7.4. SR 10-17-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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IX. Twins Baseball Stadium and Inter-modal Station Design Coordination The Minnesota Twins and Hennepin County have agreed to a funding plan for a new baseball stadium in downtown Minneapolis. The stadium site sits adjacent to the inter-modal station connecting Northstar commuter rail and the Hiawatha LRT Connection. The plan for the $478 million facility will include private funding from Twins owner Carl Pohlad and public money from the county in the form of a 0.15% sales tax. The Minnesota Legislature must approve any county invoking a sales tax. The Legislature did not do so during the regular 2005 session nor in the special session that ended July 13. Governor Pawlenty may call for another special session to address stadiums and other issues this fall. Leaders of the Senate and House were quoted in Twin Cities newspapers as favoring a special session, possibly in November, to resolve this. The property owners of the Twins ballpark site have teamed with Hines developers and announced plans for a major transit oriented development either with or without the ballpark. Stated plans include 1,000 residential units with a ballpark or a mixed-use development including 3,000 residential units without a ballpark. The property owners cite the inter-modal access afforded by Northstar and Hiawatha as key elements in their development plans. Stadium and Northstar representatives have agreed on a line demarking the interface between Northstar and the stadium to enable design to proceed for both projects. X. Procurement System Review The FT A conducted a procurement system review of Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council, including the Northstar and Hiawatha Projects. Staff from Leon Sneed and Associates arrived June 6 and departed June 24. The review team also visited Anoka County to interview NCDA procurement personnel and view NCDA procured contracts. Mn/DOT received the review team's draft report on July 29, 2005. It described shortcomings they found in the overall procurement processes of each organization as well as shortcomings within specific contract files. Mn/DOT and NCDA responded to the draft report on August 30, 2005 and await FT A's final report. XI. Risk Management The Risk Management Advisory Committee met on August 31,2005, for its regular monthly meeting. Phil Walljasper, Risk Manager for Metropolitan Council, was selected as chair. The Committee reviewed a visualization of the project prepared for public information and community meetings which depicts the project, stations and certain safety features of the project. Discussion focused on risk identification and a better understanding of the project development, design and funding. The NCDA's risk management consultant, Marsh, will undertake a risk assessment of the project, commencing with interviews of key staff and consultants in mid to late September. The Committee Monthly Report September 15, 2005 -15- Northstar Corridor Rail Project