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The Ramsey County Fire Chiefs Association in partnership with the Ramsey County Emergency Com- munications Center (ECC) received the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs 2018 Award for Innova- tion and Collaboration. The Ramsey County Fire Chief’s Associa- tion, which includes the Lake Johanna Fire Department, and Ramsey County ECC were recognized as a Leading Innovator of the 2018 Local Government Innovation Award in the City Category. The award was presented for the county-wide “Closest Unit Dispatching Project.” The “Closest Unit Dispatching Project” is designed to break down geographical boundaries to allow the “customer” the closest and quickest service to emergen- cies involving structure fires and those suf- fering a cardiac arrest. When a 911 caller reaches the Ramsey County ECC and is reporting a significant emergency, the sys- tem looks for the closest unit to the emer- gency location regardless of jurisdiction. Emergency vehicles within the County are equipped with an Automatic Vehicle Loca- tor (AVL). This allows dispatch to know their constant location, which allows the “closest unit” to be dispatched. Prior to Closest Unit Dispatching, the Dispatch center would send the emergency call to the closest fire station within the city of the caller, regardless of whether a closer unit was available to assist. Nick Thomas New Sheriff and Department Changes Announced Local Government Innovation Award Winners Named Bob Fletcher returned to lead the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office on January 7 following winning the election in November. Initial condi- tional leader- ship team appointments include new positions in the Arden Hills location. Jeff Ramacher is now Undersheriff, Public Safety Services. Jeff has served Ramsey County for 21 years and held the positions of Deputy, Sergeant, Commander and Inspector. Tony Waldo replaces Ramacher as Com- mander and oversees the patrol, including traffic patrol services. Mike Casey and Chris Moe are the traffic deputies. The Ramsey County Board of Commis- sioners awarded outgoing Sheriff Jack Serier with a Vision of Peace statue for his exemplary leadership and service to Ramsey County. It is the Commissioners' highest level of recognition. Resident Joins Master Water Steward Program The Ramsey County Board of Commission- ers award outgoing Sheriff Jack Serier. Sheriff Bob Fletcher Arden Hills resident Nick Thomas has joined the Master Water Steward program through Rice Creek Watershed District. Nick and his wife moved to Arden Hills in the last two years and want to contribute to the community. Nick is a Wa- ter Resources engineer-in- training with HDR, an international engineering firm with an office in Min- neapolis. The Master Water Steward is an educa- tion and outreach program designed to provide citizen volunteers with the knowledge and skills needed to improve water quality at the local level. The program was developed by the Freshwater Society in 2013; Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD / the District) became a partner and sponsor in 2016. Each Master Water Steward must participate in coursework, commit to 50 hours of volunteer service for water quality in the first year and 25 in subse- quent years, and complete a capstone project in their community. The District pays for the program registration and awards funds from the cost-share program to support the capstone projects. RCWD currently has 12 Master Water Stewards who have completed or are completing projects and volunteer throughout the watershed district. RCWD sees the Master Water Stew- ards program as a way to develop part- nerships, expand outreach and build capacity for water quality projects in the watershed.