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Scott County public health describes complex nuisance cleanups and expanded drug take-back options
Summary
Public-health officials said more than 100 nuisance cases in the last decade include hoarding and animal incidents, cleanup is rarely county-funded, and the county has expanded Take-It-to-the-Box dropboxes and deter bags to reduce environmental contamination.
Lisa Bradsky, Scott County public health director, told commissioners the department has handled over 100 public-health-nuisance cases in the past 10 years and that recent animal-nuisance complaints involved roughly 60 cats. She described one long-running Prior Lake case resolved when the property was sold and redeveloped; county-funded cleanups are rare — only twice in the past decade — and the county typically requires property owners to remediate or repays cleanup costs through property tax assessments when the county has advanced funds.
Bradsky emphasized the role of mental health in severe hoarding and nuisance cases: staff try to engage residents repeatedly and connect them to services rather than performing one-time, traumatic clear-outs. "This is a mental health issue. I can't say that enough," she said.
Public health also described expansion of medication-disposal options. The county has funded prescription dropboxes at police departments as part of a drug-free communities effort and distributes "deter" bags that chemically deactivate many medications so they can be disposed of in household trash when dropbox access is not feasible. Staff stressed incineration through hazardous-waste companies for collected medications as the environmentally preferable disposal route and are piloting vape-disposal kits in middle and high schools countywide.
County attorneys are working with public health to establish fines or fees for repeat nuisance violations, and staff said they are prioritizing partnerships and multi-visit engagement over forced cleanups when mental-health issues are involved. The board encouraged continued staffing and partnership investments to sustain the response model.
Next step: continue outreach, track outcomes for the dropbox and deters-bag programs, and report back on any proposed nuisance fees or enforcement changes.
