Minneapolis Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025: Transit Safety, Environmental Health, Youth Diversion
Minneapolis Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025: Transit Safety, Environmental Health, Youth Diversion
The Public Health and Safety Committee, chaired by Jason Chavez, met on October 15, 2025, beginning with a resolution recognizing October as Health Literacy Awareness Month. The committee then considered consent items and received presentations on the Metro Transit Safety and Security Action Plan, the Environmental Health food, lodging, and pools program, and a comprehensive report on youth diversion, deflection, intervention, and prevention programs. Discussions centered on public safety on transit, food safety innovations, and strategies to reduce youth involvement in the justice system.
Consent Calendar
- The committee unanimously approved two consent items: a resolution recognizing October as Health Literacy Awareness Month and a revenue contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for bomb detection security services.
Presentation: Metro Transit Safety and Security Action Plan
- General Manager Leslie Kinderis and Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth presented an update on the plan, which includes 43 action items. Key elements include layering official presence: sworn officers, supplemental security (expanding from 9 to 16 locations in Minneapolis, including new sites at Warehouse Station and Nicollet Mall), TRIP agents (currently ~80, aiming for 100 by year-end, with funding for 57 more in 2026), community service officers (28 currently, on track to 40 by year-end), and a real-time information center. Chief Dotseth reported that serious crime on the system is low and decreased 13% last quarter. He highlighted the return of police beats, a 74% increase in directed patrols, a retention rate of 87%, and a goal of hiring 50 officers by year-end (40 hired so far). The Safe and Strong University Avenue initiative in St. Paul involved 1,312 homeless action team contacts and 5,633 directed patrols.
- Councilmember Questions: Council President Payne asked about formalizing partnerships via joint powers agreements. Councilmember Wansley inquired about the blend of in-house vs. contracted services, the safety ambassador program, and the demographic makeup of the force (Chief noted 36-37% diversity, 22% female officers, aiming for 30% by 2030). Councilmember Pompsano raised concerns about perception of safety, particularly nuisance crimes, and asked about undercover officers (Chief confirmed plainclothes details). Councilmember Rainbow noted a decline in complaints in his district and praised the beat cops. Councilmember Chowdhury shared positive feedback from constituents near 46th and Hiawatha Station and asked about lessons from the Transit Service Intervention Project (GM Kinderis emphasized separating code enforcement from social service outreach). She also asked about the demographics of new recruits.
Presentation: Environmental Health Food, Lodging, and Pools Program
- Director Cindy Wackworth provided an overview of the city's delegated inspection programs. She highlighted that Minneapolis is a national leader, with staff publishing a cooling study that may influence the FDA Food Code. The division offers free training: 479 people took basic food safety training in 2024, and 237 took allergy awareness training. A serving safety program for businesses led to a 42% reduction in violations. The division rewrote the top 130 food code violations to a 6th-8th grade reading level. Councilmember Pompsano asked about cooling best practices (passive method with no more than 2 inches of food in a pan) and the inspection of temporary tattoo events (15 events in 2024, all inspected).
Report: Youth Diversion, Deflection, Intervention, and Delinquency Prevention Programs
- Management Analyst Dwight Miller presented the report, outlining a funnel model from prevention (broad community supports) to diversion (formal alternatives to court). National best practices were shared from Harris County (FIRST program), King County (community accountability boards), Clark County (the Harbor juvenile assessment center), Ramsey County (collaborative review team with 884 youth cases, 10% recidivism), and Baltimore City (ROCA with relentless outreach, average 20 contacts before engagement). Locally, the city partners with Tubman's Inspiring Youth Program (74% improved school attendance, 79% stronger adult relationships) and the Minneapolis Police Department works with Restorative Justice Community Action for diversion. Hennepin County diverts about 30% of juvenile cases pre-charge. The report recommends strengthening cross-system collaboration, improving data sharing, integrating with public health, and elevating youth voices. Councilmember Payne asked about the completeness of the landscape (Miller noted gaps in education sector). Councilmember Wansley inquired about specific programs and the Youth Connecting Center (YCC), which is transitioning to Hennepin County sole funding in 2026.
Key Outcomes
- The committee unanimously approved the consent items (Health Literacy Resolution and Timberwolves contract).
- The Metro Transit Safety and Security Action Plan presentation was received and filed.
- The Environmental Health Food, Lodging, and Pools program presentation was received and filed.
- The youth diversion report was received and filed; no formal action was taken, but councilmembers expressed interest in further coordination and potential recommendations.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the regular meeting of the Public Health and Safety Committee for October 15th, 2025. I am Jason Chavez, the chair of this committee. Before we convene our meeting, we have a presentation of honorary resolutions. We are pleased to welcome guests to the space to share in presentation before taking up our agenda. Our resolution today is recognizing the month of October as Health Literacy Awareness Month. I'll now invite any of my colleagues up here in the dais to join me in the front so we can read the resolution with staff. Come on up. Health literacy in October. This resolution, we're going to be reading it with everyone up here. So we'll all take up a paragraph and then we'll talk a little bit about it. So it's recognizing the month of October as Health Literacy Awareness Month. Whereas October is nationally recognized as Health Literacy Month, and it is a time to recognize the importance of making health information easy to understand and the healthcare system easier to navigate by encouraging use of plain language, acknowledging the welcoming cultural differences and clear communication. These efforts will help both city employees and community members find under understand and use health information to make informed decisions that support their health and well-being and those they care for and second one. Whereas most adults in the United States have trouble understanding health information. This can lead to poor health outcomes, higher medical costs, and a lower quality of life. That is why it's so important for the city to share health information in ways that are clear, respectful, and easy to understand. And whereas the city of Minneapolis is working to remove the barriers that make it difficult for community members to get understand and use health information and services. Whereas health literacy is not an individual's responsibility only, but a responsibility we all share. And whereas in Minneapolis, many communities members' first language is not English. Whereas health misinformation has made it increasingly difficult for community members to access clear, accurate, and science-based information. This highlights the vital role the city of Minneapolis plays in advancing health literacy and supporting residents in making informed health decisions and whereas health literacy impacts and benefits all. During this month, the city will raise awareness, support actions that improve health literacy, and stay committed to making health information and services clear, accessible, and easy to understand for everyone in Minneapolis. And we want to make sure if staff want to make a few comments before we move towards the next part of the agenda, that would be amazing. Yeah. We're very excited and appreciative of the council and city of Minneapolis recognizing October as health health literacy month, and that we recognize health literacy is not extra work. Health literacy is not work we're doing in favor for someone or as a favor to anyone. Health literacy is the work of the public health department and of health itself, and it's shared by all to improve our lives, our health, and the well-being of our city. And health identifying disease and developing treatments is an essential part. And equally essential is making sure people are aware of those services, understand them, and feel confident engaging with those services. And health literacy guides us to recognize the many steps and the human experiences that shape those journey to getting information to action from care offered to the care received. And so when we honor health literacy, we're honoring every person who reads a prescription in hopes they are doing it right. We honor every person who nods politely through the instructions, though they may make no sense to them. And we honor every person who has bravely ever asked, can you say that again in a way I can understand? And so, because of this, through health literacy, we hope to make health a shared possibility for all. Thank you. Would anybody else like to say anything? Otherwise, we'll just go over here to take a photo with the black tape. So thank you all. Before we begin the meeting, I want to offer a friendly reminder to all members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation. These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community. Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast. We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments. At this time, I'll ask the clerk to call the role so we can verify a quorum for this meeting. Council President Green. Present. Councilmore Rainbow. Present. Is absent. Almost auto. Present.
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