Anoka County board approves consent agenda, accepts donations and sells bonds; recognizes local award winners

The Anoka County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 11 unanimously approved routine claims and minutes, accepted donations to county parks, ratified multiple transportation contracts and joint powers agreements, and adopted a general obligation bond issuance to fund a Rum River project and the county 911 center.

The board approved acceptance of regular claims over $500 and purchase‑card claims for the period ending Jan. 24, 2025. Commissioner Brasstead moved the motion and Commissioner Schulte seconded; a roll‑call vote recorded individual ayes from Commissioners Brasstead, Reinert, Gamache, Schulte, Jepsen, Meissner and Heinrich and the motion passed unanimously.

On parks business, the board approved Resolution No. 2025TRO4 accepting a $25,000 donation from Connexus Energy to fund natural‑ and cultural‑history programming for youth in the county park system, and Resolution No. 2025TRO5 accepting miscellaneous donations totaling $467.89 designated for park administration, Wargo Nature Center, natural resource management and park services. Commissioner Reinert moved those resolutions; they passed on the consent agenda.

Jeff Perry, Anoka County parks director, reported informational items: Riverfront 13 disc golf at Riverfront Regional Park in Fridley logged 18,654 rounds in 2024 and was recognized by the UDisc app as Minnesota’s most‑played course; park crews also groomed cross‑country ski trails at Bunker Hills, Rum River Dam and Chamonix Golf Course after recent snowfall.

Transportation and public works items were approved on the consent agenda. The consent slate included speed‑zone study requests (Res. 2025TR06 and 2025TR07), the county’s 2025 spring road restrictions (Res. 2025TR08), and multiple joint powers agreements and contracts (sample contract numbers C0010941, C0011341, C0011342). The board approved contract C0011382 to Ty Zack Concrete LLC for $2,845,539.67 for signal reconstruction and ADA improvements on Bunker Lake Boulevard in Andover. The consent agenda also included amendment No. 1 to professional services contract C0010750 with SRF Consulting for design and environmental documentation on the Rum River Boulevard bridge replacement in Oak Grove. Commissioner Schulte moved the consent agenda; the board approved it unanimously by roll call.

On financing, the board moved and approved a resolution confirming the results of a bond sale to finance the Rum River project and the county 911 center. County CFO Corey Camp said the sale occurred the previous day; Tammy Bridal of Northland Public Finance reported 14 bids were received and S&P Global affirmed the county’s AA+ rating. Northland reported a true interest cost of 3.54 percent and said the low bid came from TD Securities. Northland noted a final par amount of $21,000,500—below the $22 million maximum the board authorized—while county staff also referred to the bonds as a $21.5 million sale in earlier remarks. The board voted to adopt the bond resolution; the vote was unanimous.

Ceremonial items: the board recognized Danielle Sanborn as the 2024 Partner of the Year from the Rum River/**** Creek Watershed District for project work at the **** Creek Dam Regional Park; Jim Heffner, watershed board chair, and Jeff Perry presented the award and Sanborn thanked the watershed district for its partnership. The board also recognized the Anoka County Fair and its new Fair Buddies adaptive animal‑science program, which won first place at the 2024 International Association of Fairs and Expos; Commissioner Jepsen invited program volunteers and family members to speak briefly and showed photos of the program’s activities.

The meeting concluded after the unanimous votes; board members noted that many consent items undergo prior departmental review and that city requests and MnDOT processes inform speed‑zone studies and contracts.