Metro Cities News 10/14/22

 

In This Issue:

 

Metro Cities Policy Adoption Meeting: Mark Your Calendar!

Metro Cities’ legislative policies will receive final adoption at Metro Cities’ Policy Adoption Meeting on Thursday, November 17th at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be virtual and will feature guest speakers Brian Bakst, MN Public Radio, and Briana Bierschbach, Star Tribune, who will discuss the November elections. Legislative policies will be posted for review once they are adopted by the Board of Directors in October, and in advance of the policy adoption meeting. Please mark your calendar! Questions? Email Jennifer Dorn at [email protected].

 

State October Revenues Review

MN Management and Budget released the Quarterly October Revenue Review and Economic Update this week. Net general fund receipts for the first quarter of FY2023 are now estimated to total $7.024 billion, which is $289 million, or 4.3 percent, above the forecast. The economic outlook was downgraded as the result of accelerated inflation, increased interest rates and the tightening of the financial markets. Click HERE for more details.

 

Metropolitan Council 2023 Unified Planning Work Program

The Metropolitan Council adopted the 2023 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) with a total budget of $6,386,890 during their regular meeting on Wednesday evening. The Metropolitan Council is required to submit their annual UPWP to the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to access Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration planning funds. The UPWP describes budgeted expenditures, funding sources, and allocation of staff resources for regional transportation planning activities. $5.1 million of the over $6 million in planning activities included in the UPWP are expected to be funded with federal dollars.

The planning activities included in the UPWP are organized into six categories.

  1. Planning and Programming Process
  2. Modal System Planning
  3. Long-Range System Planning
  4. Travel Forecasting and Model Development
  5. Short-Range Planning and Performance Monitoring
  6. Planning Activities that do not use Federal Planning Funds

Click HERE to view materials from the Transportation Committee meeting held earlier this month. The slides provide more detail on planning studies currently underway as well as some studies that will begin work in 2023. Click HERE to view the 2023 Transportation Unified Planning Work Program.

Contact Mike Lund at [email protected] or 651-215-4003 with any questions.


Metropolitan Council Climate Action Work Plan

Metropolitan Council Community Development staff presented an update on the Metropolitan Council’s Climate Action Work Plan as an information item during Wednesday’s council meeting. The plan seeks to pull together the Metropolitan Council’s climate work into one place. It defines commitments, strategies, and actions that work towards climate related goals.

The plan includes commitments to:

  • Incorporate environmental justice principles in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of this climate action work.
  • Accelerate emissions reductions from Metropolitan Council operations to achieve carbon neutrality.
  • Accelerate regional emissions reduction through existing and new partnerships.
  • Reduce risks and impacts of climate change hazards to Metropolitan Council facilities and services.
  • Support and collaborate with partners to advance regional climate adaptation efforts.

The plan is scheduled for full adoption in quarter four of this year with implementation beginning in 2023.

Click HERE to view the presentation materials, HERE for the Draft Climate Action Work Plan, HERE for the three-page handout outlining the plan’s commitments and strategies, and HERE for a draft document listing all of the currently identified action items contained in the Draft Work Plan.

Contact Mike Lund at [email protected] or 651-215-4003 with any questions.

 

 

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