Our Mission:  Providing quality services through responsible leadership, innovation and
the cooperation of dedicated people

Date:	Oct. 18, 2022
Contact:	Yvonne Klinnert, Senior Communications Specialist
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 Oct. 18, 2022, Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting at the Government Center in Stillwater, Minnesota

Staska named to Workforce Development Board
Jaime MK Staska was named to a partial term as a workforce representative on the Workforce Development Board by the Washington County Board of Commissioners Oct. 18.
Staska will serve a term expiring June 30, 2025.
Contact: Holly Hess, Administrative Assistant, 651-430-6015

Waterways added to watershed management plan
Valley Creek and Kelle’s Creek have been added as priority water bodies to the Lower St. Croix Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners added the water bodies Oct. 18.
Washington County and its partners, as part of the state’s One Watershed One Plan (1W1P) program, organized and developed the Lower St. Croix One Watershed, One Plan, an effort to work cooperatively with local agencies to guide the protection and restoration of priority natural resources within the Lower St. Croix watershed.
The plan is a supplementary planning document to the County's Groundwater Plan.
The Valley Branch Watershed District requested that Valley Creek and Kelle’s Creek be added to the list of regionally significant streams.
Contact: Tom Dietrich, Public Health & Environment Planner, 651-433-6716
Conservation District will work with county to restore prairie at LEPR
Washington County will work with the Washington County Conservation District (WCD) to enhance nine acres of existing prairie to benefit pollinators in the southeast corner of Lake Elmo Park Reserve.
The County Board approved the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) Habitat Enhancement Landscape Pilot for the project Oct. 18.
BWSR provides grants to the Washington Conservation District to fund improvements to habitat. The program is focused on restoring and enhancing diverse native habitat across Minnesota to benefit pollinators and beneficial insects, as well as overall plant and animal diversity.
WCD partnered with Washington County Parks to identify a project within Lake Elmo Park Reserve that met the criteria and would benefit from the program. The program will restore the prairie, inter-seeding species that are not present within the site, and planting prairie plugs to give the plants a head start.
Mowing and haying of the site will reduce grass dominance and provide an opportunity for the seeded and planted species to grow. WCD will provide $4,990 in BWSR funding, and Washington County will provide $1,663 of staff time as an in-kind match.
Contact: Dan MacSwain, Natural Resources Coordinator, 651-430-4323

K9 Kirk will be transferred to handler in retirement
The ownership of Washington County Sheriff’s Office K9 Kirk will be transferred to handler Sgt. Paul Stenglein after the County Board approved the transfer Oct. 18.
The Sheriff's Office retired K9 Kirk from active duty earlier this month. The terrier/lab mix was adopted in 2017 from the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury. He was immediately put to work to serve the residents of Washington County as a drug detection K9 with his handler Stenglein, who was recently promoted to sergeant.
Stenglein has agreed to accept ownership, liability, and medical care for Kirk during his retirement at no cost to the county. Kirk had many successes and the Sheriff's Office thanks him for his service and wishes him the best in retirement with the Stenglein family.
Contact: Laura Perkins, Public Information Officer, 651-430-7994

Sheriff’s Office will receive $200,000 enforcement grant
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office will receive $203,425 in an Enforcement Grant for 2023, after the County Board approved an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Oct. 18.
The grant will be used to reimburse overtime costs associated with traffic enforcement, including impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, “move over” laws, and seatbelt enforcement.
The overtime cost will cover work performed by the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the police departments of Stillwater, Bayport, Woodbury, Forest Lake, Oakdale, Oak Park Heights, Cottage Grove, and St. Paul Park. The Washington County Sheriff's Office will be the fiscal agent for the grant, which is effective through Sept. 30, 2023. This agreement does not have a matching requirement.
Contact: Laura Perkins, Public Information Officer, 651-430-7994

County Board approves revisions to food code ordinance
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved changes to the county’s Food Code Ordinance #145 Oct. 18.
The county proposed changes to the food code ordinance to bring it into alignment with the state code and the county’s agreement with the Minnesota Department of Health.
The ordinance includes the following changes:
* deleting or revising definitions that are redundant, unclear, or outdated;
* clarifying language that is unclear or to improve readability;
* revising the variance section to include the state variance process;
* clarifying exemptions from the ordinance; and
* revising late fees for special food event applications.
The board conducted a public hearing on the proposed revisions Oct. 4. No residents spoke at the hearing. Licensed food establishments in the county were also notified of the proposed ordinance revisions.
Contact: Jeff Travis, Community Health Program Manager, 651-430-4033

Kraus-Anderson will do construction management on West Central Service Center
Kraus-Anderson Construction will perform construction management services for the Washington County West Central Service Center, planned to be built in Woodbury.
The County Board approved the $884,740 contract with the company Oct. 18.
The county’s 2019 Strategic Facility plan indicates a need for a new Service Center to replace the existing Woodbury Service Center. The plan is to locate the service center near the proposed Gold Line transitway. The county chose land near the corner of Woodlane Drive and Guider Drive, east of Interstate 494 and north of Valley Creek Road. The planned Gold Line BRT station and park-and-ride will be adjacent to the service center. Alliiance Architects will lead the design of the building.
Kraus-Anderson has demonstrated a high quality of work from its previous work with Washington County. The proposal received provides competitive pricing that is favorable to Washington County and falls within the amount budgeted in the project for this service.
The building will provide public-facing services, with enhanced access to underserved communities. It will provide flexible workspaces and technology, and planning will emphasize a sustainable building.
Kraus-Anderson will oversee:
* cost estimating;
* constructability reviews;
* contractor coordination;
* field supervision;
* schedule development;
* bidding;
* contract administration; and
* project closeout and warranty.
It is expected that the land for the project will be purchased in December. Construction will begin in spring 2024, with completion expected in winter 2024 to spring 2025.
Contact: Mandy Leonard, Senior Project Manager, 651-430-6236

Stumpner named 2022 Minnesota's Sheriff's Association Correctional Supervisor of Year
Washington County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. David Stumpner was recently named the 2022 Minnesota Sheriff’s Association (MSA) Correctional Supervisor of the Year at the MSA Jail Administrator’s Conference in Brainerd.
Stumpner was hired as a correctional officer in 1999 and was promoted to correctional sergeant in 2010. He worked as a shift sergeant, administrative operations sergeant, and is currently the program unit sergeant.
He exemplifies servant leadership, works very hard, is engaged, and will help anyone in the jail at any time. Stumpner is a positive leader who sees the big picture and has most recently implemented inmate tablets, a new GPS and electronic home monitoring system, and is on the verge of implementing inmate video visitation. Stumpner has worked diligently as the prison rape elimination coordinator, and his work has been recognized positively in the last two inspections.
He is well liked by his peers and his programmers as a person with great integrity and dependability. He provides excellent public service and strives to have the inmates leave the Jail better physically, mentally, and spiritually than when they came in.
Stumpner said that he is honored and humbled to receive this award. In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors, traveling, and rock hunting with his wife and two daughters.
Contact: Laura Perkins, Public Information Officer, 651-430-7994

Sgt. David Stumpner of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was honored at the County Board meeting Oct. 18 by colleagues and board members for being named Minnesota's Sheriff's Association Correctional Supervisor of Year. From the Sheriff’s Office on left, Lt. John Warneke, assistant jail administrator, Sheriff Dan Starry, and Chief Deputy Doug Anschutz; commissioners Stan Karwoski, District 2, and Wayne Johnson, District 4; Sgt. David Stumpner; and commissioners Lisa Weik, District 5, Gary Kriesel, District 3, and Fran Miron, District 1.

Larkin Hoffman will continue to represent county at Legislature
The firm of Larkin Hoffman LLC will continue to represent Washington County at the state Legislature after the County Board approved a one-year contract extension with the firm Oct. 18.
The firm will be paid $48,000 over the course of the year.
In 2018, Washington County selected Larkin Hoffman through a competitive request for proposals to provide state legislative services for two years. The contract was amended and extended for 24 months in 2020. The scope of services includes implementing the county’s legislative platform, working closely with county staff to arrange for research and testimony to support Washington County's legislative initiatives, and collaborating with county staff to prepare background materials, such as talking points and white papers, to make meetings as effective and efficient as possible.
The firm’s staff also monitors bill introductions and committee hearings and tracks bills that are relevant to county operations and financing, lobbies defensively against proposed legislation that the County Board identify as adverse to the interest of the county and its residents, and provides legislative consultation on public relations, strategy, and analysis. The staff also cooperates with other counties, regional partners, and lobbyists when legislative priorities are similar and/or a joint effort is deemed to be advantageous to the county.
Contact: Yvonne Klinnert, Senior Communications Specialist, 651-430-6026


A great place to live, work and play…today and tomorrow

Government Center | 14949 62nd Street North | P. O. Box 6 | Stillwater, MN 55082-0006
P: 651-430-6001 | F: 651-430-6017 | TTY: 651-430-6246
www.co.washington.mn.us

Washington County is an equal opportunity organization and employer