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    Compiled by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library

    Governor's Blue Ribbon Committee on the Metropolitan Council's Structure and Services

    Also known as:
    Committee on the Metropolitan Council Structure and Services
    Active dates:August 2020 - December 2020
    Authority:
    Executive Order 20-88 (Tim Walz, 28 August 2020)
    Function:

    The purpose of the Committee is to review:

    • The role of elected versus appointed Metropolitan Council members
    • The Metropolitan Council’s role as a Metropolitan Planning Organization and identify and evaluate the ways this federal designation may complement and conflict with the Council’s responsibilities under Minnesota law
    • The effectiveness of the delivery of regional transit service

    The Committee will submit a report to the Governor with its findings and recommendations by December 31, 2020.

    History:

    On August 28, 2020, Governor Tim Walz established a Blue Ribbon Committee to evaluate the structure of the Metropolitan Council and the delivery of its statutory responsibilities. The Blue Ribbon Committee is to include civic, business, and academic leaders to provide for a broad range of input and expertise.

    According to the committee's final report, they "met seven times between Sept. 14, 2020 and Dec. 7, 2020" and were "provided with an extensive amount of written material for review and heard testimony from the Council and legislative staff, agency representatives, local government representatives, and interested advocacy groups."
    Related to:
    Metropolitan Council
    Membership:

    The members of the Committee are:

    • Mary Liz Holberg, Dakota County Commissioner, District 6, who will serve as Chair of the Committee
    • Peter Bell, Director, Schafer Richardson Realty Trust
    • Patrick Born, Chair, Board of Directors of the Citizens League
    • John (Jay) Cowles, Managing Director, Lawrence Creek, LLC
    • James Hovland, Mayor, City of Edina
    • Elizabeth Kautz, Mayor, City of Burnsville
    • Douglas Loon, President, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
    • Mary Jo McGuire, Ramsey County Commissioner, District 2
    • Khani Sahebjam, Chief Strategy Officer, SRF Consulting
    • George Schember, Vice President, Cargill Transportation & Logistics
    • Alene Tchourumoff, Senior Vice President for Community Development and the Center for Indian Country Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
    • Thomas Weaver, CEO, Achieve Services
    • Janet Williams, Mayor of Savage
    • Pahoua Yang Hoffman, Senior Vice President, Community Impact, Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation
    • Zhirong (Jerry) Zhao, Professor and Director of the Master of Public Policy Program, University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs

    Entries for this agency in the Annual Compilation and Statistical Report of Multi-Member Agencies Report: 2023, 2020.

    Note: This report provides membership details as well as meeting information and a summary of the group's activities.

    Reports:
    2020 Final Report & Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel: Efficient Delivery of Metropolitan Council Services (2020)
    Brief History of Metropolitan Council Governance Issues and Proposals (2020)
    Note: The Legislative Reference Library may have additional reports on or by this group available through our catalog.
    Documents/Articles:
    As committee examines Met Council, a primer: What is it? How did it come to be?. Minnesota Reformer, 10/26/2020.
    News clippings and documents. Agencies Notebook Collection, 2020.
    Record last updated: 01/12/2021
     

    All information on this group from the Library’s collection of agency notebooks has been digitized. These materials are incorporated into the “documents/articles” section of the record. Please contact a librarian with any questions. The Minnesota Agencies database is a work in progress.

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