Transportation dominates northern Hennepin County discussion between Metropolitan Council and local official
District Dialogue meeting includes Council Districts 1 and 2
Contact: Bonnie Kollodge
(651) 602-1357
ST. PAUL – Oct. 30, 2009 – Issues surrounding transit and transportation dominated a discussion among members of the Metropolitan Council and elected officials from communities in northern Hennepin County.
Council member RogerScherer and Independence City Council Member Lynn Betts
Council Chair Peter Bell and Council members Tony Pistilli and Roger Scherer hosted the sixth meeting of the Council’s District Dialogue series for 2009 on Oct. 23 at the Maple Grove Community Center. The annual series provides an opportunity for Council officials to meet with city, county and state officials to discuss top local and regional concerns.
The meeting included communities in Council Districts 1 (Lake Minnetonka cities, Hopkins and Eden Prairie), and the Hennepin County portions of District 2 (Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Osseo, and Robbinsdale) and District 4 (Minnetrista and St. Bonifacius).
"It’s important for us to go out and meet with local officials to update folks on what we’re doing,” Bell said. “But most importantly we need to hear any concerns and issues that officials have, and these meetings provide both opportunities."
Bell provided an update on the Council’s budget for the 2010-11 biennium. The largest portion of the budget goes to transit operations, which was projected to be short $62 million due to the underperformance of the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax. The Council used a combination of stimulus funds and shifts from other funds to cover the budget, as well as some of the Council’s reserves.
The final budget was accomplished without raising fares or cutting transit service, Bell said. “In tight budgetary times, we need to prioritize,” Bell said. “The public rightfully expects that.”
Bell also outlined transit capital improvements worth $21 million in state bonds for various projects throughout the region, including Central Corridor light-rail transit, bus-rapid transit on Cedar Avenue, and the Southwest Corridor project. He also clarified that a proposal to use bonding money to support land acquisition for a park-and-ride in the Bottineau Boulevard transit corridor was not eligible
In addition, Hennepin County is leading the way on an alternatives analysis on the Bottineau Transitway, and results of that analysis are being released publicly this fall. There are still questions about what mode is best for the area and that may require additional review, Bell said.
The meeting provided an opportunity for local officials to discuss various issues..
The region’s first commuter rail services, the Northstar Line, is also set to open Nov. 16, with public events to celebrate the opening on Nov. 14.
Bell also noted that $86 million in funds through the federal Recovery Act will support the extension of Highway 610 from Highway 169 in Brooklyn Park to Highway 81 in Maple Grove.
The Council will be updating the 2030 Transportation Policy Plan again in 2010, with the addition of the Metropolitan Highway System Investment Study, which will take a comprehensive view of how to leverage new technologies and other strategies to make better use of the existing highway-system capacity in the region.
Plymouth Mayor Kelli Slavik and Sen. Terri Bonoff from Minnetonka both asked about any plans to expand I-494 by one lane between Highway 55 in Plymouth and the Fish Lake interchange in Maple Grove. Slavik noted that the project has been evaluated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation as providing high benefit for relatively low cost. Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson said that backups north of the Fish Lake interchange are largely related to the need for an additional lane on I-494.
Slavik asked Council members whether there’s anything they can do to move the project up on the priority list.
Arlene McCarthy, director of transportation services for the Council, noted that the project is among those that will be evaluated in the highway investment study. Reducing congestion through shoulder lanes, and other options tested through the Urban Partnership Agreement projects on I-35W, are among the options for addressing congestion throughout the region.
Arlene McCarthy, director of Metropolitan Transportation Services at the Council, encouraged the county to study whether other methods of transit might be appropriate.
“These are solutions we can deliver much more quickly than projects that expand highways,” McCarthy said. "There will be some expansions recommended by the study, but we simply can’t build our way out of congestion.”
Bell also discussed the effort to restructure dial-a-ride transit services in the metro area. The new system will create consistency among operating parameters, fares, and contract management. One vendor will provide services for Hennepin County, though Maple Grove and Plymouth will continue to operate their own dial-a-ride services. Greater coordination with and among areas beyond the cities’ boundaries will be available through the regional system
The group also discussed long-term funding sources for transit operations, particularly for suburban providers who operate their own transit service, such as Plymouth and Maple Grove. Slavik noted that Plymouth had to use reserves to operate in the past year, and expressed concerns. Bell explained that the different suburban providers had widely varying amounts of reserves – some up to 200 percent of their operating budgets, while others had around 10 percent in reserve. He said a greater balance and more reasonable standard needed to be set.
Bell also discussed the recent changes in wastewater charges. There are two sources of revenue for the wastewater treatment system – the Service Accessibility Charge (SAC), which developers pay to connect to the sewer system, and the flow charges that residents pay for collection and treatment. The Council recently changed the way the charges are calculated, which will mean increases in municipal charges averaging four percent starting in 2010.
A task force, chaired by Council Members Peggy Leppik and Roger Scherer, will examine these fees and make recommendations to assure long-term sustainability.
The group also had a philosophical conversation about how the metro-area will be defined in the future, prompted by a question from Curt Boganey, city manager for Brooklyn Center. Today, Council authority includes the seven-county metro area and Bell said he doesn’t want to expand the jurisdiction of the Council. However, the issue of the “collar counties” – the counties immediately surrounding the seven-county area – will need to be addressed.
Bell said he meets with leaders from the collar counties twice each year to maintain a dialogue and monitor the issues they are dealing with. “Clearly the metropolitan area goes beyond the seven counties,” he said.
The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. The Council runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, coordinates regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council board is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.
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