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City Council Regular Meeting — 05/24/04 <br />DRAFT Minutes - Page 11 <br />Additional County services highlighted by Commissioner <br />Wiessner included a recently activated composting service <br />for yard waste; the County's new jail facility; and <br />continuing reconsiderations of the County's 60-month <br />public assistance program and the challenges presented <br />with additional clients being added on a continuing basis. <br />Commissioner Wiessner noted the County's partnership <br />with several other St. Paul agencies to provide job training <br />and employment services to assist people in getting off the <br />assistance roll. <br />Commissioner Wiessner noted that transit continued to be a <br />priority issue of Ramsey County, even though met with <br />legislative constraints and inaction on proposals, <br />recognizing that federal funds available for the next phase <br />of the engineering study were in j eopardy due to timing and <br />no legislative funding. <br />Commissioner Wiessner had included the County's five- <br />year projected Transportation Improvement Program and <br />the County's reconstruction of County Road C this year. <br />Commissioner Wiessner addressed the inadequacies of the <br />maintenance schedule for mill and overlay of County <br />Roads, recognizing that more reconstruction projects were <br />needed, but 70% of aid monies were applied to out-state <br />roadways, rather than metropolitan roadways. <br />Commissioner Wiessner reviewed the proposed 800 MHz <br />communication system among agencies, receipt of federal <br />grant monies and total anticipated cost, noting the need for <br />coordinated communication and efficiencies of efforts by <br />emergency responders. <br />Commissioner Wiessner concluded by acknowledging that <br />County expenses continued to soar for reactive public <br />safety costs, and compared preventative and discretionary <br />programs provided by the County in 1988 with today's <br />budget allotments. Commissioner Wiessner noted that the <br />challenge before the Commissioners was to determine the <br />County's priorities and services, and which items they <br />could no longer provide. Commissioner Wiessner <br />