Category: MSP

The Met Council: The least safe light rail operator of its peers

4/1/2018

In the last two weeks our ever-expanding Metropolitan Council announced that it intends to become the owner of a rail corridor in order to facilitate the construction and operation of the proposed Southwest Light Rail line (SWLRT), which would be an extension of the current Green Line. Specifically, for the new line the Council would own the rail corridor and operate light rail trains adjacent to freight trains.

It seems no task is too big for our uniquely unelected regional authority, which already has by far the largest scope and budget of any such organization in the country. So where would that leave us?

Is the proposed SWLRT a good use of taxpayer funds? No.

Is the proposed route one that serves a densely populated area, with many potential riders? No, not even the Met Council pretends that is true.

In light of the most recent developments, legislators and others are asking, is the Met Council even qualified to safely operate both freight and passenger light rail trains adjacent to each other? The data suggest the answer is no.

kt joins KTLK to discuss the OLA audit of the Met Council

10/8/2017

I joined Justice and Drew on KTLK on Wednesday to discuss the just released audit from the Office of the Legislative Auditor on the Met Council's finances. Rep. Nash joins us in Part 2 of the discussion. I'll have more details on this later in the week.

Listen to the podcast here.

MSP FairSkies Coalition presents to the Noise Oversight Committee

9/21/2017

MSPFSC NOC 20 Sept 2017 from Kevin Terrell on Vimeo.

Staff from MSP airport's environmental team asked MSP FairSkies Coalition to present some of our requests to the airport's Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) on September 20th. My fellow Co-Founder Steve Kittleson and I addressed the NOC regarding our proposal for "Less Noise, No Surprises" with respect to aircraft noise. Here we lay out a path to get there, including:
- Aligning around the nature of the problem
- How to use new and existing data to create a more transparent fact base for better decision-making on noise in general, and with respect to any proposed changes the FAA has in store for MSP
- Establishing a firm goal for noise reduction (we propose a 50% reduction by 2025)
- Enhancing the NOC, with the addition of citizen (non-elected) representatives to truly bring the "Voice of Citizen" to the decision making process. We also suggest that the NOC's mission and name should change from "Noise OVERSIGHT Committee" to "Noise REDUCTION Committee".

We conclude the presentation with a very specific set of decisions for the NOC on what they can do to inform the community and align the stakeholders around the goal of reducing aircraft noise from MSP airport.

You can't see the (4-part) screen that well, but you should be able to hear the presentation, and the back and forth on questions. You can download the PDF of the presentation and follow along here:

mspfsc_noc_20_sept_2017_final.pdf
File Size:	4247 kb
File Type:	pdf

"That helps us all get to data-driven decisions based on citizen expectations. Which I think should be a common goal of everyone on the room."

Afterwards we heard from MAC staff about their interpretation of the recent DC Court of Appeals decision striking down FAA actions in Phoenix (panic alert in DC). You can read my (non-legal) interpretation of that decision here.

MAC staff also told the room that the FAA is finally preparing to announce how it might change the metrics and/or threshold for the significant impact of noise. Staff expects that to happen by the end of the year, though we'll see how that plays out. I expect the timing of that announcement to affect the response we get from the NOC.

Thanks to Chad Leqve and Dana Nelson of the MAC, and to Connie Carrino of our team for making this happen.

Met Council blows past budget for SWLRT - do over time?

9/11/2017

The long and crazy story of the the Twin Cities' proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line took another twist today as the project sponsor, the Great and Wonderful Metropolitan Council, rejected all four construction bids they have received for the $1.9B boondoggle.

The source of the problem may well be that bids are 30% more expensive as a percentage of overall project cost as was the construction phase of the original leg of the Green Line (SWLRT is an extension of that line, which runs from St Paul to Minneapolis).

Of course, there is much more going here, with a new $20M "Crash Wall" proposed for the line, a lack of environmental analysis, and even a host of left wing critics who are astonished at the brazen way in which the Met Council has tried to ram through recent "tweaks" to the project.

As Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin recently noted, they "haven't won the argument" on putting through this overpriced Met Council toy.

Stay tuned - much more to come!

Testify at MN Legislature Hearing on Met Council in Andover 15 Feb

2/8/2017

Interested in telling your legislators what you think about the Met Council?

On February 15th at 430pm, citizens have the opportunity to testify before a joint session of the House Transportation Policy and Regional Governance and the Senate Local Government committees.

Wednesday, February 15th
4:30 PM
Bunker Hills Activity Center (Oak Room)
550 Bunker Lake Blvd, NW
Andover, MN 55304

Contact Abby.Loesch@house.mn or 651.296.8875 to sign up to testify.

Let your legislators know what you think about the least accountable, highest spending regional "planning" organization in the country. A few talking point ideas...

GOVERNANCE: If we are going to have a regional planning authority, could we at least have one that meets the federal requirement for it to be composed primarily of sitting, elected officials? (Today we get by with an exemption from the feds, courtesy of the Obama administration's recent "review".) We need people in charge who are accountable to the People, not appointed bureaucrats who dictate actions to citizens. The legislature can fix this.
SCOPE: The Met Council has by far the broadest scope of any "planning" authority in the country. It owns and operates the transit system, public housing, parks and wastewater systems. No other region comes close. Break apart the planning function from ownership and operation of these activities so that a single agency can no longer dictate actions to local communities by withholding funds or service as part of the "planning" process. Again, the legislature can fix this.
STOP THE MADNESS: A last minute rule from the Obama administration mandates that Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), e.g. the Met Council, MUST expand their geography to include the entire Urbanized Area (UZA) in a region. This means the Met Council now has its fingers into Sherburne and Wright Counties. Furthermore, the rule mandates that the MPO use the 2020 census to identify where the UZA is likely to be in 20 years, and take over planning for those areas as well. Chisago County, here we come! Not to mention Hudson, Wisconsin, which is also in the UZA.
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL: The new Obama rule declares that MPOs that have overlapping geographies should merge. Take a look at the map, and what you see is that Sherburne County has urban clusters that stretch all the way to St. Cloud, where the local MPO then stretches to western Stearns County. The likely result? A single MPO run by the Met Council that reaches from western Stearns County to Hudson, Wisconsin. WHAT???
Citizens Rise Against the Madness: Ok, what CRA really stands for is the Congressional Review Act. This little law allows Congress to review and reject last minute rules issued by the previous administration. In other words, the crazy Obama rule and the expansion of the Met Council's MPO authority can be rejected by Congress. And the really great thing about this is that once Congress does this, the bureaucrats can never come up with another rule that is substantially similar to the rejected rule. But Congress needs to do this within the next couple of months. TELL YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES TO TELL CONGRESS WE WANT THIS RULE REJECTED!
BE READY FOR PUSHBACK: Of course, the Met Council will not take kindly to any challenges to their status as the unelected overlords of the Twin Cities. They'll tell you and the legislature that the new rule is "just" the planning function. But remember, the feds get to decide what's included in that planning function, they've just reinterpreted rules to expand what's included, and they'll do so again. Not to mention the fact that the Met Council started as a way to plan for efficient wastewater facilities. Now it's a billion dollar, sprawling monster. STOP THE MADNESS!

If you want to learn more about the new Obama rule, review this presentation.

If you want to learn more about what an outlier the Met Council is, review this one.

Remember, you get the government you deserve. Rise up and demand accountable, competent government, and put the unelected bureaucrats at the Met Council back in their place!

Peter McLaughlin's call for more unaccountable government and spending at the Met Council

5/27/2016

On Thursday Hennepin County County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin sent a letter the Hennepin County delegation and others in support of new metro-area taxes to support light rail. In particular he is looking to fund Southwest LRT.

McLaughlin notes that a metro area sales tax to fund transit would give Minnesota the same approach as other regions in the country such as Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

Of course, he forgets to mention that all those regions have a completely different, far more accountable and legitimate governance structure for the regional authority charged with using those tax funds. That authority in Minnesota is the Met Council.

All other regional authorities in the country are run by a board composed of locally selected elected officials. In contrast, all board members of the Met Council hold patronage positions, and are appointed by Governor Dayton.

Legislators who are considering this plan for new taxes need to demand wholesale changes in the governance structure of the Met Council. At the very least, we need locally selected elected officials running the Council. Anything less is just more unaccountable government, and taxation without representation.

Learn more here about how the Met Council is THE extreme outlier as the only regional authority that is 100% appointed, with a scope and spending far beyond any other such organization.

Dayton goes nuclear, drops "Adam Bomb" option on SW Light Rail?

5/24/2016

A reminder on why you can never sleep on the Met Council's efforts to undermine democracy.

Met Council Chair Adam Duininck declared in July 2015 (PDF) that "The Metropolitan Council will not commit the 10% state share for the [Southwest Light Rail Transit] project without support from the Legislature." (See screenshot below.) In other words, he agrees the state needs to authorize paying for the state portion of the transit project.

Yet now Duininck seems to be threatening to renege on that commitment, stating "we are talking with our project partners, including the cities, CTIB and Hennepin County, on any possible ways to fill the remaining gap [to fund SWLRT]."

Which is it, Adam? Do you and the Governor intend to abide by basic principles of democracy in this country, or do you intend to try a bogus end-around on the process?

The July 2015 exchange points to one way the Met Council might try to do this. In essence, the Council would auction off the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax money it receives, bundle up that cash and use it to pay for its pet project, all without any approval from anyone. Specifically, Duininck and gang would have the Met Council issue "Certificates of Participation" as a way to raise the cash that the Council can then use however it wants - in this case to pay for the state's part of Southwest Light Rail.

It seems almost certain that this type of bogus scheme is being conjured up by the Met Council and Governor Dayton as part of negotiations for a special session that would ram through funding for the controversial SWLRT.

Are we going to let the Met Council - 100% appointed by Governor Dayton - go nuclear and drop this Adam Bomb on the democratic process?

Let your legislators and Governor Dayton know that this will not stand, and that this is just one more indication as to why the Met Council needs fundamental reform on all levels. And what we definitely do NOT need is to give unelected, scheming officials another $280M a year in tax funds to use however they would like.

Edina Aviation Forum presentation

5/23/2016

Tonight was the 3rd Annual Edina Aviation Impact Forum, pulled together by Connie Carrino on the MSP FairSkies team. We had a great turnout from citizens, politicians and staff from the airport authority. Our presentation from tonight is below, and you can watch the video here.

Met Council counterpoint response

5/15/2016

Several mayors responded in the Star Tribune to our perspective on the Met Council, and we clearly saw some of their comments as missing the mark.

Our counterpoint to that reminds readers that the lack of accountability at the Met Council is but the start of its issues, and that we in fact ideally want the Council broken up into separate agencies.

MSP aircraft noise, 2016 update

5/11/2016

A quick update on our activities at the MSP FairSkies Coalition, and what we see happening in the next year or so. I'll likely turn this into a short narrated presentation in the next couple of weeks as we finalize some numbers.

Big takeaway: the number of people impacted by aircraft noise near MSP airport continues to rise. The 55 dB DNL contour population expanded by 9% in Minneapolis, and over 100% in St Louis Park. An open question is how much of that is due to NextGen arrivals going into effect, and how much is due to late night/early morning flights?

The noise exposure map (detail to your left) is thanks to a data release from the Metropolitan Airports Commission and analysis by our friends at the University of Minnesota's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.

Quick 2-page PDF here.