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year, he said
<br />Some construction, such as moving electrical and other utilities in downtown Minneapolis, could begin in
<br />the fall, Yantos said. Next year, project officials would like to build the train stations in Fridley, Coon
<br />Rapids, Anoka, Elk River and Big Lake, he said.
<br />At the moment, the Big Lake station and train-maintenance building is no more than a farm field with
<br />portable irrigation sprinklers standing guard. The authority needs to negotiate a price with the farmer and
<br />then get the land annexed to Big Lake, said Scott Johnson, Big Lake's acting city administrator. Now, the
<br />land sits in Big Lake Township, which doesn't have the necessary water, sewer and other utilities for the
<br />maintenance building, he said.
<br />Yantos said developers already are talking about $4 billion in development along the corridor, much of it
<br />in new housing. But some of that development would have happened anyway.
<br />John Elliott, a broker for Rosemount Realty, which is expected to lay footings on The Bluffs 67-unit
<br />condominium development in downtown Elk River, said the project and the nearby Jackson Place
<br />apartment complex were inspired by the proximity to the Mississippi River and the city's desire to
<br />redevelop its downtown, rather than by the train.
<br />The city is helping finance the project with tax-increment bonds, and half of the units are sold, nearly all of
<br />them to people who already live and work in the area, Elliot said.
<br />Since the Northstar line first popped up at the Capitol in the late 1990s, it has generated strong
<br />opposition, but Yantos said that has receded in recent years.
<br />Nor did he fear that a review by the state auditor's office, released last month, would spur more
<br />opposition. The report found that between January 2000 and May 2005, the Anoka County Regional
<br />Railroad Authority and the Northstar Corridor Development Authority hired three of the same contractors
<br />who billed both organizations for the same services.
<br />In those cases, the auditors could find no evidence that the two organizations were splitting the costs or
<br />that they weren't billed twice for the same service. About $1.1 million over the five years fell into that
<br />category.
<br />"Overall, the contracts are sound and contain adequate contract-monitoring procedures," the auditors
<br />wrote. "However, we believe NCDA and ACRRA can take some additional steps ... to ensure that their
<br />contracts are monitored effectively."
<br />Likewise, the review dinged Yantos for his use of a public credit card for 222 meals costing $8,428 from
<br />January 2003 to July 28, 2005. The auditors said Yantos should make sure the meals really were
<br />necessary and should list the full names of people being fed, rather than just their initials.
<br />"It was pointed," Yantos said. "Those who are not in favor of commuter rail, there are some interesting
<br />points. But they gave us some high marks."
<br />Yantos said all the meals were justified, and he has begun adding the last names. As for contract
<br />overlaps, the system is working well, he said, but the rail authorities are looking into whether it makes
<br />sense to have one entity with a single contract with the other organizations reimbursing for their share.
<br />Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, the Lakeville Republican who leads the Transportation Finance Committee, said
<br />she never thought the Northstar line made sense, but she doubted the auditor's report would make any
<br />difference.
<br />Sen. Steve Murphy, a Red Wing Democratic-Farmer-Labor member who chairs the Senate's
<br />transportation committee, said he will keep moving the project forward and the report is "not even a ripple
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