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In this Issue
50 years ago, the
Minnesota Legislature took bold action and established a regional planning and
coordinating body for the seven-county metropolitan area. The Metropolitan
Council was created by Republican Gov. Harold LeVander and a Republican-led
legislature to help solve the growing concern of urban sprawl and uncoordinated
planning among the region’s nearly 300 separate local units of government. In
appointing the Council’s first members in 1967, Gov. LeVander said the Council
“was conceived with the idea that we will be faced with more and more problems
that will pay no heed to the boundary lines which mark the end of one community
in this metropolitan area and the beginning of another.” The metro region
needed a regional body to tackle regional problems, like long-term planning,
wastewater service planning and preserving open space land throughout the
metro.
The Council was
originally designed as a regional planning agency, not an operator of services,
but as time progressed and the region grew, the Council was given more
responsibility by the legislature. In 1974, the legislature formed the regional
parks system and the Metro Housing and Redevelopment Agency (HRA) to address
the growing need for affordable housing. Perhaps most notably, in 1994, the legislature
merged the Council with the regional transit provider and the regional
wastewater service provider, the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission. Combining
these essential services under the Council’s authority enabled better
coordination and implementation across the region. Several examples of the
Council’s successes include:
- Metro Transit was named by the American Public
Transportation Association as System of the Year in 2016
- The Council’s wastewater system ranks consistently among the
highest for environmental compliance in the nation, while maintaining utility
rates payable by the region’s residents well below those of our peer
regions
- Regional parks see more visitors annually than the Mall of America
- The Council has awarded grants over the last 20 years that have
increased the region’s tax base by hundreds of millions of dollars and
created or retained 46,000 jobs.
Although my history
with the Council does not stretch all the way back to its inception, I have had
the opportunity to engage in its work long before my current tenure
as a Council Member. During my last semester of college, I served as a part-time
intern for the Council. Prior to my appointment to the Council in 2011, I
served on several advisory committees and task forces to the Council, including
the Housing, Health, and Aging Task Force; the Housing and Redevelopment
Authority Advisory Committee; the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Re-Use Task
Force; the Minority Issues Advisory Committee; and the Livable Communities Act
Demonstration Account Advisory Committee.
The history of the Council reflects the changing needs
and challenges of the Twin Cities region over time. Our regional approach to
meeting those challenges illustrates how cooperation, shared decision-making,
and shared resources contribute to creating and maintaining a stable,
successful, and livable region. Future regional challenges such as limited
resources, an aging population, and climate change will continue to be best met
with a regional approach, as well.
As we move through
the second half of 2017 and into 2018, the Council is planning activities and
small celebrations to mark our 50 years of service to the metro region. We hope
you will celebrate with us!
Two spots are open on
the Council’s Equity Advisory Committee, which advises the Metropolitan Council
in its work to advance equity in the metropolitan region. In forming
the Equity Advisory Committee (EAC) in October
2015, the Metropolitan Council affirmed its commitment in Thrive MSP
2040 to ensure that residents and communities are full partners in making
the decisions that affect them.
The committee has 21 members – including
members of the community and the Metropolitan Council. There are eight district
representatives and nine at-large members. The Co-chairs include one member of
the Metropolitan Council and one community representative. Members serve
four-year terms.
Open seats
- District H – the southern three-quarters of Dakota
County and southeastern Scott County (Council Districts 15 and 16), to
fill out the remainder of the term which expires in January 2020.
- One at-large member, to fill out the remainder of the
term, which expires in January 2018.
To apply, download the EAC Application & Supplement (pdf).
(Some committees may also require applicants to answer supplemental questions.)
For more information, or to submit your application, contact the
Appointments Coordinator by email,
U.S. mail or phone: 390 Robert St. N., St. Paul, 55101 or 651-602-1806.
Visit our website for a full list of advisory committee
vacancies region-wide.
The Metropolitan Council has awarded grants for eight stormwater management projects in the seven-county metro area. The grants range from $37,500 to $159,000 and will support projects to improve water quality and reuse stormwater for irrigation.
“These grants help to achieve two important regional goals: improving water quality and protecting water supply,” said Judy Sventek, water resources manager at the Council. “Communities are partnering with watershed districts on innovative projects that can be duplicated in other places.”
The Council allocated a total of $1 million from its general fund for the 2017 grant program.
Funded proposals
City of Fridley Civic Center Complex - $159,000. The city will construct a three-cell, lined stormwater pond with iron-enhanced pretreatment on the contaminated site of the old Columbia Heights Ice Arena to allow construction of a new city hall and public safety building. (Rice Creek Watershed District.)
Minneapolis East Side Storage and Maintenance Facility - $150,000. The city of Minneapolis is reconstructing and expanding its East Side Public Works Storage and Maintenance Facility in northeast Minneapolis. The grant will help fund sustainable amenities at the site including stormwater capture systems. (Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.)
Seidl’s Lake Water Quality Improvement Project - $150,000. The City of South St. Paul plans to install an underground infiltration system in a city park using a combination of pretreatment devices, tree trenches, and underground pipe galleries below park greenspace to improve the water quality of Seidl’s Lake. The project will provide water quality treatment of a currently untreated 27.3-acre urban and dense residential neighborhood. (Lower Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.)
Stormwater Reuse for Irrigation at New Brighton’s Lions Park - $150,000. The city will construct an irrigation system from an existing 14-acre stormwater pond to irrigate a planned playground, softball field, and lacrosse/soccer field on City property. (Rice Creek Watershed District.)
See full list of grant awardees here.
The Metropolitan Council is accepting applications for a pilot grant program that will fund integrated solutions to water-related problems in the Twin Cities metro area.
Problems related to water quality, quantity, and wastewater infrastructure are often addressed as separate concerns and are not tied to other urban planning issues associated with land use, transit development, water infrastructure, and parks and green space, explained Sandy Rummel, chair of the Council’s Environment Committee.
The key problems the Council seeks to address with the new Green Infrastructure Pilot Grant Program include:
- Water quantity
- Too much – Increased frequency and intensity of floods due to extreme weather and inadequate infrastructure
- Too little – limited water supply in aquifers
- Water quality – Higher levels of pollutants causing waterways and aquifers to be impaired for uses such as fishing, recreation and drinking water
- Aging and inadequate infrastructure for wastewater, drinking water and stormwater that can cause water quality and economic issues for the region
Council makes $1 million available
The Council allotted $1 million for the pilot project. The Council may issue one large grant or several smaller grants.
Grantees must be able to:
- Provide a 100% match to the dollars requested
- Enter into an agreement with the Council using standard Council contract terms
- Identify and quantify at a watershed level the water impacts and outcomes expected from the project.
Deadline for applications is July 17
Learn more here.
Premiering earlier this morning, a new documentary about the state of affordable housing in the Twin Cities region aired on Twin Cities Public Television.
Sold Out: Affordable Housing at Risk looks at the constant threat to affordable housing from changing economic forces and urban development that break up vital communities. Low-income residents have fewer and fewer options, and local businesses and schools must deal with the impact of losing those families.
Minnesota Housing Partnership produced the documentary with financial support from the Metropolitan Council. Among the people interviewed in the film are Council Member Gary Cunningham and Council Regional Policy and Research Manager Libby Starling.
More information
Every e-newsletter, I
will ask a Council trivia question and the first two people who email the
correct answer, I'll treat them to coffee at their time
and place of choice in the district.
Trivia question: What was Metro Transit named in 2016 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)?
Email answers to steven.chávez@metc.state.mn.us.
METRO Red Line Cedar Grove Station opening - On June 1, I had the opportunity to speak at the METRO Red Line’s
newest station opening at Cedar Grove Station in Eagan. I was joined by Eagan
Mayor Mike Maguire, Dakota County Commissioner Tom Egan and Rosemount Mayor
Bill Droste. The new station is in
the middle of State Highway 77, so the bus no longer must leave the highway to
access the Cedar Grove Station. The ceremony – which was followed by a customer
appreciation event in the new station – was well attended by public officials,
project partners and contractors, community members and transit riders. |
