Every day I grow more and more amazed at the ineptitude of the leaders of the city of Minneapolis. I would be hard pressed to find any Mayor nationwide who gathered all the goodwill they took office with, stacked it up neatly and lit that shit on fire any faster than Betsy Hodges has.
Deadlines loom for $1.68 billion Southwest light-rail project
As deadlines loom for the $1.68 billion Southwest Corridor light-rail project, concern is growing that Minneapolis hasn’t scheduled a public hearing needed to move it forward....
“I’m not sure why one hasn’t been scheduled,” said spokeswoman Kate Brickman....
Under state law, the cities could take a tougher stance, rejecting the Southwest plan and amending it with necessary conditions. But that strategy could trigger a new round of discussions and votes that could further delay or torpedo the project....
Another possible source of a deal involves the desire of some Minneapolis city officials to build streetcar lines.
“Mayor Hodges has always talked about streetcars as one of her big initiatives,” Brickman, the mayor’s communications director, said this week. “We have heard rumors of the Met Council wanting to use streetcars as a bargaining chip.” The Met Council declined to comment on the assertion.
Brickman declined to comment on whether Hodges has made streetcars a condition of the city supporting Southwest, citing the ongoing mediation sessions between Met Council members, city officials and retired federal Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan. “Our guiding principle is respect for the confidentiality of mediation,” she said.
That article, from this morning, was followed this afternoon by the exchange summed up in the lede of this article:
Hodges disputes account of light rail talks.
It's obvious some of the staff in Minneapolis think they can play 3D chess, but this process has been so butchered by the city I'd want an in person demonstration they could make it through a game of Connect 4 with a toddler before I believed it.