In This Issue:
- Metro Cities' 2022 Draft Legislative Policies
- State Revenues Update
- Metropolitan Council Offers Next Steps For 2020 Census Data
- DEED Announces First Round of Main Street Economic Revitalization Awards
- Twin Cities Highway Mobility Needs Analysis
Metro Cities’ 2022 Draft Legislative Policies
Metro Cities’ draft 2022 legislative policies are now online for review, click HERE. Policies were recommended by four standing policy committees and approved by the Metro Cities Board of Directors at their meeting Thursday.
The policies will receive consideration and final adoption by Metro Cities’ membership at a virtual meeting on Thursday, December 9th, at noon.
Each member city has one vote, with an additional vote for each 50,000 population above the initial 50,000. Detailed policy adoption protocols will be emailed to member city managers and administrators. A quorum is required to adopt the policies.
Please watch for additional meeting information and plan to attend! Comments or questions on policies can be directed to [email protected] or 651-215-4004.
State Revenues Update
The October revenue update from the Office of MN Management and Budget (MMB) shows state general fund receipts for the first quarter of FY 2022 at $657 million above what was forecast in February 2021 according to the October Revenue and Economic Update. Tax receipts in all categories are at higher than anticipated levels. The economic outlook has weakened for 2021 due to the coronavirus delta variant and issues with supply chains but is anticipated to grow slightly next year. The next Budget and Economic Forecast will be released in December.
Metropolitan Council Offers Next Steps For 2020 Census Data
The U.S. Census Bureau has published population and households counts from the 2020 Census. As Metro Cities reported last week, the Metropolitan Council has loaded this data to its website, prepared metro-focused reports and "data visualization tools” and re-published the data for GIS or map-making use. This information can be found at https://metrocouncil.org/census2020. The Council has recently presented on spatial patterns of the population, population changes, demographic trends, and also Census counts validation and troubleshooting. Cities may contact [email protected] to arrange a custom presentation.
The Metropolitan Council will be reaching out to local governments this coming winter to assist reviews of the 2020 Census published counts and look for any counts that may be discrepant. Council staff can provide technical assistance and data resources for cities to provide review and feedback to the U.S. Census Bureau. Contact [email protected] for assistance.
DEED Announces First Round of Main Street Economic Revitalization Awards
The 2021 Legislature appropriated $80 million to assist with economic development and redevelopment projects across Minnesota. Funds will be distributed through several organizations in two phases. The first round of partner organizations, announced Thursday, will now award up to $39.85 million to organizations across Minnesota. The second round of funding, with up to $40 million offered, will be made available in March of 2022.
The Main Street Economic Revitalization program will fund 30 percent matching grants up to $750,000 and guaranteed loans up to $2 million to eligible recipients for eligible projects that are designed to address the greatest economic development and redevelopment needs that have arisen in communities across Minnesota since March 15, 2020. This includes hardship suffered due to the pandemic, civil unrest, and other challenges to commercial corridors since that date.
In the metropolitan region, the following organizations will issue awards:
- African Career, Education & Resource (ACER), INC, Brooklyn Center, $312,000
ACER, Inc. provides access, equity, and opportunity to African Immigrants in the north and northwest suburbs of Minneapolis. This project will provide grants to businesses in commercial corridors in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center to support economic recovery from the effects of COVID-19 and social unrest in the area. - Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation, Saint Paul, $8,960,000
The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation will provide grants to business in the Snelling-University-Rice Cultural district, East Side and West Seventh commercial corridors to support economic recovery from the impacts of social unrest and the COVID-19 outbreak. - The Minneapolis Foundation, Minneapolis, $20,800,000
This project will include partnering with Propel Nonprofits and LISC Twin Cities to provide grants and loans to businesses impacted by the social unrest of Summer 2020 including the Lake Street corridor, the 38th street corridor and West Broadway in North Minneapolis.
Eligible recipients will not apply directly to DEED for funding – only the partner organizations identified above. Leverage grants and guaranteed loans can be used by eligible recipients for the following: repair, or renovation of real property; building construction; landscaping and streetscaping; demolition and site preparation; predesign and design; engineering; infrastructure; and related site amenities.
Twin Cities Highway Mobility Needs Analysis
At the October 11th Metropolitan Council Transportation Committee meeting, staff from the Council and Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) presented findings from a multi-year study on highway mobility in the metropolitan region. An analysis of this kind had not been done before in the region or anywhere else in the nation. Using a target goal of 40-hours annual delay per person the study estimates a 20-year cost of $4 to $6 billion in capital investment on metro-area highways.
The presentation included modeled results to show the impact of different funding scenarios on per capita annual delay, job access, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and the improvement of freight bottlenecks. The study considered equity and the impact of each funding scenario on certain populations’ job access. The study also analyzed the relationship of highway investment and transit finding that transit delays decreased as highway mobility investment increased. Given the changes in work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is worth noting that increasing telework participation was shown to reduce the need for capital investment to meet the identified performance target of 40-hours annual delay per capita.
Click HERE to view a recording of the presentation and HERE to view the slides. Staff also provided a two-page handout that details the various funding scenarios and their associated metrics around annual per-capita delay hours, job accessibility, freight bottlenecks, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Contact Mike Lund at [email protected] or 651-215-4003 with any questions.