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In this Issue
At the end of July, we said goodbye to Adam
Duininck as the Council’s Chair and welcomed Alene Tchourumoff as his
successor. One month into the job, Alene has made building relationships one of
her biggest priorities. In addition to getting up to speed on every aspect of
the Council, she set out on an ambitious 90-day plan to visit with communities
in our region. She is more than halfway through her seven-county tour, having
visited Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott and Washington counties.
In late August, Alene visited Anoka County and several
communities in my district. She sat down with Chair of the Anoka County Board
of Commissioners Rhonda Sivarajah, before meeting with the full board for a
planning workshop. The planning workshop focused on areas the Council is
working well with the county, as well as opportunities for improvement.
Alene rounded out her Anoka County visits sharing coffee with
Columbia Heights Mayor Donna Schmitt. She also attended the groundbreaking of
the 105th Avenue Reconstruction Project in Blaine, which will improve safety
for pedestrians and motorists.
Getting out into the districts is one of the most important and
fulfilling aspects of being on the Council and I’m thrilled our new chair was
able to experience the diverse issues and strengths of District 9 and Anoka
County so early in her tenure.
Moving forward, I look forward to working with Alene on
important issues in our region.
Council
Member Edward Reynoso, District 9
Beginning Oct. 1, fares
for regional transit service will increase by 25 cents. This includes all
regular route buses, light rail, Northstar rail, A Line, and services provided
by the Metropolitan Council, Maple Grove Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit
Authority, Plymouth MetroLink and Southwest Transit. Metro Mobility service
will increase by 50 cents. In addition, non-ADA trips taken using Metro
Mobility (trips outside the federally mandated service area) that are longer
than 15 miles will be subject to a surcharge of 75 cents.
The Council is starting a Transit
Assistance Program (TAP) that is designed to make public transit more affordable
for low-income residents. TAP is available for anyone meeting income
requirements and enrollment will begin on Oct. 2.
Details
on the fare increase can be found on our website.
People from a wide
variety of communities, and many ages and abilities, will see themselves
reflected in the Council’s newly updated Regional Parks Map.
With more than two dozen photos, the
colorful publication celebrates the diversity of people who visit the parks and
trails, and the four seasons of park activities. Woven into the patchwork
of photos are short phrases in a variety of languages that welcome visitors
from around the world. Words and phrases for “family,” “connection,”
celebrate,” “relax” and more are printed in Arabic, Hmong, Somali, Spanish, and
English.
“We wanted residents see themselves in
the parks—whether alone, in small groups or large groups—and show park
amenities as open, fun, inviting and compelling places to visit, right here in
our own communities,” said Emmett Mullin, manager of the Council’s
Regional Parks & Natural Resources unit.
The folding map and guide helps people locate regional parks and shows what
activities are available in each one, using icons that are understood in any
language.
The updated map is an outgrowth of the
Council’s research that showed some communities of color and immigrants do not
use the parks in proportion to their share of the region’s overall population.
The Council embarked on an extensive community engagement effort to identify
barriers to participation and is working with communities and park agencies to
overcome these.
See an online version of the map.
Technicians Graduation Celebration 2017. On August 17, I was able to give remarks on behalf of the Council at the LRT Metro
Transit Technician graduation ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Blue
Line’s Operations & Maintenance Facility and Metro Transit, partner
organizations, family and friends were in attendance. The program graduates
successfully completed Twin Cities Rise! Empowerment, 20 weeks of classroom
instruction and job shadowing experiences with Metro Transit Light Rail
Technicians. This cohort will now embark on pursuing a 2-year AAS degree with
Hennepin Technical College while working a full time Metro Transit LRT
internship. Congratulations to the 15 graduates! |
