Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Call to order the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners. Roll call, please.

JEBIN XING. Here. McGuire. Here. McMurtry. Here. Miller. Here. Moran. Here. Xiong. Here. And Ortega.

Atlantic Management, Commissioner McMurtry.

Thank you, Mr. 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 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 Dakota people. We want to acknowledge the Ojibwe, the Ho-Chunk, and the other nations of people who also called 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. I'd like to take a motion on the agenda of June 16, 2026. So moved. Second. Seeing no discussion, roll call.

McMurtry? Aye. Miller? Aye. Moran? Aye. Zhong? Aye. Jebensingh? Aye. McGuire? Aye. And Ortega?

Aye. I'll entertain a motion on the minutes of June 2, 2026. So moved. Second. Seeing no discussion, roll call.

McMurtry? Aye. Miller? Aye. Moran? Aye. Zong? Aye. Jebensingh? Aye. McGuire? Aye. And Ortega?

Aye. Ordinance Procedure. Propose Ramsey County Commissioner Salary Ordinance for 2027, waiving the second reading and hold the public hearing. So moved.

Second.

Can we take a roll? Roll call.

McMurtry.

Aye.

Miller. Aye. Moran. Aye. Zhong. Aye. Jebensingh. Aye. McGuire. Aye. And Ortega.

Aye. Policy announcements. Oh, I'm sorry. I have to. I now open this public hearing today. There is no vote taken for the public hearing today. The public hearing on the proposed Ramsey County Commissioner Salary Ordinance for 2027 is now open. The purpose of the meeting is to allow the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed County Commissioner Salary Ordinance for 2027. For those who are here to speak at the public hearing, when you are called to speak, please state your name and city of residence before making your comments. You have a limited three minutes to give your testimony. Has anybody signed up?

Chair, Commissioners, County Manager Becker, as of this morning, no one has registered with me to provide public testimony.

Are we supposed to ask if there's anybody present? If anyone here to speak regarding the proposed Ramsey County Commissioner's Salary Ordinance for 2027, come to the podium and stand in front of the microphone. Please state your name and city of residence for the record. Testimony is limited to three minutes. After everyone has spoken, Is anyone here to speak? Richard.

Good morning, commissioners. My name is Rich Neumeister, and I live in St. Paul on the west side. And of course, I'm a Ramsey County resident. I'm here today to strongly oppose the proposed 3.0% pay raise for the Board of Commissioners. While cost of living adjustments may be routine, This increase, from my perspective, is inappropriate given the current budget realities. Ramsey County has made painful cuts across multiple services in the last fiscal year. Targeted staff reductions of 43 positions, significant library cuts, which I see, because I use the Ramsey County Library quite a bit, including the loss of about five full-time equivalent positions, reduced programs, and the closure of the Shoreview Library on one day, Fridays. How much money that saves, that's another story. Plus reductions to other areas such as detox services, burial assistance for low-income residents. These choices directly harm a number of people in our community. These include families, students, seniors, and working people who rely on dynamics of public service. At the same time, you're asking taxpayers to fund higher salaries for yourselves. plus the nearly $10,000 per year in the incidental expense allowances, roughly $800 a month, on top of the salary that you already currently get, which exceeds $107,000. Public service demands priority setting and shared sacrifice. When core services like libraries, health programs, and support for low-income residents are being trimmed, It is wrong to increase commissioner compensation. True leadership, which I think hopefully you all have on this dynamic, means setting the example, especially during difficult times. I urge you to reject this salary and focus instead on protecting and restoring our vital services. I want to thank you very much for your time. And since I have, you said I had about a minute remaining. I have met some of you. The new folks, maybe not. But I've been around a long time, particularly over at the state legislature, where I focus a lot. And salary increases are always. But I also believe that the elected official needs to think about it for themselves. and to say, hey, we've had three years, in this county anyways, at least increases. Maybe we should just postpone it for another year. Mr. Chairman, since this is the last time I'll call you Mr. Chairman, because I don't expect to be back before the board again, the best of luck to you, and I'm sure there'll be a race in your district.

Thank you. Have a good day, and thank you very much. We have somebody else coming up.

Oh, yeah. You know, I come down. It's my annual visit here. Other than Truth in Taxation, there's Greg Copeland. I live in St. Paul. And, you know, I would hope today we'd see this as a day of opportunity to actually embrace the possibility of change and that we not continue, that you particularly, not continue down the road of perennial tax hikes on our citizens. We have... got to change our policy. We should be restraining our spending and we should look at property taxes and limits on those property taxes to create an affordable lifestyle here in Ramsey County if we're to grow as a population. The only thing growing right now are taxes. Those of you that served on the Joint Property Tax Advisory Committee knew last year that we were facing Record increases in some of the poorest parts of the city. My neighborhood, for example, 16%, pain failing. 16% in the North End, Como even, 14.5%. Frogtown, on and on it goes. Hamlin Midway, 14%. And yet, you proposed this document with two years of tax increases. $125 million worth of tax increases. Now, yes, you did cut down. I mean, the room was full, standing room only, according to Fred. I was here that night, testified in opposition to your nearly 10% request just for last year. And, you know... you obviously weren't listening to the folks. You came up with a 1.5% reduction on the proposed 10% raise. And then on tax day, the IRS tax day, the 15th of April of this year, you proposed to spend $320 million that we don't have and borrow more money to create more debt for a downtown park. We got a nice park, Harriet Island. Have you been there? Raspberry Island. I mean, honestly, folks, you know, Ridiculous. So rather than engage you in a discussion of your current recommended salary increase, I think it's well to point out that the charter does not require an annual pay adjustment. The charter says nothing about taxpayers being required to pay you $100,000 a year. So I'm suggesting that we separate out this formula that you've been relying on for years tied to county wage increases for your employees, okay, and base it on a population. A dollar a head. That's it. And folks, we should not be paying you $50,000 in expense money. My plan, if you choose to adopt it, a dollar a head would eliminate $263,618 from this year's budget. That's not a lot, but it would show the public that at least you're working in the right direction. Thank you for your time and attention.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Is anyone here to speak regarding the proposed county attorney, county commissioner's salary ordinance for 2027? Is there anybody who's here to speak to the County Commissioner's salary ordinance for 2027? Is anyone here to speak regarding the proposed Ramsey County Commissioner's salary ordinance for 2027? I declare the public hearing now closed. I do have one amendment here to the agenda. We have a typo. It's just a time typo of 1, 10.30 for our closed meeting to the public. It is stated in the agenda that it is 1.30, and it should be 10.30. Do I hear a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Roll call.

McMurtry. Aye. Miller. Aye. Moran. Aye. Zong. Aye. Jevin Singh. Aye. McGuire. Aye.

And Ortega. Aye. Now we move to policy item, appointment of members to the Ramsey County Economic Development Authority.

I, Chair, nominate Mai Chang Jong to be the Economic Development Authority Chair for 2026. Okay. I second. Oh. Am I doing it?

Is there any other nominations?

Sorry, commissioners. Just wanted to quickly interject. This is the appointment of all commissioners to the EDA. So we'll need a motion and a second before we move on to the election of the chair and vice chair during the EDA.

So moved. Second.

This is, in essence, appointing the board as the board for the economic development committee. agency that was created with the legislature. Do I have a second?

Second.

Roll call.

McMurtry? Aye. Miller? Aye. Moran? Aye. Xiong? Aye. Jevenson? Aye. McGuire? Aye. And Ortega? Aye.

Okay, now we move on to the administrative items. And that is commission, I could juggle all these pieces of my . Thank you, Mr.

Chair. I move the following items. Number five, grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Health for pediatric mental health training.

I'd like to pull that.

And number six, fund transfer from bond interest to park at River's Edge.

Second.

Any further discussion? Roll call.

McMurtry? Aye. Miller?

Aye.

Moran?

Aye.

Zhong?

Aye.

Chabin-Singh?

Aye.

McGuire?

Aye.

And Ortega?

Aye. Commissioner Singh?

Yes, I'd just like to call step. Oh, sorry. I'd like to move item number five, the grant for pediatric mental health training.

Second.

I would just like to have staff come up and give us a little bit of information about this grant and the program that it's funding.

Good morning, Chair, County Commissioners, and County Manager Becker. We are really excited about this grant funding opportunity in mental health. We have really tried to focus on expanding capacity to serve youth and ensure that our staff have the skill set to do that. This opportunity will allow training for close to two years, and we will be able to offer this to staff across Ramsey County, such as Children and Family Services, the Juvenile Detention Center staff, public health staff. And we're also exploring partnering with community providers as well. So the plan is to offer monthly trainings along with consultation for staff and providers. If they have complex cases that they just want some support and feedback on, we'll have providers available to do that.

I just want to say that I just wanted to give a moment to lift this up. There are a lot of different efforts that the county is involved in to address community and meet them where they're at when it comes to mental health and especially when it comes to early diagnosis and treatment in our youth, which can really impact the trajectory of their illness and their quality of life. And I know that there are families that interact with all different departments within our system. And equipping our team to be able to address some of these issues and, as you say, build out the capacity is really a lovely opportunity. So thank you for sharing that with us today. Thank you.

Commissioner Moran.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to say, I just want to thank Director Thompson, yourself, and others who worked to get this grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Health for Pediatric mental health training for our staff. I think it's really important that staff have the skills and the knowledge and the mindset to focus on our youth. In my mind, from pre-K to 16, 18, 21, whatever that may be. Because so often when we look at our young people and and the issues that are being played out publicly for us to see, we want to compare them to adults and their children. And we need to have the skills necessary to be able to respond to our youngest people that are involved and engaged in Ramsey County social services in other ways, even within our youth justice systems. So I applaud you, Ramsey County, for taking the lead in doing this and really preparing our staff to be equipped to do the hard work that is necessary to make sure that our babies, our youth, our teens have the support that they need to be functioning individuals in society here in Ramsey County. So thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Moran. And I'll just say one last thing. You know, our hope really is that if we're able to identify the needs earlier, then we'll have better outcomes across an individual's lifespan. And I also want to thank Director Thompson and Manager Anna Hewitt and Amir Carter for really digging in and thinking about all the opportunities that we have to expand services and include our partners across the county. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Roll call, please.

Nick Murtry.

Aye.

Miller. Aye. Moran. Aye. Zhong. Aye. Jevin Singh. Aye. McGuire. Aye. And Ortega. Aye.

Aye. County Connections. Good morning, Commissioners. I have a few things to share this morning. So beginning on Thursday, June 18th at 6 o'clock, the Jackson Street entrance and exit for the Ramsey County Government Center will close through June 24th. During that time period, staff will have the Ramsey County Government Center building access from 7th Place, the Skyway or card access on the north side of the building through a utility door. So the staff over there have been informed. Residents will need to enter through the Skyway or the seventh place entrance. So signage will be posted. It isn't going to last long, but there's been some construction near the building and at the building. On some good news, I would like to be the first one to publicly congratulate in Ramsey County, Bobbie Jo Potter. She is our Deputy Director of Children and Family Services, and she was recently selected as a 2026 Bush Fellow. The Bush Fellow recognizes extraordinary leaders who are committed to making the region better for all. Bobbie Jo was selected for her leadership in advancing equitable child welfare practices and strengthening outcomes for children and families. Through this fellowship, she will be able to develop her leadership skills, as well as deepen her knowledge of indigenous language and healing traditions, and continue to work to transform the child welfare system. So I want to thank Bobbie Jo for her leadership in our work. And it's quite a small group of people that get selected from a pool of many each year. So I want to just congratulate her for that accomplishment. I know Commissioner Moran will be making some additional comments about Juneteenth in her updates this morning, but I wanted to just say a couple things. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, honoring resilience, achievements, and contributions of African Americans. Juneteenth reminds us of the promise of freedom and opportunity has not always been experienced equally and challenges us to continue to build a more inclusive community. And Ramsey County has been proud to support several Juneteenth events throughout Ramsey County this last weekend and this coming weekend. I want to especially call out and thank the Black Excellence Employee Resource Group. I was able to connect with them. And they are actually going to do a proclamation at the Black Excellence event, which is for employees as part of a Juneteenth cookout. In addition, there's lots of events around town, and my list is not going to be exhaustive, but some of the ones that we have some part in is the 8th Annual Roseville Juneteenth Celebration. In addition, the Sterling Club Juneteenth event, which will be in St. Paul. And then in Vadnais Heights, they're having the third annual Freedom Day Festival. And I know our Social Services Department and our Serenity Mental Health Van will be out there as well. And then also the Anika Foundation event in St. Paul at the Capitol. And then there's lots of events happening actually in departments as well. I know we have an event. happening within our correctional facility as well this week. So I just encourage the employees and residents to take part in any celebrations that they can and to take a little time to reflect on the significance of this really important day for not only our country, but for our state and for our local Ramsey County community. I just wanted to do one last thing here. In honoring retirees that are directors, in 2025 we issued a practice to have them recognize that county connection. So at this time, I'd like to invite Director Judd Fried up. He's the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director, and he will be retiring this month.

Good morning. Welcome, Judd. So Mr. Chair, County Manager Becker, commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for indulging me for a couple of minutes. It's very difficult for me to talk for only a couple of minutes, as you know. Almost as difficult as it is for me to wear a suit, but I did, just so you know, Commissioner Eds. I started my public safety career on Saturday morning, May the 6th, 1978. And if you had told me 40 plus years ago that I would end my career as the director of the most densely populated county and the most diverse county in the state of Minnesota, and that I would have had the opportunities as an emergency manager, both statewide and nationally, I would have had no idea what you were talking about. As I contemplate this kind of wrap of my career, I think more, not so much about what I have done personally or achievements, I really think about the people who've been here along the way and the path. that allow him to get here. So first I want to really thank this board and all the boards before her, particularly Commissioner Ortega. You were here on the night, or the day rather, I was appointed. So it's really fitting that you're here for my last board meeting. I think this brings to the end the rule of New York over Ramsey County, because you and your career here at the end of this year. So I think we've done good. Thank you. Commissioner McGuire, you've been there for the vast majority of all this and have enabled me to do so many things. Because of this board and this leadership, I've had the opportunity to grow as a professional, to become a leader in my field nationally and internationally, to seek and achieve postgraduate education, become a college professor, to influence policy here in Minnesota, to testify before the United States Congress. I even had the opportunity to go bowling in the White House. These are all things that I would not have had an opportunity to do without the support of Ramsey County leadership and of the Board of Commissioners. to County Manager Becker, kind of representing all of the five county managers I've worked for, plus the two interims that I've worked for. The leadership that this county has had has been remarkable. Whether or not anyone personally agrees with choices made, the dedication to service of the people of Ramsey County is, I think, without question, question the finest I've ever had an opportunity to work with. And in my roles with the National Association of Counties, I've gotten to know a lot of counties, and there's none that does more for its people, which is the role of government. Serving the public is something near and dear to my heart and is a critically important thing to do. I also would like to thank my staff. My staff, some of them are here now. My deputy director, Christy Stauffer, my coordinators, Brian Mayer and Karma Kumland-Deers, my specialist, Roger Gund, two of my, or one of my other coordinators couldn't be here today. But these people, I mean, Karma, you've been here for 20 years along with me. All of them have been here for a decade or so, either as a volunteer or an intern or what have you, serving these people. They know what they're doing. And with the leadership of Deputy County Manager Reyes and their own skill and the expertise compassion that they have for our residents and the teamwork they have with the public safety providers across this county. I feel comfortable walking away knowing that I'm leaving the county emergency management operation in good hands. And that's hard to do with a program that I really helped build. So that walking away is a difficult thing. But It's going to be just fine. So when you need the advice that you've sought from me in the past, turn to Christy. She'll be right there at your side. And I know that with the support of our staff, we'll continue doing the good work that this organization is known for. But most of all, I couldn't be here at all today without the... supported my family, some of whom are with me today. So my youngest son Joe is in the United States Air Force on active duty and couldn't be here today. But my oldest boy Danny and his wife Kristen are here. And my children have spent a lot of time praying for me as I've left them in the middle of the night or for a long day and gone out and sat in some command post, gone to some civil unrest, some bad thunderstorm, somebody else's crisis. working on the things for the people. There are times where I've pulled away in a squad car, lights and sirens, situations that were indeed dangerous. There are times where it looked more frightening than it was, and my children have had my back, and my children are the thing over which I am most proud of all. Not my work here, but them. The young men they have become, the amazing person that is my daughter-in-law. This is why I have a purpose. And most importantly, I have to thank my wife, Jenny, who's here. For 40 years, she's been my partner in crime. She has supported me and allowed me to do all the things mentioned above. She has put up with me being gone for holidays, anniversaries, leaving in the middle of the night. We've had some very interesting people call the house. All of these sort of things, they take a toll on a family. And particularly, not just in government, but in the public safety realm, there's a lot of uncertainty when you walk out the door. And Jenny, you've put up with so much, and I cannot thank you enough. And those days are done, honey. We made it through. So to all of them and to all of you, I really do want to take the moment to say thank you. I've done my best to faithfully carry out the duties on which I started back in May of 2003. I believe that I'm leaving the organization that you entrusted me with in a state that is better than it was when I left. I believe that the people of Ramsey County are safer because of the work that my staff have done and that to the best of our ability we have served you and we have served them. Working for Ramsey County has been a pleasure and the honor of a lifetime and there is no place I would have rather spent my career than here. So thank you very much for all you've done for me and for allowing me to serve with you here in Ramsey County.

You know, Judd, why don't we have your family come up? Sure. Sorry, guys. I want to thank you for your service, Judd. Judd and I have spent time together at conferences, so welcome.

This is my wife, Jenny, my son, Dan, and his wife, Kristen.

Welcome.

She joined this family by choice, so... I wonder a little bit about her. We might need these mental health people to come back.

Rena? So well, well, well. I was not expecting this. Did you say how many years?

I've been with the county for 23 years. I've been in the field for 39 and in public safety for 48.

Wow, what a legacy, what a service that you have given of yourself to Ramsey County. And I just want to say thank you. Thank you for all the years. Thank you for your leadership and your guidance and your direction. I know you will be missed. We will miss you. Thanks, Commissioner. And moving away and deciding to step down is hard. It's hard to do, right? But you're doing this. Yes, ma'am. You are doing this. And, you know... the conversations that we've had when we've gone to conferences and just listening to you and your commitment to the work that you do here. I know that there may be some times that we want to have to make a phone call to you and say, what did you do? Or what should we do? And so really, as a pretty fairly new Ramsey County commissioner, I just want you to know that I've seen your leadership. I have heard people speak of your leadership in the work that you have done here at Ramsey County, and that you are so well valued and appreciated. And just want to say thank you. Thank you for your work. Thank you, Commissioner. Appreciate you. Appreciate you.

Me too.

Wow. Yes, Judd, you are amazing, and we are going to miss you, and you've been here as long as I have. You've been here longer than I have, so when I was a new commissioner 12 years ago or so, maybe 13 now, I didn't really know as much about county government as I do now, but you taught me about what emergency management is, but you taught me about what county government is. You have always sought out opportunities to benefit the county, opportunities that national level and the state level so you got a grant to bring the whole county leadership to a site where we where we actually learned what it would be to to manage an emergency and i learned what what every level of government i wish we could do that every every four years with our new board where you all learn who does what when there's something happening and you just learned about all the different departments What they did and it was such an a huge investment of time But Judd had got the grant that would allow us to do this and I will never forget what I learned At that that that week or you know, it was like three days of being together with with County leadership so thank you so much for that then you did a simulation in my district and which I know you do simulations, you got a grant to do that. You are a king of, and your department, I know, your whole staff are really good at applying for grants to help others help pay for these things, but to do a simulation of a, It was either a truck or a train derailment, or maybe both, but out in the area, and we had people, and it was just so amazing to see how we worked with local government then. And that taught me so much about how do you interact during an emergency, but how do you interact at all? So I am so grateful. And then, of course, as we all are involved in our national association, to go and I served on public safety, which you were a huge part of, to see you there and I learned so much from you and that committee because you're, of course, as we noted, you're a force nationally and internationally in the emergency management field and you have It was just so great. You would speak out whenever I had a question on anything. I would either walk over to you, but you would also let the committee know. And when Judd spoke, the committee understood that this was a good thing to do. So you have really had such an amazing impact, of course, in our county and in our state, but as we've been saying nationally and internationally. So thank you for your work in NACO. And when I was president there, you were supportive and you helped me understand the things that needed to happen at NACo. So thank you. Thank you for all of that. I love that you say we are the best county because you've seen a lot. I say the same thing. We've seen a lot of counties in this country. And we are the best county, not because we're perfect at everything, but because we try to be better. We're always looking for continuous improvement. And you have been a part of that, always trying to be better, to bring our communities along, to bring this board along and our county along. in ways that really matter to people. And I just am so grateful for the work that you do, that you've done, and grateful to know you and to say to you best wishes as you get on this next adventure of your life. And thank you for everything you've done for us.

Thank you, Commissioner McGuire. Much appreciated, really. Honestly, it's been a pleasure.

Well, Judd, it's been a great, we've been around a long time together and thoroughly enjoyed your company besides working together. I wish you the luck, the best of luck, and some real enjoyment in your retirement. Take care. Relax, relax.

One picture.

So cute.

Thank you. Thank you.

Take care. Are you done? Yep. Thank you. Okay. We now go to outside board and committee reports. Mai Chung?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Last week, I was able to join in, since we didn't have a board meeting, I was able to join the ceremonial signing of the veterans bill for SGU veterans. And that was just really meaningful for myself because that's actually how I got into community organizing was around veterans benefits for our Hmong elders. This was many years ago, and our big win at that time was being able to get some celebration of Hmong American Day and to be able to see the results of just starting that plant, planting that seed long ago and then also now. I feel perplexed in terms of like it's been long overdue since it's 50 years in the making, just to get recognition for our veterans who contributed to the secret war. But what that means for us here, for Ramsey County, is that many of them would be able to get designation on their driver's licenses, that they are veterans, state veteran cemetery and burial-related benefits, also certain veterans' preferences, provisions, certified copies of vital records, and also navigation and application support through the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and also our own county veteran services here as well. So they've seen an uptick in just SGU veterans reaching out to our veterans department here at the county too. So all very good and positive signs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Commissioner McGuire?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Busy couple of weeks, lots of things going on in community. I spoke at the Lauderdale City Council It was great to be out in community and talking to your cities about all the amazing partnerships that we have together. And congratulations to their assistant city administrator who celebrated 10 years. So congratulations to the city of Lauderdale. Also the Ramsey County League of Local Government. had a board meeting where they discussed comprehensive planning issues, had members of the Met Council spoke. It was a great meeting. And then afterwards, the board, the League of Local Governments board met. And it was great to talk about the different work that they have coming up. We talked about member engagement and how we can engage other organizations. to be a part of the work that we're doing. They've already engaged the watersheds. They're going to engage the Mosquito Control District. And I think it's really great that we're engaging the organizations that we work with as a county. And we went over our strategic plan. And it was great to have Commissioner Jevenson on the call as well, so we could contribute the things that Ramsey County is doing, that we're all doing together. I appreciated that. Then Saturday was a day amongst community and my colleagues, I was running into them at different events. I started at the Roseville Juneteenth event. And that was a great event, which had a lot of different vendors, a lot of different music, and just a lot of community organizations. And so just kudos to Do Good Roseville and to the Black Caucus. the Black Chamber of Commerce, which we're sponsors of it this year, and the Juneteenth Committee. And they just did a great job. And I think it'll just keep getting better and better as we go. And I'm going to let my colleagues, who were also there, talk about it. But it was fun to see them there. And then our library in Roseville, the Ramsey County Library in Roseville, had a pride event, and that was amazing. I want to give a special shout out to Heather O'Kerrick and her daughter Fagan, who were there with Ramsey County Public Health. And it was just amazing that they had a booth there that was talking about ways that the community can engage with our public health department. I'm just a special shout out to Fagan, who is, I think, going into fifth or sixth grade, but she had it down. She knew exactly what the table was and what things were and how they could help. Our life isn't good. Our future is good when we have people like that coming up. So anyway, thanks to public health for being there and for the whole library staff. I mean, there were many stations and there was great activity there. at the library to put on a pride event. And so thank you so much to our library director there and all the staff that was doing that. Then I'm going to let others also talk about our District 10 meeting that we had for AMC was yesterday. And a number of us were all there. I just want to say that we talked. It was such a good conversation, I will say. It was great to discuss things with our colleagues around the metro area, the metro counties that are part of District 10, and to really talk about the issues that we all share. And I'll just share that three of the issues that came up that we talked a lot about was resource management. And our former commissioner, Trista Martinson, who's our executive director of our Recycling and Energy Center, was there to talk about resource management, which is the management of our solid waste and how there's a report, a draft report by the Pollution Control Agency that's out that every one of us needs to comment on because it's not a very well-worded report and we all need to comment on it. So things like that were just great to talk about. and was grateful that our recycling and energy board was represented there. And then we talked about transportation issues and budgeting strategies. I want to thank our county manager, Becker, for being there and really bringing up good points about how we need to really bring in our county administrators and county managers in with all of our discussions. And I thought that was really important conversations. And to know that we all really agree, as divided as we may be on some issues, we agree on big ones. And three of the ones that came up was about resource management, which was trash, unfunded mandates, how we all need to really work with our legislative partners on reducing unfunded mandates, and then emergency communications and how we can come together on that. Those are just three of the big items that I think we're going to We're going to focus on moving forward. But it was in strategic marketing, and I think it was just a great meeting to talk about all of that. And then we met, as I said, it was a day with colleagues, the University of Minnesota Extension. Commissioner McMurtry and I were there, and that was a great meeting. We really love our extension partners. And, of course, we all know, but the Ramsey County Fair is happening this year. And I'm going to get the date here, but maybe Ms. Commissioner Kirch will have it. July 16 through the 19th. Yeah, thank you. Oh, yes. We'll let Commissioner Miller talk about that. It's in Maplewood. And so members of the fair board, the county fair board, were there. talking about that, so that was great. And then we heard from 4-H Youth Development and we got a tour of the demonstration gardens from our garden educator volunteer program. And I have a little card for each of you that's talking about our volunteer program. for our gardeners. So it was a great meeting as well. And we talked about our farm family, which is in Commissioner McMurtry's district. I'm going to let you can talk about their farm family, but we'll be recognizing them this fall or summer. So anyway, thank you, Mr. Chair. It was a great, great week of community events.

Commissioner Singh.

Yes, I wanted to report back that the audit committee met in the last couple of weeks. And while these are all back-of-the-house kinds of issues and tasks that I want to give an update on, they do contribute to our sense of operational excellence and making sure that we are running as tight a ship as we can, which is the kinds of things that we have control over in a somewhat... Sometimes the world feels like there are outside forces we don't have control over. Our own internal ways that we do things are things that we can be mindful of. And so this was our second quarter meeting. Some of the updates were the enterprise risk manager presented a list of updates on different items, things like updates and work on our property and contract insurance. building up a more robust vehicle use program, and including our policy governing the use of county vehicles, some ongoing de-escalation, non-escalation, and personal safety training that's happening throughout the enterprise. And I would have to re-look at my notes. This is not my field, and this is why we have these professionals in our group. Our subrogation efforts, the county recovered $738,687,000 in 2025. that is money that would have been left on the table if not for the work of the EMR team. And then I also want to say that our internal audit program continues to mature and grow more robust. These are how we make sure that we are following our own practices and policies to make sure that that we, again, have that internal tightness within our organization. And this is, again, just the audit committee does not quite have the zing of some of the work that we do, but it truly is a place of real good governance. So I appreciate my colleagues, Chair Ortega and Commissioner McGuire, for sitting on that committee, as well as all the folks who do that work every day. I also want to talk about some of the times in community this week. I was at a Venice Heights ice cream social event. This was post-storm. I don't know how many communities were hit, but this was right after the big storm. And it was nice to see folks come out and still have a really good time. I was able to attend the St. Paul Pride Festival and the Ramsey County Library's All Ages Pride event. I will say it's always a treat to go into the Roseville Library. It was our family's library growing up, and to see littles and families enjoying that space and feel welcome and included is just a joy. I was at the Roseville Juneteenth celebration, and again, the Duke at Roseville group and I, many of those founders, because I raised my family in Roseville, did a lot of work in parallel with the Many Faces work in White Bear Lake, and so it's always amazing to see what handful of residents who are concerned about making sure their communities are welcome and ten years later to see these huge community festivals just thriving so if you were somebody in community who has a table that you're sitting around right now and wondering what can we do go ahead and do it because ten years from now we'll be talking about you at the County Board I also want to congratulate Ken Galloway, who received the J. Stanley Doris Hill Legacy Award from the Greater White Bear Lake Community Foundation for his extensive volunteer service, including his dedication to the White Bear Lake Area Emergency Food Shelf. And I'll just repeat what he had said, which is he is just receiving this in honor of all the community volunteers. I think of the tens of thousands of people throughout all of our communities in Ramsey County who go to Lions Clubs and Rotary Clubs and their PTOs. and their local block groups, block communities, and what we saw throughout the winter of neighbors taking care of neighbors. This is just the fabric of our community, so it's lovely to see that acknowledged. Coming up this week, we have Juneteenth at Moundsview City Hall from 3 to 4 on June 19th. The Manitou Days Parade is June 19th at 6.30 in downtown White Bear Lake. The Venice Heights Freedom Day Festival is from 4 to 8 on Saturday, June 20th at Kohler Meadows Park. And I have to have a shout out to my principal aide, Alexis Varner, who is one of the founding members and drivers behind that community event. And I also just want to take a moment to say that this weekend marked the anniversary of political violence in our state and the loss and attack on our leaders, colleagues, and friends. I know that for everybody who serves in public service, it was quite a chilling time, along with the personal connections to the people who were lost and threatened. So I want to just acknowledge that, that that was an additional weight to this time of year, and that as we search for peace throughout all of this, may we also find purpose.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner McMurphy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Also, a week of a number of community events started last Friday when I had a chance to attend the Correctional Facilities Juneteenth celebration, so a huge kudos to Director Long and her entire team. for putting on an amazing celebration when they brought in a number of different performers and speakers and also had residents at the correctional facility also perform. I think it was just great to showcase that at this time when we're celebrating liberation and celebrating freedom to also recognize that for those who are residents at the correctional facility, that they still maintain that freedom of thought, their freedom of understanding, their freedom to really set a different course for themselves once they leave that facility and the work that they are doing at the correctional facility to hopefully set them up for success. I just want to give a huge shout out to Director Long and her team for for their work and for putting on that celebration. Saturday, we had a number of events. Of course, it's been mentioned before, the Roseville Juneteenth celebration, which I had a chance to attend, the St. Paul Pride celebration in my district at Dual Citizen Brewery, the Ramsey County Library All Ages Pride event, And then I also had a chance to attend the Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts, their 30th anniversary celebration that they had at their facility. This is a great program. They do really inspirational work with helping individuals with disabilities really lean into their art side. And there are a number of performances. They had a number of the students who had artwork in their gallery presented to folks who were in attendance. So huge shout out to Joe Price, who is the Executive Director of Interact. and the work that they're doing for the community. Also had a chance to attend the AMC District 10 board meeting. I think Commissioner McGuire did a great job of really recapping the conversation there. And I think it kind of set the stage for what we could make out of that group moving forward to hopefully get a chance to meet more frequently. We know the challenges. that we're facing as a county is being felt across our entire metro area. And so really utilizing that time where we have all of these metro area counties coming together to strategize, to work better together, and figure out how we can collectively advocate for each other and really determine how we can address a lot of the challenges that we know that we're all facing. So thanks for AMC for putting that together and looking forward to more conversations and next steps coming out of those meetings. And then to wrap up, as Commissioner McGuire mentioned, we had the extension meeting yesterday. On top of the update on the Ramsey County Fair that's coming up, we also discussed Just an update of the Garden Education Volunteer Program, the 4-H Youth Development Annual Impact Report, as well as the Family Health and Well-Being Program. So great work to the team at Extension, and looking forward to continuing to work with them on a number of these different programs. and the benefits that it has on the community. And so I will quickly just mention a couple of upcoming events. You know, this weekend is going to actually be Juneteenth. So there are going to be additional events on, of course, on Thursday, the Juneteenth Black Excellence Celebration for Ramsey County will be held. Friday, which is Juneteenth, will be the fifth annual Anika Foundation Juneteenth Celebration at the Capitol. as well as the 30,000 feet Juneteenth celebration at their facility off Arcade. And then the Magnificent Volume 3, which is hosted by Art at 965, which is off Payne Avenue, is also happening. So just another weekend to continue to celebrate Juneteenth and celebrate and be a part of community. So thank you. Thank you, Commissioner.

Commissioner?

All right. It's been a busy couple of weeks, it feels like. Wow, it's been that long. We started the last previous Friday at the Metro Workforce Development Regional Plan meeting. It was virtual, so it was really great to be a part of that and listen in and hear how providers, government, are all working together to help develop the regional plan. Then my family and I did attend train days on Saturday. It was hot. It was great. There was a lot of people. We had to park way up, and then we rode Lime scooters through downtown to get back to our car. I'm telling you, me and those scooters. I did attend the MESB Executive Committee meeting, so a few things to note is that we did, the Executive Committee did approve the operational budget for 2020, for 2027, and that is with a 6.5% increase from the previous year. A lot of that goes to staff increases, merit increases. They followed Dakota County's compensation plan, and then also it also reflects health insurance increases as well. So we're seeing that kind of all over with some of the other departments or other boards that we sit on. We also approved the 2027-20 to 2031 capital needs forecast budget as well. And we approved the 2027 to 2031 MESB joint powers agreement. There was very minimal changes, just a lot of dates. I did work reach out to our team to see if we're good to go. So that was the executive committee meeting that will come back in front of the MESB full board meeting in a couple months. And then on Friday, I attended the American Indian Family Center's annual spring feast in Roseville, which was really great. They honored Elder John Day for his contribution not only to the Native American community, but also I just want to mention to the social work field in general. Before his retirement and he moved down here, he was a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I just want to, it was really great to be in community with my kids and family. I do want to shout out to Cedar and Soul Catering. They're a brand new small business right here in Ramsey County that serves Afro-Indigenous inspired foods. If you ever get a chance, they are wonderful. If you're looking for a caterer, please consider them. And then on Saturday, I attended Focus Point Urgent Care grand opening. That is a new urgent care facility in Maplewood off of 1774 Culp Avenue. I want to congratulate Dr. Chi Vang and Dr. Charles Vang for opening such a community centered urgent care facility right here in Maplewood. So that was really exciting to be there. And then my family and I did attend the All Pride Celebration at Roseville Library. Ella and I participated and made sure to walk around to get our stamps. My son's a party pooper by the end of the day. But I also designed a cute little bag. I'll have to share with you guys some pictures of that. And then District 10 yesterday. So with that, I do want to mention I do have in-office hours tomorrow. I'm starting in Maplewood from 10 to 1130. Then I'll be in North St. Paul from 1230 to 2. And then finishing in White Bear Lake from 230 to 4. So any constituents want to come down and see me, that's where I'll be. With that, I'm done. Thank you.

Thank you. Rena? All right. I just want to open up by saying congratulations to Bobbie Jo Potter on her Bush Fellowship. That's awesome. I'm going to go back a little bit to the St. Paul Saints game that happened, because I want to.

Sorry, I did. You forgot about that. Man, I did.

We've got video. That's right, we do.

Joy attended the St. Paul Saints game with Rampton County Board Chair Raphael Ortega, but also with County Manager Becker and also my colleague, Commissioner Jevenson, where we was honored of watching Chair Ortega throw out the first pitch It was really a great opportunity to spend some time with fellow commissioners and the county manager outside of our regular work responsibility, enjoying community and celebrating chair or take a special recognition. So it was fun. Thank you. I also met with Lisa Deputy, who is an a parent leader director at Family Wise. Family Wise works to strengthen families by providing support services that help parents build stability, strengthen relationships, and create safe and healthy environment for children. Strong parent voices are essential to building effective systems that support children and families. And I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the organization's work to engage and empower parents as leaders in their community. And I really decided to just check back in with Family Wise as we look at the Minnesota African American leadership. and what that means, that's located within Ramsey County, but also look at the strengths that families who've been impacted by system can bring to the decision-making processes. So it's really good to catch up with Lisa Deputy. I also attended the Youth Justice Transformation second quarter convening, which focused on the experiences and outcomes of young women, and should I say teens, participating in the initiative. I've always appreciated opportunities to be at the table with young people and hear directly from them about what is working, what challenges remain. and what support they hope to see in the future. The discussion highlighted the importance of elevating girls' voices, creating pathways for leadership, and ensuring that young perspective continues to inform the development of programs and services within Ramsey County. These young people are doing some awesome work, and just to hear their perspective was really, really good to be in that space and hear and see the work that we're doing in partnership with them. I also had the opportunity to meet with our new mayor, Mayor Hurd, to discuss some issues impacting our shared communities and explore opportunities for continued collaboration. Strong partnership between local governments are essential as we work together to address community priorities and improve outcomes for residents. And so she was really open and inviting. And I just love the joy that she's bringing to being the new mayor of St. Paul. Also, I was honored to serve as a panelist at the National Coalition of 100 Black Women 2026 Leadership Conference, where over 750 women came from across the country here to Minnesota to have their conference. The National Coalition of 100 Black Women is dedicated to advocating on behalf of black women and girls through leadership development, public policy, education, economic empowerment, and health equity initiative. During the discussion, and I'll also say, I can't remember who was on that, former Senator Hayden was a part of that panel, along with, oh gosh, Fatima Moore, who has her own lobbying business. And I'm drawing a blank. Don't get mad at me. It'll come. It'll come to me. But during the discussion, I was able to share insights on the questions of, what do effective advocates do differently, what is a meaningful conversation about leadership, relationship building, persistence, and the importance of ensuring community voices remain at the center of policy and decision making. It was just awesome to see so many people see Minnesota and create a time to just bring women from across this country here to Minnesota and hear about also some of the things that we're doing here. within policy and decision-making process. And I would like to say, last week I was on vacation. Well overdue time that I needed to just rejuvenate, recharge, rest, and spend time with family and friends. But I also need to say that I did go to your hometown of New York City. New York, New York. Gosh. I've never seen so many people. And I'm a city girl. I know all about people. But New York City is bustling. It is bustling at the scene with just people enjoying city life. Great place to be. I'm going to just mention two other things that I'm going to share with you. And this comes out in recognition of my former colleague, Representative Heather Edison, who is now a Hennepin County Commissioner. And I know Commissioner Hennepin McGuire, you may know about this as being also a former legislator, whereas Hennepin County approved a resolution directing staff to explore the creation of a Metro County Public Impact Summit. in partnership with the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. The proposed summit will bring metro counties together, just the metro counties together, to address shared challenges. And it will also be a space not just for county commissioners, but also our metro legislative leaders to be a part of that conversation, and maybe also our city leaders. and county managers to come together to address shared challenges, strengthen regional collaboration, and develop evidence-based policy solutions, particularly as counties are navigating increasing service demands and potential reductions in federal support. So Hennepin County will serve as the initial host with future opportunities for rotating leadership among participating counties. So the opportunity for Ramsey County and all the other metro counties to also lead on this initiative. The effort is contingent on securing external philanthropic partners funding to minimize the county cost. So we're really looking at going to the philanthropic partners and asking them to give us a grant to do this work. So I want to thank Hennepin County for taking the lead on this important regional initiative to express appreciation for the leadership of Commissioner Heather Edison in advancing this vision. Her leadership recognizes that many of the challenges facing counties today cross through additional boundaries and are best addressed through collaboration, shared learning, and strong regional partnership. And you remember, every year before the legislative session, we all came together with Democrats and Republicans to talk about the shared issues that are facing our state. And I think just looking at this at the local level and doing this in partnership with our legislative delegation and our cities, It's a great idea to look at how we can do this and just spend a day, a whole day, looking at how we can strengthen our relationships and partnerships and the work that we're all facing that's going to be challenging with less dollars coming in from the federal government.

Let's see here.

And lastly, I would like to share with everyone the Ramsey County Proclamation for Juneteenth. So whereas on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom of descendants of African enslaved people in Confederate states, which was the South, heavily the South. Yet many remained in bondage until June 19, 1865, which meant that even though the Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom in the South, they held back telling that to the enslaved individuals. And so it wasn't until June 19 of 1865 when the last enslaved people in Texas were finally freed, marking the day we now recognize as Juneteenth. And whereas we mark the 100th year of Black History Month, it is especially important to celebrate Juneteenth as a testament to resilient hope and an enduring struggle for freedom among African-Americans. Juneteenth serves as a powerful reminder of the legacy of slavery, the strength of those who fought for liberation, and the ongoing pursuit of racial equity and justice in our society. And whereas in 1866, Black and African communities organized the first Juneteenth celebration featuring music, cultural food, and prayer. And today, Juneteenth is recognized nationwide thanks to a generation of advocacy, including the work of Opal Lee, widely known as the grandmother of Juneteenth. See, we're learning every day.

I did not know that.

Every day is just learning new information. And whereas Family Values for Life was founded in 1999 by Ifrida Flowers with a vision to strengthen and unite the community through meaningful connections among individuals and families by promoting core family values, building relationships, and creating a greater sense of belonging within the community. And whereas Celebrating Juneteenth alongside the dedicated work of organizations like Family Values for Life serves as a powerful reminder of the strength, the resilience, and the unity that emerge when communities come together. Family Values for Life carries forward the spirit of liberation and collective progress while honoring the sacrifices of those who came before and building a future rooted in equity, opportunity, and hope for generations to come. And whereas Ramsey County acknowledges that white body supremacy exists, and recognizes that achieving freedom and equity for all requires acknowledging persistent systemic injustice and committing to ongoing work through education, policy, and partnership to dismantle systemic barriers and uplift communities, all communities. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim June 19, 2016, as Juneteenth Freedom Day in Ramsey County and a call upon all residents to reflect on a historical and present-day fight for freedom and dignity. We need to do this more than ever. What we saw happening with the MetroServe, it is still valid today, that we need to celebrate the cultural and civic contributions of African-Americans, support organizations like Family Value for Life that advance racial equity and community strength, and commit to actions that foster justice, inclusion, and collective healing. So this proclamation will be read throughout Ramsey County and communities where we are making those connections from government to community, from community to government, and everything else that's in between. And so thank you, Ramsey County, for always, always leading through a race equity lens, recognizing the value that our black, indigenous, and community colors bring to the vitality of a strong, more healthier Ramsey County, state, country, and nation. And I'll end with that. So thank you so much.

Thank you. highlight the train days. It was two weekends ago. Turnout was great, but when we started there, we basically got a lot of transportation people and training enthusiasts. But it's really a family event. I brought my four-year-old and five-year-old granddaughters, and we were there for almost five hours. And they were busy all the time. And the only way I got them out of there was to say we were going to go to the pool to go swimming. So I am exhausted today. It's taken a week to recoup. But anyway. No, it was a great event. But again, and I say this every year, I really try to encourage to make it as diverse as possible. And I keep seeing more and more families from all parts of our community. That wasn't the case, you know, a decade or even 15 years ago. And so I'm happy to see that, but I encourage all our communities to take advantage. These are free family events where your kids are gonna have a great time. That is the most important thing I've done in the last 10 days. Okay, following the board meeting, we have a Economic Development Authority meeting Then we have a closed meeting, closed to the public, regarding the county manager's performance review. We are now adjourned.