Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting Summary
Meeting Information
- Date: March 5, 2025
- Title: Regular Meeting of the Public Health and Safety Committee
- Present: Jason Chavez (Chair), Elliot Payne, Michael Rainville, Jeremiah Ellison, Linea Palmisano, Robin Wonsley (arrived late)
- Absent: None
- Guests: Amanda Harrington (Director of Community Safety Design and Implementation), PMI Program Manager (name not specified)
- Votes: 1 (consent agenda items passed unanimously)
Highlights
- Progress report on Community Safety Ecosystem implementation and pilot programs
- Updates on Lake Street Community Safety Center operations and utilization
- Development of Community Safety Ambassador program
- Implementation of embedded social worker program for 911 calls
- Traffic Control Response Pilot planning
- Juvenile Deflection Program development
Discussion
Community Safety Ecosystem Progress
Director Harrington reported on the implementation of recommendations from the Safe and Thriving Communities Report and NYU Asset and Gaps Analysis. 43 tasks have been completed between both reports, with 12 completed since the last update. New prevention, response, and restoration committees have been formed, and a steering committee has been established to oversee implementation. The work is transitioning from groundwork to active implementation phase.
Lake Street Community Safety Center
The center has shown increasing utilization, though numbers dropped in February due to extreme weather. Usage increased from 22 visitors in November to 46 in January, before dropping to 29 in February. New services include school programming and planned non-emergency police report filing capability. Most visits were for basic services like bathroom access, though city services and permits were also significant. Council members expressed some concern about the current usage patterns but acknowledged the need for time to build community trust.
Community Safety Ambassador Program
The program will deploy ambassadors in East Lake Street and Franklin Avenue Cultural Districts. The program has been designed with significant community input, particularly focusing on youth safety during school commute times. Ambassadors will wear City of Minneapolis-branded uniforms to ensure clear identification. Councilmember Wonsley noted: “This standardization of identification is exciting… hopefully that can go across to some of our programs and NSD, too, with some of our contractors.”
Embedded Social Worker Program
A social worker will be embedded at MECC (911 dispatch) five days a week from 12:00 PM to 8:30 PM to handle mental health, substance abuse, and social service-related calls. Councilmember Rainville expressed concern about the hours, noting that “the problems don’t really start until 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 at night.” Staff acknowledged this but explained the hours were chosen based on call volume data and the need for overlap with leadership.
Public Comments
No public comments were recorded during this meeting.