Dean Lindberg's posting yesterday regarding the City's airport specialist raised my eyebrows.
Just about a year ago, I led en effort in which City Council Members, State Legislators, airport activists, business interests, City staff and others worked together to develop "objectives and measurable outcomes" in support of the City's airport goal of "reduc[ing] the negative environmental impacts of the Airport, while maintaining the economic benefits to the people who live, work and play in Minneapolis." Subsequently, the City Council put funding in this year's budget to hire an airport specialist to help the City meet those objectives and achieve those outcomes. The Transportation and Public Works (TAPW) Committee, which I chair, also established an Airport Subcommittee to facilitate the Council's work in this regard. Council Members Barret Lane, Sandra Colvin Roy and I serve on that subcommittee. The specialist the City has hired, Merland Otto, is now on board and we have given him several weeks to become acquainted with his new surroundings and digest his new role. Mr. Otto will present at the next TAPW Committee meeting his proposed work plan for the next year. That meeting will take place next Thursday, November 1, starting at 9:00 a.m. Feel free to call my office at 673-2211 starting Tuesday afternoon, October 30, for an estimate of the time at which the Committee may take up this topic. While Mr. Otto's work plan is not the subject of a public hearing, as the Chair of the TAPW Committee, I am interested in opening the topic up for a limited amount of public comment on Thursday. Again, my office will have additional information on this by Tuesday afternoon. I invite any and all who are interested in this matter to come on down and join us at the TAPW Committee meeting on Thursday, November 1. S. Dore Mead City Council Member, Ward 11 Chair, Transportation & Public Works Committee _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
