Documenters report: Meridian Behavioral Health to take over Ramsey County detox center

MinnPost’s Twin Cities Documenters program trains and pays community members to take notes at local government meetings. Below are Documenter Aria Eichhof’s summary and observations from the June 23 Ramsey County Board meeting. You can find Aria’s full notes here, which include links to the agenda and video recording.

Summary: 

• The board approved a lease agreement with Meridian Behavioral Health, which will take over providing detox and withdrawal management treatment at 402 University Avenue East.
  • The county previously provided services at this location and is switching its approach to partnering with a community provider to carry out the services instead. “Transitioning to a community-based model aligns with best practices of other counties and is anticipated to reduce county costs by at least $2 million annually,” the background document says. 

• The board approved a 3.5% salary increase for board members in 2027.  

• The board authorized submitting the county’s annual performance report to the state auditor. The report includes metrics like recycling, pavement conditions and veteran services.

Observations and follow up questions: 

Accessibility: Did you face any challenges that made it harder to document the meeting or that may have made it difficult for others to attend? For example: trouble accessing the location, difficulty hearing the discussion, lack of nameplates for elected officials, or the agenda being unclear, disorganized, or incomplete.

•  No challenges

Scene: About how many members of the public attended the meeting? If watching virtually, what was the livestream count (if applicable)? Was anyone protesting outside? 

•  In addition to the 17 interns, there were about 25 people in attendance. 

Notable: Do you have any follow up questions or other observations to share? What stood out to you as interesting or confusing? Is there anything you’d like to see reporters look further into? Were there any particularly memorable quotes?

•  No follow up questions. 

How to get involved:

When is the next meeting for this board/committee? Any upcoming public hearings? Online surveys? 

•  The next board meeting will be held July 7 at 9 a.m.

Related: Ramsey County commissioners consider 3.5% raise next year

More context:

Read Documenter Aria Eichhof’s full notes here, which include links to the agenda and video recording. View our full database of notes here.

Want to become a Documenter? You can start by making an account here.

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