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In this Issue
Constituents
are often curious how they can impact public policy decisions on a local level.
There are several ways to do so, but the Council’s advisory committees are a rich
jumping-off point for policy making. Each is composed of local elected
officials, representatives from partner organizations, members of the public
with expertise in specific areas, and people who represent specific geographic
areas. These committees play a critical role in regional policy making and help
shape the decisions me and my colleagues make on the Council.
Advisory
committees provide direct policy feedback to the Council. Recent decisions
regarding Thrive MSP 2040, the Parks Equity Toolkit, light rail transit station
design and the 2017 fare increase proposal all went through at least one of our
advisory committees for feedback or recommendation. The Council can advance
regionalism in the metro area because each advisory committee has a balance of
members that seek to reflect the entire region, whether you live in downtown Saint
Paul, Roseville or Shakopee. Having all voices at the table through public
officials, community members and subject matter experts enriches the policy
conversations at the committee level and ultimately at the Council meetings.
Participating
in advisory committees is a great way to represent your community and influence
public policy decisions. The Council is always looking for bright, motivated,
and passionate people to serve on our advisory committees, and currently has
more than 30 appointment openings we are accepting
applications for. I
encourage you to review our openings for committee vacancies you might be
interested in, and invite you to contact me directly if you have questions or
would like to learn more.
Sincerely,
Jon Commers
 I want to take this month’s column as an opportunity to introduce you to one of the district’s community member representatives, Carrie Christensen. Carrie serves on the Transportation Advisory Board, representing District G (Council District 13 & 14). In that role, she's directly involved in developing recommendations for how and where federal transportation funds are allocated across the region. The Met Council appointed Carrie in January 2017 and as you'll see below, she brings a wealth of expertise and perspective to the TAB.
1. What is your professional and personal background that made you want to serve on a Council advisory committee? I have worked as an environmental designer on a variety of transportation, community development, and open space projects across the region in my professional life, and I decided to serve on the advisory committee to gain more understanding of and to play a role in the funding and political systems that shape our metropolitan area beyond the role of design and planning in my day job. Also as a mother of two young children and as an avid walker/biker who lives in the city, I have a personal interest in fostering a transportation system that supports access to multiple modes.
2. What specifically interested you in the work of the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB)? I believe that transportation equity is housing equity, healthcare equity, and educational equity because an equitable transportation system creates access to daily needs, regardless of zip code, income, and race. I specifically joined TAB to play a role in advocating for a more equitable transportation system across our region.
3. What has surprised you the most since beginning your appointment in January? There has been a big learning curve since I was appointed. In my first meeting we finalized a two-year process of regional solicitation funding which was eye opening, due to the range of projects funded, as well as the total dollar amount of the funding. I am impressed how the TAB continues to refine both its application process for regional solicitation and its own internal procedures. The TAB is a very process-oriented group of stakeholders that represent a diverse geography of the region.
4. How have you found the balance between representing Saint Paul and its southern neighboring communities with needing to view decisions through a broader regional lens? I think that the TAB works to balance perspectives across the committee, including regionally, as well as across sectors and modes. I appreciate that there are representatives for public transit and freight, as well as appointees from small towns and the central cities. Finding my role as a community representative has been a process. As a TAB appointee, my personal, professional, neighborhood, and regional perspectives each inform my thoughts and decisions on the issues discussed. I’d love to hear from others in my district on what issues matter most to them and how I can better advocate for issues that impact Saint Paul residents and stakeholders.
5. What do you see as the district’s greatest assets or opportunities? I see our assets as the arts and culture, natural areas, education, and economy, and some of our opportunities are around affordable housing, racial disparities in education and homeownership rates.
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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 on the Equity Advisory Committee (EAC), Land Use Advisory Committee (LUAC), Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) and the Transportation Accessibility Advisory Committee (TAAC).
“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, November 27.
Below is a list of openings.
Read the descriptions of the 31 open positions and how to apply.
Most of the work we, as Council Members, focus on is operating core regional infrastructure, as well as specific initiatives. All business comes to the full Council, but often the meat of the work happens at the committee level. While it’s the right model to ensure efficiency and productivity, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to consider how trends unfolding in metro areas – including ours – may impact the functions assigned to us by the Legislature. Myself and others on the Council saw an opportunity to work cross-divisionally on this work and formed the Regional Growth Strategy Work Group.
The Regional Growth Strategy Work Group is intended to create an ongoing forum for Council members to consider the impact of long-term trends, opportunities and challenges on regional systems. The group also monitors the ongoing implementation of Thrive MSP 2040 from an intentionally cross-divisional perspective. With a small group of members from across the standing committees and across the region’s community designations, the Work Group provides a forum for Council Members to structure and inform future Committee of the Whole meetings.
The work group has met twice so far. After an initial meeting to brainstorm future topics for conversation, the group discussed how various parts of the region are experiencing growth and change. Council Members were surprised to realize that many parts of the region, whether the urban center or the emerging suburban edge, are experiencing similar tensions between long-time residents and new residents.
While the work group makes no decisions, these “a-ha moments” around differences and commonalities, whether across the region or the Council’s divisions, will lead to richer and better-informed Council conversations.
On Nov. 9, I attended the Riverview Corridor public hearing as the Council representative. The public hearing took place at Highland Park High School and began with an open house, presentation by Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority on the study and draft locally preferred alternative of modern streetcar, and ended with
public comments. Comments
from community members conveyed broad agreement about the need for
strengthened transit in the Riverview Corridor, and also majority support
for the draft project plan. |
