Remarks by Tara Jebens-Singh
71 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 3
- Play at 15:05
“All righty. Let's do it. Well, I'll just say that last week was a pretty budget presentation-heavy week. And picking up on self-care month, I was able to enjoy a little bit of downtime over the weekend. So I appreciate that we have parks to hike in and lakes to paddle in and lots of places just to enjoy the last few days of summer. So I'm going to actually highlight, we don't have a board meeting next week. So I just wanted to highlight a couple of events that are coming up. One of them is the Lake Owasso Residents Family Picnic is on Saturday, September 12, from 12 to 3. And this is a…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 8, 2026
- Play at 33:19
“Yes, thank you so much for this. Going back to the first performance measure, I'm just curious. So having lived in suburban Ramsey County for almost, well, three and a half decades now, I will just say, you know, when our kids were going through school in Roseville, the percentage of of kids of color and the diversification of people went from about 15% to over half in the 15 to 18 years that we were there. And then when I was working in White Bear Lake, that school districts were also seeing those changing in demographics. So I'm really happy to see. that we, as a county, are working to make…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 35:37
“And I'm also curious to see if there's any exponential or a positive factor of the cities who also had their own programs, meaning if Shoreview and Roseville have been encouraging some of their programs as well, do we see that having kind of primed the pump or created a culture of those programs being available or any kind of way that we are coordinating them, if we're seeing the results greater in certain communities, and maybe we have more work to do in other communities. I'm just thinking of the role that we can play in encouraging our local partners to take advantage of whatever levers we…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 39:00
“Well, and I just want to say that throughout my time, I've been at a number of these community economic development and different kinds of meetings with the municipalities and community where Ramsey County has been at the table and providing information. And I really do appreciate that as do people in community.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 1:16:52
“Yes. I just want to say that to the point that we're all talking about, about the role of the county and the newness of the emphasis on this, the idea that we talk about St. Paul and then suburban Ramsey County, but just a reminder that Ramsey County is made up of part or all of 19 unique municipalities. where local zoning code, planning commissions, all the different dynamics within the multitudes of neighbors and goals and wants of the local community come into play when we talk about getting shovels in the dirt and housing built. And so I really appreciate that you talk about new data…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 1:54:18
“Yeah, I really appreciate that you're lifting that up, Chair. I come from a park and rec background when I worked in older adult services. And even really well-intended folks, I think that there's a reason why football and soccer fields were accommodating to each other and pickleball and tennis courts have been accommodating to each other. It's because the park and recs department know that their parents and their kids are engaged in those sports. And it may be why perhaps culturally we don't have badminton and volleyball together as easily or cricket and baseball fields coming together so…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 1:57:57
“And that's my follow-up, which is the idea of alignment of park and amenities against the other opportunities within a community, whether it's a municipal park, whether it's school district parks or playgrounds, whether it's private or nonprofit, you know, is there a big YMCA that has really great amenities in the neighborhood? Just to make sure that we're using our investments and the taxpayers' dollars and creating as, you know, in a collective space to say to ourselves, not only where are there gaps that we can fill, but where are there duplications where we could step back? And just…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 2:00:03
“Yeah, and I'll just say, knowing that, too, within our Building Stronger Together, where we are doing our best to look at, you know, what is the best use of all of the things that we have? How are we maximizing a benefit to community? And so I appreciate that strategic coordination.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 3:03:59
“Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. So given that this is an issue that we hear from our residents all the time, could you just very concisely remind folks, if constituents want to know how their neighborhood roads have been rated and when they may be next scheduled for replacement or repavement, where should they go and how do they track projects that are ongoing in their neighborhoods?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 3:05:16
“Thank you. And then if there is a project ongoing, is there a way for them to get updates if it is a major project?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 4:11:21
“Yes. Actually, that was the question I had, was what kind of support we were giving to staff if we were expecting this greater... professional acceleration, so thank you for that. Following up on the question of AIO, listening to you talk and having had this question raised earlier this spring around the generation of these letters, my mind just goes to the generation of any kind of thing. I mean, the idea that anybody could just decide to say, sign up for this and we'll send out any possible request to any possible government entity at any possible moment. Don't miss out. And the volume of…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 4:15:15
“Yes. And I just want to have you further elaborate on that appeals process, that there is a community board that are colleagues and residents outside of us that are part of that process. Can you explain that? Because that's another level of trust, that it's peers that are.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 5:13:32
“My guess is that in your library of things, do you have both DVDs and the DVD player?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 5:14:01
“Okay, that's impressive. The question that I have is along the lines of this conversation around reviewing our physical spaces within the libraries, reviewing, and I love how you're deciphering out the different populations that are using the libraries in different ways. And then how some library renovations in different locations look differently because of the needs of that community. And one of the things that I've really been a part of a number of conversations throughout the different communities where we have our libraries in the northern suburbs. And I have to say that there's a lot of…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 5:19:46
“Well, and I'll just kind of go further on this and say that I'm really happy that over the years, the library has had representation at the Suburban Ramsey Family Collaborative's collective table, and there's a weekly call of service providers who get together because it's always a changing set of faces and needs and resources that are available. So it really is that constant communication that is above what we can expect a librarian, even a very invested one, to be able to keep up with. And I'm just wondering, what resources do we have collectively to the library as itself? Is to say, who…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 5:22:28
“the study carrels, the meeting rooms, and reservations, and all of those things, and fees and things like that. And I know I said this last time when we were in budget season, and I'll just throw it out again. I don't think it has to be an on or off binary toggle. The idea, if we have multiple rooms and multiple study things, I think I mean, my guess is we can still have a no-business activity policy and have, you know, 20% of the rooms that are fee-based reservations so that you can collect a little bit of money. And if somebody does have that very important nonprofit community activity,…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 7:25
“Every community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land since time immemorial. Truth and acknowledgement are critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage and difference. We are standing on the ancestral lands of the Dakota people. We want to acknowledge the Ojibwe, the Ho-Chunk, and the…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 9:27
“I move the following administrative items. Item number three, settlement agreement in Felicia Marie Wilson versus Ramsey County, court file number 23, CB01309. Number four, joint powers agreement with the state of Minnesota for election recount services. Item five, fund transfer from Boy's Totem Town and Maplewood properties to redevelopment implementation project.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 10:05
“Item number six, safe and secure courthouse initiative grant for Ramsey County. Item number seven, joint powers agreement with the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 42:16
“Yes, I'm curious, what has been the initial response from the partners in knowing that this modernization and re-look at the JPAs is underway?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 45:06
“Well, and can I just follow up and say that I, having been in community while some of these different, well, at least when White Bear kind of tipped in, joined the centralized 911. And I do know that there had been times in community, to your point of being stable now, There had been, you know, I remember a League of Women Voters report that had studied whether or not a centralized 911 would be, that was back in the day. And there was concerns and a lot of discussion. And now that we have everybody on board and have been there for quite some time, the success of this and the need to modernize…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 1:09:32
“Yes. Well, I'm going to give more of a broader message today. Last week, as part of the work with the Direct Care and Treatment Advisory Committee, I represent the Association of Minnesota Counties in that work. It was the second of three tours. We went to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program facility. Last week, we were at St. Peter, their forensics facility. And then we'll be heading to the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center. This is part of broad work that is continually part of my work day, whether that is meeting with our staff, front level staff who are working Our programs, directors…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 1:35:22
“I was just going to say, Commissioner Moran, that NAMI Ramsey County has their number one initiative. They've been doing research and done a lot of site visits around the supportive housing, including St. Cloud. And I know that the new NAMI Minnesota executive director comes from a supportive housing background. So I'm guessing that there are a number of partners in this work along creating that continuum of care. making sure we're inviting all of the stakeholders to the table because I think you've made a compelling case. NAMI is a great organization, too.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 36:37
“All right, back to the forfeitures. I guess just a general operations question. How much of this do we partner with our municipalities? Is there back and forth with our local partners on this work?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 37:34
“Yeah, I think that was where I was going is more along the lines of code enforcement, safety issues, if a house has fallen into disrepair, if there are fire concerns or other neighborhood issues around that.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026