The report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor found the Metropolitan Council committed itself to spending money it did not have, added or changed substantial work after the project was bid, and was not fully transparent.
Rather than follow the normal pattern of findings and recommendations, the review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor was instead an explanation of a lot that was already known about how the project’s budget and timeline expanded.
Earlier this month, the Federal Transit Administration sent what’s called the full funding grant agreement for the $2 billion project to Congress, triggering a 30-day review that is mostly a formality.
The latest on Southwest LRT and what we know now about the construction schedule for the 14.5-mile, Minneapolis-to-Eden Prairie route.
The current propopoal represents the latest iteration of a long-running argument: whether the Met Council sufficiently represents, and responds, to those it serves.
We’re looking for somebody who has an interest in politics and public policy, especially as relates to urban and regional issues.
The federal judge’s order was based on whether the alignment of Southwest LRT had been a fait accompli.
The Metro Transit staff had initially thought a formal process would not be needed.
The wall has fed a narrative that the regional governing body lacks transparency, and that it cooperates with local officials only when it is convenient for the Met Council.
The Met Council is expected to reject all four initial bids to do the bulk of the construction work on $1.858 billion light rail extension, which would set the project back by as much as six months.
The project is on track to begin construction in the spring. And yet, what most people want to talk about is a wall. A really big wall.
Somewhere in the closing days of the 2017 session, a mandatory study of the impacts of Southwest LRT construction on a condo building became something very different.
The regional board, born of a time when there was a greater sense of regionalism between the cities and the suburbs, could be dead by October 1.
Just over 90 people came to The Happy Gnome in St. Paul Tuesday night to discuss the results of the 2017 session with MinnPost reporters Briana Bierschbach and Peter Callaghan.
The budget directs the Federal Transit Administration to lock in its commitment to providing the more than $900 million federal contribution to the light rail line.
As a candidate and president, Trump has repeatedly expressed support for rail. His budget proposal, not so much.
Dakota’s already voted to leave the five-county body. But if the other four counties want out, they may have to pay up.
The plan would get the state Legislature out of having to allocate a share of the costs for new transit projects, but some lawmakers still had objections.
Dissolving the Counties Transportation Improvement Board would allow counties in the Twin Cities to fund transit projects — without any money from the state of Minnesota.
