The Humphrey School of Public Affairs bestows the Local Government Innovation Awards (LGIA) to recognize the creative ways counties, cities, and schools are doing things differently and making Minnesota better. Cook County earned Overall Honors for counties in the 2014 awards cycle for the county’s septic regulation implementation. Attending the awards ceremony were Environmental Health Officer Mitch Everson, Kristin Wharton and ordinance revision task force members Margaret Watkins and Mark Adams.
The Humphrey School of Public Affairs bestows the Local Government Innovation Awards (LGIA) to recognize the creative ways counties, cities, and schools are doing things differently and making Minnesota better. At the Tuesday, December 16 county board meeting, Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson told commissioners that Cook County had earned Overall Honors for counties in the 2014 awards cycle for the county’s septic regulation implementation.
All types of local government entities were encouraged to enter the competition, reporting on the innovative ways their community is responding to the challenges of an aging population, rising health care costs, and an increasing demand for government services with reduced revenue.
The Humphrey School received 97 submissions and 20 local government entities were recognized for their innovation. The winner in each of the four categories receives a professional video highlighting its work and a $5,000 grant from the Bush Foundation to continue local government innovation and redesign.
Nelson said the first $500 of the $5,000 would be earmarked to host a class for contractors to receive training on how to install the new systems and to promote wise building practices.
Serving on the county’s septic ordinance committee were Heidi Doo-Kirk, Jan Hall, Shari Baker, Jerry Hiniker, Charles Muggley, Ian Andrus, Stan Tull, Mitch Everson and Tim Nelson, planning director.
“We are certainly grateful to all of the committee members who put in a lot of time and work into the project, and grateful to all of the citizens, such as Kristin DeArruda-Wharton, Mark Adams and Margaret Watkins that were passionate and participated in the process as well,” Nelson said.
Other counties that were recognized were Hennepin County for a stable families initiative; Ramsey County for recidivism management system for better outcomes; Sherburne County for a program called Talahi educational neglect support (TENS); and St. Louis County for its community sanctions program.
Each category of entries (cities, townships, counties and schools) was reviewed by a separate panel of judges composed of an elected official, an appointed official, Humphrey School faculty, and a community member. Judges reviewed entries based on innovation (40 percent), impact (30 percent) and sustainability/potential for growth (30 percent).
In addition to the Humphrey School’s Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center, the League of Minnesota Cities, the Minnesota Association of Townships, the Association of Minnesota Counties, and the Minnesota School Board Association also sponsored the 2014 awards.
In a letter announcing the award, Bush Foundation Strategy and Learning President Allison Barmann wrote, “All of us at the Foundation look forward to seeing how the work you’ve undertaken with this grant helps our community think bigger and think differently about what’s possible.”
An award ceremony and reception was held at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on Thursday, December 11. Mitch Everson of Cook County Planning and Zoning and septic ordinance revision committee members Kristin Wharton, Margaret Watkins, and Mark Adams attended the event for the county.
“It was an honor to receive the innovative award at the Humphrey Institute on behalf of Cook County,” said Cook County’s Environmental Health Director Mitchell Everson.
“I would like to thank director Tim Nelson, the county commissioners and the planning commission, members of the special low flow task force committee and the MPCA who all participated and contributed to the winning of the award. It was awesome to work so closely with the community in the development of wastewater solutions for our unique county. I would also like to give a special thank you to Kristin DeArruda Wharton who was the first to come forward and encouraged the county to adopt alternative local standards, more affordable systems for low impact living,” Everson said.
For information on the changes to the septic ordinance and what sort of systems can be used in the county, visit the Cook County Planning and Zoning Office or contact them at (218) 3873630 or zoning@co.cook.mn.us.
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