Scott County: Infrastructure, transit top issues

Scott County is stepping out over a frightening precipice by planning for massive growth without being assured of the roads or bridges that will be needed to support that growth, a group of political and business leaders warned the state's top transportation official late last week.

"We have been kind of quiet down here for many years," Minnesota Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, told Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel on Friday at the end of a two-hour conclave in Shakopee. "But you will be hearing a lot more from us. We will ask more directly."

Sorel told them he understands what they are saying, but also cautioned that the future is likely to be very different from the past. Among the big changes:

• It's not going to be all about roads and bridges. "There's a shift in what this department is all about," in which public transit options such as express buses become mainstream. "We're trying really hard to convey that idea and behave in that manner."

• The days of free lane space are ebbing: The MnPass concept, with commuters expected to pay for a guaranteed fast commute, is likely to spread. It could easily spread to Hwy. 169.

• A cash-strapped state will look to major developers to help pay for things like new or better intersections, and the state wants to be an early player when those plans arise.

• There is also strong interest in the notion of "value capture," whereby the public seizes back from private owners some of the skyrocketing value of their land when a new intersection or other improvement is plugged in nearby. That too could help pay for road work.

"We don't do a good job of knowing what that value is to what we're doing," Sorel said.

Scott County officials said they understand the state is short of money and that development activity for the moment has stalled. But concrete steps can still be taken right now to anticipate future needs, they said. Among them: Trying to work out where on earth another Minnesota River crossing can go, given environmental obstacles up and down its length.

"Every time we go near the river, another fen is discovered!" said Lezlie Vermillion, the county's public works director. "Is it worth a discussion on fens so we understand them, moving forward? What does it mean when we discover a fen or another obstacle up and down the river?"

Scott County's preferred location for the next big river crossing in Shakopee has been bypassed, partly because it would threaten a delicate environmental feature known as a fen north of the river. She implored his department to begin discussions with the state's Department of Natural Resources over what to do.

Carver County has a "nice new highway" and plans for thousands of new jobs, said Ron Jabs, the former mayor of Jordan. "People will move back and forth across the river. We need to enhance our roadway system so all of us can thrive together. It isn't a matter of trying to accommodate sprawl. We have to take our share of the growth of the region."

Looming behind the discussion, in other words, is the Metropolitan Council's expectation that Scott County will house an additional 100,000 people or so by 2030. The county has been increasingly testy with the council -- including a fiery letter to council chairman Peter Bell this fall -- over the disconnect between that and plans for roads.

Friday's session with Sorel was more convivial than it might have been because it came on the heels of a federal decision, which decision Sorel said his department labored mightily to bring about, that makes the erasure of the hated stoplights on Hwy. 169 at Interstate 494 more likely. That is perhaps the county's top priority.

But it also came days after the ballyhooed opening of the state's first commuter rail line, the Northstar, which stretches to the northwest. Scott officials teased Sorel that he "can't even talk about" a similar line to the south, owing to a legislative ban on formal planning for such a thing.

Along with bridge plans, a key for the county is state help in planning for and setting aside land for major new roadways such as a high-speed east-west crossing while land is still relatively cheap.

"We don't want to spend money and make people mad for something that isn't going to occur," said banker and former county board chairman Bob Vogel. "We have to make mutual investments. Some is money, some is political capital, a lot is just enticing businesses. We need to be sure that what's projected to be there, will be there."

Sorel pledged to become a partner with the county in its planning and to pursue various individual points, such as discussions with the DNR over environmental impacts on bridge planning. He praised the county for thinking ahead, and he said that will impress the private sector.

"Companies look for leadership," he said. "They won't throw money around unless they see sound leadership. It's too risky for them."

David Peterson • 952-882-9023