2012 State of the Region remarks

Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh January 18, 2012 Target Field, Minneapolis

(Remarks as prepared for delivery.)

I would like to start today by thanking each of you—you are the partners, stakeholders and advocates who make the Twin Cities a top notch livable region.

The Twin Cities is a place where individuals and businesses can prosper. It is a wonderful place to live, to work, and raise a family.

Whether you are a business or education leader, a local elected or appointed official, a developer or a member of a labor union, a resident who serves on a Council advisory committee or a neighborhood association board, you are invested in building stronger neighborhoods, better cities, and a vital region that works on all levels.

I want to give a special thank you to our private, local, state and federal funding partners—you know who you are—business leaders, foundations, CTIB members, mayors and city council members, legislators, and members of Congress—we’re all working together with a common purpose and a shared vision of a 21st century region. We are determined to make this a stronger and better place for our children and grandchildren.

I’m pleased to see so many of my colleagues from the Governor’s cabinet here today. I am grateful for your support and for your service to our state and particularly this region.

I also want to thank the Metropolitan Council Members who are here today. I am so impressed with their commitment to engage in their districts and actively listen to and learn from the residents of our diverse region.

As a Ramsey County commissioner for ten years, I knocked on many doors. I would sometimes hear about how local government could better serve its taxpayers.

But, more often than not, someone would tell me, “you know I live on the best block in St. Paul”—and I would hear this whether they lived in Highland Park or Summit-University or the Midway.

This past year, serving as Chair of the Metropolitan Council, I have heard the same fundamental pride expressed across the region about who we are and where we live.

This is equally true from the West Metro to the East Metro from Anoka County to Dakota County from Woodbury to Maple Grove, Belle Plaine to Blaine and from Brooklyn Park to Newport—we put down roots and we are proud of our block, proud of our neighborhood, and proud of our city.

And, together we can be the best metropolitan region in the nation, a community that is unmatched in its economic potential and quality of life…

A region that together, builds upon the best of what we have and attracts new businesses, new jobs, and the new ideas of a bright and ambitious workforce.

The key word is “together.”

Together we can strengthen our public-private partnerships and the partnerships among our regional and local governments.

With a spirit of partnership, we can achieve and surpass the aspirations we share for this region.

Our whole state takes pride in Target Field – it is what we aspired to when we imagined a new stadium. It is praised and admired across the country as a great venue for professional baseball.

We picked this venue for the State of the Region because it reminds us that, just like building Target Field, the work we’re talking about today is not easy and it often requires bold leadership that cuts against the grain.

Another reason we picked this venue for the State of the Region is that we knew some of you would really enjoy the tremendous view. I hope you take a moment today to admire the excellent, unobstructed view from your seats of the Minneapolis skyline and of course, the garbage incinerator known as the HERC!

I want to express my gratitude to the Twins and Minnesota Ballpark Authority for being a fantastic community partner and our host today as well as to the McKnight Foundation for sponsoring this event.

We are here because Target Field is a destination that connects us as regional citizens. It is a smart, long-term investment in the future of our region:

Target Field has an urban design and a casual elegance that makes us proud and reminds us of who we are and where we live;
It is located near the center of downtown, but accessible to everyone in the region because it takes full advantage of our transit services. It is the multi-modal hub and it provides hassle-free connections between:

The world’s largest connected skyway network and an integrated system of bicycle trails and lanes,
Hiawatha Light Rail, which connects to the soon-to-be operational Cedar Avenue BRT line,
North Star commuter rail,
Central Corridor Light Rail, which is going to open in 2014,
Southwest Light Rail, which, if we keep working at it, is expected to begin service in 2018,
and region-wide bus service

—transit made the stadium better and likewise, with 14 percent of Twins fans using transit to attend games, the stadium attracted new riders to transit;

This stadium is a place where we like to be, because we celebrate what we have in common rather than what divides us;
And, it represents the best of transit oriented development—it spurred public-private partnerships that attracted more private capital development like the newly renovated Ford Center across 5th Street.

Just as Target Field is the west–metro multi-modal transit hub, we celebrate with Ramsey County the re-opening the first section of the Union Depot in St. Paul last month, which anchors the East end of the Central Corridor Line.

This is a stunning renovation of a historic depot, and it is already a magnet for redevelopment in Lowertown in St. Paul.

Think about the foresight of linking not only two of our great downtowns, but hundreds of thousands of commuters who live all over the region and who will connect to their workplace, schools, and homes through these smart regional investments.

It will soon be possible for riders to travel by rail from Big Lake to Apple Valley, St. Paul to Eden Prairie or St. Louis Park to the airport.

This is just the beginning.

Today, I want to share with you a vision for the future of the region that will be realized only through your support and partnership.

The Metropolitan Council is charged with bringing a regional perspective to the seven county metropolitan area.

And, we play a unique and important role in planning the efficient and effective development of our region.

But, this is clearly not just the work of the Council.

This is the work of all of us…of the many private and public partners who are in this room today.

We all share this work of planning and developing a vibrant regional economy.

Our vision is:

to work together to continue to build and finance a 21st century regional transit system with expanding regional services that connect people to and from work, school and home…
to work together to strategically support economic development along transitways that will produce robust local economies and attract jobs...

And

to work together to address the diverse housing needs of all residents.

Together, we can connect the dots between mobility, economic development, jobs, workforce, housing, and quality of life.

Key to our future prosperity is the continued expansion of light rail.

Last fall, the Council received the green light from the Federal Transit Administration to begin preliminary engineering for Southwest Light Rail Transit—this will be a $1.2 billion project extending 15 miles through the five cities of Eden Prairie, Edina, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park and to the Interchange Multi-modal hub right here at Target Field.

This rail line will attract riders across the region. Residents of Scott and Carver counties will be able to take a one-seat ride on the line all the way from Eden Prairie to Minneapolis or the State Capitol in St. Paul.

This is a tremendous step forward in connecting people across the region.

The FTA’s approval of Preliminary Engineering is a big deal—it means that data confirms that the Southwest Light Rail line is efficient and is projected to attract thousands of riders and stimulate job growth along the corridor.

Southwest Light Rail will provide a new transportation option for the existing 210,000 employees who work in the corridor, and it is already attracting new jobs and private investment.

UnitedHealth Group, the largest Fortune 500 company in Minnesota, is planning to add a third campus location along the corridor. UnitedHealth’s 6,000 employees will be part of the 60,000 new jobs that are forecasted to grow along the line by 2030.

I am pleased to announce today that Governor Dayton is also a strong partner on the Southwest Light Rail line and is recommending the project receive $25M in State Bonds in the 2012 bonding bill.

The Governor has demonstrated time and again his commitment to building a better Minnesota through expanding jobs.

Government that is as good as its people - that is what we’re about here in Minnesota.

This starts with projects like Southwest that will grow jobs, expand development, and improve transit options.

I have more good news—Hennepin County has been awarded $10M from a federal TIGER 3 grant program for the Interchange project to expand the multi-modal hub here at Target Field. The hub will accommodate the roughly 32,000 daily riders anticipated with the opening of the Central Corridor line. These riders will join more than 31,000 current daily riders of the Hiawatha Line.

The Metropolitan Council is a committed partner of the Interchange because we know it must be built.

This transit hub will be a public-private partnership, with funding coming from businesses that see opportunities at the hub, the federal government, and local partners.

Rail lines and transit hubs are vital infrastructure investments in the future of our region—and did I mention that these projects will put thousands of people to work?!

Another project putting thousands to work is the Central Corridor construction project, which is already 40% complete.

By the end of this year, this project will be 65% complete and we will have created roughly 3,000 construction jobs.

And, these are not only good paying jobs, but these are jobs that that provide opportunity for women, minorities and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBEs) to prosper.

The Governor, the Metropolitan Council, and our funding partners at CTIB are committed to making it our top priority to insure that we maximize the opportunities for minorities and women to work on the Central Corridor Light Rail line.

And, we aren’t stopping there!

I am proud to announce that in 2012 the Council is adding a Targeted Group Business program that will compliment the robust workforce and DBE program we developed for CCLRT. This new TGB program will apply to all Council construction projects because we’re committed to expanding our culture of inclusion and opportunity!

I want to tell you a story about one of the jobs connected to Central Corridor construction.

Sixteen years ago, when Gwen Miller told family and friends she was going to be a construction worker, the reaction was, “Are you kidding me?”

Gwen wasn’t kidding.

Over the years, she has bought a home in New Hope and built a solid life for herself and her family.

Gwen helped build Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium.

Her latest venture is the Central Corridor Light Rail project where at some points she finds herself directing dozens of trucks in and out of a worksite at the same time.

As a young African-American woman, Gwen credits the Minneapolis Urban League for bringing the possibility of a construction career to her attention. “More people should get the training and try it,” she told us.

We at the Metropolitan Council, as builders of the line, have and will continue to make it a top priority to maximize opportunities for minorities and women. I’m proud that we’re actively expanding opportunities beyond the construction of our improved transit system.

With two major rail projects in the works and additional upgrades to our bus system, our region is well on the way to expanding the 21st century transit system.

In 2011, our regional transit system - including Metro Transit trains, express buses, and regular route service; Northstar Commuter Rail; Metro Mobility; and our suburban transit providers - reached 94 million riders.

Connecting 94 million riders is a partnership between riders, operators, transit police, employers, and more recently the parents, teachers and students of our schools who increasingly rely on us instead of the school bus.

Transit ridership is at its highest level in 30 years. Workers, students and families are increasingly finding our transit system to be a reliable, well-run, economical and productive travel choice. Technology tools – like smartcards for paying fares and using your cell phone to know where your bus is in real-time – make transit easier than ever.

In tough economic times, investing in transit that connects our communities makes good business sense for schools and corporations alike.

Two more exciting transit developments are on the horizon in 2012—Bus Rapid Transit or BRT, which is a light rail-like bus option and Rapid Bus, which is a more typical bus service. Rapid Bus builds upon the success of our best local bus corridors and offers improved time savings. Both are cost-effective solutions that will attract a new group of riders.

Our hats are off to the City and Chamber of Apple Valley as well as Dakota County, CTIB and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, all of whom worked hard and partnered with us to make this very first BRT route along Cedar Avenue a reality.

As Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland told us, “we’re already seeing how BRT can be catalytic for business growth on this corridor.”

That’s the idea – in a nutshell.

Businesses see opportunities for locating at stops on the fixed route so they are visible and accessible for the large numbers of riders.

On busy corridors like Snelling Avenue and West 7th, riders can expect to experience Rapid Bus service in the near term. Down the road, we also hope to expand to places like Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis and American Boulevard in Bloomington.

For example, riders on Snelling Avenue going from Rosedale to Hiawatha Light Rail on Rapid Bus would experience improved buses and stations with more frequent service and a 13 minute shorter ride.

There isn’t a person in this room who would turn away 13 extra minutes with family and friends.

To keep these time-saving, efficient, and very exciting projects like Rapid Bus, BRT, Southwest Light Rail, a new Northstar station in the City of Ramsey, and the Minneapolis Interchange moving forward, we have to address the ad hoc financing system that currently leaves our major transitway projects in limbo, costing us time and money.

I’m pleased that last Thursday, Governor Dayton announced a transportation financing advisory group tasked to explore ways to ensure stability in transportation and transit funding statewide. I’m proud to serve as a member of that task force and am committed to finding a permanent, long-term funding solution to meet the needs of a 21st century transit system.

There is no question - these investments in transit and new financing structures are necessary, because today we are entering a new environment and a new economy. With that comes challenges and opportunities for new and strengthened partnerships to propel our regional economy forward.

I am eager to work with Greater MSP to make sure that our region is a place where businesses and people prosper.

As Greater MSP markets our region to business investors, the services our communities and the Council have historically partnered to deliver are a strong selling point. Coordinating regional investment in infrastructure gives us a leg up over less-coordinated regions around the country.

The people of the metro area will continue to be another strong selling point if we anticipate and plan for the coming changes in our population.

Our population will grow in the next decade, but more slowly than we projected just a few years ago. We will have to be more intentional and focused than ever before to attract job growth.

As interesting as how many people will live in our region is who will live in our region—we will have smaller households in some neighborhoods, more seniors in all communities, and by 2040 45% of the people who live in this region will likely be people of color.

Our region must embrace this rapidly growing diversity if we want to be successful. Focusing on opportunity for all isn’t just the right thing to do - it is a smart business decision.

Though we will continue to build new housing, 75% of the housing stock our region will need in 2040 already exists. Much of this existing housing stock will need reinvestment and preservation.

Affordable housing throughout our region is as vital for our regional prosperity as the transit improvements I just shared with you.

Virtually all communities in our region need more affordable housing. People who live in affordable housing have improved health and greater success at school and at work.

In 2012 the Metropolitan Council will begin to develop a housing policy plan for the first time in decades. The housing policy plan will guide our region so that we’re able to expand safe, stable housing to give communities the tools and support they need to build strong, healthy neighborhoods and to meet the needs of changing demographics.

Preserving and reinvesting in existing housing and focusing new development along transit corridors, known as transit oriented development or TOD, will be key strategies in a new housing policy plan.

What you need to know is that TOD is not just an alphabet soup planning acronym, but will be a strategic development tool for our region.

For the last two centuries, cities have sprung up around river, rail and highway interchanges and hubs.

Transitways in all their forms will guide development and promote economic activity in the 21st century.

I am pleased to announce that the Metropolitan Council has established a $32 million fund for cities to promote growth and redevelopment along transit ways. The funds come from Livable Communities Act grants relinquished during the economic downturn.

As the economy grows, TOD grants will be powerful tools to attract more private capital and more development.

Frogtown Square at the Dale Street Station on the Central Corridor is a terrific example of TOD. Council grants of $1 million leveraged another $13 million in private and public funding sources to build 50 units of low income senior housing and create 11,000 square feet of retail space.

If you go to Frogtown Square you will see that the minority entrepreneurs who started these businesses on the ground floor of this development are connected to their community and serve their neighbors.

The availability of good-paying jobs is a major factor in becoming an attractive, destination region. Our role in the public sector is to provide the infrastructure and tools as the foundation for jobs created by both large companies and small entrepreneurs in the private sector.

Better yet, these TOD funds will build a foundation for the Corridors of Opportunity project. This project will complement Metropolitan Council grant dollars by injecting $5 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and another $16 million in Living Cities grants and loans into our region.

Similar to our Transit-Oriented Development grant program, Corridors of Opportunity is a system-changing partnership to shape growth around our transit lines and ensure the region’s economy grows jobs, competes globally and thrives locally.

Quite simply, we want to be a government as good as its people, which is why we at the Metropolitan Council are committed to creating communities that enhance our standard of living, attract investment and serve as a destination and positive example for others.

Innovation to reduce costs and become more efficient will also help us to become a destination region….

Some of the most innovative people I’ve met during my first year as Council Chair are the engineers and scientists of the Council’s Environmental Services division. Staff comply with thousands and thousands of regulations every year and run one of the highest quality and yet inexpensive wastewater treatment plants in the nation.

In 18 months, they found energy savings equivalent to unplugging 1,200 homes from the grid. That’s like unplugging every household in an entire small city!

The latest effort by Council Environmental Service staff was the recent startup of additional wastewater solids processing facilities at the Blue Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant in Shakopee. Methane gas produced and recovered during this process is expected to replace upward of 70 percent of the natural gas used in another area of the plant, saving $700,000 to $800,000 annually.

Investing in innovative infrastructure is the business of the public sector—smart planning and investment in transportation and transit infrastructure and efficient wastewater treatment systems is a powerful economic development driver for our region.

The 2040 Regional Development Framework will be the long range plan for delivering innovative, efficient services and infrastructure in a collaborative, cost-effective way. It includes our best ideas and information on how our region will look in 2040 and policies to help ensure it becomes the region we imagine it can be.

This year, we’ve begun to develop our vision for the Framework and started to listen to and learn from the regional stakeholders – those of you in this room – about how we get results that propel this region into a brighter national spotlight.

In the coming years, you can count on seeing your best ideas and successes become models for regional development and prosperity for the coming decades. I’m excited about this opportunity to learn from each other and to partner closely in the coordinated and efficient growth of our region.

The accomplishments and successful partnerships of 2011 position us well for success in the coming year.

I am asking you to join me in:

growing transit to help get people to and from work, school and home;
expanding housing opportunities, healthy neighborhoods and good-paying jobs; and

promoting regionalism - one region, one economy.

2012 promises to be a busy year for the Council as we draft the new Framework, embark on a Transit-Oriented Development grant program, address diverse housing needs, and accelerate our multi-sector Corridors of Opportunity collaboration.

We’ve begun preliminary engineering of the Southwest light rail line; we will continue heavy construction on Central Corridor; and we’re nearing the point of turning the key and operating our first BRT line.

But all of this and the many more projects we’re pursuing continue to hinge on stable transit funding into the future. We must stick together and find a successful solution to fund transit for the coming decades.

Together, we will continue to pursue our shared vision of an attractive region that offers tremendous opportunities for all residents and outstanding basic services to every member of the community.

If we partner and innovate, together we will create and expand prosperity for the people of the Twin Cities region.

Thank you.