> News+Events > Features > Planning - October 2009

Putting stimulus funds to work in the Twin Cities

Roads, transit, housing and water projects all benefit

The Metropolitan Council continues to seek out and secure federal economic stimulus funds to benefit metro area residents. The latest was in the form of a $1.1 million grant to purchase hybrid-electric Metro Mobility vans to replace diesel vehicles in the existing fleet.  

“We competed for this grant money from a program that promotes green technologies, something we’re very interested in,” said Council Chair Peter Bell.

“The Council was one of 43 entities awarded funding to pursue ‘cutting-edge environmental technologies’,” Bell said. “We’ll use those dollars to replace diesel vehicles with gas hybrid-electric vehicles to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.”

$100 million federal TIGGER program for green transportation

The grant was awarded as part of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) 2009 Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program. The Council’s Metro Mobility transportation service for people with disabilities will use the funds to purchase 17 vans that are more fuel efficient.

Metro Mobility officials say they expect the new vehicles to improve fuel economy by nearly 30% and produce significantly fewer carbon emissions.

“With these 17 vehicles we estimate we can reduce CO2 emissions by 852 tons a year,” said Metro Mobility Manager Paul Colton. “It’s a significant impact and fits well with the Council’s overall goal of achieving greater efficiency and improving the environment.”

In addition to the TIGGER grant, Metro Mobility also received $1.8 million dollars in stimulus dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The funds helped to purchase 15 hybrid replacement vehicles and one standard bus. The vehicles began to arrive this month and are being incorporated into the Metro Mobility fleet. 

Stimulus dollars bolster other transit programs

Metro Mobility isn’t the only beneficiary of federal stimulus dollars under the ARRA. Metro Transit is getting nearly $50 million to purchase 90 buses. Twenty-nine double-length articulated buses from New Flyer in St. Cloud are due to arrive next summer. Sixty-one 40-foot Gillig buses from California will arrive May through September. In addition, Metro Transit is using about $18 million in stimulus funds to help fill a funding gap that was projected for the 2010-11 biennium.

“The stimulus funds became available at a critical time,” said Bell. “The Council was facing a projected shortfall in the next biennium of more than $62 million. Through a combination of initiatives that included the use of stimulus monies, we were able to address this very significant issue without having to raise fares or cut service.”

Metro Transit security will also be enhanced as a result of stimulus dollars. The agency applied for and received funding from the Transit Security Grant Program. The funds will allow the transit agency to hire up to five full-time officers. Grant funding of $1.3 million will cover the cost of the officers for three years.

In addition, the Council is receiving $1.4 million to purchase 27 new vehicles to launch revamped dial-a-ride service in the region. The restructuring effort will provide dial-a-ride transit services that are available to the general public in the metro where fixed-route transit service is not available.

The new dial-a-ride service will be called TransitLink and provide one phone number to make reservations, even though the service will be provided at the county level.

The Council is also supporting the state’s bid for some of the $8 billion in competitive ARRA funds for passenger rail. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) is submitting bids for four passenger rail projects, including the Chicago to Twin Cities rail line, Northern Lights Express, Northstar extension to St. Cloud and the Union Depot intermodal station.

Keeping housing up to snuff

Federal ARRA funds also made it possible for the Council’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Metro HRA, to make some needed improvements to 30 housing units. Metro HRA owns and operates a small public housing program in the region. Grant funds of $212,000 were used for things like replacing roofs, siding, windows, sidewalks and exterior painting on homes in 11 cities that are part of the Family Affordable Housing Program in Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

“This work was completed by the end of September,” said Metro HRA assistant manager Terri Smith.  “We consider this housing maintenance important not only for the resident, but for the community as we work to be good neighbors and partners.”

Wastewater and water projects

The Council’s Environmental Services (ES) Division competed successfully for about 10% of the $82 million the state was slated to receive for clean water projects. ES submitted five projects and will receive $8.2 million to allocate toward:

• Improved liquid treatment facilities at the Blue Lake Plant in Shakopee
• Additional solids processing facilities at the Blue Lake Plant
• Improved wastewater collection facilities to serve Victoria and Waconia
• Replacing aging infrastructure serving South St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights
• Tunnel lighting green energy project.

“The region’s wastewater collection and treatment system is a critical partner in improving water quality in the region and state,” said General Manager William Moore. “We felt strongly that we should be a contender for stimulus clean water funds, given our mission of protecting public health and the environment.”

Highways and byways

While the Council isn’t the recipient of federal stimulus funds for road projects, the agency and its Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) did play an important role in helping to allocate federal transportation funds. The Council, TAB and Mn/DOT partnered to allocate $168 million for state projects in the metro area, as well as $80 million for regional projects, including transportation enhancements. For more information on those projects, visit Mn/DOT’s ARRA website.

In addition, the Council is supporting Mn/DOT’s application for discretionary stimulus grants for improvements to the I-494/169 interchange in the southwest metro and the St. Croix River Crossing in the east metro, in which Wisconsin is also a partner.