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Date:	July 10, 2018
Contact:	Yvonne Klinnert, Public Information Manager
Phone:	651-430-6026, after hours 952-807-3723
E-mail:	yvonne.klinnert@co.washington.mn.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The following actions were taken at the July 10, 2018, Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting at the Government Center in Stillwater, Minnesota

Green will serve on Community Development Agency board
Roger Green, Woodbury, will serve on the Washington County Community Development Agency board of commissioners as a District 2 representative.
He was appointed by the Washington County Board of Commissioners July 10. He will serve a partial term expiring Dec. 31, 2020.
The Washington County Community Development Agency is authorized by state law to undertake certain types of housing and redevelopment activities in Washington County.
Contact: Yvonne Klinnert, Public Information Manager, 651-430-6026

County will apply for state funds to provide mental health crisis unit 
Washington County will apply for a state grant to pay for mental health crisis response services in the county after the County Board approved the application July 10.
Washington County will request $928,339 for the two years.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking to fund adult and children's mobile mental health crisis response services in accordance with state law. Money was appropriated in 2015 to assist all mobile crisis teams to expand services to 24 hours a day, seven days per week from Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 30, 2020.
Services to be provided to Washington County residents includes 24-hour telephone screening and triage, face-to-face crisis assessment and intervention services, community stabilization, and residential crisis stabilization services.
Currently, Washington County contracts with Ramsey County for after-hours mental health crisis response and with Canvas Health, a non-profit agency, for child protection after-hours response.
In 2019, Washington County is moving Mental Health Crisis Response Services for both adults and children in-house as part of a newly-created Crisis Response Unit to provide critical safety net services. The county request for state grant funds would fully fund its costs in 2019 and 2020.
Contact: Kathy Mickelson, Community Services Division Manager, 651-430-6532

WorkForce Center receives grant to continue Pathways to Prosperity program
The Washington County WorkForce Center will receive a $160,000 grant from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development to continue the county’s Pathways to Prosperity program.
The County Board accepted the grant July 10.
Pathways to Prosperity is an Office Technology for the Workplace program, and funding will be for 2018 and 2019. The WorkForce Center has been operating this program since 2013, in collaboration with South Washington County Schools' ACCESS Program and Century College to provide post-secondary office technology training to participants with multiple barriers to traditional school and employment pathways. An Adult Basic Education (ABE) instructor provides foundational, college preparatory literacy and math instruction, and is also embedded in all the classes at Century College to provide educational support.
The WorkForce Center provides assistance to the students in the group with case management, support services, and job placement. Students earn the 10-credit Computer Skills Certificate credential from Century College. If students choose, the credits are transferrable into other business pathway programs at any Minnesota State campus.
The grant will cover program administration costs, staff costs for the WorkForce Center and
ABE, tuition, school supplies, and textbooks for 40 participants over the next two years.
Contact: Rick Roy, WorkForce Center Division Manager, 651-275-8660

10-lot plat approved in West Lakeland Township
A 10-lot plat was approved in the Autumn Run Second Addition in West Lakeland Township by the Washington County Board of Commissioners July 10.
The plat is north of 10th Street North and west of Omaha Avenue North.
Contact: Nancie Schwintek, Property Records and Taxpayer Services Division Manager, 651-430-6758

Sheriff’s Office will get grant money to fight drug trafficking
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office will receive additional funds from two federal grants to fight drug trafficking, one for $9,920 and the other for $76,375, after the County Board accepted the grants July 10.
The two-year grants are from the Office of National Drug Control Policy for participation in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. The Sheriff's Office was initially awarded $117,500 in one grant; this agreement increases that grant by $9,620 to $127,120 for the purchase of Narcan kits and a Cellebrite system. Narcan is used to treat suspected opioid overdose victims and Cellebrite is a software and hardware system that gives investigators the ability to acquire cellphone data when allowed by a court order in an investigation.
At the time the second grant was awarded, the federal budget had not been passed into law and funding allocated represented approximately 35 percent of the anticipated funding. The amendment to that grant allocates the remaining funding of $76,375, increasing the grant to $117,500, which will be used to pay for a county law enforcement officer assigned to the North Central HIDTA region. The term of the grant is through Dec. 31, 2019.
The HIDTA program is designed to provide resources to federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to coordinate activities to address drug trafficking in specifically designated areas of the county. This program helps to identify and disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations and money laundering organizations; reduce drug-related crime and violence; and identify and respond to emerging drug trends.
Contact: Sheriff Dan Starry, 651-430-7601

Board approves final design work for segment of Bailey Road improvements
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a contract amendment with SRF Consulting Group, Inc., July 10 for $197,626 for the final design and coordination work for the third project (from Pioneer Road to Wellington Lane) of the Bailey Road management and safety improvement project.
Bailey Road is also known as County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 18.
Washington County contracted with the company a little more than a year ago to complete project coordination, traffic analysis, preliminary engineering, public and agency involvement, and environmental documentation services. The project involves operations and safety improvements along Bailey Road from CSAH 28 (Maxwell Avenue) to CSAH 19 (Woodbury Drive). This five-mile corridor that provides access to Interstate 494 has experienced considerable commercial and residential growth. It is expected that 3,500 housing units will be built in the area of the traffic corridor in the next five years, and traffic will increase by 50 percent to 100 percent.
Improvements will address aging pavement, traffic congestion and volumes, safety of intersections and crossings, pedestrian and bicycle accessibility, pedestrian facilities, and drainage. 
The preliminary design phase of the project has been completed. This contract adds final design engineering services for the third project segment. Final design and right-of-way acquisition will be completed in 2018. Construction is expected in 2019, along with utility work that will be coordinated with the City of Woodbury.
The contract will be paid for with highway state aid funds, with local contributions for design and construction costs.
Due to the length of the corridor, the project will be done in multiple projects. The timeline for projects one and two is not yet determined.
Also July 10, the board authorized the purchase of the right-of-way for the project. The right-of-way estimate to complete the project is approximately $100,000.
Contact: Nathan Arnold, Engineer, 651-430-4384, and Sharon Price, Right-of-Way Specialist, Property Manager, 651-430-4391

Meyer Contracting, Inc., will complete Third Street project in Stillwater
Meyer Contracting, Inc., will complete the County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 23, or Third Street, pavement reconstruction project in Stillwater, after the Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a $2.3 million contract with the company July 10.
The board also approved cooperative agreements with the City of Stillwater for the project.
The project is on CSAH 23 (Third Street North) from Walnut Street North to Chestnut Street North in the City of Stillwater. The project is scheduled to reduce the normal deterioration of highways and extend the pavement life. Improvements include full replacement of the concrete pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalk, and relocation of storm sewer. A retaining wall adjacent to the Armory property and a retaining wall adjacent to the Historic Courthouse will be rehabilitated. The roadway will be narrowed by two feet to provide wider sidewalks.
In collaboration with the project, the City of Stillwater is replacing a small portion of sanitary sewer and water main pipe, including a significant upgrade to water service to the Armory building.
The agreements with the City of Stillwater note that the city will pay 15.6 percent of the project costs, and sets out how the roadway will be maintained. The rest of the project will be paid for with highway state aid, with a small portion coming from the Historic Courthouse rehabilitation fund.
Contact: Allan Brandt, Engineer, 651-430-4348




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