Agenda - Council - 09/23/1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ANOKA COUNTY MEDIATION PROJECT DATE: AUGUST 20, 1986 MEMO TO: DAVE HARTLEY, CITY MANAGER CITY OF RAMSEY MEMO FROM: LONNI McCAULEY, TASK FORCE MEMBER ANOKA COUNTY MEDIATION PROJECT Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process whereby people in conflict can sit down with a trained volunteer and work out their problem using win-win strategies. The volunteer's role is to facilitate the negotiation, remain impartial at all times, and to help create options if needed.. The concept is not new, even if it is still unique. In 1981 the state legislature made funds available to the Minnesota Supreme Court to establish pilot programs in Minnesota. A Ramsey County Dispute Resolution Center was established and is still operating today. Hennepin County has four community centers. I am familiar with the project in Brooklyn Center. The Anoka County task force started meeting in May to start deliberations. The task force, by the way, is made up of city managers or police chief from the 8 major Anoka county cities, a district judge, a representative from the Anoka County Bar Assn., Senator Gene Merriam, two school board members, a county commissioner, a business representative, resident and civic organization representative. The goal of the Anoka County Mediation Project task force is to set up such a center for county residents to use as a forum other than courts or other enforcement agencies. The objective is to help people solve problems and also to help relieve congested court calendars and give police departments and cities an alternative resource in solving conflict. You are probably already aware of the type of conflict I'm talking about - you get the phone calls at home or people coming to open mike talking about the neighbor's barking dog, or not cutting their weeds, or junk cars in the yard, or a proposed re-zoning that has everyone up in arms. In other words the type of conflict that's hard to settle legally, but that's just as serious and causes just as much consternation to residents in your town.