City of Minneapolis/City of Saint Paul Collaboration Gregory Luce wrote in part, "Caught this headline in the Pioneer Press this morning: St. Paul, Minneapolis Council Members Plan a Rare Joint Meeting...I'm always baffled by how much the two cities are more a region than divided cities, and I'd like to see much more cooperation between the two, especially on issues of state funding and transit..."
JLS--Another area for potential cooperation between St. Paul and Minneapolis is in the proposed water utilities interconnect that was recommended for funding by the Minneapolis Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee as part of its 2005-2009 5-year capital program. The proposal to have an interconnection between the two cities' potable water supply systems has been around for years. The latest version proposes a $33M project to install a water main from the Broadway/Stinson area to St. Paul utility's Dale Street reservoir. An April 2004 consultant report estimated the cost to the Minneapolis utility of about $19M. The Minneapolis utility has an average summer flow of 91 million gallons per day, while St. Paul has an average summer day flow of 65 mgd. Statements in support of the proposal were presented at the 2004 joint public hearing held by CLIC and the Planning Commission. Although I disagree, Mayor Rybak did not recommend this project for funding in his capital budget recommendations to the City Council in favor of a $31M new 40 million gallon Southwest Reservoir/Pump Station proposal. A state official commented that the proposed interconnect represented a move toward taking a more regional approach to the drinking water supply. Of course, backing those words with funding from the State or federal homeland security would be beneficial. But to the Mayor's credit and that of Council Member Colvin Roy, chair of Transportation & Public Works, there seems to be a willingness to again carefully examine the costs versus benefits and alternatives to the long-discussed interconnect between the Minneapolis and St. Paul water utilities to inform the 2005 (2005-2010) capital budgeting process. The Minneapolis Water Works Citizen Advisory Committee was established several years ago to study the need for membrane filtration and other facility/process upgrades to enhance the system to provide potable water to Minneapolis residents and other customers of the city's water utility. Thanks, Mr. Luce, for sharing the information from the Pioneer Press about the planned meeting of the councils. Jeffrey L. Strand, Shingle Creek CLIC Member 2003-2004, 4th Ward REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
