City hires lobbyist to track RTC bills in Legislature
Published Thursday, July 12, 2007
*correction: The print version of this story contained an error stating Carlson would be paid 175,000 each month, when the number should have been listed as $1,750.
Hiring a lobbyist might not guarantee state funding for Regional Treatment Center redevelopment, but it could give the city an extra edge, City Administrator Mark Sievert said.
“It doesn’t guarantee success but it improves the likelihood of getting what we request,” he said. “We need to make some investment to make things happen. We can’t just sit here and do nothing. We have to take the initiative to make things happen.”
Hiring lobbyist Joel Carlson, St. Paul, to track the RTC legislation initiatives will be recommended to the city council Monday. If approved, the agreement will run Aug. 1, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2008. Carlson will be paid $5,000 when the contract is signed and $1,750 each month throughout the life of the contract. The salary would be paid from the money the city recently received for operation of the campus when the state vacates.
“It sounds like a lot of money, but we’re talking about a lengthy process,” City Administrator Mark Sievert said. “The intention of the money was to keep the building operational until a developer steps in. By this time next year, we should have a clearer picture of how that’s going and in a year’s time that money will have built interest.”
The idea for a lobbyist came after the proposed renaissance zone failed to pass the Legislature this year. What was eventually offered, even though it died with the tax bill, was nothing like what was first suggested, Sievert said. A lobbyist will be able to follow its progress through the Legislature more closely than city staff has time to do.
“This will allow us a constant presence down there,” Mayor Russell Anderson said
“To have someone there day after day to make sure it keeps moving forward,” Sievert said. “It can be hectic and hard to follow when you’re a novice.”
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