Commentary; Posted: 2/9/05
10-county region needs joint planning
By Don Heinzman
Despite some conservative opposition, the seven-county Metropolitan Council is here to stay and continues to talk with county officials in adjacent Isanti, Wright and Sherburne counties about regional issues.
Chairman Peter Bell at his State-of-the-Region speech last week, made it clear the council has no intention of expanding its jurisdiction beyond the seven-county boundary. Any council initiatives are purely exploratory, but itís plain as day that the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area now includes the 10 counties. The regular seven are Hennepin, Ramsey, Carver, Scott, Dakota, Washington and Anoka.
Bell intends to keep talking about the need on a voluntary basis to have better planning on selected issues of transportation, safe water availability, parks and treatment of wastewater. Bell said the possibility exists for the Met Council and adjoining counties to work cooperatively on the issues of transit and wastewater, even by participating in joint powers agreements.
Any kind of joint ventures would have to be voluntary and coming from the adjacent counties, Bell has stressed.
There is no 10-county planning mechanism now even though the proposed Northstar Commuter Rail, which the council supports with money, extends from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake in Sherburne County.
A bus, operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, runs from St. Cloud in Stearns County to Minneapolis. MnDot also runs a bus which runs from part of Isanti County into the Twin Cities.
In the northwest part of Anoka County a regional park will be developed by the Met Council, and it will serve parts of Sherburne and Mille Lacs counties.
Transportation and water quality solutions know no county boundaries.
Commissioners in the adjacent counties are wise to work with the Met Council on a voluntary basis. The council not only has expert staff in planning, it has experts in transportation, wastewater treatment, and regional parks. It has compiled good data that could be useful.
As this amazing growth spills out over the 10-county area, planning, particularly along each countyís borders, is essential. Moreover, having an overall plan for water conservation, safety and availability along with treating wastewater and developing regional plans for highways and transit makes good sense.
Some critics of the Met Council say its functions should be taken over by the state, but itís difficult to imagine how such a politicized body could approach the quality of service the council provides in transportation, wastewater treatment, planning and parks.
The recent settlement of the Lake Elmo case questioning the councilís right to plan regional land use recognizes that the council has the flexibility to deal with local municipal governments while maintaining a good quality of life in the region.
Bell, who is an appointee of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, should be commended for trying to work with the adjacent counties on a voluntary basis on regional issues. To do less is ignoring reality of a dynamic 10-county area where planning needs to keep up with the surge in development.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605