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Parks acquisition tops agenda at 2007 State of the Region

Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell enumerated the region’s economic strengths as well as the Council’s successes and priorities in his State of the Region remarks.

The Metropolitan Council will seek funding from private sources to accelerate the acquisition of lands needed for regional parks and trails for future generations, Council Chair Peter Bell said in his 2007 State of the Region speech.

Calling the parks system one of the “jewels” of the Twin Cities metro area, Bell said private funds are needed to speed up the acquisition of land while it is “still available and affordable.”

“Recognizing that regional parks must compete with many other worthy programs for state funding, we have been exploring the idea of creating a ‘Friends of the Regional Parks Foundation’ to supplement the public funds we now receive,” Bell told the crowd at the State of the Region event on Feb. 5 in St. Paul. “A number of state and local park agencies around the country have successfully used such foundations to raise funds from private sources, and I firmly believe this idea can work here, too.”

The Council’s 2030 Regional Parks Policy Plan calls for expanding the regional parks system from 53,000 acres today to nearly 70,000 acres by 2030, as well as quadrupling the trail system from 177 miles to 877 miles.

“This expansion is needed to keep pace with the projected 35 percent increase in our region’s population by 2030,” Bell said. “It will preserve our region’s last, best natural areas and provide outdoor recreation opportunities for our children and grandchildren.” Bell said his ultimate goal is to raise $100 million to accelerate the region’s park land acquisition efforts.

During his speech at the Minnesota History Center, Bell discussed several of the Council’s priorities in the next four years.

Building on regional transit successes

The Council will continue to improve the region’s transit system, and develop a network of bus and rail “transitways.” Bell said the Council and its project partners hope to begin construction of the 40-mile Northstar commuter rail line by fall, and complete preliminary engineering on the Central Corridor light rail transit (LRT) line over the next two years.

These transit improvements will build on the success of the Hiawatha LRT line, “which already has achieved the ridership that had been projected by 2020,” Bell said.” In addition, the Council will work to improve the existing Metro Transit system, adding express bus routes, limited stop routes, park-and-ride lots and other passenger amenities. “Even with the addition of light rail and commuter rail lines, bus service will remain the backbone of our transit system in the years ahead,” Bell said.

Energy research partnership with the U of M

The Council is collaborating with the University of Minnesota on research aimed at developing new sources of renewable energy. Bell said the Council and University already have identified a number of projects, including one aimed at using waste products from the region’s wastewater system to produce a high-oil content biofuel.

“The idea is to marry the theoretical knowledge of university researchers and the practical experience of our operating staffs to produce innovation,” he said.

Relationships with adjacent counties.

Another priority is building closer working relationships with officials in the cities and counties immediately surrounding the seven-county area. “Clearly, the economic boundaries of our metropolitan area have grown far beyond the seven counties since Council was established four decades ago,” Bell said.

“No one is proposing that the Council’s jurisdiction be expanded,” he said. “However, we must find ways to work cooperatively with our neighbors — on a voluntary basis — on transportation, wastewater, parks and other growth-related issues.”

Council observes 40th anniversary

The Council this year is observing the 40th anniversary of its creation by the Minnesota Legislature. Bell said the Council hopes to use the anniversary to “remind the public why the Council was created, and to focus attention on some of the opportunities and challenges facing our region in the years ahead.”

The Council has published an online timeline of the important milestones in the agency’s history. The Council is also collaborating with Twin Cities Public Television to produce a half-hour documentary on the Council and the problems that led to its creation. A regional policy conference will be held in June to discuss where the Council and the region are headed in the future.