final say on the stadium. The StarTribune calls Monday "D-day"; Ted Mondale
refers to it as "Game Day."
But of course the State Constitution requires -- and the bill will have a
provision requiring -- final approval from the Minneapolis City Council. With
that in mind, here's an email I recently sent to the 13 members of the Council:
Dear Council Members:
I'm not sure you count. Everywhere I look in the media, people are saying that
the stadium vote at the Legislature is the end of the process. In a press
conference on Friday, Ted Mondale referred to Monday's vote as "Game Day";
Lester Bagley said, "We are at the final step of the process."
It's almost as if the vote that the bill requires of the Minneapolis City
Council is irrelevant. Or maybe your vote is regarded as simply a rubber stamp
of a decision that cannot be changed.
That simply is not true. As you know, before this "special law" takes effect, a
State Constitutional provision requires your approval. So this responsibility
is nothing to be taken lightly.
Maybe those who seem to be taking you lightly are assuming that the
Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee vote of April 24, 2012, means you have
no choice but to approve the bill now. But of course at that time, you didn't
have in front of you the bill that may eventually pass the Legislature. And you
were merely voting to add the stadium to the City's legislative agenda. Given
those circumstances, you should in no way feel bound by your April 24 action.
At that time, you did not give and could not have given your Constitutionally
required approval for the legislation that may eventually be passed.
As you come to a decision, I ask you to do four things:
1. Read the bill. I doubt that many of the legislators will have read the
entire final version of whatever may be passed. You will have much more time --
up to 30 days -- than State legislators had to study and consider the complete
final version of the bill. You may well see things in there that they might
have missed, that have never been mentioned publicly. It seems that every few
days some new revelation comes out -- e.g., Minneapolis will be contributing
more money if the economy picks up -- that people were not aware of or that no
one had focused on before.
2. Seek out answers for what isn't clear. I have been watching some of the
committee hearings at the Capitol. And all too often, questions from
legislators are simply not answered -- or at least not answered completely. You
may now have the time and opportunity to pin down these answers more
definitively. Call people in, have them appear before the Council, and ask the
hard questions. Moreover, there are many questions that have yet to be asked.
For example, there is a provision in the current version of the bill that
allows the Vikings to extend the lease for 20 years. But I have yet to hear
whether that would obligate the City to continue making its $7.5 million/year
contribution to stadium operating expenses. If it does, what would the City's
total contribution be after those 20 additional years?
3. Honor the City Charter. In the April 24 resolution, one of the whereas
clauses reads as follows: "Whereas, the proposal for funding a People's stadium
does not involve an override of the 1997 Charter referendum limiting City
public financing of sports facilities." What if the final version of the bill
includes a section overriding the Charter provision? Some current versions
limit the section waiving the Minneapolis Charter referendum-requiring
provision only to the Target Center expenditures. If the final version has no
such limitation on the waiver, ask yourself why a waiver with respect to
stadium expenditures is in the bill. Ask yourself if "funding a People's
stadium does not involve an override of the...Charter," why does the bill
include a specific override section that deals with such funding?
4. Remember this is not a pro forma vote. This vote is a State Constitutional
obligation on your part to the citizens of Minneapolis -- not to the State
legislators, not to some previously agreed upon proposal, not to the Vikings,
not even to the Mayor. If the Legislature passes a bill, you will now for the
first time have the final provisions before you. After reading it in full, you
may well change your mind. Some of you who opposed it previously may now favor
it; and vice versa. While many people have put lots of hours into crafting this
proposal and they may see your vote as simply ratifying the work they have
done, your responsibility is not to them but to us, the citizens of the City.
Please do not fall into the trap of those who think the final step in the
process is what the Legislature may do this coming week. You have a separate,
important and vital Constitutional role to play.
Sincerely,
Chuck Turchick
Phillips