Bus-ted
Met Council Chairman Peter Bell on Systems, Strikes and Sewage
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Peter Bell explains the philosophy of the Met Council
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When first stepping into his role as appointed Chairman of the seven-county metro area Met Council, Peter Bell use to joke, "90% of the residents of the Twin Cities metro don't know what we do. The other 10% go to bed at night worrying about what we're doing." Addressing a record full committee meeting crowd of 100+ while in the midst of a three-week bus strike, even Bell realizes anonymity is no longer a problem.
Speaking to the Senate District audience after passing by the catcalls of three striking bus workers outside, Bell said while the transit strike has raised the profile of the 17-member Met Council, most metro residents still don't fully understand the Council's role. Bell sympathizes as he manages an organization that is "One part state agency with 3,800 employees and a $600 million budget and one part local control, working with the cities and counties."
The Met Council, developed in 1967 to principally combat sewage disposal problems, now oversees four major systems in the seven-county metro area: aviation (the airport), water (sewage and water treatment), parks, and most significantly, transportation. Bell defines the Council's mission as deciding the most cost effective ways in which to deliver these four central services. It is a mission that has created a great deal of controversy as the Met Council's priorities have begun to shift in new directions and away from the previous leadership of former council chairman Ted Mondale. At the heart of much of the controversy is the Council working within Governor Tim Pawlenty's "no-new-taxes" pledge, a pledge Bell supports.
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A record crowd listens to Peter Bell after the Dinner
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In fact, economic issues are a major reason why Bell is a Republican. Bell's philosophy towards the Council's expenditures, "we build what we can pay for" is a source of conflict with DFLers who believe, in Bell's words, "we [should] pay for what we supposedly need or want, despite the cost." "We in the state of Minnesota don't have a tax system problem, we have a high expense problem", he surmises.
The metro transportation dilemma of heavy congestion has been and continues to be the Met Council's first and foremost concern. The problem, Bell warns, will only get worse in the next 20 years. 3.7 million Minnesotans will live in the metro region within the next twenty years and the transportation system is far from prepared to intake these new residents. "We have under-funded transportation", Bell plainly states. Already the economic effects can be felt as traffic congestion costs local businesses an estimated $300 million a year in lost productivity. The number of cars on the road and trips taken per day is only increasing. Bell cites his own experience as an example. Growing up, his family owned one car for four family members in 1970. His family of four now, like many others, owns four cars.
But don't count Bell among the supporters of light rail. "Light rail carries only 20,000 people a day...and cost $750 million. Is that cost effective?" Bell does want to see other transportation options in addition to more roads. "Everyone wants to know if I'm a roads or buses guy. I'm both. We need both."
Bell closed the evening with a question and answer period regarding the ongoing bus strike. As 2,200 employees entered their third week of the strike, Bell defended his position to a supportive crowd. Despite 26 meetings with the union, both sides remain $22 million apart. At the heart of the matter, Bell said, is the worker's health care system which ranks in the top 4% of all health care policies nationwide. "We cannot sustain wages far above what the private sector makes...even if there was no budget crisis, I still couldn't sign such a deal in good conscience."
