Commissioner Jeff Reinert Sworn into Office
Prior to the board’s regular meeting, Commissioner Jeff Reinert, who now represents District 6, was sworn into office. Voters selected Reinert to fill the vacancy, created when Rhonda Sivarajah became county administrator, in a Feb. 11 special election. Reinert served for 20 years on the Lino Lakes City Council, including 10 as mayor. To watch the video of the swearing-in, click HERE.
Board Listens to Mosquito Control Presentation
Dr. Stephen Manweiler, executive director of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, attended the meeting and made a presentation to the board about the district’s mission, priorities for this coming mosquito season and trends they’re seeing. Manweiler noted about 90 percent of the district’s control efforts are larval based, meaning they do heavy work to treat for mosquitos in the early spring, before they’ve made it into the adult phase of their life cycle. The district also conducts mosquito control efforts on adult populations throughout the metro region during the state’s warmer months. Mosquito control is a public health effort — driving down the population of these pests helps reduce the spread of disease. Last year in Minnesota, mosquitoes were responsible for the transmission of 13 cases of Jamestown Canyon virus into people and two cases of West Nile virus. In 2018, there were eight reported cases of Jamestown Canyon and 63 cases of West Nile. To watch the video of this presentation, click HERE.
Hetrick Appointed Interim Library Director
The board voted to appoint Anoka County Budget Director Patti Hetrick as the county’s interim library director. Hetrick steps into the position following the departure of former director Maggie Snow. Decisions on how to fill the library director role on a permanent basis will be made in approximately six months. For more information on this item, click HERE.
Road Construction Projects Approved
The board awarded a contract to Forest Lake Contracting for the Hansen Boulevard reconstruction project, from Northdale Boulevard to Main Street, in the City of Coon Rapids. There will not be a posted detour for this project, but traffic will likely be slowed in the area. The board also awarded a contract to North Pine Aggregate for the reconstruction of 125th Avenue, from Aberdeen Street to Radisson Road, in the City of Blaine. For more information on these items, click HERE.
Money Saved on Prepayment of Bonds
The board adopted a resolution providing for the prepayment and redemption of the county’s outstanding general obligation airport improvement bonds. This action will save the county more than $129,000. For more information on this item, click HERE.
Data Backup System Purchased
To accommodate for the ever-increasing requirements to store county data, the board approved the purchase of a new county enterprise backup system. Susan Vreeland, director of the Anoka County Information Technology Department, said data backup needs have increase 300 percent since 2013, and it goes up about 30 percent each year. To watch the video on this item, click HERE. For more information on this item, click HERE.
Ambulance to be Used for Emergency Management
The board accepted the dedicated gift of a retired ambulance from North Memorial Health. The ambulance will be used as a mobile public safety answering point for emergencies and training. For more information on this item, click HERE.