Briefs: Residents needed to serve on county advisory committees

The county is still searching for residents who want to weigh in on local government to serve on a variety of advisory committees.

The deadline to apply for seats on the Dakota County citizen advisory committees, with topics ranging from community corrections and workforce investment to libraries and public art, has been extended to Dec. 21.

The volunteer committees, many of which meet monthly or bi-monthly, offer advice to the county board. For more information and application requirements, go to www.dakotacounty.us/countygovernment/CAC. Those interested in serving on a committee can call 651-438-4418 for an application.

Food shelf seeks volunteers to help staff expanded hoursThe Eagan and Lakeville resource centers are expanding hours at the Pantry, a local food shelf, and looking for volunteers and donations to help meet the holiday needs for the hungry.

The Pantry, normally open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, is now also open Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"We feel the urgency of the season and are experiencing an enormous increase in need, almost double the usual amount of phone calls for food support," said Lisa Horn, executive director of the resource centers. "There is no option but to do more."

Volunteers are needed to stock shelves, greet clients and shop with them. Donations of food and money are also accepted for the Project Pantry: Holidays Without Hunger campaign.

The nonprofit food shelf serves 900 families each month; 49 percent of those served are children. For more information on volunteering or donating, go to www.eaganrc.org/how-to-give.html.

Survey will measure residents' satisfactionRosemount has asked residents to take an 11-question online survey of satisfaction with city services through December.

The survey is found in the "News" section of the city's website at www.ci.rosemount.mn.us.

The survey polls resident satisfaction with public safety, public works and recreation and is part of the city's larger effort to measure how well it provides services.

"There's general agreement that local governments should measure themselves," said City Administrator Dwight Johnson. "Some things that cities do are difficult to measure, so sometimes the best alternative is to measure customer satisfaction with a service. This survey is intended to help fill that need."

The survey will be available until Dec. 31, after which the League of Minnesota Cities will compile the results send them to the city next year.

Police chief retiresScott Johnson, a Burnsville native who got his start as a policeman patrolling in Lakeville, retired this week as police chief in Apple Valley.

Johnson, 56, began his career as an 18-year-old dispatcher in Lakeville. Two years later the city hired him as an officer in 1976. After earning a master's in public administration in 1997, he became chief in Mendota Heights. Then he took the helm in Apple Valley in 2001.

The City Council is expected to name an interim chief.

KATIE HUMPHREY, LAURIE BLAKE and JIM ADAMS