Anoka County committees weigh $817K signal project, $511K trail contract, and senior housing budgets
Anoka County boards and committees spent the week of July 7–14 reviewing contracts totaling more than $2 million for road signals, trail improvements, library repairs, and data consulting — though minutes have not yet been published for any of the meetings, meaning no final actions are confirmed.
Transportation: Signal reconstruction and trail improvements
The Transportation Committee on July 7 and the County Board of Commissioners on July 14 both reviewed two major contracts:
- **Contract SCON26-00001144** — $817,161.81 with SEH for design, permitting, and final design of signal reconstruction at nine intersections on 5th Avenue and East River Road, spanning Anoka, Coon Rapids, and Fridley.
- **Contract SCON26-00001177** — $511,700.00 to Bituminous Roadways, Inc. for Rice Creek West Regional Trail improvements at Locke Park in Fridley.
The Board also considered authorizing the County Engineer to order four tandem-axle plow trucks, a Freightliner Patch Truck, a Cat 938M Loader, a Cat 317 Excavator with Grapple, a Larue Snowblower, a DM 360 Mower, and a John Deere 6130M under the draft 2027 Transportation budget.
A temporary use agreement with Lynx FBO Anoka, LLC (Contract CCON-000569) for 3M Open parking at no cost to the county was also on the Board agenda, along with the proposed City of Ramsey Tax Increment Financing District No. 20 (Trident).
Housing: 2027 senior housing budgets and rent proposals
The Anoka County Housing & Redevelopment Authority met July 14 to consider 2027 operating budgets for four senior apartment complexes: The Willows of Ham Lake, Savannah Oaks, Chauncey Barett Gardens, and The Oaks of Lake George.
Proposed rent increases range from 1.5% at The Willows to 4.5% at Chauncey Barett Gardens, with 3.0% increases proposed at Savannah Oaks and The Oaks of Lake George. The budgets would draw on Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) for capital improvements at three properties. Chauncey Barett Gardens is projected to have the weakest financial position among the four.
Government operations: Library roof, data assessment, and service contracts
The Government Operations Committee on July 14 reviewed several contracts, including:
- **$492,888** to Construction Results (Plymouth) for the Mississippi Library rooftop unit replacement, plus a 10% contingency.
- **$225,000** with Deloitte Consulting LLC for an enterprise-wide data assessment.
- Master window cleaning contracts with Brightview Window Cleaning (Maple Grove), Clean and Clear Inc (Plymouth), and Starbrite Window Cleaning (Blaine).
- Hazardous materials professional services contracts with Bay West (St. Paul), Braun Intertec (Bloomington), and Pinnacle Engineering (Maple Grove), plus abatement/remediation contracts with Envirobate (Minneapolis), Mavo Systems (White Bear Lake), and Sheltertech (North St. Paul).
- Renewal of Contract SCON26-00000179 with Lake Superior Transport Services for medical examiner transport for St. Louis County, with rates unchanged: $950/single and $1,425/double for northern county; $600/single and $900/double for southern county.
Public safety: $20K donation for K9 program
The Public Safety Committee on July 14 considered Resolution 2026-PS07 to accept a $20,000 donation from the Anoka County Crime Prevention Coalition for the Sheriff's Office K9 Program, designated for training and equipment.
Law enforcement governance
The Joint Law Enforcement Council Governance Committee met July 8 to receive subcommittee reports on budget, data standards, and critical infrastructure. The agenda included a Capital Improvement Plan discussion, a PSDS update covering the Tyler Implementation Project (George Jensen), an Emergency Communications Center update (Kari Morrissey), and a status update on ARMER 800 MHz radios.
Coming up
- **July 22 — Joint Law Enforcement Council**: Regular meeting including approval of April minutes, Treasurer's Report, Budget Committee report, contracts discussion, and a jail update.
- **July 23 — Human Services Committee**: Review of a proposed $250,000 contract with Luceo CMG for a naloxone awareness media campaign, a proposed Solid Waste Ordinance amendment with a public hearing set for July 28, and Resolution 2026-HS-9 to accept MN Housing funding for the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program.
All recent meeting agendas are available through the Anoka County website. Minutes for the July 7–14 meetings have not yet been published.