Committee - Regular Meeting

on the agenda is to approve the meeting minutes from our July 28th meeting. May I have a motion? So moved. And a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. Any additions or corrections to the minutes? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The minutes are approved. We have several routine items. The first three are all very, very similar, and I'll read them into the record if I could get a motion for the motion.

2A32C. Second.

We have a motion and a second for 2A and 2C. 2A is an amendment to a work order contract with Kimley Horn and Associates Inc. for preliminary and final design engineering professional services for the intersection improvements on Kassad 19, increasing the not to exceed to a new total of $531,638.16. ITEM 2B IS AN AGREEMENT WITH KIMLEY HORN AND ASSOCIATES FOR PRELIMINARY DESIGN ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF CASA 10 WITH A NOT TO EXCEED OF $1.5 MILLION IN STATE AID. ITEM 2C IS AN AGREEMENT WITH CBS SQUARED INC. FOR PRELIMINARY AND FINAL DESIGN ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR A REHABILITATION PROJECT ON CASA 60 BAKER ROAD. with a not to exceed of $664,000 in transportation advancement account and the preservation account. Do my colleagues want any information? I would only request a follow-up from staff on the item 2B when we get closer to the final design, what that looks like. I would love to know what's being planned out there. Seeing and hearing nothing else, all those in favor of those three items, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Those items are approved. Item 2D is an agreement with MnDOT.

What's that? R1.

Oh, with an R1. for the reconstruction of I-494 from West Bush Lake Road to 24th Avenue with an estimated county cost of $860,000 in state aid. Would my colleague like to move this?

I'll move this. I'll move it.

And a second. The R1, yes. Thank you. And would you like additional information on this?

No, I just want to because it was my district.

Completely understandable. Any questions on the R1 or this project? Hearing and seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The item is approved. Item 2E is to negotiate an agreement with the City of Minneapolis for maintenance and operations on county roadways located in Minneapolis extending the end date to 12-31-27 with no change to the estimated annual cost of approximately $1.6 million a year from our operating budget. We have a motion and a second on this item. Second.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Do my colleagues, this is something that we kind of regularly approve, but any questions? Yes, Commissioner Green.

Thank you. I had just a quick question, which is I realize this is a recurring thing. Thank you. I realize this is a recurring thing, and I wondered if this is going to be impacted by the revised cost-sharing agreement that's sort of in development.

Thank you.

Chair Anderson, Commissioner Green, no, this is not taking into consideration any modifications. If and when there are modifications to the cost participation and maintenance policy, we'll have to come and make amendments or work through an amendment for that. Thank you.

Thank you. Commissioner Conley.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So my question, I have two. One is just about the background. How long have we had this agreement with the city of Minneapolis?

Chair Anderson, Commissioner Conley, I'm going to ask Steve Mosing if he could come forward and answer that question.

Good afternoon, Commissioner. Commissioner is Steve Mosing, Traffic Division Operations Manager for Public Works. I've been, I worked with the city for a number of years, about 29 years, have been here for about a year and a half, and it's always been in place, so over 30 years for sure.

Thank you. And so, Mr. Chair, the reason I ask is it sounds like we've just had this in place for a very long time. Times are changing, and that kind of leads me to my next question. In looking at the background, there's a sentence that stood out, and it just says that this additional time will also support discussions on potential future modifications to anticipate and address service levels and align with emerging initiatives. That kind of tells me that there could be maybe changes to an older policy like this, because 1.6 million is a lot of money, right? And so would it save money for us to do this a little bit differently in how we do maintenance? I'm looking at both of you. But just if there's ways that we can start looking at possibly saving money in this area. I know it probably has not always been at the 1.6 million over the last 30 years, but as both the city of Minneapolis and the county are looking at ways to save money. I wondered if that last part of the background here is maybe a hint at reexamining this in the future.

Chair Anderson, Commissioner Conley, maybe I will start, and Steve can add to that. So this maintenance policy is really about doing typical pavement maintenance, snow and ice control, street sweeping, all of those things that really have the efficiency of the workforce that is right there. Most of our operations are outside of the city of Minneapolis, and so We are seeing some efficiencies just by having this agreement. That said, we do regularly just review what is included, what is not, which agency is best positioned to do which type of operation maintenance activity. And so that's kind of all included in part of the considerations that are made each and every day.

all right any further questions or comments seeing none all those in favor say aye aye any opposed that item is approved thank you um our final item uh for discussion and action is item 2f negotiate various agreements for green partners environmental education programs For the periods between 9-1-26 and 8-31-27 and 9-1-26 and 8-31-28 with a total not to exceed of $173,000. I'll move this. I'll second it.

Ms. Ernie. Chair Anderson, Angie Timmons is with us today to provide a brief update on this work.

Thank you so much.

Good afternoon, Chair, Commissioners. I am Angie Timmons from the Environment and Energy Department. The Green Partners Program supports organizations to implement projects that engage and empower residents to take action to improve the environment. And they also are projects that engage youth in environmental education and leadership opportunities. Thus, item request approval for five Green Partner grants to Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, Lau Assistance Center of Minnesota, Northside Resident Redevelopment Council, University of Minnesota, and Minneapolis Public Schools. These projects total $173,000. These agreements do require board approval because the organizations have existing contracts with the county. There are an additional 22 projects being awarded through administrative processes. All those details are in the background materials and I encourage you to look at some of those projects. They're really phenomenal this year. But the program does support the county's goals of environmental stewardship, engaging community, enhancing quality of life, and protecting the environment for current and future generations. And these grants really advance the county's commitment to zero waste, climate action, and eliminating disparities. And we have an amazing legacy of supporting community-led waste prevention, recycling, clean water, and natural resources projects. Since the program has been established in 2012, the county has awarded 311 grants, totaling nearly $5 million for community-led work. The funding for this program does come from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. Thank you for your consideration, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much. And yes, Commissioner Conley.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just going to celebrate a little bit and scream maybe. I don't know. But this is fantastic. This really is. We talk a lot about how accelerating zero waste involves behavior change. And who better to lead that than our youth? So I'm really excited to see the public schools. All of this is youth environmental education. And that's important because our youth are really, really engaged around zero waste. They just want to know how to do it and how to tell their friends that they can do it, right?

Absolutely.

And so this is just incredible. I like the dollar amounts I'm seeing. I like how long we've done this project. I like the project that I'm seeing. Keep it up. Keep up the incredible work. This is how we move the needle. So thank you. Thank you for the support.

Thank you. Any other questions or comments? I just, you know, yes, this is great. I love to see all of the different projects. And the focus on youth and the learning, I think, is fantastic. I would love to see some engagement more in the outside of Minneapolis. There's a lot of youth in Minneapolis. kind of across the county to engage with. And I see a lot of great programming in Minneapolis, but would love to see expansion across the entire county. Thank you. So with that, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That item is approved. Thank you. And we're adjourned for this part of it.