Budget and Vikings’ stadium top concerns for Met Council oversight group

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The legislative commission charged with Metropolitan Council oversight met for the first time in more than three years to review the organization’s draft 2012 budget. However, the proposed site for a new Minnesota Vikings’ stadium helped delay that discussion for another day.With an annual budget of nearly $780 million, the Metropolitan Council coordinates the delivery of services in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, including mass transit and wastewater.The 14-member Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Government is charged with keeping an eye on the council’s budget and work program.Because council members are appointed by the governor, rather than elected, “There’s concern with the amount of money and authority the council has,” said Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville).A question from Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) regarding the council’s role in regional development generated discussion about its review of the proposed Minnesota Vikings’ stadium in Arden Hills.In August, Gov. Mark Dayton asked the council to look into any potential risk that could be associated with the proposed site, especially as it relates to infrastructure needs, permitting and approval issues.Patrick Born, the council’s regional administrator, said the request should be completed by Oct. 15.“Our analysis is on that site, and the implications on the rest of the region we would leave to another day. We are looking at the infrastructures needed to support the site,” he said.The plan being floated about calls for $350 million of project costs coming from a sales tax increase in Ramsey County; $300 million from the state and a $407 million team contribution.The House member representing several communities near the stadium site said the findings may show the need for costly infrastructure improvements.“I call it the Ramsey County Vikings stadium,” said Rep. Bev Scalze (DFL-Little Canada). “I fight constantly for the northeast metro, because infrastructure dollars flow elsewhere. Continue Reading

Stadium tax testimony

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On September 28th, the Ramsey County Charter Commission held a public hearing on the question of a possible tax hike to support road improvements around a proposed Vikings stadium in Arden Hills.The commission faced hundreds of citizens who were eager to sound off in this, the first public forum to be held on the controversial Vikings project. The Ramsey County Charter Commission will have a second public hearing on Tuesday, October 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Ramsey County Court House in downtown St. Paul.The sentiment at the September 28th hearing was overwhelmingly in favor of the commission putting any stadium-related tax increase on the November 2012 ballot – a move that stadium supporters fear would doom the development.KFAI’s Edwin Allen was there and brought back this assortment of comments. [Audio below] Continue Reading

Vikings stadium deal up in the air: Plans for the stadium are in limbo as lawmakers confer

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As the clock struck midnight on the Minnesota Legislature on Tuesday, a resolution on a new Minnesota Vikings stadium remained unfinished.A flurry of activity and news reports about a possible stadium deal in recent weeks quieted as legislators focused on reaching a deal to balance the state’s budget.But the Vikings remain intent on reaching a deal for state funding this year.The team is moving forward with a $1.1 billion proposal which would place a new stadium in Arden Hills, Minn., about 10 miles northeast of Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Ramsey County and the team announced the partnership May 10 — a day after Minneapolis proposed a plan to keep the Vikings at the Metrodome site.Vikings spokesman Jeff Anderson said the team is still working with legislators to draft an Arden Hills proposal for consideration in the Legislature during a special session. He added that the team “isn’t interested” in waiting until next year for an agreement.The Vikings seem to have no interest in playing at the Metrodome site.The team would extend its lease at the Metrodome past this season only if a stadium deal is in place, Anderson said.Dayton hadn’t announced when a special session will take place by press time.Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, and Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, introduced a stadium bill in mid-April, but the bill made no progress in the Legislature.Leading lawmakers said in recent weeks that a stadium proposal would take a back seat to the budget debate that engulfed the Capitol.A month after the bill was introduced and just days before the legislative session ended, the city of Minneapolis proposed building a new stadium on the Metrodome site. The plan would also help fund renovations to the Target Center.The proposed 65,000-seat stadium on the abandoned ammunitions plant in suburban Arden Hills would include a retractable roof.The site requires far more road and transportation improvements than the Minneapolis location, tallying to about $131 million, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.Dayton has repeatedly said the state would contribute no more than $300 million to the stadium. National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said the league would contribute to a new stadium but hasn’t specified how much.But even with the slow progress made in the last few weeks of the legislative session, the Vikings are hoping that a stadium deal comes out of the special session. Continue Reading