[2:02] We'll call the Washington County Board of Commissioners' Meeting to order for October 1,

[2:10] 2024. Stephanie, roll call, please. Commissioner Miran.

[2:14] Here. Commissioner Karwaski.

[2:16] Here. Commissioner Creasel.

[2:17] Here. Commissioner Bigham.

[2:19] Here. Commissioner Claussen.

[2:20] Here. Roll call taken, all present.

[2:23] Please join the Board for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[2:30] Allegiance to the flag of the United States from America and to the very Pledge of

[2:46] That next item is item two is comments from the public.

[2:50] If there's anyone in the audience that would

[2:52] like to speak on an item, not on the agenda.

[2:59] With none, we'll move on to item three, consent items.

[3:03] I think it's A through H.

[3:05] Here, I'll move the consent from A to H.

[3:12] Second.

[3:15] Consent calendar moved all items A through H

[3:21] by Commissioner Klosson, second by Commissioner Bigham. Any questions? With none, roll call,

[3:29] Stephanie.

[3:30] Commissioner Miran.

[3:31] Aye.

[3:32] Commissioner Creasel.

[3:33] Aye.

[3:33] Commissioner Bigham.

[3:34] Aye.

[3:35] Commissioner Klosson.

[3:36] Aye.

[3:36] Commissioner Karwaski.

[3:37] Aye.

[3:38] Consent calendar passes 5-0.

[3:40] Thank you. Item 4 on the agenda is Information Technology. Phil Dreher, IT Manager. Welcome.

[3:51] Welcome.

[3:58] Mr. Chair and Commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to present to you today.

[4:02] I'm Phil Dreyer.

[4:03] I'm the Information Technology Security Manager in the Information Technology Department.

[4:08] I'm here in support of the resolution to declare October 24th as Cybersecurity Awareness

[4:13] Month.

[4:13] I'd like to provide you a brief overview of what Cybersecurity Month is all about

[4:18] and highlight the ways that information technology protects the county for cybersecurity.

[4:23] In

[4:28] October 2024 marks the 21st Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

[4:34] In 2024, the President of the United States and Congress declared the month of October

[4:38] to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a dedicated month to raise awareness about the importance

[4:44] of cybersecurity to protect against malicious attacks.

[4:48] While it started as a government initiative, it is to raise awareness of cybersecurity.

[4:52] security, it has grown over the years in a collaborative effort between government and

[4:57] industry to enhance cybersecurity awareness, encourage actions by the public to reduce

[5:03] online risk and generate discussion on cyber threats on a national and global scale.

[5:11] The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency describes how we can all increase

[5:16] our online safety through four simple actions, whether at home, work, or school, to build

[5:23] the safer digital world. First, recognize phishing. Understand the kinds of emails that

[5:30] we all get and to report them and delete them to save ourselves from being attacked by criminals

[5:37] from across the globe. Second, use strong passwords. We all recognize the idea that

[5:45] using your password as password is not secure. So in many cases for banks and other

[5:51] areas we should have stronger passwords with random characters, phrases, special symbols

[5:57] across our keyboards.

[6:00] Third, turn on MFA.

[6:02] Banks use multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication to secure our money and our

[6:08] contents in our banks.

[6:10] Many more organizations and shopping areas are now using these types of technologies

[6:15] to secure our accounts and prevent malicious attacks to subvert our accounts and use it for subversive activities.

[6:24] Last, update our software. Protecting ourselves from vulnerabilities is key to prevent different kinds of antivirus attacks that we all protect ourselves from.

[6:38] information technology cyber security. Among the many things that IT does is we

[6:43] deliver county-wide training on cyber security in areas such as passwords,

[6:49] social media, internet use, protecting ourselves in the cloud. Second, support

[6:55] phishing tools and respond to immediate issues. Our IT staff monitors the button

[7:01] that people use to report phishing attacks and follow up with investigations

[7:05] to ensure that they are indeed who people think they are.

[7:10] Third, provide system patching and vulnerability remediation.

[7:14] Our staff monitors our different assets and computing computers

[7:18] to make sure that the vulnerabilities are remediated

[7:21] and we keep updated on our patching of all of our operating systems.

[7:25] Last, IT reviews new application requests

[7:29] from various departments to discover any potential weaknesses

[7:33] and vulnerabilities and improve the safety of those applications before they are implemented

[7:38] at the county.

[7:42] In front of you today is the Proclamation for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and I am happy

[7:47] to answer any questions you may have.

[7:51] Thank you, Phil.

[7:54] Any questions, Phil?

[7:58] We certainly appreciate everything that the county employees do and the investments

[8:04] commitments we make, and even our citizens as responsible citizens in everyday life, whatever

[8:11] precautions they can do.

[8:14] There's no questions, maybe if you wouldn't mind reading the resolution?

[8:21] Certainly.

[8:23] Unfortunately, if I'm going to read that, it requires a little bit more of an assistance

[8:27] on my part.

[8:30] Resolution of support of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024.

[8:35] Whereas Washington County recognizes that it has a role in identifying and protecting

[8:40] its citizens from and responding to cyber threats that may have a significant impact

[8:45] to our individual and collective security and privacy.

[8:48] And whereas Washington County recognized that local governments are increasingly targeted

[8:53] by cyber criminals to gain illegal access to sensitive information in which Washington

[8:58] County employees protect and safeguard daily. And whereas businesses and governments are

[9:04] increasingly reliant on information systems and technologies to support financial services,

[9:10] elections, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, healthcare, and emergency response

[9:15] systems and whereas in Washington, in 2024, Washington County continues to building cyber

[9:23] security awareness programs for all employees by requiring the completion of security awareness

[9:29] training courses designed to address the most common risks.

[9:33] And whereas the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency has implemented awareness

[9:39] programs through a coalition of private companies, non-profit and government organizations

[9:44] as well as academic institutions working together

[9:48] to increase the understanding of cyber threats

[9:50] and empowering the American public to be safer

[9:53] and more secure online.

[9:55] And whereas the National Institute of Standards

[9:58] and Technology's cybersecurity framework has been developed

[10:01] as a free resource to help organizations

[10:04] improve their cybersecurity practices

[10:06] through a practical approach

[10:08] to addressing evolving threats and challenges.

[10:11] And whereas maintaining the security of cyberspace

[10:14] space is a shared responsibility in which each of us has a critical role to play.

[10:19] And awareness of computer security essentials will improve the security of Washington County's

[10:23] information, infrastructure, and economy.

[10:26] And whereas the federal government of the United States of America, the U.S. Department

[10:31] of Homeland Security, the multi-state information sharing and analysis center, the National

[10:36] Association of State Chief Information Officers, and the National Cybersecurity Alliance

[10:42] all recognize October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month and all citizens

[10:48] are encouraged to visit these websites and the Cyber Security Awareness Month

[10:52] website to learn about cybersecurity to put that knowledge into practice in

[10:57] their homes, schools, workplaces and businesses. Now therefore be it resolved

[11:02] that Washington County Board of Commissioners does hereby proclaim the

[11:06] month of October 24 as Cyber Security Awareness Month and recognizes that

[11:11] maintaining the security of cyberspace is a shared responsibility, which each of us has

[11:16] a critical role.

[11:18] Thank you, Phil.

[11:19] I'd look for a motion to support this.

[11:22] I'll move the motion to adopt the resolution to recognize October 2024 as Cybersecurity

[11:29] Awareness Month.

[11:31] Second.

[11:32] Thank you.

[11:36] Motion by Commissioner Kloss and second by Commissioner Crease, Commissioner Kloss.

[11:40] Any comments?

[11:41] Yeah, I just wanted to comment, Phil, thank you so much for bringing this forward.

[11:45] It's very important that we keep secure our information and the AI cyber attacks are just

[11:53] getting more and more complicated and targeted.

[11:56] And it is scary to see these stories that come out about somebody who has been targeted

[12:01] by a cyber attack.

[12:03] So thank you so much for bringing this forward.

[12:05] I appreciate the information.

[12:06] Thank you.

[12:08] Make sure Crystal.

[12:09] Thank you.

[12:09] So, yeah, I just want to say how pleased I have been recognizing the tsunami of cyber

[12:23] attacks that RIT department deals with on a probably a minute-by-minute basis, I mean,

[12:31] and they're sophisticated.

[12:32] And the good news is, RIT is more sophisticated, and I just have very proud of Adam and his

[12:41] whole team of professionals doing a great job.

[12:45] And I'm also pleased with our county board's support to provide any resources that are

[12:53] necessary to continue to protect us, but I couldn't be more happy than with the

[13:01] job of RIT department is doing. Thank you, Phil, for that.

[13:07] Well said, Commissioner. If there's no further comment, we have a motion in second. We'll

[13:15] go to roll call, Stephanie. Commissioner Miran.

[13:18] Aye. Commissioner Carrizo.

[13:19] Aye. Commissioner Bigham.

[13:21] Aye. Commissioner Claeson.

[13:22] Aye. Commissioner Karwaski.

[13:24] Aye. The solution passes 5-0.

[13:26] Thank you again, Phil. Thank you.

[13:29] Next on the agenda is Item 5, Public Health and the Environment, Caleb Johnson, Community

[13:36] Environment Health Program Manager, Senior Manager.

[13:41] Welcome.

[13:43] Good morning, Chair and Commissioners.

[13:45] Well, it was an exciting day here bringing the Solid Waste Management Plan to you, and

[13:50] shout out to IT.

[13:51] They are fantastic for us in public health.

[13:53] We love them, so it's very excited.

[13:56] Today we're bringing to you the final draft for your consideration for adoption of the

[14:03] Washington County Solid Waste Management Plan.

[14:06] We public health and the Board have had a good conversation throughout the year about this,

[14:10] but today I'll provide a little additional background so the public who we don't expect

[14:15] is necessarily tuned into every meeting gets some insight into how this is unfolded

[14:20] here.

[14:23] So we'll go through the management plan itself and the overview of that.

[14:27] that we'll talk a little bit about the board workshops

[14:29] that we've held throughout the summer.

[14:31] We'll talk about the management plan elements itself

[14:34] so the public can get a sense of the chapters

[14:36] that are in there and how we're achieving the goals

[14:38] to reduce solid waste and increase recycling

[14:41] and waste reduction.

[14:43] And we'll bring to you our official request

[14:45] and talk about those next steps.

[14:49] So as a reminder,

[14:50] the solid waste management plan

[14:52] is a statute-driven process.

[14:54] So state statute requires that the seven metro county area adopt individual

[15:00] Dual county management plans that are based on a state policy plan.

[15:05] So the Pollution Control Agency is responsible for kicking off the process by releasing a plan

[15:11] shown here, the 2022-2024 plan in blue.

[15:15] It's a six-year cycle that planning goes through.

[15:18] So every six years, we refresh the plan and we reset that 20-year horizon to look into

[15:23] the future and then guide our actions as the county around solid waste management.

[15:28] So, Statute 473.803 is what requires all of this.

[15:35] This is a fantastic opportunity for the county to continually reset its vision,

[15:40] being the county of landfill number one, Lake Jane landfill,

[15:44] and the public health issues that we know are related to that landfill,

[15:48] and the damage done to the environment.

[15:52] We today are bringing to you this draft plan before all other seven counties.

[15:57] So we're very excited about that. We would have done it on the same day as Ramsey County

[16:01] We don't have a board meeting next week. That was when they're going. So all things equal we we wanted to go first here

[16:07] So we're very excited and proud of what this creates for an opportunity

[16:13] in high-level numbers we have the

[16:15] Actual objectives where we hope to move the waste in the waste hierarchy meaning where it's going to go besides a landfill

[16:24] I'm very happy to say if we look at these numbers, these are statewide numbers and in

[16:28] Washington County virtually none of our municipal solid waste goes to the landfill at all.

[16:33] So this goal of 17.6% in 2025, we've met that goal already.

[16:39] We're near zero.

[16:41] Waste to energy, that's one of our critical tools to manage waste and we do that through

[16:45] the recycling and energy center co-shared with Ramsey County.

[16:48] County, and you can see this continues on into the future. The state sees that into 2042

[16:56] this will be a fifth of the trash still managed by waste to energy. So this is a critical

[17:01] tool that we know needs to continue in the future. And moving up the hierarchy, we're

[17:07] going to be collecting organics recycling throughout the county. We're already doing

[17:11] that at drop sites. I have some exciting news to share a little bit later in the presentation

[17:15] about that. We're already meeting this traditional recycling rates, and then new to this year's

[17:21] state-driven plan is this top-line waste reduction that actually shows the reduction

[17:28] of waste, so making less of it all together. And that's been a hard thing to quantify in

[17:31] public health. It's really a challenge for us sometimes to quantify what we've prevented.

[17:36] We know good work is happening, but you can't count it when it doesn't happen.

[17:40] So this is something we're going to get more sophisticated in documenting how we've reduced

[17:44] the waste stream as well, but going up to 15 percent of the waste stream reduced in 2042.

[17:53] We're coming off of our hottest, driest September on record in Minnesota, so the importance of

[17:59] minding our environmental footprint as a county is of the utmost importance. It's more relevant

[18:06] than ever, and this plan does that through connections to several other county-level plans.

[18:11] the comprehensive plan, the groundwater plan, our mitigation plans including emergency management

[18:18] and debris management, community health improvement plans, county strategic direction,

[18:23] and other key initiatives at the department level. We also connect with neighbors at Ramsey

[18:28] County and at the recycling and energy center that we share with Ramsey County. And this plan

[18:33] was adopted with deliberate focus to align it through recycling and energy so we can leverage

[18:40] our shared neighbor resources between Washington and Ramsey County together and then just a

[18:45] shout out that this really does align with the new county vision of a vibrant county embracing

[18:50] the diversity of its communities, advancing equitable access to resources and opportunities

[18:56] and prioritizing the sustainability of its natural environment.

[19:05] You all were here for these

[19:06] workshops but a reminder to the public that we did have a few touch points throughout the

[19:11] with the board, including all the way back to August 23

[19:14] when we introduced what was all gonna happen

[19:17] throughout 2024 in this planning process.

[19:21] Engagement was a critical component of this plan.

[19:24] It's reflected in the resolution we're bringing for you,

[19:27] bringing forward before you at the end of this presentation.

[19:30] And these were the groups that were critical partners

[19:33] to influence what made it into the plan

[19:35] and how we've prioritized our activities.

[19:37] just

[19:42] one really proud moment where we did reach out through the public

[19:46] schools here locally in the county and we saw that reflected back in a survey

[19:52] response where the youth voice that was reflected in that survey the age

[19:57] demographic shift was just amazing and it was just exciting to see the the

[20:03] county's future weighing in on the county's future decision-making through

[20:07] this plan.

[20:10] So the plan itself is outlined with a background and an introduction, the overarching policies,

[20:17] the governing partnerships, and several chapters covering many different sectors of waste and

[20:24] waste management.

[20:26] Some of the new chapters that you're going to see in this plan that are a reflection

[20:30] of state lessons learned throughout the last planning cycle and through engagement

[20:35] with our public include the product stewardship and extended producer

[20:39] responsibility chapter, bulky waste management, yard waste and wood waste,

[20:44] and construction and demolition waste and deconstruction. We also have a marquee

[20:50] call-out of food scrap pickup program and the work we're doing around

[20:55] organics management and the enhanced communication and outreach strategies

[21:00] that we're focusing on into the future because we know the public

[21:03] doesn't know enough about this plan and they need to.

[21:08] So this is the exciting news. Here

[21:10] we are bringing this to you for adoption today. This is also the day that 82% of our county

[21:16] residents become within reach of the new food scrap pickup program being offered by recycling

[21:23] and energy. So that's 27,670 new households able to sign up for this today. We do have

[21:32] trial kits for this moment down on the fourth floor at the public health

[21:36] offices for anybody who's located in the dark green areas on the map here or in

[21:41] the light green areas that want to sign up we have trial kits available today

[21:45] that people can come and pick up. Commissioner Muran I apologize of the

[21:50] light gray area here but you do have a new environmental center that's going

[21:54] to be opening a couple months here so district one is getting something out

[21:59] of this new plan as well.

[22:02] So the next steps are that we're bringing to

[22:05] a request to adopt this resolution that adopts the 2024-2042 Washington County Solid Waste

[22:13] Management Plan and give public health and environment the authorization to submit the

[22:18] final plan to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for their review and approval. And

[22:23] we have been collaborating with them as we've been drafting the plan.

[22:28] And then lastly, we're just so excited to implement this revised planning, get

[22:33] going on improving the health and the environment

[22:36] for our residents.

[22:38] And with that, I'll stand for questions.

[22:40] Thank you, Caleb.

[22:41] Questions of Caleb?

[22:43] Chair, I'll move the resolution to get it before us.

[22:46] I would move to adopt the resolution approving the 2024

[22:50] to 2042 Washington County Solid Waste Management Plan

[22:54] and authorize the Department of Public Health

[22:56] and Environment to submit the plan

[22:59] to the Commissioner of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

[23:01] for review and approval.

[23:02] second well should my commissioner Miran second by commissioner class and

[23:10] commissioner Miran Caleb no need to apologize for the gray area there you

[23:17] know there's good rationale for the way the program has been rolling out

[23:23] obviously you know that managing the the food scrap pickup program and and the

[23:31] Delivery directly to our facility in Newport was kind of a key factor and

[23:37] Enrolling the program out and it's been expanded. There's significant areas in Ramsey County that aren't being served yet either

[23:44] Simply because they're not doing a direct haul and we need to incorporate the technology

[23:51] at the sites that the

[23:54] Solid waste is being hauled to so there's there's good rationale in that and the important thing is

[24:01] you know, it's being utilized, the program is meeting our expectations in the communities

[24:07] that it's been rolled out to and, you know, we certainly appreciate the support from the

[24:14] state in, you know, some of the helping with the funding of some of the technology that

[24:21] was necessary to implement that program. I believe, you know, we're not only the

[24:26] first in submitting this solid waste management plan,

[24:30] but we're the first in many areas when it comes to

[24:35] solid waste management here in Washington and Ramsey County.

[24:39] And I think this board is very proud of the work

[24:42] that we've been doing for quite a number of years.

[24:45] I remember when I came on to the board in 2013,

[24:50] attending the meetings in 2012,

[24:52] this was probably one of the more controversial areas

[24:55] of discussion at that time and whether or not we were going to invest in this

[25:01] facility and Commissioner Creasel was somewhat of a stalwart there but I

[25:08] think you know that that thought process evolved and we developed a really good

[25:16] agreement and a really good program because of some of the consternation on

[25:21] the part of, you know, commissioners in this area. But, you know, I look at the every six

[25:29] years it seems almost a little overkill on the program and yet I see how much change has

[25:37] occurred in the last six years. And it truly is important that, you know, we stay abreast

[25:45] with the technology, the changes in the work that we're doing, and so I'm really pleased

[25:52] with the amount of effort you had a slide there with all of the meetings and that type

[25:58] of thing, the volunteers that we had, the people with various expertise in this area

[26:04] that contributed immensely to helping pull our solid waste management plan together along

[26:10] with yourself and public health and environment.

[26:13] I think it truly was a team effort and just a good program.

[26:22] I would encourage our residents to make connections with our recycling and energy center.

[26:29] We're happy to host groups there and do tours so that people can actually see and understand

[26:36] their waste production and where their waste is going and how it's being managed.

[26:42] And I think, you know, people become familiar with that and they see that the zero-waste

[26:50] goal, and I know it's not zero-waste on your chart there, I think is more attainable.

[26:58] I think people will recognize the impact of their waste and the trash and the effort.

[27:05] But I think we're doing a good job in this plan, certainly, brings us forward.

[27:13] Thank you so much for the presentation and bringing this forward.

[27:17] I had made a comment that the entire plan is in the packet and I was scrolling and scrolling.

[27:23] I think the packet was like 340 pages.

[27:28] So thank you for putting it into the packet and letting people really see what this plan

[27:33] is about.

[27:35] you know, the legislature in 1971 required that we have some type of solid waste plan that the

[27:43] MPCA requires this of us. So this is something that we have to do. But we do it. We're doing it

[27:50] so well. And I agree with Commissioner Miran's comments about, you know, we're the first

[27:57] of many for the, you know, not only solid waste plan, but also conserving land and clean water

[28:06] protections. And we continue to do that and try and be, you know, good environmental stewards.

[28:14] And I think the county and you, as well as Dave Rummel and Stephanie's shooter and suitor

[28:20] and the additional staff, you guys are experts

[28:24] in what you're doing and it's people are becoming,

[28:28] like we're becoming the ones that people look to

[28:30] to see what are we gonna be doing next.

[28:33] And I really appreciate you taking the time

[28:35] to consider comments from the commissioners,

[28:38] asking to make sure that our solid waste plan,

[28:44] matches or at least

[28:48] compatible to Ramsey County because we do work with them so much on the recycling

[28:54] and energy and I think that that is something that we also added to the

[29:00] solid waste plan so that it's more of a picture and more of a it tells a story

[29:05] our plan does than it then it has in the past so I'm actually really pleased

[29:12] and proud of the results in front of us today you know I also think that you know

[29:18] the legislature in 2014 required all agencies and the counties to achieve

[29:23] recycling rates of 75% and higher by 2030 and we're already there and as you

[29:31] just mentioned none of our garbage in those areas that we talked about are

[29:37] going to the landfill.

[29:39] And that's a big accomplishment that many around the state wish they could say as well.

[29:46] And when I went to Kowalski's at the grocery store and I put away my, and I was throwing

[29:50] away my garbage and it said waste to landfill, I was confident that that was what was happening.

[29:57] and I

[30:00] And I'm happy that that is something that people can take away from this because there's

[30:03] a lot of work that goes into it. And you guys are doing an amazing job at reducing the waste

[30:09] stream and helping people, you know, reduce their carbon footprint. And I think that's

[30:13] what we're, this is intended to do. So kudos, double star, gold star, double checks. I really

[30:22] applause. Thank you.

[30:25] for sure big um yeah thank you it's a it's a great plan and I've always enjoyed

[30:30] this process I think that the feedback that the commissioners provided I was

[30:34] very well accepted and the one thing that I like about this plan is it

[30:39] demonstrates that Washington County is not stagnant when it comes to this area

[30:46] and I appreciate the additions that you did add I think one of the areas

[30:53] is that really had a lot of change to it was PFAS

[30:56] because of what the federal government, the EPA,

[30:59] set the limits for human exposure for the first time

[31:04] and the timeline, I think is important.

[31:06] I think it's important because we have

[31:09] our local municipalities who we work in concert with

[31:13] and they're gonna struggle meeting these limits,

[31:18] whether it's Woodbury, whether it's Stillwater,

[31:23] cottage grove, they all are going to struggle with how to mitigate those concerns with the

[31:31] water levels. And so I just think it was important for public transparency to have

[31:35] the timelines in there and the levels in there in that. So I think it was a very good

[31:41] addition that you put in there. And again, I just want to highlight that

[31:46] But just the document shows that we are just constantly moving along and progressing in

[31:55] this area and our leaders in this.

[31:58] And I think that that's important to demonstrate.

[32:00] So thank you.

[32:03] Commissioner Bigum, I wanted to point out that the Newport facility, which you represent

[32:09] Newport, is such a critical, the recycling energy building there, so critical, the effort

[32:16] of the Solid Waste Management Plan and your leadership on the facilities and finance,

[32:21] cheering that is instrumental in your communication with the city of Newport and having a good partner

[32:29] with Newport and there's been a lot of things done to mitigate

[32:36] order order I was searching was there anything done with sound but maybe not

[32:43] but the order and a lot of investment there so thank you for your leadership there

[32:51] and Commissioner Maron you're chairing the energy and recycling energy board is

[32:58] critical also can we share a crease over do you like that anything yeah I'd

[33:02] I'd like to recognize Commissioner Begum

[33:05] for having that facility in her district.

[33:09] They do just a great job

[33:11] and respond to any concerns that Newport has in such

[33:17] and they've really improved that

[33:20] from older containment and things like that.

[33:25] So I appreciate that.

[33:27] Also appreciate the great relationship

[33:31] we have with Ramsey County. I know that goes back to when they had the solid

[33:36] waste management coordinating board back at Dick Stafford days and and the

[33:43] Green Guardian and things like that. It was a it was a great committee and that

[33:48] evolved into the R&E board and I'd just like to say Ramsey County provided

[33:57] a tremendous leadership with Commissioner Reinhardt, Victoria Reinhardt. She's going to be

[34:04] stepping down this year and I'm confident that Ramsey County, it's going to be hard to replace her

[34:11] because she's just been so great to work with. I know Commissioner Maron, you and

[34:19] Commissioner Reinhardt have a great relationship and that's very meaningful. I just want to

[34:26] Command Caleb in the public health environment. This is a great plan. I know there's a lot

[34:33] of effort goes into this and things like that. And I think you did a superb job looking

[34:39] forward to the yard waste, free waste in the central district. I know I appreciate

[34:45] the work you're doing. I do know the lower Valley communities appreciate what you're

[34:53] doing and keeping them informed and hopefully that will become a reality.

[35:00] But other than that, the other thing, the R&E facility is self-sustaining.

[35:05] There's no direct support from levy support or no use of CEC funding.

[35:12] Is that right, Commissioner Maron?

[35:16] Right.

[35:16] I just want to point that out to the public.

[35:18] So it's a great plan, supported, thanks Caleb.

[35:25] Any other comments from the board?

[35:29] Maybe in closing, Caleb, thank you for your leadership.

[35:34] And there's a lot of staff members.

[35:36] I know we've got some in the audience,

[35:38] so it takes a good team effort.

[35:40] I think I totally agree also with the commissioner's comments

[35:45] they made this morning on the board.

[35:47] very good comments and if it's okay with the board we'll not read the

[35:54] resolution on this one and we'll if there's no further comment we will move

[36:00] to a vote on adopting the resolution the motion was made by Commissioner Miran

[36:04] second by Commissioner Klosson. Stephanie roll call please. Commissioner Miran?

[36:10] Aye. Commissioner Creasel? Aye. Commissioner Bigham? Aye. Commissioner Klosson?

[36:15] Hi.

[36:15] Commissioner Karwaski.

[36:16] Hi.

[36:17] Resolution passes 5-0.

[36:19] Thank you again, Kale.

[36:21] Thank you, commissioners.

[36:23] We'll move to public works.

[36:25] Joe Gustafson, traffic engineer, item A. Good morning and welcome.

[36:33] I must say, our state recognized national recognized traffic engineer.

[36:39] Good morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners.

[36:41] I'm here this morning to ask for a resolution of support

[36:45] to convert the intersection of County Road 12

[36:48] at Brick Street to always stop control.

[36:52] In my presentation this morning,

[36:54] we'll do a quick review of the intersection location

[36:56] and characteristics, talk about what we've heard

[36:58] from residents in the city,

[37:00] review our findings and the staff recommendation,

[37:03] discuss the proposed timeline if the Board were

[37:06] to approve these improvements or these changes

[37:08] and finally end with a request for a resolution to approve an all-way stop on

[37:14] County State 8 Highway 12 at Brick Street in the city of Stillwater. The

[37:20] location highlighted on the map here again is on County State 8 Highway 12

[37:26] which is known at this location as Myrtle Street. If you go just a little

[37:29] bit to the west it becomes 75th Street as it heads over towards Modemidae. It

[37:34] is a four-legged intersection that currently operates as a two-way stop

[37:38] with stop control for the northbound and southbound approaches is within a 30

[37:43] mile per hour zone but it is very near to a 50 mile per hour zone just to the

[37:47] west and it's also located at a transition area from the urban the old

[37:53] grid portion of Stillwater to a less dense area as you head to the west. There

[37:58] are sidewalks on both sides of County 12 in this area and on the west side of

[38:02] Brick Street. There is also a residential street to the north which is

[38:06] Birchwood Drive, which has no sidewalks at this time.

[38:12] We were approached by residents that expressed concerns about the lack of controlled crossings

[38:18] in this area and their desire to reach trails that are in the area of Lake McCusick, which

[38:23] is just to the north of this area that does have a number of trails around it.

[38:27] They were concerned with traffic speeds that routinely exceed 30 miles per hour.

[38:31] We do have a radar sign out there that does help and advises people of their speed

[38:35] as they come into town. But even though it's effective, it's not 100 percent effective

[38:39] by any means. There are concerns about sight lines in both directions. This area is located

[38:44] within a curve. And the volumes are fairly high. So some are concerned about lack of

[38:49] gaps even if their sight lines and ability to judge those is good.

[38:55] We were originally approached essentially with a blank request that seemed to suggest

[39:01] that they were looking for some crosswalk signage or markings. So we did evaluate

[39:04] evaluate that as a possibility. They also mentioned the possibility of some button-activated

[39:09] flashing signs. We evaluated possible geometric changes such as a center island and finally

[39:15] changes to intersection control that could have included an always stop or a roundabout

[39:19] or a traffic signal. So we looked at all of these. We did some data collection by

[39:24] visiting the site to look at the site conditions. We reviewed the pedestrian network in this

[39:29] area where the different places that connect up to the north where these pedestrians

[39:33] and they're saying they would like to go.

[39:35] And also the corridor, what are the other features

[39:38] within this corridor that people might want to cross to

[39:40] and what types of volumes might we see at those locations?

[39:44] So for example, we have the JC ball fields,

[39:47] which is just two blocks to the west of here.

[39:49] We have Ramsey Grove Park,

[39:50] which is one block to the east of here.

[39:51] So there's crossing desires throughout this corridor.

[39:56] And we wanted to figure out how does this rate

[39:58] relative to other places within the corridor.

[40:01] door. We collected intersection counts and created a traffic model, which you see a screenshot

[40:05] of here. And our findings were that the intersection does not meet official warrants for always

[40:11] stops or a signal. So that's an important consideration for us. But we also determined

[40:16] that crosswalk signs or flashers would likely be unsatisfactory in performance. We know

[40:21] that crosswalk markings themselves are not a safety device. And blinking yellow lights

[40:25] do not actually reassign right of way. So we expected that even if we were to pursue

[40:30] those, these residents would be coming back asking for more. Our past experience says

[40:35] that these types of devices in the long run are not meeting expectations. And always stop

[40:42] at Brick Street could operate without excessive queues or delays. So even though it wasn't

[40:48] quite meeting those criteria, it seemed like it will operate well based on the model.

[40:51] And another benefit of that is there's an existing right turn lane for traffic

[40:56] that's coming from the west to turn south on Brick Street, which based on the model is not needed with an always stop.

[41:03] So that would offer us an opportunity to possibly narrow up that crossing narrower than what it is today.

[41:11] In February 22 of this year, county staff shared a preliminary recommendation with these residents

[41:17] and with some city staff that we were leaning towards always stop control.

[41:21] That was well received and on July 14th this year.

[41:25] The Stillwater City Council approved a resolution to install

[41:28] Always Stop Control at this intersection.

[41:32] So just a quick review of the timeline.

[41:34] A lot of the genesis of this was the addition of a sidewalk to Brick Street,

[41:38] which did not previously have sidewalks.

[41:40] So that's bringing more people to this intersection.

[41:43] So they approached us in 2023.

[41:46] And again, in those discussions earlier this year,

[41:50] expressing those concerns and looking for some changes to the intersection. We

[41:54] completed our analysis and provided that recommendation. One thing I want to make

[41:58] sure to mention that's not on here is early this year in April, we hired our

[42:02] new assistant traffic engineer, Zach Raven, who helped me put this

[42:05] presentation together and help keep the ball rolling on this despite our

[42:09] busy schedules. And the City Council approved a resolution supporting the

[42:19] to install this within this month, October 2024, along with a temporary closure of that

[42:24] existing right turn lane. We believe that this will help draw driver attention to the

[42:30] change in traffic control and also provide a proof of concept for how the intersection

[42:34] would operate if we were to explore permanently removing that right turn lane in the future.

[42:39] That's something that would require more road construction. That's not explicitly programmed

[42:43] right now, but this offers us an opportunity to see just how well that works. The model

[42:50] suggests it works well, but it's always good to try things in real life when you can.

[42:55] And so then before winter, though, before the snow plows are out there, we want to

[42:59] make sure to get those drums and barrels off the road. So that would be a relatively

[43:03] short experiment.

[43:07] Allway stops are not a cure-all. They do have downsides. They're

[43:10] a useful method to control the right-of-way assignment at intersections, and they can

[43:14] be effective in reducing certain crash types. We weren't seeing an actual crash problem

[43:19] at this intersection. It was more difficulty finding gaps to cross and for people making

[43:25] that left turn because this serves as kind of an unofficial connection between County

[43:29] Road 5 and County Road 12 for people that are coming northbound. Always stops can

[43:34] increase delays and traffic noise and they can potentially increase other crash types

[43:39] such as rear-end crashes. So these are not appropriate for every intersection but

[43:42] that's why we took a strategic look at this corridor to figure out which of these locations

[43:47] would make the most sense. And what we found here was this one had on average the best

[43:52] connectivity and also the highest volume. The amount of volume passing back and forth

[43:58] on the county road is actually quite comparable to the amount of traffic that is coming

[44:02] north on Brick Street. So it's not exactly 50-50, but it was surprisingly close.

[44:09] So, the requested Board action this morning is to adopt a resolution authorizing the installation

[44:14] of appropriate signs to establish an all-way stop condition at the intersection of County

[44:19] State Aid 12, known as Myrtle Street at this location, at its intersection with Brick Street,

[44:25] South, and Birchwood Drive in the city of Stillwater.

[44:28] And with that, I will stand for questions.

[44:31] Thank you, Joe.

[44:32] Mr. Kreisel.

[44:32] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[44:34] I would move that resolution.

[44:36] Second.

[44:38] Okay, we have a motion by Commissioner Creasel, second by Commissioner Bigum, Commissioner

[44:43] Creasel.

[44:44] Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Joe, for the good presentation.

[44:48] I agree if we didn't take action with it, certainly be here at the residence.

[44:54] This has a lot to do about pedestrian safety.

[44:58] They have that.

[44:58] I don't know.

[45:00] If name escapes me right now or that apartment complex, but we met with them a few months ago

[45:09] and City of Stillwater staff was there and everybody is pretty much in agreement that

[45:15] this would be a great safety improvement. As you know, Brick Street gets quite busy.

[45:23] people coming off of five trying to access 12 to go to the west during rush

[45:31] hour and other times it's a it's kind of a main main connector Brook Street is so

[45:37] this is I think it's gonna be pretty good for pedestrian safety there's a lot

[45:45] of walkers they want to be across north and south so I strongly support this and

[45:51] I appreciate the work of our public works bringing this forward.

[45:54] Thank you, Commissioner.

[45:56] Thank you.

[45:57] Commissioner Begum.

[45:58] Thank you.

[45:58] Thank you, Joe, for your work on this.

[46:01] Folks have not seen Joe in action when he is evaluating one of these intersections.

[46:06] It's something to watch just so you know I've seen it personally, so thank you for

[46:11] doing this.

[46:12] I can understand why you're a national board winning engineer.

[46:15] So I just want to compliment Commissioner Creasel's leadership on this.

[46:19] he's like a dog on a bone with this,

[46:22] making sure that this got done for the residents there

[46:26] in this area for safety and just for pedestrian crossing

[46:32] and really just to make sure that the flow

[46:36] is going good there for traffic,

[46:38] because it is a busy area.

[46:39] And I know it was a big concern,

[46:40] so I appreciate your leadership there with the city as well.

[46:44] Thank you, Commissioner, anyone else?

[46:48] Joe, good overview, good background.

[46:51] I was wondering, and maybe Commissioner Creasville and Joe, would you know this, will this impede

[46:56] any traffic getting to Nelson's ice cream, is it like somewhere in the area?

[47:01] That's always a concern of mine.

[47:04] I don't think so, Joe.

[47:06] It will take a little longer if you're coming from the West, but fortunately they don't

[47:10] serve you the ice cream.

[47:11] Okay.

[47:11] It won't melt.

[47:13] You don't want to eat or drive.

[47:14] You don't want to be nice cream and driving. Good point. Good point. Well, we

[47:20] appreciate that commissure Creasel's leadership, you know, still water well, so um

[47:27] If there's no further comment, we this is a resolution we'll move to

[47:34] Stephanie roll call, please

[47:35] Mr. Miran. Hi to Mr. Creasel. Hi, Mr. Bigam. Hi, Mr. Clawson. Hi, Commissioner Karwaski. Hi

[47:43] Resolution passes five zero. Thank you, John.

[47:49] We'll move to item seven on the agenda of property records and taxpayer services

[47:53] Amy Stentenagel. Did I get that right? You did commissioner. Yes. Thank you

[47:59] Good morning, Mr. Chair commissioners. My name is Amy Stentenagel and I am the director of property records and taxpayer services

[48:05] Thank you for the opportunity to be here today

[48:07] I am here to honor the employees and the property records and taxpayer services department and ask that we declare October 7

[48:14] through 11th, 2024 as customer service week here in Washington County.

[48:19] Since 1992 in the U.S., the first full week in October was proclaimed National Customer

[48:24] Service Week by Congress to recognize the work of customer service professionals throughout

[48:28] the year and the importance of that work in a wide range of businesses including government.

[48:34] The employees in the property records and taxpayer services department serve county

[48:37] customers and residents on a daily basis, face-to-face at a number of locations throughout

[48:42] the county.

[48:42] We are here today to recognize the high-quality service they provide and to share our appreciation.

[48:48] And we have a resolution before you today requesting that you proclaim this week Customer

[48:52] Service Week in Washington County, and if it's okay with you, Mr. Chair, I'll go ahead

[48:56] and read the resolution.

[48:57] Yes, please.

[48:59] All right.

[48:59] Resolution honoring County staff and employees of the Department of Property Records and

[49:03] Taxpayer Services during Customer Service Week October 7th through 11th, 2024, whereas

[49:09] the purpose of the work of Washington County employees is to serve the resident

[49:12] of Washington County and whereas the mission of Washington County is that we strive to provide

[49:17] exceptional services that enhance quality of life and promote a safe, healthy and welcoming community

[49:22] for all and whereas the employees at Washington County live this mission every day providing a

[49:28] wide variety of quality external and internal services and whereas the people who make up the

[49:33] staff of the county's property records and taxpayer services department have extensive

[49:37] of technical knowledge and serve county residents on a daily basis at a number of locations

[49:42] throughout the county.

[49:44] And whereas prompt, friendly and accurate customer service is a requirement of that staff doing

[49:49] its job well and serving county residents with its utmost ability and whereas it is

[49:53] fitting to recognize the supreme customer service that staff provides while fulfilling

[49:58] its role of providing service to the residents of Washington County.

[50:01] Now therefore be it resolved that the Washington County Board of Commissioners wishes to

[50:05] extend its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all employees of Washington County for the

[50:09] quality services they provide and be it further resolved that the Washington County Board of

[50:14] Commissioners wishes to specifically acknowledge property records and taxpayer services staff

[50:18] for its matchless customer service to all residents of Washington County and be it

[50:23] further resolved that in the light of that appreciation the Washington County Board of

[50:27] Commissioners proclaims October 7th through 11th 2024 customer service week in Washington

[50:33] County to publicly state that appreciation. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll stand for any comments or

[50:38] questions. Thank you, Amy. I'd look for a motion. Board, I will, Chair, I will move to adopt the

[50:46] resolution honoring staff in the property records and taxpayer services department and declare an

[50:50] October 7th through the 11th 2024 customer service week in Washington County. Second.

[50:58] Okay.

[50:59] Motion by Commissioner Klassen, second by Commissioner Begum.

[51:02] Commissioner Klassen.

[51:04] Thank you so much for the presentation.

[51:07] Your department has Supreme customer service.

[51:11] You're right.

[51:12] It's Supreme.

[51:13] What other heartfelt thanks, I mean that is really what it is.

[51:17] It's quality services and they continue to exceed the expectations.

[51:22] They're doing amazing work and I'm so excited for them to have the new central service

[51:26] Center which everyone always enjoys a new location and also the amount of pride

[51:33] that I have in the election staff. I just saw two this morning and we talked

[51:38] about what you know all the things that they're they're doing and they got all

[51:41] of the primary election voter information updated before the 10,000

[51:48] applications that were completed. So kudos to your team. Every day I see them

[51:54] They have a smile on their face.

[51:56] If it's not in the, you know, getting my license renewed or, you know, talking to elections,

[52:01] they are excited to perform the services.

[52:05] And that's really what we do in county is we have to provide those quality services

[52:10] to our constituents.

[52:11] So thank you.

[52:15] Thank you.

[52:16] Thank you.

[52:16] This is a fantastic resolution and it is just wonderful that we're able to recognize

[52:23] and I'm going to pass this resolution because I have to say, and I think I've said this

[52:28] numerous times, but your staff is probably the front line, front phase, the number one

[52:35] interactors of residents that they will more than likely have interaction with any of our

[52:40] staff, maybe besides libraries, would be your staff.

[52:44] And so the incredible work and effort and service that they provide is just amazing.

[52:52] and as you said it is superb so and they are earning their keep with the

[52:57] elections and all the legislation that changes that I don't think the folks up

[53:03] in St. Paul think about your staff when they make the changes and how it impacts

[53:07] them. So just appreciate their dedication and their hard work and thank you for

[53:13] bringing this forward. Thank you Commissioner Mann. Just a very well

[53:17] written resolution. It almost has the taste of a former library director involved in writing

[53:25] resolution. But, you know, certainly customer service is key to our success in serving the

[53:34] public here in Washington County. And, you know, as a board member, I just so much appreciate

[53:39] the dedication there is. And it's not always an easy job. I know, you know, sometimes

[53:46] times, hours of service are an issue as well and we've made adjustments to that over time.

[53:52] I think, you know, we just got such good people serving the public here in Washington County

[53:58] and appreciate all of the work that they do.

[54:02] Thank you.

[54:03] Can we share?

[54:04] Grisel?

[54:04] Thank you.

[54:05] I agree with the comments that the commissioners have made.

[54:09] the employees here staff continue to impress. They're very committed. They're very serious

[54:20] in what they do, and they put in a lot of effort. They're the face of the county in

[54:27] many cases, and I believe they just do an outstanding job. Thank you for your leadership.

[54:35] Any other comments?

[54:39] Amy, good leadership.

[54:41] We appreciate your employees.

[54:43] I wanted to point out this specific resolution is recognizing the property records and taxpayer

[54:50] services department of your director position.

[54:56] I agree with the commissioner's comments.

[55:00] There has been a motion by Commissioner Clausson,

[55:03] second by Commissioner Bigum to adopt the resolution

[55:07] honoring staff in the property records

[55:10] and taxpayer services department

[55:11] and declaring October 7th through 11th, 2024,

[55:16] customer service week in Washington County.

[55:20] There's no further comments.

[55:21] We'll move to roll call, Stephanie, please.

[55:24] Commissioner Miran.

[55:25] Aye.

[55:25] Commissioner Creasel.

[55:26] Aye.

[55:26] Commissioner Bigum.

[55:27] Aye.

[55:28] Commissioner Klossin.

[55:29] Hi.

[55:29] Commissioner Kowalski.

[55:31] Hi.

[55:31] Resolution passes 5-0.

[55:34] Thank you, Amy.

[55:36] And now we'll move to Item 8 on the agenda, General Administration.

[55:40] Kevin Corbett.

[55:41] Good morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners.

[55:43] Item 8 will be presented by Emily Jorgensen.

[55:47] Welcome, Emily.

[55:52] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[55:53] Emily Jorgensen, Planning Manager with Administration.

[55:56] I'm here today to talk to you about Imagine 2050, the Regional Development Guide, and

[56:01] any comment letter prepared by staff on behalf of the board.

[56:04] And we did have a workshop on this item last week

[56:06] so we're mostly updating you on the changes that we made.

[56:11] So go over very highly what is Imagine 2050.

[56:15] We'll give you a review of those policy plan area comments

[56:18] a little bit about the overall Imagine 2050 timeline

[56:20] and then we'll get into the approval of the letter.

[56:24] Well, I'll give a summary of those comments

[56:26] from our workshop last week.

[56:28] I do wanna note that while I'm up here today

[56:29] this was a very kind of a collaborative process

[56:32] as leveraging a lot of the technical expertise

[56:35] of the planners throughout the organization.

[56:37] So a lot of kudos to all of our departments who are involved.

[56:41] What is Imagine 2050?

[56:43] So this is a plan that's developed

[56:44] by the Metropolitan Council

[56:46] as they are our Metropolitan Planning Organization

[56:48] and the Local Planning Authority

[56:50] for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

[56:52] Under State Law, Met Council is responsible

[56:54] for producing what's usually a 30 year plan

[56:56] and also known as the Regional Development Guide

[56:59] for the Twin Cities area.

[57:00] If you've been around long enough,

[57:01] remember the last one was called Thrive 2040. That was adopted in May 2014. Imagine 2050

[57:08] again is our regional development guide. It is in draft form so that's why they're asking

[57:12] for comments. For us what this means is this is the beginning of the 2050 comprehensive

[57:17] plan process. So imagine 2050 contains policy plans on land use, transportation, regional

[57:23] parks, housing and water.

[57:27] So we'll get into the first policy plan area which is

[57:30] land use.

[57:33] So the land use policy plan guides land use planning for the entire region. As

[57:37] the board recalls, we have very limited land use control as Washington County. Our comment

[57:42] themes really support the interconnected nature of all the systems covered in Imagine

[57:46] 2050, highlighting the need to protect habitat and water resources, and reflecting our role

[57:52] in land use and the Land and Water Legacy Program. We also provided some comments

[57:57] on staging development apologize for the typo in there of stagging we meant staging development

[58:01] to protect their remaining aggregate resources reflecting what we heard from the county board

[58:06] last week during workshop.

[58:10] Moving right along to our transportation policy plan. The transportation

[58:14] policy plan covers highway transit freight and bicycle pedestrian. Our comments are centered

[58:20] on the regional solicitation which is a federal grant process encouraging that council to ensure

[58:24] that process meets our regional goals, asking that geographic equity should be considered

[58:29] when making transportation investments, particularly when considering the vital role that suburban

[58:33] rural areas play in transportation. We ask that safety improvements and initiatives

[58:38] continue to be emphasized. And then added from last week, we added some comment centered

[58:43] on ensuring that the communities that participate in the transit taxing districts

[58:47] do see something for their participation. And then asking also for further collaboration

[58:52] on microtransit services and other transit service types

[58:57] beyond kind of that classic commuter model.

[59:04] Moving into our regional parks policy and trails plan,

[59:08] this covers a policy for regional parks

[59:10] for the entire region.

[59:11] It includes changes to current policies

[59:13] like long range plan requirements,

[59:16] funding caps, recreational uses, natural systems, and more.

[59:19] Our comment centered on asking for policies

[59:22] that acknowledge the variability

[59:23] in the park and trail system

[59:25] them. And then the variety of needs from implementation agencies, as we call Conor Schaefer last week

[59:30] noted that Cuomo Regional Park and Big Marine Regional Park are under the same system, but

[59:34] they have very different needs. So asking the Met Council to kind of create policy

[59:38] that reflects that variety. We provided comments that support streamlined processes

[59:43] and increased coordination on new initiatives. You reflected in the plan while also encouraging

[59:47] the Met Council to continue to provide only a high level guidance. We are seeking

[59:52] support for increased demands and funding challenges that regional parks are facing,

[59:56] including a more sustainable funding formula.

[1:00:00] And we also add comment seeking regional support for coordination on tourism efforts, invasive

[1:00:04] species management, accessibility and mobility, and coordination on land protection, similar

[1:00:09] to the role that the county's land and water legacy program currently plays.

[1:00:18] Moving along to our water policy plan, this covers water resource planning for the entire

[1:00:22] metro, includes the council's role in managing the wastewater treatment system, surface water

[1:00:27] monitoring and planning, and water supply planning.

[1:00:30] Our county groundwater plan is currently being drafted and updated and works to coordinate

[1:00:35] with partners for protection.

[1:00:37] Council staff participated in the county's process.

[1:00:40] County staff participated in the council's process.

[1:00:42] A lot of strong collaboration there.

[1:00:45] In our comments here, kind of note the importance of water resources in Washington

[1:00:50] County, our groundwater plan efforts, and the impact that PFAS are having on both

[1:00:55] wastewater and drinking water management.

[1:00:56] We also ask for clarification around the agency's roles, as identified in Imagine 2050.

[1:01:02] Support for increased funding for well and septic replacement.

[1:01:05] Support for safe water use and encourage more coordination from the Met Council with local

[1:01:09] governments and the NPCA on decentralized wastewater treatment system planning, use

[1:01:15] and subsurface sewage treatment systems.

[1:01:21] And the last policy plan is our housing policy plan.

[1:01:25] This was truly under more of the purview of the Community Development Authority or agency.

[1:01:31] So we did have Melissa Tapphorn participate, and there was a letter submitted by the CDA

[1:01:36] to the Met Council already.

[1:01:37] You will see an updated letter in your packets that did reflect some of the comments that

[1:01:41] Melissa heard last week.

[1:01:43] Overall, the policy plan leverages a lot of the work that the Met Council did 10

[1:01:46] years ago, which was the first housing plan in 30 years as part of Thrive 2040.

[1:01:50] this time they're focusing really on proximity, choice,

[1:01:53] dignity, decency, connection, and well-being.

[1:01:55] All of that is split into those three policy areas

[1:01:58] of provide, plan, and partner.

[1:02:00] The county's comments for this section

[1:02:01] do just affirm that CDA letter of what we found there,

[1:02:04] where they encourage fair housing and geographic choice,

[1:02:07] options to own and rent, stability, equity,

[1:02:09] and future affordable housing needs by local jurisdiction.

[1:02:15] This is just a brief timeline

[1:02:16] of where the Met Council is at in their process.

[1:02:19] So while this process did start two years ago

[1:02:20] with the research and paper authoring and community engagement, and they are now in

[1:02:26] the kind of went through the drafting of the policy and actions are now asking for public

[1:02:30] comment.

[1:02:31] Comments are due next Monday, which is why we're here before you today.

[1:02:34] And then after that time, we would hear back from them on some of the comments, and then

[1:02:38] they'd move into that adoption implementation.

[1:02:40] That's when we would really kick off our process for our 2050 comprehensive plan.

[1:02:46] So the requested action I have for you today is approval of Washington County's

[1:02:49] comment letter to Metropolitan Council regarding the draft Imagine 2050 policy

[1:02:53] plan. Mr. Chair, I can now stand for questions. Thank you, Emily. Commissioner

[1:02:57] Bigham. Mr. Chair, I'll move approval of the Washington County's comment letter to

[1:03:01] the Met Council regarding the draft Imagine 2050 policy plan. Second. We have a

[1:03:07] motion and second. Commissioner Bigham. Thank you. Again, thank you for putting

[1:03:12] this together. I know it was a big effort. That's a big plan to go through

[1:03:16] and just appreciate staff's efforts in doing this.

[1:03:19] I'm not going to go through every section,

[1:03:21] but really appreciate the detail that has gone into this.

[1:03:26] I will say, again, really appreciate the PFAS highlights.

[1:03:30] I think whether it's letting the state know in our plans,

[1:03:33] whether the Met Council known the plans,

[1:03:35] the struggle that our communities have

[1:03:38] with the contamination and PFAS,

[1:03:41] and the difficulty it's going to be

[1:03:44] in the collaboration we need to have with them and amongst each other is important.

[1:03:48] So really appreciate highlighting that in this.

[1:03:50] And then I just want to say the transportation policy plan

[1:03:56] and the highlighting of geographic equity is very important.

[1:04:00] We're going into next year where there will be an update

[1:04:05] to the regional solicitation plan.

[1:04:07] And I just want to give a shout out to Commissioner Karwaski who serves

[1:04:10] on tabs and halls for quite a while and his leadership has been fantastic on that and

[1:04:15] really advocating for geographic equity in the regional solicitation and federal dollars

[1:04:24] and has really delivered for Washington County on federal dollars.

[1:04:27] So just appreciate his leadership on that role and that his comments and stuff were reflected

[1:04:33] in this as well.

[1:04:34] So appreciate that.

[1:04:35] Thank you, Commissioner.

[1:04:36] Commissioner Moran.

[1:04:36] Well, Metropolitan Council is an important partner with Washington County, and the comment

[1:04:43] letter, I think, takes into consideration certainly the good discussion we had in the

[1:04:49] workshop setting, and I appreciate Emily, the staff, working with us to address some

[1:04:55] of the other concerns that weren't necessarily addressed as well as what the board thought.

[1:05:01] But public doesn't always see the work behind the scenes and the effort in our workshops

[1:05:07] to provide good solid input into some of these planning documents.

[1:05:16] This is certainly an important document that's going to provide guidance for some time here

[1:05:22] and appreciate your work on that and the rest of the staff.

[1:05:26] So thank you.

[1:05:28] Commissioner Klossam.

[1:05:29] Yeah.

[1:05:29] Thank you.

[1:05:30] I appreciate and I agree with the comments made by the board.

[1:05:35] One thing that wasn't mentioned that I think is important is to talk about the housing stability

[1:05:39] and the comments that were taken into the board's comments that were taken into and put down on the letter.

[1:05:48] I really liked the fact that we are spotlighting that we are at a disadvantage in Washington County

[1:05:55] because of the allocation of housing choice vouchers.

[1:05:58] and I am glad that we put that information out there.

[1:06:02] The Met Council has an opportunity to help us more with funding,

[1:06:07] and I think it's a really important paragraph.

[1:06:11] It's also important that we talk about and encourage more project-based vouchers

[1:06:18] within our Washington County.

[1:06:21] I think that East Metro, and Washington County, we lag behind.

[1:06:27] And this is what we need in order to meet the demands of our constituents in the future.

[1:06:33] So I'm happy with the changes that were made and the feedback that was taken in and the

[1:06:41] changes that we see before us today.

[1:06:43] I really appreciate staff's effort into, again, letting the board have our comments

[1:06:50] and talk about it in the way that we do.

[1:06:53] and, like Commissioner Miran said, much of this is not in work sessions and in other conversations.

[1:07:00] And so we see ourselves as a really strong supporter and stakeholder to the Met Council

[1:07:06] and continue to have these kind of conversations with them in the future.

[1:07:13] Any other?

[1:07:14] Commissioner Crizzle?

[1:07:15] Thanks.

[1:07:16] Pretty much the same comments.

[1:07:17] And I appreciate the fact, as Commissioner Klassen mentioned, the feedback from the County

[1:07:24] Board was incorporated in the final draft and just want to give a shout out to Emily.

[1:07:30] Emily, I think you're doing a great job and appreciate your leadership.

[1:07:35] Any other comments?

[1:07:38] Yeah, I'll conclude.

[1:07:39] Emily, you appreciate your leadership.

[1:07:41] I know there's a lot of planners involved in this and staff.

[1:07:45] It was really a good document that you've worked on using what you think the will of

[1:07:52] the county board is, the knowledge of our staff.

[1:07:56] You know, I think as pointed out, I really think ours were kind of not changes, but

[1:08:02] additions that just made it a stronger comment later on the plan.

[1:08:09] I do think that Med Council's Commissioner Miron pointed out there's a good partner,

[1:08:15] an essential partner for the regional planning and this our input and the work

[1:08:22] that staff has done on our letter and the CDA's work only make the regional

[1:08:28] planning better and actually makes Med Council's partnership with Washington

[1:08:36] County even stronger as far as knowing the will of Washington County and how we can be a better

[1:08:40] county. So it's kind of a two-way information street. I definitely can agree with the other

[1:08:48] commissioner's comments and if there's no further comments we will move to a vote. We have a

[1:08:55] commissioner Bigham made the motion and commissioner Amaran seconded it and that was to approve

[1:09:01] the Washington County's comment letter to the Metropolitan Council regarding the draft

[1:09:06] Imagine 2050 policy plan. With that said, all in favor signify by aye.

[1:09:14] Aye.

[1:09:16] Opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Ayes have it. Thank you.

[1:09:21] Thank you.

[1:09:21] Thank you again.

[1:09:25] Anything else, Kevin?

[1:09:28] No, Mr. Chair.

[1:09:28] It will move to number nine, a commissioner reports,

[1:09:34] commissioner classes.

[1:09:35] Thank you.

[1:09:40] It's been a busy week.

[1:09:42] Tuesday was an open house for my district

[1:09:46] on Beley Road and Settlers Ridge.

[1:09:49] The open house was Lake Middle.

[1:09:51] It was a decent turnout.

[1:09:54] A lot of people in support of the project

[1:09:57] did get more complaints about noise

[1:09:59] and that's been an ongoing issue that I'm hearing more and more about is the

[1:10:05] noise from the high-speed roads. And so I'm just going to mention what I know

[1:10:11] people are saying to me so that they hear that I'm listening and I'm telling

[1:10:15] people that I'm hearing constituents. On Thursday we had the R&E board

[1:10:21] which Commissioner Miran and Bigham I'm sure will talk about. On 927 which

[1:10:27] Friday, we had the open Hover Door Dash event that Washington County was invited to as well.

[1:10:35] Washington County back in 2020 during the COVID pandemic began to do food deliveries.

[1:10:43] The food delivery emphasizes on nutritional and healthy food options. So these boxes are given

[1:10:51] into homes that are in need and unable to get

[1:10:55] to the food shelf.

[1:10:57] The food shelf in the beginning was a collaboration

[1:10:59] with the White Bear Lake Food Shelf and Valley Outreach.

[1:11:03] We continue to lead this program as from fundings

[1:11:08] from the American Rescue Plan,

[1:11:10] as well as the SHIP grant.

[1:11:16] So in just 2024,

[1:11:18] There's already 3,000 deliveries made into 13 zip codes in the local East Metro area.

[1:11:27] And we are supporting that and continue to do that.

[1:11:31] DoorDash is a supporter of the program and nationally does this as well and helps to

[1:11:39] this program is called Program Dash and they do this everywhere and help to get out these

[1:11:45] healthy food options to those in need of food. So very honored to be able to be

[1:11:52] there for Chair Kowalski and Tujong, Senator Tujong was there as well as

[1:11:57] Representative Leon Lilly East, the Executive Director of OpenCover as well

[1:12:05] as the OpenCover board and volunteers and staff. So it was a big event and I

[1:12:10] I was very excited to be there.

[1:12:13] This program is beloved, beloved in the community.

[1:12:18] And so just happy that the board made this decision in 2020

[1:12:21] and that we get to continue to honor and support it.

[1:12:25] And then on Saturday was the East Metro Suicide Prevention

[1:12:29] Coalition 5K.

[1:12:31] The East Metro has a variety of Woodbury mental health

[1:12:37] professionals that are involved in the 5K. Back in 2012, I believe, is when there were

[1:12:45] four students that had taken their lives. And so this suicide prevention 5K is basically

[1:12:54] about that experience. And as they continue to support nonprofits that collaborate with

[1:13:02] partners to just establish these integrated suicide prevention programs in the East Metro

[1:13:08] to give more awareness to mental health resources. So a very amazing, cool event. I saw lots

[1:13:17] of our community partners there, amazing amount of businesses that had sponsored this that

[1:13:24] are local. So very excited to be able to be a part of that. And then that Saturday

[1:13:29] Today there was also the community service department

[1:13:34] and the public health had a community wellness event

[1:13:37] at Brookview School that focused on mental health

[1:13:40] and wellness as well.

[1:13:41] So kind of a theme throughout the weekend for me.

[1:13:44] And then tonight, also there was various staff meetings

[1:13:47] that I attended throughout the week.

[1:13:49] And then tonight is the Open House Valley Creek Road

[1:13:51] corridor study at the City Hall from 430 to 630.

[1:13:55] And excited to hear more comments and questions

[1:13:58] questions about these important projects. Thanks.

[1:14:01] Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Miao. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:14:06] You and I attended a personnel committee meeting. Most of those

[1:14:09] issues were on our consent today.

[1:14:15] We continued work on some areas

[1:14:18] there that were presented to the personnel committee. The

[1:14:21] Metropolitan Mosquito Control Executive Committee met.

[1:14:25] that we failed to have a quorum. So all of the items, there was some brief discussion,

[1:14:30] but obviously no action by them, by that executive committee because of the lack of a quorum.

[1:14:38] But all of those items will be moving forward to the executive or to the full committee.

[1:14:46] And there'll also be the performance review of the Executive Director at the next meeting.

[1:14:52] we were scheduled to do that in the executive committee, but we will do that in a closed

[1:14:58] session with the full committee.

[1:15:00] As was mentioned, the recycling and energy board met. I think the main issues there were

[1:15:07] the bylaws and the joint powers agreement that will be coming forward hopefully for a vote

[1:15:15] and approval in November. The bylaws address the leadership structure, the board composition,

[1:15:23] the potential formulas for financial contribution.

[1:15:31] Legal representation, I'll note John Ristead,

[1:15:35] who is one of the attorneys,

[1:15:37] represents Washington County for the recycling

[1:15:39] and energy is also sitting up front

[1:15:42] representing the county board today.

[1:15:44] So John, we just so much appreciate your legal counsel

[1:15:49] and the work that you do here

[1:15:52] and for the recycling and energy board as well.

[1:15:56] So all of those issues will be addressed in the bylaws

[1:16:00] and the joint powers agreement.

[1:16:02] And I know that will be coming before.

[1:16:06] And those two documents really mirror one another.

[1:16:10] And this board will be reviewing the joint powers agreement.

[1:16:14] We did have an opportunity to recognize Jody Tharp

[1:16:17] who's retiring from recycling and energy board.

[1:16:21] just a fabulous contributor to the work that we've been doing there and great organizer

[1:16:29] and just so good to work with, as pleased, and to recognize her and congratulate her on

[1:16:40] her retirement.

[1:16:44] We also talked about a new position, a strategic partnership manager's position for the recycling

[1:16:53] and energy board.

[1:16:54] I think our executive director hit the ground running and is looking at those structural

[1:17:03] changes and the need for you know creating the positions that will

[1:17:12] complement the work that we're doing and then we also approved a letter of

[1:17:17] support for Commissioner Reinhardt to serve on the advisory board for the

[1:17:22] packaging response work that is is going to be done and I would just

[1:17:29] to appreciate her stepping up to the plate, even amidst her retirement as a Ramsey County

[1:17:36] Commissioner. So it's nice that she's going to remain involved. And then the partnership

[1:17:42] on Waste to Energy met, we talked about our legislative initiatives, our lobbying services.

[1:17:51] There too we approved a letter of support for Commissioner Reinhart's appointment

[1:17:57] And then we had discussion on our budget and the continued work that we're doing.

[1:18:05] That's all I have, Mr. Chair.

[1:18:06] Thank you, Commissioner Begum.

[1:18:09] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:18:10] I'm going to start off with a little bit of sad news.

[1:18:12] Louisa Malich, who served for over 20 years on our Water Conservation District,

[1:18:17] passed away this last week.

[1:18:18] in her and her husband, Jean, really are stalwarts of Cottage Grove and during Louise's tenure,

[1:18:30] Jay Riggs sent me the article where Louise was honored and recognized, but in 2007 at

[1:18:37] the Minnesota Association of State Water Conservation Districts, she was awarded in 2007 the Outstanding

[1:18:45] Supervisor Award. And then Washington County Conservation District was honored as the 2009

[1:18:52] Conservation District of the Year. And he credited her leadership throughout the years as those.

[1:18:58] So just reflects her leadership and outstanding concern for soil and water resources. But

[1:19:07] also her and she and Jean practiced what they preach on their farm. You know, it's

[1:19:15] It's really grass waterways, rotational grazing, conservation tillage, how you like them, where

[1:19:21] it's their farmer friend.

[1:19:23] And really being, you know, practicing what she preaches.

[1:19:28] And so she's going to be missing.

[1:19:30] I'm hoping we can have a moment of silence to honor.

[1:19:33] After 20 years.

[1:19:35] Thanks.

[1:19:41] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:19:42] Yeah, good.

[1:19:44] Commissioner Miran, one of the weigh-in on the floor.

[1:19:46] Yeah, if I could, you know, I've had a chance over the years to work with Louise on a number

[1:19:53] of initiatives.

[1:19:54] I considered her a good friend.

[1:19:58] She was a leader in agriculture, in conservation, and in politics here in Minnesota, and I would

[1:20:06] suggest that, you know, that leadership even extended into the national arena.

[1:20:12] just a quality individual and she and, you know, Jean complimented one another so well

[1:20:24] and she will be deeply missed, you know, in those arenas especially and certainly by her

[1:20:31] family and her friends.

[1:20:33] Absolutely, and thank you.

[1:20:35] I also attended the Red Rock Corridor meeting yesterday, which was very exciting.

[1:20:42] More transit came in and presented on their network now routes where they went over the,

[1:20:52] essentially, two new routes.

[1:20:53] One will be from Woodbury to Cottage Grove.

[1:20:55] The other one will be from Woodbury, stopping Newport going west out to the airport,

[1:20:58] which the commission during East Metro Strong, which Will Schroer really got a shout out

[1:21:06] in all of his work for the redesign, appreciated that, gets a lot of credit for that and just

[1:21:12] advocacy of the commission and this board for getting those new routes. And Sue Vento

[1:21:22] from our Met Council rep was there and appreciated that. After the R&E meeting I attended, I don't

[1:21:29] need to add on to what Commissioner Miran said. I did attend the PUC meeting with Commissioner

[1:21:36] Sanjim from Olmsted County. And they did make a unanimous decision that if it can

[1:21:45] be proven from the clean energy bill that passed last year, if it can be proven that

[1:21:52] biomass and garbage can reduce greenhouse gases compared to the other disposals.

[1:21:59] So in other words, just letting it be in the forest or else through landfills, which

[1:22:04] we know there's data that shows that our process of how we process our trash has

[1:22:11] has fewer greenhouse gases, that that will meet the standard.

[1:22:16] So that was a big benefit to our way of doing and reducing and diverting trash from landfills.

[1:22:27] So there'll be more to that, but that was an interesting meeting and it was packed.

[1:22:33] Act, attended the Melsa meeting and also had a Keats Avenue, otherwise known as County

[1:22:41] Road 19, and the 80th Street Open House in Cottage Grove.

[1:22:45] I just really want to thank Erin Clarkowski, one of my favorites.

[1:22:49] She's just fantastic, and Joe Gustafson and Kevin Peterson, that were there.

[1:22:55] So this is really by the Tanks Farm, and the number one concern was the Tanks Corn

[1:23:00] and the mayor was there too and we're committed to making sure that the tanks

[1:23:05] corn stand continues. We're gonna make sure that that's accessible. And then

[1:23:12] wanted to also say that we do lead in a lot of practices here in Washington

[1:23:18] County and there are now going to be goats in a city park right by my house.

[1:23:25] I'm very excited about that, Commissioner Creasel, eating buckthorn and invasive species.

[1:23:31] The neighbors were very excited this morning when they saw the trailer go up the street.

[1:23:37] And so it just shows that Washington County is a leader in a lot of these practices.

[1:23:43] So just wanted to say that.

[1:23:45] Awesome.

[1:23:46] Invitation is the best form of flattery, isn't it?

[1:23:49] Right.

[1:23:49] Here we go.

[1:23:50] That's it, Mr. Chair.

[1:23:51] Thank you, Commissioner.

[1:23:52] Commissioner Creasel.

[1:23:52] Thank you, Mr. Chair. Last week, had the Board of Appeals approved annual permit for

[1:23:59] Brian Rock. This morning, I spoke at the Sunrise Rotary in Stowwater along with

[1:24:12] Public Works Director Wayne Sandberg and I got to say Wayne

[1:24:21] did just a

[1:24:25] They were just very impressed with the direction the county is going in.

[1:24:30] So, what else?

[1:24:32] Oh, just, boy, it was hard to watch the news and see the devastation of the hurricane.

[1:24:39] What is it, Haleen?

[1:24:40] That hit Asheville, North Carolina.

[1:24:43] And I mean, many of us have probably been through that area of Asheville,

[1:24:48] a beautiful area, and it just reveled.

[1:24:51] and it shows how fortunate we are up in Minnesota that we just get some of the

[1:24:58] rain and stuff like that from a hurricane, but boy there was a utter

[1:25:03] devastation down there. Just to end on a positive note I'd like to remind my

[1:25:10] friends from across the river that the amount of motorbikes are four and zero.

[1:25:18] That's all I have, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Commissioner. Highlights for me the past week is Commissioner

[1:25:25] Maron pointed out the personal meeting that both was served on and several of those items

[1:25:30] were on the consent calendar. Today was also mentioned about the Ramsey Washington Recycling

[1:25:36] board meeting that many of us are on. I did, it was interesting, the bylaw and the structure

[1:25:45] changes were definitely a highlight. I had a constituent meeting, you know, in person,

[1:25:53] sometimes we do that. I had a NACO, National Association of County Membership Standing Committee

[1:26:01] I serve on a virtual meeting.

[1:26:04] Commissioner Kloss and I attended prior to this board meeting, a staff meeting on the gold line.

[1:26:11] And Commissioner Kloss and I appreciate you attending that open house for open cupboard described it well.

[1:26:19] And then as Commissioner Kloss pointed out, tonight is the Valley Creek

[1:26:27] visioning open house and some of that from interlocking to the east of Manning and I represent

[1:26:37] interlocking in the 19th so I'll also be there but I encourage residents to show up and that's

[1:26:44] all I have for the past highlights for the past week.

[1:26:49] we'll move on to board correspondence which we have none that's item 10 on the

[1:26:55] agenda and then now we're going to move into executive closed session and this

[1:27:02] is the next meeting listed on the on the agenda is the executive closed

[1:27:06] session to review an appraisal for the potential purchase of property for

[1:27:12] for inclusion in Big Marine Park Reserve.

[1:27:16] Pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 13D.05,

[1:27:22] subdivision 3C, this meeting may be closed to the public.

[1:27:27] At this time, I would entertain a motion

[1:27:31] to go into closed session and discuss this agenda item.

[1:27:35] So moved.

[1:27:36] Second.

[1:27:37] Motion by Commissioner Beggin,

[1:27:39] second by Commissioner Merron to move into closed session all those in favor

[1:27:45] signify by aye aye opposed same sign motion curious we're moving in closed

[1:27:52] session and we'll be back to adjourn three minutes

County Board Meeting

Agenda

Transcript