Bell calls for creation of regional parks foundation

Group would raise private funds for land acquisition

Contact: Bonnie Kollodge
651.602.1357

ST. PAUL — Feb. 5, 2007 — Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell said today that the Council will seek funding from private sources to accelerate the acquisition of lands needed to provide for regional parks and trails for future generations.

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 needed 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 Council’s 2007 State of the Region event. “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 long-range Parks and Open Space 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 goal is to ultimately raise $100 million to accelerate the region’s park land acquisition efforts.

During his speech at the Minnesota History Center, Bell said the Council’s priorities over the next several years also include:

Continuing to improve the region’s transit system, and developing a network of bus and rail “transitways.” He 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.

He said 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.” In addition, he said the Council also 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.”
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.

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.”

The State of the Region event came as the Council marked the observance of its 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 Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. It runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, manages regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.

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