JUNE 22, 2011 LETTER

FROM MINNETONKA CITY MANAGER JOHN GUNYOU TO DOT COMMISSIONER TOM SOREL RE: State blockage of Bren Road project on TH 169
Unfortunately, this project is now in jeopardy, perhaps the potential victim of political maneuvering seemingly more designed to inflict as much pain as possible during the looming state shutdown, rather than to responsibly address actual administrative or engineering issues. Regardless of the motivation, a MnDOT decision to unilaterally rescind its prior approvals and unnecessarily delay the 169/Bren Road project would irresponsibly cost the taxpayers we both serve an additional $2.75 to $3.10 million dollars, a 20 percent increase on this $15 million project.
June 22, 2011 Mr. Thomas K. Sorel Commissioner of Transportation Minnesota Department of Transportation 395 John Ireland Boulevard, Mailstop 100 St. Paul, MN 55155-1899 Dear Commissioner Sorel: For the past several months, the city of Minnetonka has been working in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation on the Bren Road interchange project on TH 169. This innovative project has received widespread recognition and several awards for the publicprivate partnership and unique financing structure that allowed the concept to become a reality, and model for future infrastructure development throughout the state and nation. Unfortunately, this project is now in jeopardy, perhaps the potential victim of political maneuvering seemingly more designed to inflict as much pain as possible during the looming state shutdown, rather than to responsibly address actual administrative or engineering issues. Regardless of the motivation, a MnDOT decision to unilaterally rescind its prior approvals and unnecessarily delay the 169/Bren Road project would irresponsibly cost the taxpayers we both serve an additional $2.75 to $3.10 million dollars, a 20 percent increase on this $15 million project. Although this locally planned and managed project is already fully funded from multiple public and private sources, and all state administrative approvals have already been received, your staff has indicated that MnDOT intends to exercise a little known, and rarely invoked, contractual clause that would prohibit the use of state right-of-way during construction. Although unsupported by any administrative, financial or engineering rationale, such an irresponsible action to rescind your prior commitments would effectively stop work on this important project, which is already well underway. I am writing to implore you to recognize that the 169/Bren Road project, which the city of Minnetonka and its private partners entered into as a good faith funding partnership with MnDOT, is not dependent on any legislative or administrative action, and is wholly independent of and unaffected by any state shutdown. While we fully appreciate the difficult position in which MnDOT finds itself during these uncertain times, your agency has little if any remaining role on this particular project, which can, and should, responsibly proceed as planned to avoid any unnecessary impacts on the residents and businesses we both serve. The decision to proceed is yours alone, and we are asking that you do the right thing by allowing this project to continue.

Although this locally planned and managed project is already fully funded from multiple public and private sources, and all state administrative approvals have already been received, your staff has indicated that MnDOT intends to exercise a little known, and rarely invoked, contractual clause that would prohibit the use of state right-of-way during construction. Although unsupported by any administrative, financial or engineering rationale, such an irresponsible action to rescind your prior commitments would effectively stop work on this important project, which is already well underway. I am writing to implore you to recognize that the 169/Bren Road project, which the city of Minnetonka and its private partners entered into as a good faith funding partnership with MnDOT, is not dependent on any legislative or administrative action, and is wholly independent of and unaffected by any state shutdown. While we fully appreciate the difficult position in which MnDOT finds itself during these uncertain times, your agency has little if any remaining role on this particular project, which can, and should, responsibly proceed as planned to avoid any unnecessary impacts on the residents and businesses we both serve. With funding from multiple sources, neither project is dependent on, nor subject to the impact of a possible state shutdown. The potential lack of appropriated funding is clearly not a valid reason for MnDOT to order a shutdown of the project.

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As the chair of MnDOTs Public-Private Transportation Partnership Policy Task Force, I find it especially disturbing that your agency should be taking such an unnecessary and irrational position on the very type of project we are all attempting to promote. The city of Minnetonka has been proud to partner with MnDOT on this innovative project, and has willingly assumed management responsibility for overall planning and construction. A delay in interchange construction would needlessly delay the opening of the UnitedHealth Group Phase II headquarters, with its associated expansion of permanent jobs. The 169/Bren Road interchange is not merely a road construction project that generates construction jobs. It is an economic development project, which the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) joined in partnership because it will bring 1,400 permanent jobs to our state. Delaying project construction would unnecessarily delay the creation of these critical jobs by a year.

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We strongly encourage you to embrace that opportunity and do the right thing by allowing the 169/Bren Road project to move forward.