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In this Issue
Happy 50th birthday to the Metropolitan Council! Back
in 1967, the Minnesota Legislature took bold action and established a regional
planning and coordinating body for the seven-county metropolitan area. Created
by Republican Gov. Harold LeVander and a Republican-led legislature, the
Metropolitan Council helped 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 area needed a regional body to tackle regional problems like
long-term planning, wastewater service planning, and preserving open space land
to be accessible to everyone.
The Council has evolved over the past 50 years. It was
originally designed as a regional planning agency, not an operator of services.
But as the region grew, the Council was given more responsibility by the state
legislature. In 1974, the regional parks system was formed, along with the
Metro Housing and Redevelopment Agency (HRA), to address the growing need for
affordable housing. Perhaps the biggest change came in 1994, when the Council was
merged with the regional transit provider (the Metropolitan Transit Commission)
and the regional wastewater service provider (the Metropolitan Waste Control
Commission). Combining these essential services under the Council’s roof enables
better coordination and implementation across the region, and helps the Council
meet its mission to foster efficient and economic growth for a prosperous
region.
The history of the Council reflects the changing needs and
challenges facing 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 a building a
21st century transportation system, climate change, and our rapidly
aging population, will continue to be best met with a regional approach. (Click
here to see the Star Tribune article on how the region has changed over the
last 50 years.
We will be celebrating the Council’s first 50 years in early
2018. Details to follow soon. I hope that you will join us.
Meanwhile, as ever, please don't hesitate to contact me if
you have any questions or concerns where I may be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Cara
Metropolitan Council Member for District 8 (Northeast
Minneapolis, Southeast Minneapolis, parts of South Minneapolis, and St. Anthony
Village)
Metropolitan Council
seeks applicants for advisory committees
The Metropolitan
Council encourages community members to apply for openings on several advisory
committees. The application window is open for terms beginning in January 2018.
“Our advisory committees provide some of
the best ways to influence regional decisions,” said Metropolitan Council Chair
Alene Tchourumoff. “Each member partners with the Council members to provide a
wide variety of viewpoints. I encourage people to apply – we need different
voices at the table to assure our advisory committees reflect the communities
we serve.”
Apply today – priority will be given
to applications received by 5 p.m., Monday, Nov. 27. Below is a list of
openings:
Equity Advisory
Committee
Eleven 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 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. See Council District Descriptions and Map (pdf).
Open seats:
- Nine
at-large members, to serve 4-year terms which expire in January 2022.
Transportation
Advisory Board (TAB)
The Transportation Advisory Board helps shape
regional and state transportation plans. Every three years it adopts the Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP), which identifies which regional projects will
receive federal funds.
The board consists of 34 members, defined
in state law, drawn from county and city elected officials, residents and
business leaders, transportation providers, and representatives of state and
regional agencies. The Council appoints a number of members to represent
different aspects of transportation.
Open seats (all are two-year
terms)
- District D – includes the central and eastern portions
of Minneapolis (Council Districts 7 and 8)
- District D Alternate
- Transit Representative – represents the entire
seven-county region
- Transit Representative Alternate
- Transit Representative 2 – represents the entire
seven-county region
- Transit Representative 2 Alternate
- Non-Motorized Representative – represents the entire
seven-county region
- Non-Motorized Representative
To apply, visit the Council’s website and fill out the new online
application. (Some committees may also require applicants to answer
supplemental questions.) For more information, or to submit your application
though PDF, contact the Appointments Coordinator by email,
U.S. mail or phone: 390 Robert St. N., St. Paul, 55101 or 651-602-1806.
The Metropolitan Council is considering potential changes to the process for determining SAC. The recommendations are based on the work of a task force with representatives from local governments, businesses and other customer groups.
The task force focused primarily on the way SAC is determined, and the Council is exploring using gross square footage for SAC determinations rather than net square footage for individual uses. This change should not have an impact on the SAC rate and typically would result in the same SAC unit determinations, but simplifies the process for our customers.
We want your feedback – if you are interested in learning more, contact us with your questions or to schedule a time to come and meet with you. Or visit www.metrocouncil.org/sacprogram to learn more.
About SAC
The Metropolitan Council charges this fee directly to local governments. We charge SAC when a residential, commercial, industrial or institutional property first connects to the regional wastewater (sewer) system. We may also charge SAC when a business grows or a property changes use in a way that creates more demand on the wastewater system.
Wastewater pipes and treatment plants are expensive to build and rehabilitate. We borrow money to size them large enough to serve both current and future customers. The space required for future customers is called reserve capacity. SAC pays the debt for that extra capacity.
Learn more
At our September meeting, the Metropolitan Council voted to award $1 million to five metro cities looking to improve water quality and encourage conservation. The awards are part of a pilot project to support local efforts to address issues in their communities related to water quality, quantity, and wastewater treatment.
Projects were reviewed for their integrated problem-solving approaches, and their ability to achieve multiple benefits and measurable outcomes. The Council received 30 requests for funding totaling $7.2 million.
Projects awarded funding
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One Water Grant Program, South St. Paul -- $300,000 toward initiatives to improve water conservation efforts and reduce the city’s water use, reduce the volume of stormwater runoff that is polluting water resources, and reduce the amount of stormwater and groundwater that seeps into the sanitary sewer system.
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Evergreen Stormwater Reuse System, Roseville -- $300,000 toward building an underground stormwater storage facility in or next to one of the city parks to relieve flooding in a downstream storm sewer. The facility would reduce sediment and phosphorus in the stormwater, providing an opportunity for a reuse system that would supply water for irrigation and reduce demand on drinking water supply.
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Becker Park Infiltration Project, Crystal -- $200,000 toward an infiltration facility beneath a recreation area in Becker Park. The facility would filter runoff from a 147-acre watershed and reduce the amount of phosphorus and suspended solids being released into Upper Twin Lake.
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Northwood Inflow/Infiltration Study, New Hope -- $50,000 towards a study to better understand some of the issues the city is experiencing with stormwater and groundwater making its way into the sanitary sewer system and needed improvements to public and private infrastructure.
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Inflow and Infiltration Private Property Compliance Program, West St. Paul-- $150,000 to help reduce the amount of stormwater and groundwater from private properties that gets into the city’s sanitary sewer system.
Read more about the Green Infrastructure Grant Pilot.
The Council is taking steps to make sure more small businesses owned by women, people of color, veterans and people with disabilities can participate in contracts the Council puts out for bid. A change in Council purchasing practices will engage more diverse businesses in economic opportunities and ensure access to jobs is more inclusive and equitable.
The Council has changed its procurement process so it can assign more of its contracts, in addition to construction contracts, an inclusion goal. The goal describes how much of the work should be available to Minnesota businesses that are owned by women, people of color, veterans or people with disabilities.
The change means the Council can assign inclusion goals to contracts for professional, technical, architecture, and engineering services. It's intended to encourage more disadvantaged and underutilized businesses to bid on locally funded contracts.
The Metropolitan Council Underutilized Business (MCUB) program previously assigned inclusion goals only to locally funded construction projects, similar to goals the federal government requires for federally funded construction projects to promote opportunities among diverse businesses.
Learn more about the Council's inclusion programs and goals.
On Saturday, October 28, the Corcoran Neighborhood
Organization hosted a community meeting regarding concerns about people
experiencing homelessness, the light rail station and intersection upkeep, and
crime and safety at Hiawatha Avenue and Lake St. I attended, as
did a number of organizations, to give updates on the work they are
doing in the area. There was time for questions from the community. Organizations included
Hennepin County, St. Stephens, American Indian CDC, Transit Police Department,
MN Department of Transportation, and the City of Minneapolis.
I also toured the section of the
future Southwest LRT line where the proposed protection barrier (aka
"crash wall") that BNSF is requiring. The SWLRT
Project Office is hosting a community meeting on Wednesday, November 15. If you
were unable to attend the November 15 meeting, please
check out the SWLRT project website.
You can also check out this three-minute video on the protection barrier.
In late October, I attended a day-long session of the Federal
Reserve's Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute on understanding the
impacts of racial and economic segregation on communities. It included a
keynote address by Richard Rothstein, author of Color of Law: A Forgotten
History of How Our Government Segregated America. It buttressed my commitment
to view our policy making through a lens of breaking down historic barriers to
opportunity for all people in the region.
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