Outreach coordinators to be face of Central Corridor LRT Project

Contact:
Laura Baenen
Central Corridor LRT Project
Communications Manager
651-602-1797
Laura.baenen@metc.state.mn.us

St. Paul – June 25, 2007 – The Central Corridor LRT Project today announced the hiring of four community outreach coordinators who know seven languages among them and assigned them to specific geographic areas on the ethnically diverse route.

The four start work as the project begins a round of summer meetings to get comment and inform the public during the preliminary engineering phase through 2008. Preliminary engineering will help the Metropolitan Council, which is designing and building the 11-mile line, determine the scope of the largest one-time public works project in the state’s history and still meet the federal cost-effectiveness index required for getting the federal funds that will pay half the cost. The line will link downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul via University and Washington avenues through the state Capitol complex, the Midway area and the University of Minnesota East Bank.

"The addition of these four outreach coordinators will greatly enhance our ability to work with the diverse community, business and ethnic groups along the corridor," said Peter Bell, chair of the Met Council. "They will help us share information and collect feedback about such critical issues as station design and access, traffic, safety, parking and mitigation of construction impacts."

The four community outreach coordinators and their assigned territories are:

Snelling & Lexington

Nkongo Cigolo (pronounced EN’-kong-goh SEEG’-uh-loh) – Formerly outreach coordinator for the Rural Integrated Development Program of Africa based until recently in Golden Valley, he speaks Swahili, French and English. Job duties included developing strategic partnerships and building connections and coalitions between the rural development program and other related nonprofit organizations. Contact: 651-602-1559, nkongo.cigolo@metc.state.mn.us

29th Ave., Stadium Village, East Bank, West Bank

Jessica Hill – As a support services staffer for the National Institute of Health Policy, she assisted in coordinating events to explore equal access to healthcare and find common-ground solutions to foster health system transformation. A master’s degree student in communications at the University of St. Thomas, she knows Somali, French, American Sign Language and English. Contact: 651-602-1840, Jessica.hill@metc.state.mn.us

Dale, Rice and Capitol East

Shoua Lee (pronounced SHOO’-ah LEE’) – Formerly project manager/loan specialist for the city of St. Paul’s Department of Planning and Economic Development, she speaks Hmong and English. With the city, she served as liaison about the LRT project to businesses, nonprofit organizations and ethnic chambers of commerce. She was one of two city staff who organized the recently formed Hmong Business Association to prepare for the LRT line. Contact: 651-602-1014, shoua.lee@metc.state.mn.us

Fairview, Raymond and Westgate

Rita Rodriguez – Executive director for the Association of Women Contractors and a previous business owner on University Avenue, she speaks Spanish and English. She previously worked for Women Venture, developing and managing the Jobs in the Trades Program to prepare women for employment in pre-apprenticeship programs in the construction industry. Contact: 651-602-1805, rita.rodriguez@metc.state.mn.us

Community outreach with the two downtown areas will be handled by the project’s manager of public involvement.

Downtown Minneapolis, Downtown St. Paul

Robin Caufman – With the Met Council for six years, Robin was a planning analyst/sector representative before she became manager of public involvement last October for the Central Corridor LRT Project. Her previous Met Council job involved coordinating outreach and regional planning activities with cities in Hennepin County. She has a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Contact: 651-602-1457, robin.caufman@metc.state.mn.us

In addition, the project hired intern Eve Vang in May to work on the project until September. Eve, who graduated this spring from the College of St. Benedict, speaks Hmong and English.

See outreach coordinators’ photos and map of their territories.

See a list of public meetings where you can meet them.

Download photos of Central Corridor maps and staff. Media have permission to download and reprint these images. Please credit the Metropolitan Council.

See upcoming Central Corridor public meetings where you can meet the new staff.

Central Corridor LRT Project

The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Project linking downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis via Washington and University avenues would be the third in a planned network of rail and bus "transitways" in the Twin Cities. Construction would begin in 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, with service beginning in 2014. The Metropolitan Council would be the grantee of federal funds, which make up 50 percent of the project’s capital cost before trimming to meet federal cost-effectiveness requirements. The regional government agency is charged with leading the design and building of the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, provides advice and oversight.

The Central Corridor LRT Project Website is www.centralcorridor.org