06-22-1992 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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t tl' h-%. |S’ 5V^ m- , f-A- '- ''r«:- i. I-: m m W!-'* n. The Metropolitan Council's Role: What Should Its Concerns Be? When it wM created, the Metropobun Council was hailed nationwide It wm viewed by ‘ocal fovenunent leaders around the couiMry as a harbinger of providing possible soiuiHins to questions ttut were beyond a city's scope yet not of staewide significance The Metropolitan Council was seen as a regional approach that blended local governance wnics with regional ser>nce delivery approaches The hallmark of these years was delineating areas ihM needed a region wide approach The Council had the vision to foresee such areas and then recommend the unplemenuuon method. Within 10 years of us tneepboa. tlus vomm resulted in the Metropobtan Waste Control Commission, the Metropobtan Parts and 0pm Space Commission, the Metropobtan Sports Factl'ues Commission and the Metropobtan Housmg and Redevelopment Authonty. As the years progressed, the scope of the CouiKifs activities increasingly shifted. Instead of vision and ovcrsighl of regional a^ncies. the Council became more enmeshed in the details of operauon and iffiptementation. For example, rather than «]vocating a comprehensive regional approach to solid waste, the Council is engaged dirKtly in managing an elahtxate system of grants II It It R>-€mDhasl2e a Visionary Role The Task Force recommends that the Metropolitan Council should scire upon this earlier ability to identify the problems of the future and outbne steps and consequences of solving those problems. This metropobtan area needs a strong voice and strong leadership to help guide the area into the future. The Metropobtan Council ha.s the opportuniiy to help advaxKc the metropolitan area into the next century. It should not hesitate to scire the opportunities to explore aspects of metropolitan bfe and living, and probe them, not to do so could mean stagnation for this area. Regional Demands, Regional Thinking The Metropolitan Council - as well as cibes in the me^ - r ~ ‘ ■ <*>^3 ' should think and act globally. Sevenl natineal surveys lux the Twin Cities area as an up-and<oming region in international trade. People outside of the metropolitan area do not sec separate communities; rather, they see 'The Citks'’ or The Twin Cities Area." The Council should be able to help promote this view of the region as one entity. As the Twin Cities metropobtan area moves toward the 21st Century, it will face situabons where a number of choices are posstbk. How the area responds to these situabons and which choices are made win determine the degree of success the area has in participabng in the wtvld economy. The Metropolitan Council must be toe body that foresees these cnbcal junctures at which choices must be made, clearly ddioeaies what the choices ate and ouibnes the ramiricauons of the alternatives. The role of outlining choices lias at least two aspects: 1. In any situation, "do nothing" is a choice. This choice has ramificabons. Not having a regional body b ing out <Mher alternatives means that the "do nothing" choice increasingly becomes the decision that is made. J The lack of a regional body that identifies cnbcal situabons and outlines the range of choices does not mean that the function will not be undertaken. Groups such as the Citizens League. League of Women Voters, private business and the education establishment will identify some sibiations and some choices. The problems with this scenario arc that some situations would be missed (meaning "do nothing" is the course of action) and the range of choices would be bmited when a situation is identified because of the nature of the group(s) examining the issue.