TO THE EDITOR:

Adequate transportation funding is critical to the safety and economic development of Chisago and Isanti counties. All we need to do is look at the problems with Hwy. 8 and the mess on the Hwy. 95 bridge over I-35 in North Branch. In a rapidly growing area like ours, the infrastructure has to keep up with demand or weíre stuck with gridlock and unsafe conditions. My late wife, Sen. Janet Johnson, understood the importance of this issue.

When she became chair of the Transportation Budget Committee in the Senate, Janet worked hard to develop a bi-partisan consensus on a comprehensive transportation funding package that would improve highways and transit systems all over Minnesota. Thatís why itís so frustrating to see our current legislators try to defend their opposition to a transportation funding bill ñ passed by both
the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis ñ that would have taken care of many of the highway improvements we need.

The bill that was passed by the Legislature ñ and then vetoed by the Governor because of his campaign promise to a few multi-millionaires ñ would have provided over $7.5 billion for highway and transit needs over the next 10 years. Contrary to arguments made by our State Senator and Representatives, highways would have received $5.9 billion of that amount while transit would have received about $1.8 billion in a 10-year period. The funding was clearly not unfair to roads. It would have gone a long way toward meeting our highway needs and allowing our Isanti-Chisago Heartland Express to meet the growing demand for transit service in our area.

Sen. Nienow claims that Chisago County Commissioner Rick Olseen doesnít understand a good deal and then attacks the transportation bill for being unconstitutional and unfair to roads. Sen. Nienow apparently doesnít understand that legislatures canít decide if language in a bill is constitutional or unconstitutional. Only a court of law can declare language passed by the legislature unconstitutional. The language in the transportation bill may have been questionable but could easily have been fixed with an amendment or language in a subsequent bill.

Our State Senator and Representatives have a number of excuses for voting against a significant increase in highway and transit funding that would have allowed projects in our area to be accelerated. The question is, ìwhere is or was their plan?î They claim that the license tab fee increase in the bill was ìsudden and very steep.î The reality is that all existing vehicles would have been grandfathered in and people would only pay an increase when they purchased a new vehicle. They claim that the gas tax increase was ìunreasonable,î but they would support a 5-cent per gallon increase in the gas tax. Then where was their amendment to raise the gas tax by 5-cents? Why didnít they offer an amendment to fix the drafting errors in the bill?

Itís easy to sit back and vote ìno,î but for the people who live in Chisago and Isanti counties, all weíre left with are unmet transportation needs. Our county engineers and Mn/DOT have identified many projects in our area that are needed including expanding Hwy. 8 from two lanes to four lanes from Hwy. 61 to Olinda Trail and expanding Hwy. 95. Unfortunately, Mn/DOT doesnít have the money to actually complete those projects anytime in the next 20 years.

Our representatives brag about the bonding bill, but it only contained $50 million for local roads and bridges and very little of that money will be spent in Chisago or Isanti Counties. They apparently donít know that trunk highways canít be funded with general obligation bonds.

Commissioner Olseen is not in the Legislature, but he knows a ìgood dealî for the state and county highways in our area. He also knows what most Chisago County residents know: Highway safety is incredibly important, and after years of infrastructure neglect, a pretty good deal is much better than no deal at all.

Dennis Odin Johnson
North Branch

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