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In this Issue
In August, Governor Dayton kicked off “Year of Water” with a
pledge at the Minnesota State Fair. He urged all Minnesotans to commit to
protecting and preserving Minnesota water for generations to come. The pledge
calls for Minnesotans to rethink water usage in daily life, to make informed
consumer choices, and talk to others about clean water protection and
preservation.
The pledge asks Minnesotans to rethink how water impacts
daily life and the lives of future generations, to use water efficiently and
wisely in everyday activities, to learn more about what people can do to protect
and preserve water, to factor water use efficiency and protection into choices as
a consumer, and to talk to others about clean water protection and preservation.
Water has always been a big part of the Met Council’s
mission. In fact, handling the region’s wastewater was one of the first jobs we
were given by the State legislature in the late 1960’s. Water does not recognize political boundaries, it
always flows downhill and it always seeks the lowest point. While the
Met Council is not a water supplier, we provide regional planning
support for water systems across the region.
The Met Council’s Environmental Services division, which
handles wastewater, has embraced a “one water” philosophy. The Met Council operates eight wastewater facilities, which process an average of 250 million gallons of wastewater from 2.7 million residents. More than 600 miles of large sewer pipes collect wastewater from 108 communities.
We face many new
challenges in the 21st century including reduced ground water
recharge and increased groundwater demand due to continued population growth.
We expect to have another 750,000 people in the region by 2040. There are also
anticipated and unknown climate change impacts, renewal of aging infrastructure,
and public expectations for continued excellent service at a low cost.
Together, everyone has a role to play to ensure "one water" for our future. As
always, if you have any questions for me about an issue you’re facing
where the Met Council can be helpful, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Thanks!
Cara Letofsky
Metropolitan Council Member for District 8
(Northeast Minneapolis, Southeast Minneapolis, parts of South Minneapolis, and
St. Anthony Village)
Take the
Minnesota Watershed Stewardship Pledge
and learn Five Things Minnesotans Can Do to
protect and preserve our water.
On Monday, Sept. 19 the Community Development Committee held its bi-monthly meeting in St. Anthony Village, which is part of District 8. St. Anthony Village is particularly engaged around the question of sustainability. The following link is an interactive mapping tool that provides information on St. Anthony projects that range from water quality improvement to pedestrian safety improvements.
St. Anthony has also benefited by collaboration with the
Urban Land Institute and the US Green Building Council, who conducted technical
advisory panels to provide recommendations on re-development, affordable
housing, and sustainability principles. These sessions were attended by
planning commissioners and council members, which connected them with a team of
professionals to provide policy recommendations for incorporation into their comprehensive
plan. The City’s web page on its comprehensive plan update, including a link to
an online citizen engagement tool.
Metro Transit saw its
highest single-day ridership in recent memory when fairgoers mixed with
commuters and sports fans across the region.
Nearly 370,000 rides were taken
systemwide on Thursday, Sept. 1, as the Twins, Vikings, Gophers and Saints each
hosted home games and service was provided to the Minnesota State Fair.
“Throughout the 2016 State Fair,
Minnesotans made record use of the park & ride stations across the Twin
Cities,” Lt. Governor Tina Smith said. “This strong ridership is
another indicator that when Minnesotans have access to a robust transit system,
they use it.”
With more than 117,000 rides on the Blue
and Green lines, a single-day light rail ridership record was also set on Sept.
1. The Blue Line had its busiest day ever, with nearly 59,000 rides.
The previous single-day light rail ridership record was set on Sept. 3, 2015, when there were nearly 101,000 rides.
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We need 71 employees with backgrounds in engineering,
construction management, project controls, safety, quality assurance/quality
control, finance and administration.
Interested applicants can come to the career fair to talk with
current employees in the project office located in St. Louis Park, which today
includes 45 staff and 86 consultants.
In addition to the 71 employees needed this fall and early next
year, Metro Transit will hire more professional and technical employees for the
METRO Blue Line Extension’s construction, set to begin in 2018, and for
Southwest LRT (Green Line extension) operations after passenger service begins in 2021.
“We are looking for individuals interested in a career with
Metro Transit. The agency’s plans call for additional transitway projects in the
future, which upon completion may be an opportunity for future positions,” said
Metro Transit Deputy General Manager Mark Fuhrmann, who leads efforts to expand the region’s light rail system.
Salaries for these jobs range up to $100,000
Starting annual salaries will range up to $100,000 for
construction managers. The office senior engineer and office engineer jobs will
have starting salaries of up to $77,000 and $71,000, respectively. Safety and
quality assurance/quality control inspectors’ salaries will start at $61,000.
The senior administrative specialist’s job will pay more than $53,000.
Starting in October
(through early 2018), check the Met Council website for job posting information.
Educational requirements
Bachelor’s degrees in engineering, construction management or
related fields are required for most positions. The construction safety and
security manager and inspector jobs require a bachelor’s in either engineering,
safety science, construction management or a related field, while the quality
assurance/quality control specialist position requires a bachelor’s degree in
construction quality management. The senior administrative specialist’s job
requires a high school diploma.
Date: October 18, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Southwest LRT Project Office
Sixth Floor, Park Place West Building
6465 Wayzata Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN, 55426
 On the outside this bus will look like any other. Once you go through those doors, though, you will be transported to a fabulous jungle! The entire interior of the bus will be covered in lush knit green foliage and bright colored crochet flowers. Kathy Graul who works at Metro Transit and the artist have been working on this "yarnbomb" project for many months and are excited to reveal the #yarnbus in October. The artist goes by the name Knitteapolis.
Since the route changes every day, there's a very good chance that if you take the bus, you could end up relaxing in a fiber forest on your way to work. The goal is to increase awareness and increase usage of public transit with millennials via social media. Both Metro Transit and the artist will be posting progress photos and more details as we get closer to installation.
If you'd like to see the photos/promotions, check out these Instagram accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/metrotransitmn/ https://www.instagram.com/knitteapolis/
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 Minneapolis has consistently led the region's cities and townships in new residential construction since 2010, adding over 11,700 permitted new housing units over the past five years. This puts the region's largest city in a category of homebuilding unto itself.
That said, other places in the region have also permitted a considerable number of new housing units in the past five years. Between 2010 and 2015, Saint Paul permitted nearly 3,700 new housing units (about half of those in 2015 alone), followed by Woodbury, Blaine, Maple Grove, and Plymouth.
Not only has the geographic pattern of homebuilding in the Twin Cities region shifted, the types of housing constructed have as well.
Since 2010, more than half (53%) of all permitted new housing in the Twin Cities region were multifamily units, over 31,000 units.
Within permitted new housing since 2004, the share of single family homes ranged from a high of 55% in 2009 to low of 37% in 2015.
See details about residential housing construction in the MetroStats research report On the Rise: New Residential Construction in the Twin Cities
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Our district now benefits from high frequency bus service, which means service every 15 minutes (or better) on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The routes include #2, #10, #11, #18 and #21. I hope that you get a chance to experience the improved service, whether for your daily commute, getting to school, or for leisure. Learn more and explore the map of the high frequency network.
System of the Year Celebration - On Saturday, Sept. 24, I was pleased to join Metro Transit in their celebration of American Public Transit Association's "System of the Year" award. This lively celebration was held at Target Field Station and was followed by a Minnesota Twins game versus the Seattle Mariners.
Rail-volution – On Oct. 9-12, I will be one of the several Council Members representing the Met Council and the Twin Cities region at the Rail-volution conference taking place in San Francisco. Transportation professionals gather for a week-long conference to share best practices and cross-pollinate ideas. I appreciate the opportunity to attend on behalf of the Council as it is a great opportunity to learn from other regions and to also get to share the innovative projects and programs we are implementing here in Minnesota. |
