This document is made available electronically by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library as part of an ongoing digital archiving project. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/lrl.asp Metropolitan Council Projects Summary ($ in Thousands) 2014 Agency Project Request for State Funds Governor’s Governor’s Agency ($ by Session) Recommendations Planning Project Title Priority 2014 Estimate Ranking 2014 2016 2018 Total 2016 2018 Southwest Corridor LRT 1 $81,000 $0 $0 $81,000 $0 $0 $0 Metropolitan Regional Parks 2 11,000 11,000 11,000 33,000 0 0 0 Bus Garage - Heywood II 3 20,000 30,000 0 50,000 0 0 0 Arterial BRT 4 15,000 0 0 15,000 0 0 0 Metro Orange Line (I-35W South BRT) 5 20,000 0 0 20,000 0 0 0 Transitway Capital Improvement Program 6 60,000 205,000 300,000 565,000 0 0 0 Total Project Requests $207,000 $246,000 $311,000 $764,000 $0 $0 $0 State of Minnesota 2014 Preliminary Capital Budget Requests 7/15/2013 Page 1 Metropolitan Council Project Narrative Southwest Corridor LRT 2014 STATE APPROPRIATION REQUEST: $81,000,000 downtown Minneapolis, and thereby providing a one-seat ride to the University of Minnesota, State Capitol area and downtown St. Paul. A total AGENCY PROJECT PRIORITY: 1 of 6 of 26 additional light rail vehicles would be required to operate the SWLRT line. The SWLRT line would require the construction of an Operations and Maintenance Facility. Project At A Glance With its interlining linkage to Central and Hiawatha LRT, Southwest LRT will The Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project is a proposed approximately provide direct, high quality LRT access to five of the region’s eight largest 15 mile extension of the Central Corridor LRT line from downtown business concentrations --- job centers each with over 40,000 employees. Minneapolis through the southwestern suburban cities of St. Louis Park, Improving regional access and offering mobility options to these regional Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie as identified in the Metropolitan centers of employment, business, education, and other services with the high Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan. Project activities funded by state quality of service that LRT provides will help ensure the region’s continued bonding may include environmental analysis, preliminary engineering and economic health and vitality. Within a half-mile walk of the Southwest LRT final design, the acquisition of public land and buildings and the construction stations, there are almost 210,000 jobs, 60,000 people in 31,000 households, of the transitway including support facilities, bridges, tunnels, track, stations, and over 31,000 college/university students in 2000. By 2030, over 60,000 and park-and-rides. The project is expected to generate 4,300 engineering, more jobs, 15,000 more people, and 10,000 more households are expected construction and operations jobs. Every $1 of state funding will be leveraged within a half-mile walk of the Southwest LRT stations. with $9 of federal and local funding. Impact on Agency Operating Budgets (Facilities Notes) NOTE: The Southwest project schedule requires that state and local funding The Council has established a policy requiring anticipated operating funds to be committed by mid-2014. Therefore, the $81 million in state bonding be identified before capital projects proceed. In the case of light rail transit, shown in the 2014 biennium will need to be requested in the 2014 legislative current state law, section 473.4051, subdivision 2, states that “after operating session. and federal money have been used to pay for light rail transit operations, 50 percent of the remaining costs must be paid by the state”. The metropolitan Project Description sales tax passed by five of the metropolitan counties is being used to fund 50 The line will connect major activity centers in the region including downtown percent of the net operating costs of the Hiawatha light rail and Northstar Minneapolis, the Opus/Golden Triangle employment area, Methodist commuter rail facilities. It is assumed that operations of future rail lines will Hospital, the Eden Prairie Center Mall, and the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. also be funded 50 percent by the Counties Transit Improvement Board The line will be part of an integrated system of transitways converging at the (CTIB) sales tax. CTIB will also fund 50 percent of the new operating costs Minneapolis Transportation Interchange where connections using the Target for service implemented as part of Cedar Avenue BRT and I-35W South BRT Field Station can be made to the Hiawatha and Central Corridor LRT lines, and may participate in the operating costs of other BRT corridors. the Northstar Commuter Rail line, the proposed Bottineau Transitway, and future commuter rail and intercity passenger rail lines. Previous Appropriations for this Project 1) Previous to this request, the Council allocated $5 million of the $21 The Southwest LRT (SWLRT) project will operate primarily at-grade with million in 2009 State General Obligation Bond funds authorized by structures providing grade-separation of LRT crossings and roadways at specified locations. It would be constructed with dual tracks. A total of 17 the State of Minnesota for the Transit Capital Improvement Program. new stations would be constructed, all at-grade with a center platform The funds were allocated to the Southwest LRT Project for preparing configuration. The SWLRT line is proposed to be interlined/through-routed an environmental impact statement (EIS) and for PE. with the Central Corridor LRT line utilizing shared tracks on 5th Street in State of Minnesota Preliminary 2014 Capital Budget Requests 7/15/2013 Page 2 Metropolitan Council Project Narrative Southwest Corridor LRT 2) In May 2012, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $47.5 million to St. Louis Park, MN 55426 DEED for the Business Development through Capital Projects grant Phone (651) 602-1942 program. On June 13, 2012, the Met Council authorized the Regional Email [email protected] Administrator to apply to DEED for up to $14 million to develop preliminary plans to locate stations, track alignments, and the maintenance facility for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project. On September 13, 2012, Governor Dayton announced that the State would provide the Project $2 million from this grant program. On December 12, 2012, the Council authorized the Regional Administrator to negotiate and execute a grant agreement with DEED for the state funding share in the amount of $2,000,000. The Council and the Minnesota Management & Budget Office are reviewing the draft grant agreement allowing state bonds funds to assist in the development of preliminary plans to locate rail stations, track alignments, and the operation and maintenance facility for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project. Council and DEED staff anticipate executing the agreement in 2013. The Omnibus Transportation Finance Bill, 2013 Session Laws, Chapter 117, Article 1, Section 4, provided a onetime appropriation in SFY 2014 of $37 million for the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Line to be used for environmental studies, preliminary engineering, acquisition of real property, or interests in real property, and design. Other Considerations The Council will continue to work with other funding partners, such as CTIB and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), to assure that state funds are leveraged and used to match other funding to the greatest extent possible. To date, CTIB and HCRRA combined have committed $74.4 million for the Project. Project Contact Person Mark Fuhrmann Program Director, New Starts Rail Projects Metro Transit 6465 Wayzata Boulevard Suite 500 State of Minnesota Preliminary 2014 Capital Budget Requests 7/15/2013 Page 3 Metropolitan Council Project Narrative Metropolitan Regional Parks 2014 STATE APPROPRIATION REQUEST: $11,000,000 match would be granted to Anoka County. Anoka County must spend this appropriation on projects in the priority order of its project list AGENCY PROJECT PRIORITY: 2 of 6 Over 43.9 million visits occurred in the Metropolitan Regional Park System in 2011. Of this amount, 45.4% or 19.9 million visits were from persons living Project At A Glance outside the park implementing agency’s local jurisdiction. This high level of The Metropolitan Council requests $11 million in State bonds to match $7.33 “non-local visits” justifies financing capital projects in these parks with State million of Metropolitan Council bonds to improve and expand the and regional bonds. Every $3 of State bonds is matched with $2 of Metropolitan Regional Park System. Metropolitan Council bonds. This spreads the cost of the capital improvements between taxpayers based on their use of the park system and what they pay in taxes for debt service on the State bonds and Metropolitan Project Description Council bonds. The Metropolitan Regional Park System consists of 54,800 acres of parks and 308 miles of trails which hosted 43.9 million visits in 2011. The Impact on Agency Operating Budgets (Facilities Notes) Metropolitan Regional Park System is owned, operated and maintained by There is no direct impact on State agency operating budgets since the State ten regional park implementing agencies: of Minnesota does not operate Metropolitan Regional Park System units. Anoka County Ramsey County Previous Appropriations for this Project City of Bloomington City of St. Paul The State has appropriated $297.4 million of bonds to the Metropolitan Carver County Scott County Council for the Metropolitan Regional Parks CIP and for earmarked projects Dakota County Three Rivers Park District outside the CIP for FY 1975 to 2012. In the FY 2012-13 biennium, $9.586 Minneapolis Park & Rec. Board Washington County million was appropriated for the calendar years 2012-13 Metropolitan Regional Parks CIP. The Metropolitan Council matched the State bonds with This request is based on distributing State and Metropolitan Council bonds $6.391 million of its bonds.