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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Ramsey County Board Workshop on Safe and Strong University Avenue Initiative - November 18, 2025

Board of Commissioners & Authorities — Tuesday, November 18, 2025

BodyRamsey County, Minnesota

SessionBoard of Commissioners & Authorities

DateTuesday, November 18, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:14:21

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:02

Excellent.

0:03

All righty.

0:04

Welcome to the Ramsey County Board Shop.

0:07

Today's workshop topic is safe and strong University Avenue Initiative.

0:11

Curtis reminder that this board workshop is recorded and it is live streamed on Zoom webinar.

0:17

There will be no votes taken during this workshop.

0:20

Let's start with an introduction of commissioners and presenters around the table and then the rest of the room.

0:25

So I am Tara Chevinson, Commissioner of District One.

0:29

Mary Joe McGuire, Commissioner District Two.

0:33

Lynn Becker County Manager.

0:34

Jeremy General Rams County Inspector.

0:37

Good morning, Chan Choi, your county attorney.

0:39

Good morning, Joe Data, interim chief of priest, Major Thomas.

0:42

Corey Reyes, Deputy County Manager for the Safety and Justice Service Team.

0:46

Kelly Miller, Ramsey County Commissioner, District 7th.

0:51

Roughly a little digital five.

0:54

Jennifer Rourke, Director of Government Relations.

0:57

Chris Holbert, the government turns out.

1:04

Thank you, Public Health Director.

1:07

Louise Rosario, Public Health Responder.

1:10

Karen Frenzo, Deputy Planning Manager, Information Public Records.

1:20

Christine Governor, Planning Manager, AR.

1:23

Whitney Moore, a planning specialist, ARI.

1:29

Nancy Pass, Director of Emergency.

1:39

Yes.

1:40

Christy Cox Planning Manager, County Manager's Office.

1:55

Management Managers and Google Services.

1:59

Okay.

2:00

Anne.

2:01

Ramsey County Commissioner in my Chongshaw in District 6.

2:04

Excellent.

2:05

The Ramsey County, just to let us know as we get started that we are starting a little late today.

2:11

So I would encourage if we have questions during our workshop today to wait until each of our speakers is done with their section, and then we can kind of to be a little bit more disciplined on that.

2:23

Thank you for that.

2:24

Just to let us know that Ramsey County is partnering with the Metro Transit Police Department to support the Safe and Strong Initiative, a collaborative effort focused on improving safety and overall overall well-being on public transit.

2:37

A safe and strong initiative is a coordinated effort between the appropriate response initiative, public health department, social service providers, Metro Transit, County Attorney's Office, Sheriff's Office, and St.

2:48

Paul.

2:49

This initiative is intended to address public safety, health, and well-being concerns along the university corridor.

2:55

The focus is on supporting individuals experiencing addiction, housing instability, and related social challenges through outreach, harm reduction, connections to services, targeted social challenges through outreach, harm reduction.

3:08

I'm sorry, targeted enforcement and prosecution.

3:10

Together, concerns will be addressed on and around the green line by emphasizing care connection, community engagement, and public safety.

3:18

Today we'll be hearing about this coordinated partnership and the impact on our community.

3:23

All right.

3:24

Thank you, Chair, Commissioners, and County Manager Dr.

3:28

Today.

3:38

This initiative brings uh together law enforcement, public health and social service partners in a unified approach to improving safety and well-being in our community.

3:47

You will hear from Metro Transit Chief Dasett, uh, County Attorney John Choi, St.

3:52

Paul Police Chief Henry, and Deputy Police Chief Lynn are not able to be here today as they are responding to a committee event.

4:00

Ramsey County Sheriff's Inspector Darren McDonald and our Ramsey County leaders, uh, public health director Amy Karen and Human Services Manager Anna Hewitt.

4:10

This collaboration has shown us that when we work together across departments and jurisdictions, we can more effectively address the complex and interconnected issues facing our community.

4:21

By combining enforcement, outreach, harm reduction, and supportive services, we are not just responding to problems, we are building long-term solutions that make our neighborhoods safer and stronger for everyone.

4:34

Although this initiative is not at the beginning stages, we are proud of the meaningful progress that has been made through collaboration, persistence, and shared commitment.

4:44

Today we look forward to presenting the outcomes of our work, the lessons we've learned along the way, and how we plan to continue strengthening this partnership to Better Service Meeting.

4:53

I want to acknowledge the ARI planning team, social services, public health for leaning into this work, providing services, and moving residents where they are.

5:02

I want to extend a special thank you to Chief Dafsack and County Attorney John Choi for their innovation and leadership in bringing all of our partners together.

5:10

As you'll recall from the many neighborhood meetings that have occurred where residents voiced their concerns about safety and listened, leaned in.

5:20

And uh we all got to work together.

5:23

Um next slide here.

5:26

Um this is just our agenda, which I just covered.

5:29

Um, about the Safe and Strong University Avenue Initiative.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████52%

Public Health███████████13%

Homelessness█████████10%

Community Engagement███████8%

Transportation Safety█████6%

Mental Health Awareness████5%

Workforce Development███3%

Procedural██2%

Public Engagement█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Ramsey County Board Workshop on Safe and Strong University Avenue Initiative - November 18, 2025

On November 18, 2025, the Ramsey County Board held a workshop to discuss the Safe and Strong University Avenue Initiative, a collaborative effort to improve safety and well-being along the Green Line and University Avenue corridor. No votes were taken during this workshop.

Workshop Overview

The initiative brings together Metro Transit Police, Ramsey County Public Health, Social Services, the County Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Office, St. Paul Police, and other community partners.
The approach combines outreach, harm reduction, connections to services, targeted enforcement, and prosecution.

Discussion Items

Metro Transit Police: Interim Chief Joe Dotseth reported that serious crime on the transit system is down 11% year-to-date and 21% quarter-over-quarter, while officer activity is up 129%. In East Command (Ramsey County), serious crime is down 9% and enforcement activity is up nearly 50%. The Homeless Action Team (HAT) made 1,312 contacts and conducted 5,633 direct patrols, helping people into shelters and connecting them to benefits. The Hamline-Midway beat is active, and a downtown St. Paul beat will launch in January. Lessons learned include the need for a single point person per agency, weekly meetings, and more time to build relationships. Next steps include identifying 5-10 frequent users for intensive case management without additional funding.
County Attorney John Choi: Reported a 72% charging rate for cases related to the corridor, above the typical 55-65% range, and noted that cases have been tracked since October 2024. Presented demographic data to inform community engagement and outlined a commitment to a focused deterrence strategy that pairs targeted enforcement with offers of services.
Sheriff's Office: Inspector Jara McDonald emphasized that enforcement alone can push vulnerable people into surrounding neighborhoods, and stressed the importance of coordination with Metro Transit Police, St. Paul Police, State Patrol, and county services. Mentioned a $3 million state appropriation for the Capitol Vitality Project that will include the light rail corridor.
Public Health: Director Amy Karen described the harm reduction approach of two public health responders on the HAT detail. Over 700 connections were made in five months, including distribution of supplies like Narcan. She noted data on distribution may be underreported, as tracking began midstream. The department is working on using the CARE van and coordinating with warming spaces for winter.
Social Services: Manager Anna Hewitt highlighted staff like Tamika from the Ramsey County Mental Health Center who build relationships with individuals on the corridor, helping them navigate systems, clear warrants, and access services at 1919 (which offers mental health, chemical dependency, and psychiatric care). She stressed the importance of meeting people where they are and providing dignified, accessible care.

Commissioner Questions & Concerns

Commissioners requested specific crime statistics for intersections like University/Snelling and University/Dale. The Chief said overall crime along the corridor has decreased and committed to following up with detailed data.
Concerns were raised about the potential demolition of the CVS at University/Snelling and the need for proactive safety planning at that intersection.
Questions about the CARE van highlighted barriers, such as obtaining permission from business owners, and the possibility of using it in winter as a warm space.
A commissioner asked whether veterans are identified during HAT contacts; the Chief said they would check and potentially add the question.
Commissioner praised the collaboration, noting it was ahead of innovative practices seen at a recent transit conference.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken.
Partners agreed to continue the initiative and strengthen collaboration, with more time dedicated to the work.
Next steps include assigning a single point person from each agency, maintaining weekly meetings, launching a focused deterrence initiative, identifying frequent users for targeted support, and exploring use of the CARE van and warming spaces.
County leadership will work to integrate housing stability and other county services more fully into the public safety partnership.

Meeting Transcript

Excellent. All righty. Welcome to the Ramsey County Board Shop. Today's workshop topic is safe and strong University Avenue Initiative. Curtis reminder that this board workshop is recorded and it is live streamed on Zoom webinar. There will be no votes taken during this workshop. Let's start with an introduction of commissioners and presenters around the table and then the rest of the room. So I am Tara Chevinson, Commissioner of District One. Mary Joe McGuire, Commissioner District Two. Lynn Becker County Manager. Jeremy General Rams County Inspector. Good morning, Chan Choi, your county attorney. Good morning, Joe Data, interim chief of priest, Major Thomas. Corey Reyes, Deputy County Manager for the Safety and Justice Service Team. Kelly Miller, Ramsey County Commissioner, District 7th. Roughly a little digital five. Jennifer Rourke, Director of Government Relations. Chris Holbert, the government turns out. Thank you, Public Health Director. Louise Rosario, Public Health Responder. Karen Frenzo, Deputy Planning Manager, Information Public Records. Christine Governor, Planning Manager, AR. Whitney Moore, a planning specialist, ARI. Nancy Pass, Director of Emergency. Yes. Christy Cox Planning Manager, County Manager's Office. Management Managers and Google Services. Okay. Anne. Ramsey County Commissioner in my Chongshaw in District 6. Excellent. The Ramsey County, just to let us know as we get started that we are starting a little late today. So I would encourage if we have questions during our workshop today to wait until each of our speakers is done with their section, and then we can kind of to be a little bit more disciplined on that. Thank you for that. Just to let us know that Ramsey County is partnering with the Metro Transit Police Department to support the Safe and Strong Initiative, a collaborative effort focused on improving safety and overall overall well-being on public transit. A safe and strong initiative is a coordinated effort between the appropriate response initiative, public health department, social service providers, Metro Transit, County Attorney's Office, Sheriff's Office, and St. Paul. This initiative is intended to address public safety, health, and well-being concerns along the university corridor. The focus is on supporting individuals experiencing addiction, housing instability, and related social challenges through outreach, harm reduction, connections to services, targeted social challenges through outreach, harm reduction. I'm sorry, targeted enforcement and prosecution. Together, concerns will be addressed on and around the green line by emphasizing care connection, community engagement, and public safety. Today we'll be hearing about this coordinated partnership and the impact on our community. All right. Thank you, Chair, Commissioners, and County Manager Dr. Today. This initiative brings uh together law enforcement, public health and social service partners in a unified approach to improving safety and well-being in our community. You will hear from Metro Transit Chief Dasett, uh, County Attorney John Choi, St. Paul Police Chief Henry, and Deputy Police Chief Lynn are not able to be here today as they are responding to a committee event. Ramsey County Sheriff's Inspector Darren McDonald and our Ramsey County leaders, uh, public health director Amy Karen and Human Services Manager Anna Hewitt. This collaboration has shown us that when we work together across departments and jurisdictions, we can more effectively address the complex and interconnected issues facing our community.

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