there's a historic perspective. Uh, again, I've been in it since 88. I had the privilege of working with Dr. Pat Lila, who was around when the ordinance was created. And like Tim mentioned, the ordinance was good for the time. We've updated, we've modernized. An EMT and a paramedic is more than an appropriate response, and that's the modern EMS system. Thank you. >> Thank you. Last on my list is Martin. Okay, great. Uh, is there anyone else here that would like to speak to the public hearing to the topic, ordinance nine? Going once, going twice. Thank you all for showing up today for your testimony. It's very much appreciated. Um, that will wrap up in-person com comments, but I would like to check one more time with staff to see if we do have any more callers on the line. Madame Chair, there are no callers on the line. >> Thank you so much. Um, so with no other callers, I would like to take a motion to close the public hearing. >> So moved. Second. >> Motion uh has been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. >> Those opposed. That item passes. That concludes our agenda. Madam >> Chair, yes. Can uh can I ask a question here? >> Yes, please. >> And I only do because we have literally everybody in the audience. Uh, I was just going to ask maybe if the people who have spoke could provide the commissioners with a maybe an email or a memo on I know there are more responses. I know HCMC has a doctor that is out uh sometimes in a rover. We have other it's not just this one crew. There's often times overlay crews. There's uh other things that respond. And I know that uh and I'm guilty as charged helping Bookham Park move from a volunteer firefighter to all firefighters at Brooklyn Park are EMTs and many are paramedics. So I know there's a multitude of system overlays and so I would be curious if you could provide us with that information cuz I think that would be helpful for me and I I asked Madam Chair because literally everybody that would be able to respond or sitting right here. >> You're absolutely right. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, we are adjourned. Oh god. Okay. I will call to the order the Human Services Committee. It's Thursday, February 5th. It is 3:55 p.m. and I'm the chair, Heather Edson. Our first order of business is to approve the minutes from January 13th. If I can have a motion and a second. >> Approval. >> Second. >> Thank you. It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor say I. >> I. Motion carries. We have two routine items before us today. If I can have a motion to move two items, two items I can't talk. 2 A and 2B before us. Um, I'll read them into the record. >> I'll move it. >> Thank you. Item 2 A is a human services and public health resolution, including contracts and amendments to contracts with providers. More information is outlined in the human services and public health contract. Many of these organizations are helping with targeted management and there were several um that were opioid um related nature. So um good good work there. Um and then item 2B is an amendment to joint powers agreement with the city of Bloomington to continue the restorative court program with the human services and public health department through December 31st, 2026. Also really great important work. Um are there any questions? Yes. Uh, Commissioner Lundy. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, Commissioner Goel's not here, so I'll do her brag for her. On the restorative court, I have heard nothing but good things about that. And I have just to warn everybody. I've heard other chiefs have been talking to Bloomington about seeing things like that, how that might work in other jurisdictions. So, uh, I just wanted to highlight that, uh, you know, renewing this is actually a highlight of success and that, uh, other people are paying attention to this kind of idea that there are things that we can do to keep people out of the system when there are other factors that really are leading them to, um, where they where they land at this moment. So, that's it. Thank you. >> I agree, Commissioner Lundy. veterans courts, um, drug court, like all of it, restorative courts, all really important and the success rates are really remarkable. Any others? All right, with that being said, all those, if there's no questions, I will move for a vote. All those in favor, please of item approving items 2 A through 2B, please say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. And that concludes the human services committee. We are adjourned. heat. like to call today's meeting of the law, safety, and justice committee. Um, we have a few just a few items. Uh, first up is 1a, uh, approval of the minutes from January 13th. If I get a motion and a second. >> So moved. >> We have a motion and a second. Any corrections, additions, changes? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Motion carries. Uh I will do these two items uh separately. Uh even though they're routine. Um uh first one is uh uh 2A if I can get a motion, a second to put that on the table. >> Move it. >> Second. >> We have a motion, a second. Uh 2A reads is a uh JPA between Henman County and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force. um 2126 to 13131. Um if we could get some background, Miss Guzman. >> Good afternoon, chair, commissioners. I'd like to invite Major Shane Magnus to provide background on item 2A. >> Right. Thank you, Chair Lundy and and board. Um Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force is a JPA agreement between the state of Minnesota and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for local law enforcement agencies. This includes the Henipin County Sheriff's Office to investigate prosecute human trafficking offenses to include sex and labor trafficking and to provide victim centered support services. Previously on May 6th, 2025, we there was a board resolution that approved a full-time JPA at that where that person was at the BCA. This is to change it from affiliate status, although it will stay a full-time member investigating human trafficking. Um, and then this to there are no material changes in the objective, scopes or operational framework of the Minnesota human trafficking under this agreement pursuant to the terms of the JPA. all the governmental units that are participating in it. Our licensed peace officers, they will provide equipment and necessary resources to assist in human trafficking investigations and with all operational protocols and standards established by the BCA. The BCA will continue to reimburse Henipin County Sheriff's Office for all eligible overtime at the same rate we are currently receiving. >> Thank you. Any questions? Uh, Commissioner Fernando. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, I want to be clear. I'm very supportive of of human trafficking efforts, immense respect for the BCA and all of the uh GPA, but um I have someformational requests and I'm hopeful that my colleagues would support a progress motion to consider this for vote next week. Um personally, I would I I would like to be able to read the JPA myself. Um the second is to list a list of all of the GPA that the sheriff's office has with various state and federal entities. and if possible to list and I understand if it uh is is meant to come you know through an attorney or a different type of however you get the information to us um but requesting which cases in the last couple years have aligned with each particular JPA. So again I have voted for this in the past. I am interested in um ensuring that victim center trauma-informed response is taking place and that we are doing our part and there has just been increased attention to JPA and agreements and uh wanting to make sure that it you know that I have a chance to review it directly. So uh Mr. Chair, those would be my requests. Obviously, if there's a response from anybody, I'm I'm happy to engage, but colleagues, I will eventually um move to progress just to next week's board so we can get some followup uh for the ability to to review directly. >> Did you want to I think we that's I guess technically we move to progress and we're voting on that motion. So, I guess we'll continue discussion first and come back to you. Any other questions? Commissioner Green. >> Um thank you, Mr. Chair. Um thank you for being here. I wanted to ask um a number of years ago the board passed um I think it might be when Commissioner Catel and I were here and there's been a changeover in every other seat but uh the board passed an initiative to add a dedicated detective um to trafficking cases. And so I'm interested in the progress in that work and um some sort of report back. We we used to get that and I just haven't seen it recently. So, if you could add that to uh what's sent back, I appreciate it very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you. >> Can I ask one quick follow-up question? Commissioner Fernando, would you like all of our JPAs or are JPA centered around human trafficking? >> Uh uh, Chair, the JPAs that are with the state or the federal government. Okay. >> So, again, there's just increased attention um to the, you know, to the ways in which our agencies work with each other and uh really wanting to ensure clarity Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Um I just want to I know I you know fully support the progress motion that'll be forthcoming. But I want to thank sheriff's office for this work. Uh there are people who would rather be victimized sex trafficking labor victims than to run into ICE. And so the presence of ICE right now, this is one of those areas that it actually causes people to go into hiding deeper and to just suffer the victimization that they know versus what they don't know. And that is, you know, really the basis of fear. And so this is where a real example. People think that ICE is helping. They're not helping this because fear drives victims farther underground. Um, and the people who are doing the victimizing, they use this fear to get people to acquies to what's being demanded of that. I saw that firsthand when we had sex trafficking of 12-year-old uh girls from West Africa. And it was exactly that fear that was used to keep them in line and can keep them uh being victimized and sex trafficked, which I consider, you know, a heinous crime. But yet, you depend on them being willing to come forward. They're not going to come forward if they fear ICE because, um, that's just the way the nature is. So, um, I'll turn it back to Commissioner Fernando. Uh, chair, I'll move to progress item 2A to next week's board meeting on Thursday, February 12th. >> Second. We have a motion to progress uh to next meeting and a second. Any questions? >> All right. Uh, the motion before us to progress. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. Uh, next item is uh 2B. If we can get a motion, a second put on the table. >> Second. Uh thank you. We have a motion and a second. Uh 2B is an agreement with Triek Software Solutions, a central square company for the provision of integrated computer aided dispatch system extending end date to 1021 10129 increasing not to exceed by 1,862,5225 and45 for a new not to exceed amount of 7,66,528. Um any questions or background? >> I'll move it. Did we move it already? We moved it. Sorry. >> No. >> Um I I just uh wanted to say that um I we'll continue to bring this up is that I think the time has come for all agencies to start to look at the software that we use being a common system. And I would I know we've had this conversation before, but I think we should look at when contracts are done by the cities because they do they treat these as capital expenses because they are usually big dollar amounts. So, let's say Brooklyn Park is going to do a new system. They will do it, but it's a three or four year increment. And those are the moments when I think the county needs to have those conversations. So, I don't know what we do. I know we're working on with Carver to make that test that out. But I do think there's opportunities and I do think it's the fact is uh having property taxes uh at every level for systems that are overlapping that could be common and used together I think is advantageous for all of us. Um but like I said they are treated as capital expenses because they are such big ticket items for cities typically. They're not discretionary spending. They are actually measured out and it's something you put on a a 5-year capital through a plan because of the cost. So, Commissioner Fernando. >> Yes, thank you, Chair. Uh, first, uh, I completely agree with that. Um, MESB has talked about further regionalization. So, perhaps now is the time to just take that on more directly. So, there's, uh, regionalization through the e, the economics as you're expressing, and some amount of regionalization for CAD to CAD. We I believe strongly that our broader system would be benefited by um a more interoperable approach by uh the various um entities. And so I just want to express I know direc Martin has done a ton uh with this with all the technical groups um and that has been feedback that we've received but I'll share commissioner Anderson and I sit on that body. Uh this is the first time where we're really seeing a lot of regions saying we need to shift this. It's not um just this aspect. There's the armor system, the radio system. Uh the do or mindat owns portions of it which is kind of peculiar. There's so there it is time to really clarify who is owning what infrastructure, who is driving the operational costs. And just to add another thing that's uh really pissed me off. Oh gosh, I'm usually more measured. Um there is I know, sorry. uh the state is the primary negotiator regarding um a number of contracts that impact all of the locals and uh specifically there has been proposals in the 30 to 40% higher. I'm talking millions without notice. And uh when I kept pulling on that thread, it took a few years. But these are very very privately held companies that are driving the property tax base up significantly and that would be data that would be favorable to acquire. Thank you, chair. >> Questions or comments? I was just along those terms going to request uh Miss Guzman and maybe Dr. Martin, could we get a memo and outlining all the different pieces that all the software that and I'm not everything I would call the major systems that agencies use that could be beneficial by consolidation. Um I also would point out that Tri-C system soft uh software systems a central square company is means they've been acquired which just like the other one that we had where they came to us and said hey if you don't buy us renew now we're going to jack up the prices uh which we did. Uh so this consolidation is happening consolidation never leads to better pricing and a lot behind a lot of consolidation is just private equity and they tend to you know pull the meat off the bones and suck all the money they can out of it. So I do think that we are playing a fool's game if we don't arm up and I think have those conversations and convene the them. And so I know it's not just software, there's other software that we should really have a regional conversation because uh there are people spending lots of money to do the same thing. And I will always say I've never had a resident call and complain that they dialed 911 and the people who responded didn't have the right uh logo on their vehicle. No one cares. They just want the fastest best response as RMS people. And if it's Brooklyn Center responding in Brooklyn Park, no one cares when there's a time of need. And so I think a lot of that is old school thinking. But the way the system now is being built is we're going to spend millions of dollars because we have to because there are becoming only one or two providers that uh provide that. So I would love a list just to understand the scope of the opportunity and then maybe really strategically the county start to engage conversations like hey Eden Perry's contract's up next year. Let's talk to them now about this option. So with that, Miss Guzman, >> chair, commissioners, we will uh work with director Martin to identify both the infrastructure and the software, the major software that you requested and we'll get you the list to all commissioners. >> Thank you. See, nothing else will be back for 2B. Uh bring it up to a vote. All those in favor say I. I. >> Opposed. Motion carries. And with that, the law, safety, and justice committee uh agenda is complete. They call the meeting J. I'm up again. I will call to order the resident services committee. It's Thursday, February 5th. It is 4:12 p.m. I'm the chair, Heather Edson. First order of business is to approve the minutes that were way back in October 25th of 2025. >> I'll move it. >> Second. >> Thank you. They've been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. Opposed. >> Okay. So, the the minutes pass. Um, we have one routine item before us today. If I could have a motion to put 2A before us and a second and then I will read it into the record and then Mr. Roen will >> about it. Thank you. Okay. Okay. So, item 2A is the appointment of the 2026 Henipin County Special Board of Appeal and Equalization. And this and it authorizes the rates of compensation for its members. Mr. Rogan, do you just want to tell us a little bit more about the rates? >> Uh, certainly. Uh, Madam Chair, the the bar before you uh allows uh the county board to delegate its authority for the appeal and equalization to a group that you appoint and um it'll be seven members and they get $140 um per per day. Uh the resolution uh sets out a time frame for you all to um communicate your person that you want to be appointed uh to be done by March 13th uh of this year. And um then the board meets uh later this spring um after the uh uh city appeal processes are are done. Uh the people come to the the county board of appeal for uh the final um appeal of their uh tax assessment values if they have any. >> Thank you. And Mr. Rogan and and if they were appointed last year and they decide to stay on, do you let us know or do we have to ask them again? Just >> Madam Chair, the way that this is done is that we usually wait for you to tell us if you want us to reach out to the um same individual that you had last year or want somebody else. So, I'll be reaching out to each one of you to determine whether or not you want to appoint somebody different or if you want us just to reach out to last year's um individual. >> Well, for me, you can please reach out to uh Mr. Pierce again and ask him um so that you don't have to email me. If does anybody else have any other questions? >> All right. Okay. >> Yeah. Mr. Commissioner Lundy. >> Uh I just wanted to uh thank this board. They do a lot of work. It is not like they just show up couple times. They do they got packets. They've got homework they have to do. They have to go to those meetings. They have to be prepared. And so I just want to give them credit for doing something that having done them as a mayor is a thankless job of everyone loves to take out a loan based on their property, but no one wants to pay taxes on the same property. Um, and so it and uh, yes, it can be very interesting and I thank him for that service that they provide. >> 100% agree with that. Anybody else? >> Okay. All right. Uh, with that being said, there's no other questions. All those in favor of 2A, please say I. I. Opposed. The motion carries. That concludes the resident services committee. We are journed. Good afternoon. I will call to order our intergovernmental committee on this Thursday, February 5th, 2026. I have the pleasure of serving as co-chair with my fellow commissioner Lundy of District 1. The first item of business today is to approve the minutes from the meeting held November 13th, 2025. Is there a motion to approve? >> I move approval. Second. >> Minutes have been moved and seconded. Any corrections or comments on the minutes? Hearing and seeing none. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? The minutes have passed. The one item of business before us today, colleagues, is our federal platform. 2A is the 2026 federal legislative platform. I'll ask for a motion to bring the entire platform before us and then we'll walk through it. >> I'll move it. >> It's been moved and seconded and then I will ask Director Young to present. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um I'd like to begin with thanks to the IGR staff and subject matter expert staff who helped develop this platform and to all of you for your thoughtful and productive meetings. Um, I'd also like to acknowledge what we are in the middle of with the federal government and that this is a a heavy time and developing this platform uh was a challenge. Um, so beginning on page nine of your packet or page four of the platform, depending on what document you're looking at, um, we'll see the platform policy priority. Uh, similar to the state platform, staff recommends narrowing focus to a single priority focused on rebuilding the federal and county partnership. Last year, we saw the passage of HR1, which decimates Medicaid funding, a key source of funds critical for county programs and for lowincome residents to access health care. Late last year and at the beginning of this year, we have also seen a deployment of federal agents that has devastated not just Minneapolis but numerous other communities in our county and across the state. Um so with that we can move on to the direct funding requests. So you will first see a uh updated language to align the title with how Congress refers to these requests. And then you'll also see that the Washington Avenue bridge has been removed as we saw action on that item in the state legislature last year. Moving on to the climate and environment section of the uh of the platform, page 13 of your packet. There are two changes. The first is to delete the third bullet point as staff do not anticipate movement on this issue with this Congress and this administration. And then the second is to add a bullet point related to water quality and addressing aquatic invasive species. Um, and if folks have questions, interrupt, but >> Yep. So, Director, I was just going to say, colleagues, if there's any um additions or amendments, let us know. We'll vote on those separately. Commissioner Anderson. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I actually do have a suggested um update in the um the platform policy priority uh the language right at the right at the top there. Um I I appreciate the the language updates that have come through. Um but there is in the um in the section that says without this partnership the county will be unable to continue service delivery as it currently does. Um I would like to suggest that we change it to um we would the county will be unable to continue service delivery at a level needed for residents to succeed. Um so not currently does but at a level our um for our residents and I can give you the the language. Thank you. >> Um >> so you're you want to move that >> if I would. Yes, I would move that. Thank you. >> Moved and seconded. So the language if I read that correct heard that correctly was at a level >> um needed for residents to succeed. Great. Colleagues, comments, questions? Think that makes sense. Um, and so we can Yes, we're going to vote. >> All right. >> And we'll get the language to Director Young. Okay. Um, so it's been moved and seconded at a level needed for residents to succeed. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? >> And um that amendment passes. Thank you. One other thing that I would call out is the the front page of the p of the platform does say 2025. Just making a note of that we can change to 2026. >> Well, yes. Communications will make those conforming corrections, madam chair, and apologies for moving quickly through the before asking. >> That's all right. It's been a day. Um so we are then are there any other um amendments before we get into the individual sections of the platform? All right. I'm seeing none. Director Young, I believe that takes us to climate and environment. You can go through the changes there and then I'll ask colleagues if they've got any changes or we actually did we just do that one. >> We I just went through the changes, but if there are questions or amendments. >> Any amendments on climate and environment? >> All right, let's keep moving. >> Okay, so then moving on to the election section. Um, in this section you'll see a new bullet point in response to threats from the president and legislation moving through Congress to restrict access to voting and the ability of local municipalities to administer elections. Um, so that's that additional bullet point at the bottom of the page. >> Thank you, colleagues. Any amendments? Seeing none, continue. Okay, moving on to the health and human services section on page 17 of your packet. This is where you'll see the bulk of the changes made to the platform. The first two bullet points are new and aimed at addressing the cuts from HR1. In meeting with you, you asked that we update this language to reflect the severity of what is to come and the impact that it will have on our ability to deliver services to residents in addition to calling out specific funding programs and cuts. >> Thank you, colleagues. Any amendments, additions? All right, I'll keep going. >> Keep going. The third bullet point is some language cleanup. The fourth bullet point is deleted as the first two bullet points cover our work with Medicaid and staff does not anticipate movement on this specific issue. Moving on to the sixth bullet point, you'll see two additions. The first being gun safety and the second being gender affirming care. The seventh and eighth bullet points are new at the recommendation of public health. The first ensure individual and community health by safeguarding science-based vaccines access and policy um is to address uh polic change in vaccine policy that we've seen from Secretary Kennedy. And the second new bullet point relates to previously federally legalized hemp derived THC and the roll back we saw of that leaving gaps in regulations for these products. Turning to page 18, you see in addition to the um federal data sharing bullet um in order to guarantee that we are safeguarding resident privacy and data. Um the second bullet point on this page is recommended to be deleted as staff does not anticipate movement on this issue during Congress. although we do still retain this in our state platform given the 11:15 waiver that the state is applying for. Uh the next bullet point is uh updated with a recommendation from staff to align with the county's public facing messaging. And the fourth bullet point is not a new bullet point but it is moved uh from the law safety and justice section to better align with health outcomes and a similar edit in the sixth bullet point. And then finally, staff recommends removing the second to last bullet point on the page as we address SNAP in the first two bullet points as well. >> Right. Thank you, colleagues. Any amendments to any of this? >> Thank you. We can keep going. >> Okay. So, moving on to the housing and community development section of the platform. So, in the first bullet point, you see just some updated language. It retains uh the same intent and impact but just update uh based on staff recommendations for the language. The second bullet point pulls out a few specific programs from the first bullet point um in order to highlight um that those three programs listed in the second bullet point are critical county funding sources that have previously seen cuts from Congress and this administration. We've also seen cuts to HUD's no for continue of care that would have hurt heading home Henipin. So that's why those are specifically called out in the second bullet point. And director I just want to speak colleagues there's a active um I wanted this to be a separate bullet point honestly we are hearing a lot uh through n leadership this is part CDBG and home and the keeping those two programs um solid stable are part of the national association of counties platform um America's counties platform is what they call it uh and then there's also a lot of discussion happening um around the HUD COC counties are really trying to figure out what to do after this extension. So, I really appreciate that this is that this is taken out and separated. So, thank you. >> Okay. The third bullet point also has some language updates, although the intent remains the same. And the fourth is a new bullet point to focus on the supply and accessibility of affordable housing through legislation. It is one area that may see bipartisan legislation. So, I wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity to advocate for that. Thank you colleagues. Any comments, amendments? All right, let's keep going. >> Okay, in the justice and equality section, uh the first bullet point sees the addition of the word safe. So provides access to healthcare and education and supports safe, fair, and equitable interface with local public safety agencies. The second bullet point uh adds due process. Um, and these are both responses to what we've seen from federal government actions in in our communities lately. >> Yes. Um, >> Commissioner Fernando. >> Okay. >> Um, and then the the final bullet point on that page sees uh some language updates to better align with our new line of business. >> Thank you, director. Please, Commissioner. >> Uh, thank you, Madam Chair. Um I have a request for uh IGR and and staff to see if this makes sense under this due process piece or maybe not under but connected to just receiving a lot of uh very concerning reports around excessive surveillance in this time period and I I guess period. Yeah. So if there could be some kind of looking into if it makes sense to be here again it's individualized reports. Um but really excessive surveilling seems to be an experience that has uh persisted uh throughout the last month and the examples that at least I've received are just really really troubling. Drones following people, vans following people. um you know federal applications being uh denied the day after someone attend you know exercises in first amendment um activity. So, see if it makes sense. But I wanted to uh offer that there's a due process aspect of what you described um which we we are understanding specifically from the constitution, but we as a county care about people's privacies and uh and the ways in which our kind of personhood um protections are are being experienced in this moment. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you, colleagues. Other comments or questions on this section? >> Commissioner Lundy. >> Um, I wasn't going to sing, but Commissioner Fernando inspired me. So, um, I just won't use her salty language when I do it. Uh, I just wanted to say that, you know, the a lot of the surveillance stuff that they use that fight last started long ago. Uh, I think I lost every vote as mayor of Bookham Park for drones, for uh, license plate readers, for all the tools that nowadays they all use. In fact, our sheriff's department has a drone policy and that came up during us as members. So, uh, I 100% agree. I just know that our own agencies use the exact same tools. And so, it's not just, you know, it is not just the federales that are using it. It's also uh all of our locals, which doesn't make me feel any better at all. But I just wanted to, you know, point that out that it is it is part of the the challenge right now. And um you know, I think uh everyone loves it when their sides in charge of the tools and no one loves it when the people they don't agree with have the tools. And so I I agree 100% that it'd be best if this was part of that philosophy of you know but uh anyway that's I'll stop there. Yes, thank you chair. Now acknowledging that we're just in a slightly different conversation but just to express that then maybe it does go to the data sharing piece right so under our kind of health and human services section. So regardless whether it is seeking to inquire about the utilization of the tech or seeking to understand under what standards are we applying to share such data about our residents. Again, that's why it was really a request for staff to review. Um, but there were two yellow highlight portions and I was considering asking it in the first one. So, I I do appreciate you raising it cuz cuz this is a multiaceted issue. And again, uh this is more about privacy and and resident protections than and civil liberties than it is around kind of the technical and operational aspect. So, uh looking forward to how that can unfold. Thank you, chair. Thank you. And so, Director Rang, I'm peeking ahead a little bit. And in law, safety, and justice, there is a a new part that might cover some of that and maybe we can amend >> to include cuz I I agree, right? There's facial recognition technology. We don't know what our faces are being, you know, or what database they're in and for what. So, I I think there is real concern around that. Um, but that might be a way that we can amend the highlighted portion of law, safety, and justice to think about. Um, so if there's no other comments on this one, maybe that's not Yes, Commissioner Lundy. >> Um, I know we have this discussion coming up in AI, but AI bots use publicly information. So, anything that is public that we provide publicly, the state provides public or we provide to the state and they make it public, all gets gleaned and used, facial recognition. They grab every photo that is out there. Uh you know, Facebook, if you actually read the the privacy rights, anything you post is theirs. Uh same with Instagram, Tik Tok, everything else. Uh you may have been the originator, but they get to do what they want with it. And so that is something I I know in Brooklyn Park as I lost every battle to at least make it so that if the state, county, or federal government wanted access to data, they had to give us a spina. They couldn't just call and we would just provide the data. And that there is also really important that data gets deleted because if data is kept forever eventually laws change and then it gets swept up. So uh I think that would be something us as a county can police ourselves across the board but it is very much like you want to have policies that say okay at a certain point we delete stuff. Um whether it's all those different tools that we use um anyway I just say that as well. Thank you. Other comments or questions? >> All right, director on. We'll keep it moving. >> Moving on to the law, safety, justice section of the platform. Um, you do see an update to the um framing language to make sure that it aligns with the newly renamed line of business. The top bullet has been deleted because it's been moved up to the health and human services section. That's the previous bullet we talked about. And then there is a new bullet in this uh section. um to re reflect what we've seen happening during Operation Metroserve and to align with the bar that you all passed recently as well. Um and certainly happy to consider an amendment to this section of the platform to address some of the surveillance technologies that we've seen in use, but we'll connect with staff to make the best recommendation on that question. >> Thank you. Colleagues, questions, comments on that or this. All right, thank you. We'll keep moving. >> Okay. Um so then in safety net health services we simil similarly see an update to the first bullet point in order to align with advocacy around uh mitigating against the HR1 cuts that we see coming and then um an update to the second bullet point since the deleted portion is covered in the first bullet point. >> Thank you. Any amendments, questions, comments? All right. Okay. Moving on to taxes, there is a new bullet point um to oppose legislation that shifts cost burden from long-established federal programs to local local property taxpayers given what we've seen uh come out of recent legislation. >> Can we put in an exclamation point at the end of that? Can we I would like to make a motion. >> There's enough ink to do all the exclamation points needed with uh with our current administration. >> Thank you. Colleagues, any other questions or amendments to this to taxes? Okay, we'll keep moving. Thank you. >> Um, no changes recommended in the transportation section. So, moving to the workforce development section. One addition to the final bullet point to add and increase opportunities for competitive employment, which was something requested by our aging, access, and disability staff. um especially aimed at people with disabilities who face significant disparities in uh both wages and employment opportunities. >> Thank you. Questions, amendments. Um, one thing I'll just add is we just had our um, legislative resolutions call for the Niko's CEWD committee, community economic workforce development, and this final one was a resolution that came up just ensuring that there are livable wages for people with neurological disabilities, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and competitive employment. So, um, I'm I'm glad to see that in ours as well. Thank you. So, that looks like it's the end of it. Director and do you have anything further to add before we move to a vote? Commissioner Anderson, >> I I have a question slash comment. Um, knowing that the uh you and I talked about this in our one-on-one, so I appreciate the the answer or like I know that it has been addressed, but um this document is currently it's it's in alphabetical order. Um, and I just wanted to state out loud that having some level of prioritization of these things because sometimes it can feel a little disconnected as you're as you're looking through it. Of course, I know that when we go out there, it's not like we're reading through this this one singular document. Um but um I just wanted to just highlight um the importance of elevating especially the uh the cost shifts and the cuts to health um healthc care, Medicaid, SNAP uh the services that we're being asked to provide uh is so devastating and is going to have such a huge impact that uh any opportunity we can take to elevate the importance of those things I think would be appreciated. So, thank you. >> I agree. Thank you, Commissioner Lundy. >> Uh just two things, Madam Chair, and thank you or Madam Co-chair. Um is uh just want to, you know, I think for the commissioners, I think we know this, but I think for the general public, uh you know, the platform is important for the co-chairs, whoever they are, because we might get a call to to say, "Do you want to sign this letter? It's got to be by tomorrow, 9:00 a.m. We can't pull a board meeting." uh the co-chairs look at this platform and say it's consistent along with IGR and then we the blessing and then that letter or support goes on to the chair of the board to sign. So there's a process and there's a reason we do the platform like this is so that we have not very specific things but just very general guidelines so that we can say this is in our best interest. And so I just wanted to point that out where this is really useful is those 10 p.m. text messages when we need to respond or testify or to do something uh to submit that we need to do. Um the other last thing I wanted to say is just I think um you know talking about the cuts that the federal government's I do think we're going to have to take a look at given our budget. This is year two of what I believe is a three-year tough budget. This will be tougher than last year. Last year was easy because we got cut empty positions is we're going to have to make decisions on they're not funding things. So it's not necessarily all of them are cuts. They're just not saying hey if you want to do it go ahead. I think we're going to have to have that conversation on some of these things that we don't get the money for. Is it core or was it nice? And now that we're not getting money, are we going to raise property taxes to fill in the gap? Because I think those are not always the same thing. Sometimes it is, but I think we're going to have to look at those discussions because um as we're having now every other month budget meetings, which is new, I think we're all very hyperly aware. So I do think that we're going to have to be looking at things that might have to go away. Um, and we've seen state, we've seen other, you know, entities not give us money for things. And I think that that is going to be our challenge. So, thank you. And I just want to thank the IGR staff for doing this work knowing that we might word Smith for 4 hours if we want to change things around. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner Fernando. >> Thank you, Chair. Two comments. One, I support what Commissioner Anderson had expressed. Um, I don't think prioritizing all of them in order makes sense, but pulling out the ones that link to the single priority uh would be I think consistent. And then a suggestion to have a table of contents so that um we can go to each section um quickly. Uh second comment uh to Commissioner Lundy's point, I of course believe we're going to be immensely successful at session this year and that's why we have a TBD board briefing kind of topic. So I I the public will it is important for the public to engage with our public discourse on priorities, potential program shifts, um the tough conversations as people discuss. Uh of course that those tough conversations are informed by the first 5 months of operating and session. So you uh just for the public to know, for colleagues to know that tough conversation as we have all alluded to in our format does kind of begin with a public board briefing. Um and so that is a part of the design for this year. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you. Other comments, questions? Um I certainly want to thank you, Director Young, and the entire IGR uh staff for helping pull this together. And I just can't speak enough that one priority going in with perhaps a list of priorities that tie in to that one priority is really really important. Um and I can confirm on those 10 p.m. phone calls why this is important. U so really appreciate the work that went into it and and just how it meets the moment. It really was done in a way that meets this moment and and I'm appreciative of that. So thank you. Um I've got nothing to add other than on page 29 we need to add the word commissioners. tiny little thing. Um, thank you so much colleagues. I believe if yes, Commissioner Green. Um, thank you madam co-chair and I want just wanted to acknowledge the two co-chairs of this committee and those calls that you do take in the middle of the night to sort of get a quick opinion and so on. So, thank you for um fielding those calls and for I I know the sensitivity that you bring as you're answering those questions and wanting to make sure that you're reflecting things that the board has aligned behind. So many thanks to you as well. >> Thank you. Thank you, co-chair Lundy. >> All right. So, uh, with that, I think we're ready for a vote. All those in favor of the platform as amended, please say I. I. Any opposed? That item passes and we are journed. Thank you. Good afternoon. I'll call to order this meeting of the Henipin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority for Thursday, February 5th, 2026. The first item of our on our agenda this evening afternoon is the approval of the agenda. May I have a motion to approve? >> So moved. Second. >> The agenda has been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Our agenda is set. Item 2 A is the minutes from our previous meeting held January 13th, 2026. Is there a motion to approve? >> Second. >> Item has been moved and seconded. Any comments or corrections on the minutes? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Uh, the minutes have passed. Item three would be our claims register. We have none. Item 4 A. I'll take a motion to uh bring that before us. Second. >> 4 A has been moved and seconded. This is to negotiate an agreement with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to accept an impact fund award for the Healthy Homes Assistance Project. The dates on this are April 1st of 2026 through March 31st, 2029. This is a receivable of $99,600. And I believe Melissa Ilas will um present on this one. Welcome. Thank you, >> Chair Connley. Commissioners, Melissa Ilas, Housing and Economic Development. The item before you today accepts an award to the HR by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency as part of their impact fund. This award supports health and safety repairs uh will support health and safety repairs for at least 12 owner occupied homes. And it's the sixth one we've actually gotten from Minnesota Housing for this activity. And it's just part of our overall home repair program. and fills in some gaps for us um where projects get expensive with health and safety repairs or just other funds are not available. Be happy to answer any questions you might have. >> Thank you. Congratulations on your sixth award. This is all about aging in place, keeping people in their homes. So really, really, really good work. Colleagues, any questions, comments? All right. Thank you so much. Seeing seeing and hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That item passes. That brings us to the end of our agenda. We are journed.