4.1. SR 07-06-2004MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor and City Council
July 6, 2004
SUBJECT: Mark Olson-Representative House District 16B
2004 Legislative Update
Item 4. I.
Representative Mark Olson has requested to come before the City Council to review the
2004 legislative session and to discuss legislative issues in general. It should be noted that the
League of Minnesota Cities-2004 Law Summaries booklet was included in my monthly
informational memo to the Mayor and City Council that was dated June 30, 2004. Attached
for your information is a map and narrative outlining the Elk River House and Senate
districts.
S:\Council\Pat\ 2004\RepresentOlsonUpdate.doc
Ward 1
Ward 1
Ward 2
Ward 2
Ward 3
Ward 3
Ward 4
Ward 4
CITY OF ELK RIVER
2004 POLLING LOCATIONS
Precinct lA ...... City Hall- 13065 Orono Parkway
Precinct lB ...... United Methodist Church - 1304 Main Street
Precinct 2A ...... River of Life Church - 21695 Elk Lake Road
Precinct 2B ...... Meadowvale School - 12701 Elk Lake Road
Precinct 3A ...... Ivan Sand School - 1232 School Street
Precinct 3B ...... Lions Park Center - 1104 Lion's Park Dr.
Precinct 4A ...... Twin Lakes Christian Assemblies of God Church - 18912 Twin
Lakes Road NW
Precinct 4B ...... Elk River Senior Center - 350 Evans Avenue
Notice is hereby given that the congressional, legislative and county commissioner district
boundaries for the City of Elk River have been reestablished for the 2002 state primary and
state general election. The following is a description of the precincts that comprise those
distracts.
Congressional District #6 ............ All of Elk River
Senate District #16 ..................... Ward 2, Precinct 2A
Legislative District 16B ............... Ward 2, Precinct 2A
Senate District 48 .......................Ward 1, Precinct lA
Ward 1, Precinct lB
Ward 2, Precinct 2B
Ward 3, Precinct 3A
Ward 3, Precinct 3B
Ward 4, Precinct 4A
Ward 4, Precinct 4B
Legislative District 48A ................ Ward
Ward
Ward 2
Ward 3
Ward 3
Ward 4
Ward 4
Precinct lA
Precinct lB
Precinct 2B
Precinct 3A
Precinct 3B
Precinct 4A
Precinct 4B
County Commissioner District 1 .... Ward 1, Precinct IA
Ward 1, Precinct lB
Ward 2, Precinct 2A
Ward 3, Precinct 3A
Ward 3, Precinct 3B
Ward 4, Precinct 4B
County Commissioner District 5 .... Ward
Ward
2, Precinct 2B
4, Precinct 4A
S: ~CLERK~ELECTION \2004\Polling Sites \2004polling&legisl.doc
16
16B
48
48A
Senator Betsy Wergin
Representative Mark Olson
Senator Mike Jungbauer
Representative Tom Hackbarth
PRECI~
WARD BOUNDARIES
PRECINCT BOUNDARIES
~WARD 1
O Precincl 1A - City Hall - 13065 Orono P:u"kway
O Precinct 1B - United Methodist Church - 1304 Main Street
[] WARD 2
Precinct 2A River of Life Church - 21695 Elk Lake Road
Precfiact 2B - Meadowvale School - 12701 Elk Lake Road
[] WARD 3
Precinct 3A - Ivan Sand School - 1232 School Street
~Precinct 3B - Lions Park Center - 1104 Lion's Park Drive
[] 4
O Precinct 4A ~ Twin Lakes Christian Assemblies o f God Ch~ch * 18912 Twin Lakes P~ad NW
Precinct 4B - Elk River Senior Center - 350 Evans Avenue
State Senate and Legislative Districts
Stale Senate Districts - 16 & 48
Stale Legislative Districts - 16B & 48A
WARD MAP
RAver
In American economics users pay their own way
Non-user taxpayer subsidies
for state highways:
$0
Taxpayer subsidies for Northstar
Commuter Rail:
$7,670
per year, per daily rider
For more information, contact State Rep. Mark Olson at (651) 296-4237, or rep.mark.olson@house.mn.
Proposed taxpayer subsidy
per daily round-trip passenger:
*$7,67000 peryear
for 22 years without regard to passenger income
Average cash subsidy for a needy
mother with two children:
O0
*This amount does not include health care or child care assistance.
For more information, contact:
State Rep. Mark Olson at (651) 296-4237, or
rep.mark.olson @house.mn.
*Figures from the Northstar Corridor Development Authority, MN/DOT, and Minnesota House Resarch.
Federal Gas Tax Paid Into Highway Account and
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
Received Back - Minnesota
Gas Tax Paid In
Received Back
$100,000
$50,000
$0
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 19992000
Total State Highway User Revenues Available
For Actual Transportation and Construction Spending
1982-2001
$2,400,000
$2,100,000
$1,800,000
$1,500,000
$1,200,000
$900,000
Highway funds available through user
taxes plus 100% of motor vehicle sales
tax minus General Fund dollars
Actual revenues spent on
transportation system
$600,0O0
Total state highway construction spending
$300,000 (state total and estimated local state aid roads)
$0 ..............
The top line on the State Highway Revenue graph reflects the total highway user funds available for state roads. That is the gas
tax, tab fees and the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax, minus any General Fund dollars.
The middle line represents what is actually spent on our transportation system. The bottom line represents road construction
spending. User revenues far exceed the highway funds that are being used to build or maintain roads.
Northstar advocates claim roads are too expensive at $50 plus million per mile while the train only costs $3 or 6 million per mile.
The national average for a four lane interstate highway is about $9mil per mile. More importantly, roads are totally paid for by
those who use them. The Northstar operations are not even fully paid for by users.
Research Department
Thomas Todd, Director
MinnesOta
House of
Representatives
May 24, 2004
TO: Representative Mark Olson
FROM: John Williams, Legislative Analyst
RE: Northstar commuter rail total costs
This memo responds to your request for an analysis of the public costs of the Northstar
commuter rail project.
The enclosed spreadsheet shows total costs over two periods:
the 22-year period during which the state would be paying debt service on bonds
issued for the project (it is anticipated that 20-year bonds would be issued in amounts
of $37.5 million in FY 2005 and $49.066 million in FY 2007)
the 40 years that the 1998 cost-benefit analysis used in the report to MnDOT by
Parsons Brinckerhoff as the outer limit of the useful life of commuter rail system
components1
The state capital cost is shown as $132.6 million, which is the total cost of debt service on $86.6
million in state bonding for the project as recommended in the governor's capital budget. The
federal and local shares are as reported to the House Transportation Finance committee by the
Northstar corridor authority (NCDA) in January, 2004.
The operating cost and operating subsidies are based on the operating cost and farebox revenue
assumptions for the first year of operation (2008) as shown in NCDA publications.2 The
operating cost and subsidy were forecast through 2047 using assumptions of a modest 3 percent
annual increase in operating cost and a constant 44.5 percent farebox recovery ratio.
The ridership estimates are derived from the estimates given at the HouSe Transportation Finance
hearing of 4,030 daily one-way trips in the opening year of 2008, rising to 5,600 daily one-way
~ Parsons BrinckerhoffQuade & Douglas, Inc., "Twin Cities Metropolitan Commuter Rail Study, Phase II:
Benefit-Cost Analysis Report, revised draft, September 15, 1998.
2 NCDA, "Operating Cost Estimate and Funding Sources," 2004.
Research Department
Minnesota House of Representatives
April 21, 2004
Page 2
trips in 2025. It was assUmed that ridership would rise at the rate of 92.3 daily trips per year
from 2008 to 2025 in order to get from 4,030 to 5,600, and at the same rate from 2026 to 2047.3
Using all these estimates, it was possible to estimate the public cost per one-way trip. This was
derived by dividing total public costs (total capital cost including debt service on an annualized
basis, plus total operating subsidy on an annualized basis) by total one-way trips. For the 22-
year period the average annual pUblic cost was $14.57 per trip~ and for the 40-year period the
average annual public cost was $10.40 per trip.
Obviously there are pitfalls inherent in attempting to forecast operating costs, farebox revenue,
and ridership over a forty-year period for a rail line that is not yet operational. For this reason
the estimates should be regarded as projections based on a set of assumptions rather than as hard
figures based on certainties.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
~ 1 am convinced that cost per trip is a more accurate and defensible measurement than cost per rider. The estimate
of 2,800 riders in 2025 (assuming each one-way trip is half of a roundtrip) is a daily estimate. Dividing that figure
into an estimate of annual capital and operating cost will inevitably produce an inflated figure. If it were known for
certain that it would be the same 2,800 people riding the train each day then the figure could be divided into the
annual cost to produce an annual "cost per rider." Since that information is not known there is no way to accurately
estimate the total number of individuals who will take the train.
Copied Attachment:
TOTAL PUBLIC COST OF NORTHSTAR RAIL OVER 22 AND 40 YEARS
Capital cost - federal share $
Capital cost -- state share including interest on state bonds $
Capital cost-- local share
Total capital cost
Average annual capital cost
Average annual operating subsidy
Average annual capital cost + annual operating subsidy
Total annual average one-way trips
Average annual capital cost + subsidy per one-way trip
Over 22-year life Over 40-year life
of state bonds of the project
132,500,000 $ 132,500,000
132,624,830. $ 132,624,830
$ 44,200,000 $ 44,200,000
$ 309,324,830 $ 309,324,830
$ 14,060,220 $ 7,733,121
$ 6,545,399 $ 9,484,669
$ 20,605,619 $ 17,217,790
1,414,491 1,656,339
$ 14.57 $ lO.40
CALCULATIONS FOR THE ANNUAL PER DALLY RIDER SUBSIDY:
$14.57 X 2 (for round trip) = $29.14
$29.14 X 5 (for one work week of single rider round trips) = $145.70
$145.70 X 52 (for single rider work week round trips per year) = $7576.40
Average cash assistance fora needy mother with two children is $7500 per year.
This figure does not include health care of child assistance. - Source: House Research
* These notations have been made on a copy of a Northstar Corridor
brochure for the full 82-mile proposal.
_ Ouick facts
Corridor length:
82 miles .(Rico ,to Minneapolis)
t~dders (estimated):
Ilio
* 10,000 trips per day actually respresents
5,000 daily roundtrips (people per year)
*5,000 people are projected to ride the train.
6,000 housing units will bring at least
12,000 more people to the already fastest-
growing area in the state. Many of these
homes will have both adults working.
This Northstar will increase urban sprawl
and congestion by putting more people on
the highway and bring even more people to
this already fast-growing area.
mOrning &.evening rushhour}
Northstar fares (estimated):
Minneapolis to :St, Cloud: .......... .SIO
St. Cloud to Big Lake: .............
FJkRiverto Minneapolis: ........
Cost of driVing a car
(at $.50 per mile): Sou=e:
Minneapolis to St. Cloud: ......... ;J;36
(72miles)
St.-ClOud to.Big Lake: .............. ~14.50
(29 mileS)
Elk River to Minneapolis:.,.,.,.316~50
(33 miles)
Eco.omic benq~t~ of Northstar:
- 13,000 new jObs
- $1:2 billion in neWdeveiopment
The NEW Northstar proposal's service
distance and ridership has been reduced by
· .
approximately 50%. That's 40 miles with
2,500 annual commuters. Housing
:
:i : projections are about 4,000 new housing
units--again, bringing far more people to
the area than are projected to ride the train.
Station locatiOns:
Rice, St Cloud,-Becker, Big Lake, Elk RiVer,
NE
M
T~ ~ can do during yau~ Northstar ride:
I *Unless we stop this runaway train proposal, we as taxpayers will be subsidizing a
train that will bring more people, urban sprawl and congestion to the already
fastest-growing area of the state.
(*For more information or to comment, please contact Rep. Mark Olson at (651) 296-4237 or rep.mark.olson @house.mn)