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Washington County, Metropolitan Council officials focus on transportation issues

Development, infrastructure also among topics at District Dialogue

Contact: Bonnie Kollodge
(651) 602-1357

ST. PAUL – Nov. 10, 2009 – Washington County and Metropolitan Council officials focused on issues related to transit and transportation in the eastern metropolitan area at a Nov. 4 meeting in Woodbury.

Council Chair Peter Bell and Council members Sherry Broecker and Georgie Hilker hosted the seventh meeting of the Council’s District Dialogue series for 2009 at the Woodbury City Hall. 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 the Washington County of Council District 11 (Hugo, Landfall, Oakdale, White Bear Lake) and Council District 12 (balance of communities in the county).

“We appreciate the opportunity to provide an overview of the activities underway at the Council, and the challenges we’re facing,” Bell said. “But most importantly, it’s an opportunity to listen to the concerns and questions of local officials.”

Bell explained that the Council recently dealt with a $62 million shortfall in the 2010-11 budget for transit operations. The shortfall was largely due to lower-than-expected receipts from the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST), as well as the responsibility for operating the new Northstar commuter rail line.

The Council used a combination of stimulus funds, shifts from other funds, and Council reserves to balance the budget. Specifically, the legislature gave the Council the authority to use up to half of its levy for Livable Communities grants and a portion of unexpended funds in the Right-of-Way Acquisition Loan Fund (RALF). In addition, through an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), the Council was able to use some of Mn/DOT’s phase-in portion of new MVST funds, provided through the 2006 constitutional amendment, through 2012.

Bell said the Council won’t need to use RALF funds and likely won’t need to use the Livable Communities levy either, although it may use the balance in that fund. The budget was balanced without the need to increase fares or cut transit service, as well, Bell said. And in the next budget cycle, projections show a much smaller potential deficit.

“We are on a solid footing,” Bell said.

Bell also outlined transit capital improvements worth $21 million in state bonds for various projects throughout the region, specifically $3.4 million for park-and-ride expansion at the Maplewood Mall, which is a hub for many east-metro express routes. The bonds included $500,000 for improvements at the Union Depot in downtown St. Paul, to transform the facility into a multi-modal east metro transit hub, much like the hub being created at the new ballpark in Minneapolis. The improvements also included $8.5 million for the Central Corridor light-rail project that will serve the Union Depot when complete.

He also updated the group on several east-metro transportation and transit projects:

• Council support for Mn/DOT application for discretionary stimulus funds for the bridge over the St. Croix River.
• Alternatives analysis underway for bus-rapid transit, light-rail transit or commuter rail on the I-94 transit corridor from Woodbury to downtown St. Paul, and downtown Minneapolis.
• Alternatives analysis for the Rush Line corridor.
• Evaluation of additional bus transit service in the Red Rock Corridor from Hastings to St. Paul, to build a stronger transit base in the area.
• The Metropolitan Highway System Investment Strategy project to assess major highway system expansion projects. This effort, in partnership with Mn/DOT, 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. The project will lead to an update of the Transportation Policy Plan in 2010.

Bell described the highway investment strategy project as identifying high yield/low cost projects that can better utilize system capacity. Rep. Nora Slawik from Maplewood asked for clarification on examples of those projects.

Arlene McCarthy, director of transportation services for the Council, noted use of dynamically priced shoulder lanes on I-35W as part of the federal Urban Partnership Agreement as an example of using innovation and technology to relieve congestion with existing capacity. She also pointed to the addition of a lane on a short stretch of I-94 in Maplewood, and extending an acceleration lane on I-494 in Woodbury as ways to eliminate congestion and potential bottlenecks.

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 Washington County and portions of eastern Ramsey County. Greater coordination with and among areas beyond the cities’ boundaries will be available through the regional system.

Sen. Katie Sieben from Cottage Grove asked what the Council’s role would be in Mn/DOT’s efforts to create a statewide rail plan. Bell noted that the Council is reviewing material and providing input to the Mn/DOT effort, which will be complete by the end of 2009.

Woodbury Mayor Bill Hargis asked about the issue of geographic balance in how transportation funds are allocated throughout the region, particularly in eastern metro-area communities. Bell said the Council agrees it’s important to achieve balance in how funds are allocated, within the realities of budgetary constraints.

Bell was also asked whether the Council supports expanding the Council’s levy authority for transit capital improvements beyond current boundaries. He said he is in favor of applying the levy across  the entire seven-county metro area, but would prefer a scenario where the current amount of revenue would be spread across a greater area, rather than applying the current rate to more communities.

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.

“We’re going to our customers – the municipalities – and saying, ‘What should the balance between these funding sources be?’” Bell said of the task force.

Bell also thanked communities for their work in submitting comprehensive plans on time. He noted that the Council is working to create an aggregate view of what all the region’s comprehensive plans say about trends in the region.

Clinton Gridley, city administrator for Woodbury, asked what Bell thought the Council’s role would be in the region’s water system. He suggested that he hoped the Council would not create an additional layer of regulation for communities, but would only be involved in streamlining how water supply issues are monitored and regulated.

Bell said he views the Council’s role as assuring water safety and availability, not as a regional system that the Council should have authority over. To that end, the Council set up a study group to identify where water supply challenges may be so the Council could alert municipalities when there might be concerns. Cities also provide a water use plan as part of the comprehensive planning process.

Chuck Haas from the Hugo City Council served on the group and noted that it was a valuable process. “The Met Council, if anything, has been an ally with cities,” 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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