2024.03.04 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Meeting Minutes for March 4, 2024 Page 2 of 7 Washington County Update – Attorney Kevin Magnuson Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson explained he met the Council and staff for the first time at a Hugo Area Business Breakfast. He lives in Lake Elmo with his wife, son, and daughter in a house previously owned by his parents. He was in private practice for 20 years. The previous County Attorney, Pete Orput, encouraged him to run for office. He said the culture of the Office is to do the basic things in the right way and to be there to help but not at the expense of public safety. Kevin said they are committed to training law enforcement officers and work closely with the Sheriff’s Office for on-demand training. Kevin shared information on the East Metro Human Trafficking Taskforce that was started in 2016 and is a combination of local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, Homeland Security and the Washington County Offices who collaborates to fight human trafficking. In 2023, there were 43 human trafficking cases investigated in Washington County. Many of those cases were connected to runaways, and there is a focus on youth and parent education to work on the runaway situation. The Attorney’s Offices is trying to do more public speaking and engagement and will do presentations on whatever people want to talk about He shared that in 2023, there were 1,118 criminal complaints filed, which was down from 1,346 in 2022 and 1,246 in 2021. The downward trend could be to the backlog during Covid that brought the numbers up and new employees that took over cases. Numbers were higher for specific types of cases over the Covid years. Cases now are more complex with all the digital evidence collected, and a new computer system and staffing will help them with that. In 2023, there were six murders. Fleeing from police had skyrocketed, and there were 102 incidents in 2023 where they were charged. Auto theft had also been a problem with 46 cases in 2023. Kevin talked about some of the large drug cases that had successful results. Kevin talked about how the Covid years have affected juveniles, and he predicted that generation will struggle with a different criminal attitude, so they were working on diversion. They are seeing more mental health and chemical dependencies issues, and there are not enough treatment facilities. Kevin said he is on the legislative task force to make recommendations on how to get some relief for that. He talked about the veteran diversion program started by Pete Orput saying a lot of the work was done by volunteers. Mayor thanked him for coming and said Pete Orput would be proud he was carrying on the things he started. He encouraged Kevin to reach out to the Hugo Area Business Association and attend one of their meetings. Hopkins Schoolhouse Progress Report – Liz Cinqueonce City Administrator Bryan Bear reminded Council that last summer, Council approved the 15- year lease agreement with the newly formed Hopkins Schoolhouse and Heritage Center (HSHC) Committee. The building and property are located at 5970 170th Street North. It is owned by the City and is operated by the group under this agreement. The agreement established milestones that serve as a guideline on the restoration of the schoolhouse. Members of the committee were in attendance to report to Council on their progress in the last year and provide information on their next milestones.