When a new public/private initiative is launched next month to expand jobs, grow the metro economy and raise Minneapolis-St. Paul's national profile, business leaders may find themselves with an unexpected partner: the Metropolitan Council.

The Met Council's new chair, Susan Haigh, said this week that her agency expects to play a yet-unspecified role in the new venture. If so, it would signal a departure from the Pawlenty administration's more cautious approach to regional economic competitiveness.

Peter Bell, the outgoing council chair, was wary of what he called "mission creep," especially on anything that mixed metro planning with private enterprise. "We should stick to our knitting," he said, referring to the council's statutory tasks of operating transit, airports, land-use, sewers and other metro systems.

But with Gov. Mark Dayton's emphasis on job growth, economic development and public/private partnerships, Haigh said she fully expects the council to contribute somehow to the effort. "I don't know precisely what it will look like, but it will be a priority," she said.

Metro operates as a distinct region
In perhaps another departure from the Bell years, Haigh said she considers the metro area a distinct "place," much like city or county, rather than a collection of regional services.

"I think we operate as a region in both the public and private sectors; we think that way, we act that way, we invest that way," she said, adding that working together is one of MSP's competitive strengths.

Haigh, a former Ramsey County commissioner, praised Bell for his accomplishments and full-time commitment to what is technically a part-time job. She said she intends to keep her post as president and CEO of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity while leading the Met Council. She sat down for an interview on Tuesday, only her second day on the job.

MinnPost: The census data that began to roll out last month showed this metro region competing well with peers — places like Denver, Seattle and Portland — except for our central cities' big disparities on race and poverty. Our competitors don't have the sharp divisions on race, income and geography that we have. Can the Met Council do anything about that?

Metropolitan Council

Susan Haigh

Susan Haigh: Income disparity is something that concerns us because it does impact our competitiveness as a region. What I don't know yet is in what ways the council would get involved. I've seen in my career the growth of disparity based on race. How the council can address that is something I've got to learn about. One question is, how can we use our transportation investments and our planning to influence that?

MP: One way might be to establish metrics that measure progress against goals that you set. It has been suggested, for example, that the council set goals on reducing miles driven (vehicle miles traveled) or on repopulating the core cities, or on concentrating more jobs and housing along transit corridors, or on narrowing the median income gap between cities and suburbs. Are those metrics something you would pursue?

SH: I don't know yet. I'm certainly interested in exploring that. I've got to understand, for example, how vehicle miles traveled would impact the disparity question. What's the theory behind that?

MP: The theory is that regions that drive a lot of miles have widely dispersed growth patterns that leave behind isolated pockets of poverty near the geographic center. Metro areas that rely more on infill redevelopment tend to drive less and not have such big gaps based on race, income and geography. It's a paradox that we're so highly regarded for planning, yet have these big city/suburb disparities.

SH: I'm eager to explore those concerns.

MP: With conservatives in charge in Congress and the state Legislature, and with huge budget challenges, how will you approach the future of transit, both on the capital expansion side with Central and Southwest LRT, and on the operating side with the challenge of keeping the buses rolling?

SH: Our first priority is getting a full-funding agreement on the Central Corridor. That's essential to the economic health of this region and the ability of St. Paul and Minneapolis to compete with other regions. It's my understanding that Central is still at the top of the federal government's rating list, so I fully expect the project to move forward. As for other projects, they're part of the budget dialogue that we have to have, and there are some real challenges going forward. We're not in terrible shape because of the sales tax levy [1/4-cent dedicated to transitways in five metro counties] and MVST money [state motor vehicle sales tax], so preserving those funds will be important to keeping our region moving.

MP: On the operating side, Mr. Bell was proud of his tough stances against the unions. This agency withstood a very long strike in 2004. And he argues that keeping labor costs in line helped to improve the transit outlook. What will be your stance toward the unions?

SH: I'll wait to get the governor's direction on that. It'll be part of his approach to all of the union contracts. It's fair to say, however, that in difficult times everyone is going to have to share the pain. The solutions to this budget crisis are going to require that.

MP: As you know, the Itasca Project and other business leaders will launch an effort to raise the metro area's profile and seek job growth and economic expansion. Mr. Bell was always reluctant to mix economic development with the statutory missions of the Met Council, warning against what he called mission creep. What will your approach be on the economic development question?

SH: I don't know precisely what it will look like, but it will be a priority. For this governor, I know his top priority is jobs and economic development. He has a personal interest in that and the question is what role will the council play in that process. I don't see that as mission creep. I see it as a clear direction that will be coming from Gov. Dayton moving forward. We need to explore what role the council will play.

MP: A Legislative Auditor's report will come out soon, perhaps recommending a restructuring of the council, perhaps allowing county commissioners or other local officials a direct role in serving on the council or in selecting council members. There has also been sporadic talk over the years about an elected Met Council. What's your view on changing the council's structure?

SH: That won't be a year-one issue for me, but probably two years down the road. I need to work with [local boards] and legislative leaders before I form an opinion on the structuring question. Governing is about relationships and I don't see how I can decide a question like that before those relationships are formed. Change doesn't work unless all the partners see a clear need for change. So that's got to be down the road.

MP: Obviously this metro area is larger than the seven counties covered by the Met Council. Do you foresee any opportunity for expansion?

SH: It's an important policy question for the long run. To bring others in at this point is a very complex issue. Despite what urban planners say, I'm not sure people in Sherburne County see themselves as connected to St. Paul and Minneapolis, especially considering what has happened in the housing industry over the last three years. Communities in the collar counties have significant challenges with foreclosures and with development that has started and stopped. They'd have to see some tremendous benefit in joining with us, and I'm not sure they see a tangible outcome in that, at least not at this point.

MP: Do you see any conflict of interest in continuing your work at Habitat while chairing the Met Council?

SH: Two issues. On the technical question of what if Habitat applied to the Met Council for a grant? In that case I would recuse myself from that on both ends — at Habitat and at the council. But as a rule I think Livable Communities money flows to public entities. The second issue is the value I bring to the council on the need for more affordable housing investment. My belief is that communities are stronger when they provide a range of housing opportunities for people of different incomes. The region is stronger, individual communities are stronger and families are stronger.

MP: Should council chair be a full-time job? Mr. Bell treated it as one even though it carries only part-time pay. In departing, he left the recommendation that it become full time.

SH: He spent a good deal of time on it and did a great job. I don't want to take anything away from him in any way. His predecessors, Ted Mondale and Curt Johnson, saw this as a part-time position, and that's how I'm seeing it. I see myself bringing a citizen's perspective while allowing the great staff here to run the council day to day.

MP: There may or may not be a Vikings stadium in the immediate future. Technically, the council has the authority to intervene on the location of any major project it deems to be of "metropolitan significance." I think the last time that happened — perhaps the only time — was in the building of the Mall of America. The reason for intervention would be to assure that a major facility is connected to metro infrastructure. In the case of stadiums, the Twins have demonstrated how a ballpark and transit can work together to handle big crowds. What's your view on stadium location and transportation?

SH: My sense is that wherever a new stadium might be located, it should maximize the current transportation investment because that's the way it can be most cost-effective. It has to be that way. But the governor has not signaled in any way whether he thinks this would be a decision of metropolitan significance or whether the council would play a role in that.

MP: Here's a philosophical question: Does this metropolitan government represent "a place" much in the same way that a city government represents a geographic place? Or is it just a loose collection of operating systems: transit, sewers, airports and so on?

SH: I think we're a place. We're one of the few metro areas that actually functions as a region. I think we operate as a region in both the public and private sectors; we think that way, we act that way, we invest that way. Whether you're in philanthropy or local government, we're constantly thinking about our connectiveness. I really see us as a place. People from around the country ask me all the time in my work with Twin Cities Habitat, how can you work together on so many things? But that's what we do here, We try to put aside our parochial interests for the good of the whole. And I think the work of the council over the decades has had a big impact on that. It's a big advantage for us.