Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Recording in progress.

Ramsey County Board of Commissioners. Roll call, please.

Jevan Singh.

Here.

McGuire is excused. McMurtry. Here. Miller.

Here.

Moran is excused. Zhang.

Here.

And Ortega.

Aye. Can we stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Land acknowledgement commissioner Miller.

Yes. Thank you, chair. 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 hopes of a better life, and some have lived on this land since time immemorial. Truth and acknowledgment 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 other nations of people who also call this place home. We pay respects to their elders, past and present. Please take a moment to consider the treaties made by the tribal nations that entitle non native people to live and work on traditional native lands. Consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together here today. And please join us in uncovering such truths at any and all public events.

Thank you, commissioner. I'll entertain a motion on the agenda of 05/12/2026.

So moved. Second.

Seeing no discussion, roll call.

Miller. Aye. Moran is excused. Zhang.

Aye.

Jeben Singh?

Aye.

McGuire is excused. McMurtry? Aye. And Ortega?

Aye. I'll entertain a motion on the minutes of 05/05/2026.

So moved. Second.

Seeing no discussion, roll call.

Miller. Aye. Moran is excused. Zhang. Aye. Jebin Singh.

Aye.

McGuire is excused. Commissioner McMurtry.

Aye.

And Ortega.

Aye. We now have a proclamation on mental health awareness.

May I have folks who

are joining for public health? Good. Teams should join up here. Don't be shy. I really thought I didn't have anyone.

Look at these cool shirts.

All right. Chair, commissioners, county manager, I am so proud to present the Mental Health Awareness Month proclamation. And before I start, I just want to thank so much to our staff who are here to remember this month, but also to mark a moment in time for all of us that mental health is so critical and equally important to our whole and complete selves, where we can show up as our true and authentic selves each day. So I'm proud to stand here with public health and our community partners and proclaim May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Ramsey County. Public health approaches to healing remain an important step toward community mental health.

And I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to just name the impact that Operation Metro Surge has had on our communities, compounded with the fact that we have poverty, we have families who work so hard and are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves, as well as just generational trauma. So I just wanted to name that these are all things that we need to are still grappling with after the effect, but also that our community needs to heal. So, what a moment in time it is to name that healing is an integral part of our community and that it is public health. So, with that said, I will read the proclamation and then hand it off to Director Amy Karen from public health. So, whereas mental health is inseparable from overall health and is significantly impacted by environment, including home life, parenting, food, and housing security.

Community and school, environment, and economic stability. And whereas, nearly half of mental health challenges begin during infancy and childhood associated with adverse childhood experiences. And early exposure to trauma is strongly associated with increased risk of substance use disorders and co occurring mental health conditions across the lifespan. And whereas exposure to traumatic events can have lasting psychological, physical, and social impacts on individuals, families, and communities requiring trauma responsive supports that help individuals and communities heal. And whereas recent federal activities occurring in Ramsey County has resulted in wide spread collective community based trauma and community disruption, violence, and discrimination are directly related to mental health.

And whereas early identification of mental health conditions is associated with significantly improved long term health, educational, and economic outcomes, and require tailored services to reflect cultural, linguistic, and lived experiences of communities. And whereas mental health promotion and responsive community mental health resources for residents and Ramsey County Staff require sustainable mental health promotions, early intervention, and recovery oriented systems of care. And whereas there are enduring challenges faced by justice involved clients with mental illness or neurodivergence, and the county is committed to initiatives that promote the overall health of residents and whereas individuals facing mental health challenges need equitable opportunities to lead fulfilling lives and fostering a culture of compassion and inclusivity supports community connection. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners declares May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month in Ramsey County. And be it further proclaimed, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners reaffirms its commitment to improving the conditions influencing community mental well-being, including supporting culturally appropriate approaches to promote, protect, and improve mental health.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Commissioner, chair, county manager, I'm Amy Roganbuck or I'm sorry, Amy Karen, the St. Paul Ramsey County Public Health Director. So, recent activities in Ramsey County and across our state this winter underscore that trauma is beyond the individual. Collective trauma is real. The conditions leading up to metro surge are not new.

The strength of communities to organize and provide mutual care while under violence and attack are not new to immigrant, refugee, indigenous, and African American communities. Grieving in community with family and neighbors is part of reaffirming cultural dignity and belonging. The most recent violence enacted upon our communities has had and will continue to have mental impacts for years to come. I will hand it off to Mike Cauley.

Thank you, Director Caron. Good morning, Chair Ortega, Commissioners, County Manager. Thank you for inviting us today. I'm Pam Crigi Santoso, and I oversee public health's community engagement and health promotion team. Programs that focus on race and health equity in collaboration with community partners.

Our programs include mental health and well-being, trusted messenger, healthy aging, and cannabis and substance use. These programs focus on prevention, the core responsibility of public health. What occurred in Ramsey County over the winter referred to as metro surge is a clear example of how mental health is inseparable from conditions operating in a community. Conditions of safety and belonging are fundamental to mental health. What happens to a community happens to the mental health of that community, and what happens to family happens to children.

This spring, partners have told us directly, what happens in community needs to be healed in community. And the systems that harm us are not who we turn to for healing. Public health partners with community organizations where cultural practices are a core approach to the mental health and healing. It's often said what we witness, we absorb. Trauma takes root, not only from the traumatic event itself, but how we are responded to immediately after the event.

Who came to help? Who believed me? Who kept me safe? Partner organizations are here today who were there to help before Metro Surge and during Metro Surge. They're trusted in their own communities to provide mental health services, resource navigation, advocacy, and cultural approaches to healing such as community grief circles.

For example, our partner Kopal who's here today builds community power through community organizing and upstander trainings, strategies that support community mental health in the face of racism, violence, discrimination. We've borrowed the theme this year from NAMI, stigma grows in silence and healing begins in community. So I'll turn it over to community, our partners, Kopal, Afghan Cultural Society, and NAMI Minnesota. Thank you for the proclamation today, commissioners.

Thank you, chair Otega and commissioners. Good morning. We represent Copal, Nami, Minnesota, and the Afghan Cultural Society. My name is Nasserine Sajjadi, executive director of the Afghan Cultural Society. I'm joined by Cecilia Calabria of Copal and Fanny Fernandez of Nami, Minnesota, and a member of St.

Paul Ramsey County Public Health, MWAT. In the last year, our communities have become retraumatized due to operation Metro Surge. As community led organizations, we are known by our communities as trusted support. By providing safe spaces, basic needs navigation, education mentorship, mental health services, cultural programming, and collective healing, we build cultures of solidarity through community power and collective dignity. As funded partners of Ramsey County, we are grateful for your support and the proclamation today.

We look forward to our continued work together so our communities cannot only weather storms but thrive and find the kind of belonging that bonds us to each other and allows us to imagine futures worthy of generations to follow. Thank you commissioners.

Thank you.

If we don't have any more speakers, I would love for folks to just come and introduce themselves, who they are, their gender pronouns, and the department or organization that they're with. And then after that, stay here, we'll take a photo together.

Hi, I'm Bryce Primo, Naugegeek Indigeon the Cause. I'm a suicide prevention coordinator at Ain Da Young Center in St. Paul.

Let's go to the right here. Proposed we have not spoken.

Good morning, Amy Marciano, Public Health.

Hi, good morning. My name is Fanny Prema Manishi. I represent NAMI, Minnesota as well as Embracing Community Balance and Infinite Perma. Thank you.

Hello, I'm Cecilia Calabria, the health and wellness director at COPAL. COPAL means Communities Organizing Latino Power and Actions.

Hi. I'm Beatrice Moore. I'm from human services, social services.

Fallon Wynn, sheher in social services.

Charles Goff, manager in

adult mental health.

Good morning. Bella Green, planning specialist public health.

Good morning everyone. My name is Deidre Anne Froederow. I work in Community Corrections and I'm also here part of the ABLE ERG as a leader.

I'm part of I'm the other COLI for the ERG.

Thank you.

Thank you.

ABLE stands for advocating belonging, liberation, and equity for disabilities. Thank you. Good

morning. Katia Kadogo, Adult Mental Health Initiative Coordinator.

Good morning. Jessica Kisling, Crisis Services.

Good morning. Sandy Shelton, Adelmi on the Hill.

Good morning. Cody Hilson, Clinic Manager, Mental Health Center.

Good morning. I'm Barbara Tisdale, I'm from Mental Health Resources, a community mental health provider.

Good morning. Kenya Walker, Social Services Deputy Director of Mental Health.

Good morning. Anna Hewitt, Manager of Social Services.

Sophia Thompson, Social Services Director. And if I can just take a moment to say I want to also thank our mental health staff that are under the direction of Kenya Walker. We have a large number of staff who do really, really hard work. And every time there's a new ask, and ask for pivot, and ask for to respond to community, we do our best to show up. So, thank you to those everyday.

Good morning everyone, pronouns hehim. My name is Kute Lee. I'm the head of behavioral health at Minnesota Community Care.

Good Nadir Abdi, the Preakhani Manager of the Health and Wellness Service team.

Morning. Juan Sabala, Mental Health Outreach.

Yeah. If everyone and make it in the photo more, I would say, vertically challenged folks in the front, myself included. You're stronger than I

am. And

then folks in the back, find a window. And then try to get in between columns. Thank you. Can I add

maybe right then? Sure.

Go ahead. Well, as we're settling in, I I would be remiss if I didn't make one additional comment to our celebration today. One of the one of our colleagues who was just at the at the dais, Fanny Fernandez, she is a a community partner, but I just wanted to say that she will be receiving the La Toile de Nord award honoree from the United FC from Minnesota United. And this is a recognition given to individuals who reflect values such as resilience, inclusivity, dedication, passion, teamwork, and respect. And I'm just so proud of my colleague for being honored this week.

Commissioner Singh. We now have a, proclamation for National Police Week.

Alrighty. Come one, come all. This is a

All the way.

A big group. Alrighty. Well, I are we all in?

We're all in. Come on. Come on.

Get into position.

Alrighty. Well, I am so honored today to be able to speak to, this proclamation. National Police Week is a time to honor and remember the officers, deputies, troopers, and others who have died in the line of duty. It recognizes their courage, selflessness, and unwavering commitment to protecting our communities. We pay special tribute to the members of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to others.

Their legacy continues to inspire and guide those who serve today. Throughout this week, events and memorials provide an opportunity to stand with the families, friends, and colleagues of the fallen. These gatherings offer support, remembrance, and a shared sense of gratitude for lives dedicated to public service. National Police Week also serves as an important reminder of the value of strong relationships between law enforcement and community. Through outreach and open dialogue, we can continue to build trust.

As we reflect, we also reaffirm our collective commitment to public safety, respect, and unity, working together to create safer, stronger communities for everyone. And I am so happy that we are not only joined by our our sheriff's department, but also some of our local police departments as well. And as for the proclamation, whereas in 1962, president Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. And whereas established by a joint resolution of the United States Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to honor the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of their communities and its people. And, whereas there are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across The United States, including the dedicated members of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office and the everyday law enforcement officers are the first to be on the scene to help those in need.

And, whereas each year to honor the fallen enforcement officers and their surviving families, the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved in the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington DC, and whereas 363 names of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this spring, including a 109 law enforcement officers who died in 2025, and an additional 254 law enforcement officers who died in previous years. And, whereas the service and sacrifice of all officers who died in the line of duty will be honored during the National Law Officers Memorial Fund Candlelight Vigil on the evening of 05/13/2026, and whereas the Candlelight Vigil is part of National Police Week, which will be observed this year from May 11 to through the sixteenth twenty twenty six, and whereas the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty will be honored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association on 05/15/2026, And whereas the service and sacrifice of Ramsey County Suburban Law Enforcement Officers who died in the line of duty will be honored during the Ramsey County Suburban Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony on 05/14/2026, now there be it proclaimed, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners designates May 11 to the sixteenth, twenty twenty six as Police Week in Ramsey County, and publicly salutes the service of all law enforcement officers in our community, and in the communities across the nation.

Thank you.

Well, in a minute, I'll introduce introduce our Metro Transit chief, who is an amazing person, chief Dotseth. We love partnering with him. For those in the mental health field, I wanna thank you for your work, one of the toughest jobs that there is, but so important with all the homelessness and all the issues in the community, but even amongst our law enforcement community, we have a lot of mental health needs because of the jobs that they face. So thank you very much for everything that you do. And to the board, I have never felt that we had a better relationship.

Well, Rafael, you and I started about the same time. But this is really the best relationship in that the appreciation for law enforcement coming from this board to the men and women here behind us has never been greater. And it has been a tough year. Let's just face it. Last June, of course, Alyssa Hortman's murder and senator Hoffman's shooting.

Our SWAT team was out in the field for forty eight hours straight looking for the murder suspect. The surge, you know, six month surge, these men and women have been called on to deliver more and more. And thankfully, the last four years, crime is dropping. That really is the ultimate standard of, you know, where we're at, and that the target is keep lowering the number, and in Ramsey County, the number is dropping. And I will say that transit has never been safer than it is now, thanks to the commitment of Chief Dotseth, and I wanna say Gloria Rees.

Gloria, you've been a real leader on the St. Paul Strong and the efforts there, so we appreciate our assistant county manager, and of course, I really appreciate our county manager, Ling, who's been helpful in building this team. So I just wanna introduce you to a few people, and then the rest of them will come up individually, but Dave Matuslim, you know, is our chief deputy. He's done an amazing job. Steiner's here too from Maplewood. Jeez. I got a lieutenant are you captain now?

Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Steiner from Maplewood Police Department. He'll be the next chief out there in Maplewood. Chynu Lee here heads up our courts division. Many of these individuals work for him, but he's really responsible for your safety in this building as well as the safety of all the judges and the courtroom security, and he's done an amazing job. How many judges do we have?

About 30 now.

30? Yeah. And securing 30 judges in this building, the LEC, and Maplewood is a a huge job. You know Kyle Meest did a course, smartest man that we got at the sheriff's office? I'm serious about that.

People people think I'm just joking. And where's Daryl? Daryl Gillette Daryl Gillette is an amazing person working to help children in our community. And I I just wanna I wanna point him out because there's a lot of different ways to do police work, but preventing crime and helping children succeed is probably as valuable as anything we do. And any undersheriffs?

There's there's another inspector here, Darren McDonald, who you've been out probably to the the new substation on Rice Street. Darren has done an amazing job building that and working with the community. I've never been more proud of the organization and you know I've been here a few years. When I say the organization, the men and women that make up our organization never been more proud and there's a ton of good cops, but there's also some really great ones and I didn't make this line up, but I'm gonna say it today. The difference between a good cop and a great cop is one word, compassion.

And we have, developed deputies at the sheriff's office that have compassion and nobody reflects that more than Daryl Gillette. So thank you for that work. So with that, I, I'm gonna turn it over to chief Dotzess to say a few words. He's been a great partner and, chief, thank you.

Thanks, Sheriff. Chair, commissioners, county manager, again, my name is Joe Dotseth, I'm the Chief of Police at Metro Transit. I really want to echo the Sheriff's comments to the proclamation before for the work with mental health, we really appreciate all their partnership. In fact, we did a presentation yesterday on University of Snelling about our work on University Avenue last summer and then this work as well. But this proclamation to us in law enforcement in Ramsey County and in the state of Minnesota, it's a big deal for us. And I get asked this question a lot from community members, elected officials of how can we support you? Acts like this are really, really important to us. Doing this proclamation, making this official is very, very important to us. It shows the relationship that we have. I agree with the sheriff.

I feel very honored to stand before this board this morning to say a couple of remarks. But we feel definitely, as the sheriff said, support from this board like never before. And I really appreciate that for Metro Transit and our work and our partnership in the region. Matters and it matters in this county as well. Again, really just a humble thanks for this proclamation and we're honored to be here. With that, turn

it over Laurie, to your if you're the glue that brings us all together, come on up and say a few words. Well,

wasn't expecting to say anything. Chair, commissioners, county manager Becker, thank you for all your support. We can't do this work every day without your support and acknowledgment in many different ways and policies and budget. You know, we are all coming together to ensure that we are preventative, that we are proactive, really working on tackling the root issues of violence in our community. And so, it's just an honor to work with Chief Dodseff and the sheriff here every day and everybody behind us who do such good work for our community.

And so, it's just great to be here. Thank you.

Thank you. I can't have Steiner drive all the way down here without saying a few words from Maplewood.

Good morning. Thank you for the recognition. It's important. Law enforcement's a difficult profession. And I really appreciate partnership with with the sheriff's office and other county agencies that we work with on a daily basis, social services, our work in youth justice. It's it's been really great collaboration, and we all come together for for public safety. So again, thank you to the people standing behind me for what they do every day, and thank you all for your support. It's very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Chief, did you do okay? I didn't know you were back there. The assistant chief was here.

I don't see him back there.

We're going to have I assume you'd like to have them all introduce themselves briefly, commissioners? Is that

Do you want the picture first or the introduction? However

Let's do the picture first. We'll do the picture first. Oh, by the way, you know, the the mayor I'm a big fan of the mayor. Okay? I really I like her, but she made some really good choices. Course, Erica Schumacher, she stole away from the county attorney's office, and, you know, John Choi has been a great partner in this law enforcement battle. I wanna say that we really appreciate what his office is doing. But the mayor's driver, Fahim, is a special human, and his wife is right here. So picture?

I'm gonna see. Let's let's

why don't you shorter people just move in front?

Yes. Yeah.

That's where

I spend my life.

Yeah. Come

on in, Joe. Joe, come on in here. There's a picture. Or chief, you gotta come on.

Come on

in front. Yep. So you gotta

It should be

for you.

Yeah. Yeah. Hey. Come on in. Right here. You Thank you. And I don't know if anybody wanted to say something here before we do the picture in case there's comments. Know

Well, let me just

look better otherwise.

Let me just say thank you for your service, and thank you for keeping us safe. We come to work, and never think about anything happening. But we know you're there. So thank you. How about in?

Just thank you.

Appreciate Go ahead, Gab.

We appreciate the partnership. Love seeing Maplewood here. Hey.

No, I just want to give a thank you to everyone. I know that Chief Doc Seth and Lieutenant Mohamed really appreciate seeing you all here in your continued partnership. Just yesterday, they were part of our Snelling University working group that my office has in coordination with Councilmember Coleman. And it was just great to see so many faces and partners in the room and how that collaboration is coming together for the safety of that corridor. And so, I really, really appreciate all the efforts that you all are taking and the partnership that we continue to build. So, thank you again to everyone.

All right, well just briefly, really quickly, let's start from this end. If you haven't been introduced, come up and introduce yourself, and then we can head back to the chairs. After you. Oh, before you do, Marcy Wacker, come on up. I'm gonna take a little trivia. Marcy's retiring next week. Oh. Okay? Thirty years. She's done an amazing job here in in a variety of functions here at the sheriff's office. She's also worked with the union, but really, really proud of the service that you've given to the county and we all owe you a lot. So thank you for your leadership.

Thank you. The

mental health group, what you guys do is amazing. I work on our civil process unit. We catch people at their worst of the worst. We're we're not making anybody happy and we work with their crisis team on a regular basis to the point we're on a first name basis and we have one another's cell phones we couldn't do what we do safely and effectively without mental health people. So I appreciate that you guys did that proclamation.

One of the things that I'm most proud of in this department was my time with the honor guard. So police week is really special to me. I would take like to take this opportunity to invite the entire board, everybody else in the room. There's a candlelight vigil this Friday at 7PM at the State Capitol Grounds at the Law Enforcement Memorial. It would be super to see as many people there as possible to support the families of the officers that we've lost. They don't get enough respect, and it's very important that we remember the sacrifice they gave. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm deputy Ian Chalmon with

Sergeant Rachel Weinsuttle.

Deputy Yerving.

Jackie Zhang, working at the main courthouse.

Lieutenant Kedra Mohammed with Metro Transit PD. I'd like to say I'm more than just Bahim's wife. I know. Lanea Jacobson with Metro Transit Police Department. I'm the police accountability liaison.

Good morning. Undersheriff Chai Nu Li with courts and security services and youth services. Thank you.

Good morning. Sergeant Brad Schlesing in the courthouse. I also want to point out Paul Lee, he's also a sergeant for the courts division. Stand up please.

Morning all. Darrell Gillette, inspector of youth services, Ramsey County. And to mental health, thank you. It starts with our kids, starts with the village, and we appreciate all the help you give us every day.

Marco Barton, deputy Ramsey County Capital Vitality Project.

Taku is our first Korean deputy here at the sheriff's office.

Good morning. Deputy Koo, work with the Remedy County. I'm currently assigned to your services and committee hours.

Deputy Michael Thomas assigned to the courthouse.

Deputy Dorel Moore, deputy of the courthouse.

Deputy Todd Hoffman, main courthouse.

Thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you, care service. We now have the administrative agenda, commissioner Miller.

Yes. Thank you, chair. I would like to move the following administrative items. Item number five, jurisdictional transfers of portions of Otter Lake Road and White Bear Parkway. I'd also like to pull that.

Item number six, joint powers agreement with the city of Maplewood for mental health outreach team. Item number

pull that.

Okay. Item number seven, a single source agreement with Regions Hospital for inpatient hospital services.

Okay. Do we get a second? Second. Thank you. Any discussion? Roll call.

Miller.

Aye.

Moran is excused. Zhang. Aye. Jeben Singh.

Aye.

McGuire is excused. McMurtry? Aye. And Ortega?

Aye. Commissioner Miller?

Yes, thank you. So, I just want to do a quick shout out to our public works team in the

city of White Can Bear

you move

it? Oh, yes. I would like to move item number five, jurisdictional transfers of portions of White Otter Lake Road and White Bear Parkway.

A second. Could I give

you a second?

Okay. I just want to do I have a couple questions regarding this. So I just want to first of all, want to thank our public works team and the city of White Bear Lake for working together on this. I know this is one of those items that can really sound technical, but it's really about making sure that our roads are under the correct jurisdiction al that makes the most sense long term. So, Director Isaacson, can I ask a few questions? Okay. Question number one. Can you talk a little about why this transfer makes more operational sense for both the county and the city? Because we're just doing a swap.

Mr. Chair, county manager, commissioner, I thank you for the question, and I agree these often sound arcane and not particularly relevant to most folks, but they are important in terms of how each agency shows up. Jurisdictional transfers are often they can be about priority. They can be about some folks call it good governance. Some folks call it about the level of attention.

And in this case, this swap is part of a larger discussion we had had with the city of White Bear Lake over a couple of years around some local control desires relative to White Bear Lake Parkway versus Otter Lake Road. And so this was a jurisdictional transfer that allows the city to have a little bit more control over what happens on that on White Bear Lake Parkway.

Will residents notice any changes?

Only insofar as when they are now served by Ramsey County, you know, of course, you know, cold standard in terms of public work service. But no, they shouldn't see much change in terms of level of service.

Okay. And then my last question, does this how does this fit into our county's all abilities plan? Does it fit into that?

I don't know that it particularly changes much. We didn't change a lot in terms of the configuration of the road. We didn't provide much more in terms of the facility. So I think it's largely consistent with how we look at our facilities and the types of services we provide. And I believe there were some questions that were raised during the project development around Birch Lake Road and that intersection, but we were able to come up with some signage and some other things that were able to address those concerns.

Okay. Thank you. I appreciate Thank

you. Any further discussion? Thank you, Brian.

My pleasure.

Thank you. Hearing none, seeing none, roll call.

Miller? Aye. Moran is excused. Jean? Aye. Jevensing? Aye. McGuire is excused. McMurtry?

Aye.

Ann Ortega?

Aye. Commissioner Singh?

Yes. I'd like to move the joint powers agreement with the city of Maplewood for the mental health outreach team. Second. And I really just pulled this because today of all days where we've just had these two proclamations, this is actually the kind of project that I want to see more of and to lift up, which is, you know, recognizing both the mental health aspects and our public safety. And I'd just love to invite the folks who are responsible for this to give us a little bit of explanation as to what this project is and is in front of us today.

Good morning, commissioners, chair, and madam chair. We have a whole group of us up here to respond to any questions that you may have. Truly, in representation of what was already discussed this morning, it's truly been a group effort. And it takes all of us to make this work happen. I don't know if there are specific questions you all would like to start with or

Well, what can you just tell us what this project is? You have an outreach team, what it looks like, that kind of thing. Yes.

Go ahead.

Sure. So starting about ten years ago, Maplewood Police Department created a mental health outreach team where we took specially trained police officers and community paramedics pairing them together to try to address the mental health concerns within our community and the high level of calls that we were responding to. And we failed independently. We did not have the expertise nor the resources to successfully connect our community members to services. That's when we began partnering with Ramsey County and had social workers embedded in our team, and the program took off from there.

I'm super proud of the program for the number of lives that it's impacted and the great response that the community has had to it and the tremendous impact we've had in improving our community's members' lives. It's, truly a unique program and perhaps one of the most successful ones that I've heard of, and it's directly because of our strong partnership and being able to pair experts with community responders, with our emergency responders to meet the needs of the community, especially where they're at.

I just I just wanna say that I appreciate this iteration and that you've that that you're celebrating successes. I will say that prior to being in this role, I worked in a community based mental health organization that partnered with local law enforcement to try to do these different kinds of things. And at the time, there were all over the country, very different models were being attempted by different law enforcement and social service and mental health agencies. And it's nice to see that you have been able to try, learn, evolve, and then have something like this in front of us that's serving our community. So I appreciate this. And I just want to give you all a chance to share that with us today.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Miller I'm sorry. Commissioner Miller.

I just have a quick question. Do you see this work also working with our ARI agreement and the ARI outreach team that we just supported?

Doctor. Yes. I think ARI is going to continue a different aspect of this type of work. The appropriate response initiative is going to be directly dealing with community members during their time of need. Our embedded social work program has found the greatest impact, providing follow-up services. Because our emergency responders are so highly trained, they're good at dealing with the crisis immediately. But where we historically fell short is providing those follow on services and connecting them to services and staying in contact with them. And that's really where our embedded social work makes the greatest impact, is getting people into those programs, making those long term connections. You know, I like to equate it to you go to the emergency department. Yeah.

They might fix your problem, but they're not going to follow-up with you versus having your primary care doctor that you're seeing regularly who's constantly caring for you, who's developing that care plan. And that is the main difference and the reason for our success.

Well, I just want to say thank you. As someone who represents Maplewood and lives in Maplewood, I'm so proud to see this work and our partnership continuing. So thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for your service.

Thank you.

Okay, we have now, let's move on to county clerk.

Roll call.

Oh, I'm sorry, roll call.

Miller. Aye. Moran is excused. Jean. Aye. Jevin Singh.

Aye.

McGuire's excused. McMurtry? Aye. And Ortega?

Aye. Now let's move on to county connections.

All right. Good morning, everyone. I have a few items here. So last week, our compliance and ethics office brought in the Minnesota Department of Administration's Data Practices Office to lead an in person training on data practices and open meeting law basics at our new Ramsey County Government Center. And so this event supports a couple of our goals under our operational excellence work this year.

One is consistency. We have 68 Ramsey County data practice contacts now. And they all attended training together in one room, ensuring our standards for data integrity are applied consistently throughout the county. In addition, we have been working a lot on trying to do some cost collaborations with other jurisdictions. And so this regional partnership did lead to cost savings as well by inviting Hennepin County, St.

Paul Public Schools, Dakota County, City Of St. Paul, and the City Of Minneapolis. The state waived their usual $125 per person fee on behalf of all the participating organizations. Hennepin County staff were able to leverage the platform to promote their new statewide data practices work group and invited attendees to join. And we also have a seat at that table as well.

So this session marked the first of a series of collaborative trainings that we'd like to do and help lead across the region. Our goal certainly is to equip our staff with the skills they need to ensure the public has access to the data that they deserve while rigorously safeguarding the data that's been entrusted with us. And then my second sharing today has to do with the Good Leadership Thrive Award. A couple months back, I was mentioning that our CHRO, Patience Ferguson, won. But she was nominated.

But she did win last week. So I'm going to correct my timing here. And I just wanted to say congratulations to Patience. She was honored with the Good Leaderships HR Thrive Empower Award last week. This was an inaugural award presented by an organization called Good Leadership in partnership with the Twin Cities Business Magazine.

These awards recognize HR leaders who are advancing organizational excellence, innovation, and workplace culture across Minnesota. It was a tremendous honor for Patience because it is voted on by HR peers. And so I know that meant a lot to her. I want to thank Patience for her leadership and excited for her work as we continue to support our employees and organization. And then lastly, just want to invite folks on Saturday to the fourth annual Youth Job and Resource Fair, which will be at Maplewood Mall.

So that is going to be on Saturday, May 16, from 10AM to noon in the Center Court area near the Carousel at Maplewood Mall. The event is designed for youth 15 to 18 to connect with summer jobs, volunteer opportunities, mentorship programs, and other resources that help them to stay engaged throughout the summer. So families and youth are encouraged to attend. And this is put on by many partners, but led by Workforce Solutions. So thank

you. Thank you. Let's go outside board and committee reports. You want to start, Mike Chung?

Sure. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Proud to share about I highlighted this already in both my newsletter and also social media. But just to share about being recognized as a recipient of the twenty twenty six National Head Start Alumni Transformational Impact Award. I think what I'm most proud of was being in the room with so many of the award winners in and of itself. So I was really proud. And one of them also included the CEO or ED of the St. Paul Public Housing Authority and then also from the Groundbreak Coalition. So these are movers and shakers in our communities.

Next, I was able to join the AAHNPI Heritage Celebration at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility. Thank you to Deputy County Manager Nadir Abdi for inviting me to speak and also to meet with folks about just celebration around Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration. And the theme was Power and Unity Strengthening Communities Together. So I was able to provide some remarks there. And also joined by Commissioner Jevan Singh with that.

So it was really, really just great and also to hear some of the speakers and the performers. And then next, you know, I was proud to join County Manager Becker at International Institute of Minnesota for New Americans, New Beginnings. The organization has long been working with refugees who are suddenly here and working towards citizenship. And that was one thing that was identified as being the most helpful and stable tool to provide to new Americans is helping them there. And then even beyond that is the support in making sure that they're able to join into our workforce and receiving certifications and or degrees in very high paying fields.

So that was just really impressive overall to just see and see the work that's being highlighted from so many of the participants. And then next, I just also want to name two big events that's happening this weekend in the community. There's a Peony Festival at Phalen Lake. And that's held by the Saint Paul Changsha China Friendship Garden. And that is in the morning from 11AM until later into the late evening of 07:00.

And then also the Minnesota Songkran Festival. They've had it at the Capitol before, but this year it is in St. Louis Park. And they will also be having the Royal Thai Consulate General from Chicago joining too. So the invitation has been sent out and shared with my office. I'd love to share that with you all too as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Commissioner Singh?

Yes. I'll just say that I also had the chance to be at the International Institute's fundraising event. And I just want to thank the fact that we had a table full of Ramsey County representatives there and how important it is during this particular year to make sure that we solidify those partnerships and to show our support for the richness of our community from people who come from all over the world and land here in Minnesota and to make sure that they have the support that they need in that. So thank you for everybody who was there. And then I started that morning at Solid Grounds event.

And so I was just happy to have our housing stability director, Jamie Wilkins, there as well. And wonderful to see the connections throughout the county from previous work and current work that is embedded within our community partners to be able to see the connections with our county staff and folks who are in community every day doing this work. And it just solidifies that we're doing something right when that is just a very comfortable back and forth rapport. And then I was able to do an introduction. I want to thank Dave Triplett, who runs our Ramsey County elections, and Secretary Steve Simon for presenting at the Ramsey County League of Local Governments event last week, talking about how our county elections and our state elections are run, safety, security, access, and addressing some of the concerns folks have during this particular time.

And one of the things that both of the different presenters was really making sure to let folks know is that, you know, we live in Minnesota. Regardless of the political climate, they plan for snowstorms. They plan for power outages. They plan for all of the different things that might happen and try to game out every possible scenario. And so just feel safe and secure that there are people who are doing a lot of due diligence way ahead to make sure that our elections are safe and secure.

And also to encourage folks who are interested to consider becoming an election judge, becoming a poll watcher, to consider that there are all sorts of different steps along the way where you can watch and observe testing of equipment, the verification or the certification of the count afterwards. So there are lots of ways for people to get involved and to see firsthand the transparency and the accuracy of these processes. I also was happy to be able to join Mounds View School District's interdisciplinary teams. They have a monthly meeting. One of the things that I find really helpful when we think about the kinds of services that wrap around our students and our families, a lot times it happens in the school districts.

And Mounds View has found a way to get everybody out of their silos and to monthly all of the different support staff, including outside organizations that are in schools to be able to meet, to talk, and to make sure they're wrapping around the different needs of their students. And so I was happy to be able to be there as part of an appreciation breakfast. And then the other thing I just want to say is that I continue to gather a number of North Metro grassroots community organizations. We meet quarterly. This includes groups like North, Many Faces, Venice Heights Community Action Network, Do Good Roseville, and a number of other groups.

And this time, we were reflecting on Operation Metro Surge, some of the work that continues in community, and how to connect individuals who are working in community with organizations that do this work day in and day out. And I was really happy that the Suburban Ramsey Family Collaborative Executive Director was there and that some of that work is a natural extension of those collaboratives. And so one of the things that we can do at the county is to convene. And it's lovely to see that work continue. I want to just reiterate our sheriff's gathering of all the different commencements and tributes that will be happening this week.

I will be attending the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Memorial for the Sheriffs in Suburban Communities on Thursday at 10AM at Community of Grace Church in White Bear Lake. So it is a chance for us to recognize the families and honor the families and the service of those officers. And everybody who continues to show up every day to keep us safe. So that's what I have.

Thank you. Candace.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Last week, I had a chance to attend the Government Center grand opening media event. It was just great to see everyone there and to celebrate this space, how it's become through its renovations more welcoming, more accessible to our community members so they know they can come to this space to receive services that they need. Also, last week had a chance to attend the St.

Paul Downtown Alliance Annual Meeting. It was another great event to see all the partners who have come together to really invest in Downtown St. Paul. I believe the announcement was over $1,000,000,000 in investment through a number of the different partners that are coming to downtown. And, as we think about the future and how we want to continue to grow our tax base, know, and hopefully in doing so alleviate a lot of the pressure off of property taxes, Downtown St.

Paul has an important role to play. And so, was excited to see this energy in the room of folks really wanting to make Downtown St. Paul a success. Also had a chance to attend the International Institute of Minnesota's New Americans, New Beginnings event with my colleagues. Just great to see the amazing work that they're doing as an organization and hearing from a number of the clients that they've had and the impact that that group has had on them as they've been able to navigate whether it's the workforce or what have you coming to this country.

So, great event. Yesterday, I served as a business coach for the junior achievement students at Como High School. As a business coach, my responsibility was basically to provide in class assistance to student teams as they were researching a case challenge. This challenge in particular was around Delta Airlines and how to make the experience more comfortable and efficient for their customers. So, was just an awesome time to get a chance to connect with students at Como High School and to hear a lot of the innovation coming from them as to how they can go about making these changes.

And, the importance of Junior Achievement in this particular case challenge because a lot of the different things that they're learning, they will be able to use in other aspects of their lives. And so, thank you to Junior Achievement folks for inviting me and having me a part of the coaching team. And also yesterday, I had a chance to have our latest meeting, my office in collaboration with Councilmember Coleman, the Snellengan University Partners Workgroup, which yesterday's focus was on the Safe Strong initiative, providing an update to our different partners along that corridor. Huge thank you to Deputy County Manager Reyes, Deputy County Manager Abdi, Ironicov from the Racial and Health Equity Team, of course Chief Doc Seth and Lieutenant Mohammed from MedTransit. Everyone who touches this particular initiative was there and were able to provide examples, a great example of how so many partners are working together.

I think one of the big takeaways from that meeting is ensuring that we are conveying that to the public. I think so many folks understand that there is a problem, but have no idea of the work that's happening behind the scenes to address those problems. And so, it was a great next steps for us as a group to determine how we can continue to convey to the general public of this work that's happening in the community. And then, I will wrap up with a few upcoming events. Tomorrow, Visit St.

Paul's Annual Tourism Celebration is happening at Pika from 3PM to 5PM, just to give a sneak peek of all the different summer festivals that's gonna be happening in the community this year. On Friday, I will be speaking along with Mayor Her at the Arbor Month tree planting at Newell Park. This is in collaboration with the City of St. Paul Parks and Rec and Ramsey County to celebrate Arbor Month. And then, 'tis the season for a number of community events this weekend alone.

There's the Front Avenue Community Crawl, that's from eleven a. M. Until two p. M. There's the Rice Lavender Alliance community in Bloom at Lake McCarran's County Park from twelve p. M. To two p. M. The Mighty Midway Festival at the Hancock Recreation Center from one p. M. To four p. M. The Falcon Heights Spring Together at the Curtis Field Park from 3PM to 5PM. So, plenty to do as we get into the spring and the summer months for community members and families to get out and just enjoy each other.

That's it. Thank you.

Well, I have no update from Sorry, last I missed a great time at the International Night. I will just add that I do have office hours this week on 05/14 and White Bear Lake from 12:30 to two. And then on Monday, May 18, I have Maplewood office hours from twelve to 01:30 and choose and then also that same day, North St. Paul from two to 03:30PM.

Other than

that, I'm

done. Good.

Last week was a busy week, and I want to thank the county manager and the staff. I mean, we had the grand openings for Ramsey County. And also, we the one that and you participated in the one Duntown Alliance Spoke along with the mayor. And talking about the mayor, I wanna share my gratitude and the board's gratitude for her participation in all of our events. She was at the grand opening for our government center, and we had DJ Pilot, the latest retail store to come into the Union Depot.

She was there for that and spoke, and we had a great crowd, a community crowd. Donnie, forgot Donnie's Gardner. Gardner. Donnie is an airline pilot for United Airlines, and he opened a store, and he said since he's been in the Union Depot, his business has tripled. So he's very happy, and he's seeing the prices of the county, how easy it is to work with us. So it's all good news, and again, thank you to the mayor for participating in almost every event that Ramsey County has put forth if I'm correct.

She was also the mayor was also at the county correctional facility for our event. And it was so inspiring, along with Commissioner Zhang's comments. But you could see the individuals in the room really feeling connected back to community, to have community leaders in that space and sharing their stories. It really is it makes a tremendous difference to actually be present in community. And the correctional facility is part of our community. So yes,

she was there as well.

Yeah. It does. And being a new mayor, it's great that she's doing that. But I also caution I caution, don't burn yourself out. That's easy to do, believe me. Okay. Following the board meeting, we have a close meeting to the public regarding three m property tax litigation matters. And then at 12:00, I believe you guys have a county courts meeting.

No, that's canceled.

That's been canceled. Okay. Jason, you didn't cross that out for me.

It is canceled. Yes.

Then at 01:30, we have a audit committee chaired by commissioner Singh. Myself and McGlash to be there. And then that's it. We are adjourned.