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Record of Proceedings

Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority Meeting - August 18, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Authorities — Tuesday, August 18, 2026
BodyRamsey County, Minnesota
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Authorities
DateTuesday, August 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 8:46

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
1:29

I'd like to call to the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority roll call.

1:34

Jeffin Singh?

1:36

Here.

1:36

McGuire.

1:37

Here.

1:38

Mick Murtry.

1:39

Here.

1:39

Miller.

1:40

Here.

1:40

Moran.

1:41

Here.

1:42

Zhang.

1:42

Here.

1:43

And Ortega.

1:44

I.

1:44

I'll entertain a motion on the agenda of August 18th, 2026.

1:49

So moved.

1:50

Second.

1:52

See no discussion roll call.

1:54

Jeff and Singh?

1:56

Aye.

1:56

McGuire.

1:57

Aye.

1:57

McMurtry.

1:58

Aye.

1:59

Miller.

1:59

Aye.

2:00

Moran.

2:00

Aye.

2:01

Zhang.

2:01

Aye.

2:02

And Ortega.

2:03

Hi.

2:03

I'll entertain a motion on the minutes of May 19th, 2026.

2:08

So moved.

2:08

Second.

2:10

See no discussion roll call.

2:12

Jeffin Singh.

2:13

Aye.

2:13

McGuire.

2:14

Aye.

2:15

McMurtry.

2:16

Miller.

2:16

Aye.

2:17

Moran.

2:18

Aye.

2:18

Zhang.

2:19

Hi.

2:19

And Ortega.

2:20

Hi.

2:21

Item number three capital grant agreement with Metropolitan Councilman and Ramsey County Regional Authority for the Engineering phase of the Bronze Line.

2:33

So move.

2:34

Second.

2:35

Any discussion, Commissioner Shaw.

2:38

Um thank you, Mr.

2:39

Chair.

2:39

I wanted to use this space to um speak about this some more too, because I know that my colleagues, you all have been getting emails as well, and um there have been um uh coverage around the bronze line and the impacts that it would have um uh in my district.

2:56

So I just wanted to uh just uh say that like this is where we're taking us up to continue moving forward with the project hand in hand with meeting community members where they are at uh about this project.

3:11

And additionally, we are just at three percent design.

3:15

So um if I'm if I uh uh if um uh uh staff would like to come up and um just speak more about this, um, and then also just name um what some of those engagements would would look like in addition to um what we have planned.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████████████████████████35%
Transportation Safety███████████████████████████████████35%
Community Engagement██████████████████████████████30%
Summary of Proceedings

Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority Meeting - August 18, 2026

The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority met on August 18, 2026, in Council Chambers (Courthouse Room 300) with all seven commissioners present: Jebens-Singh, McGuire, McMurtrey, Miller, Moran, Ortega, and Xiong. The agenda listed a 10:00 a.m. start, but the minutes record that the meeting was called to order at 9:47 a.m. and adjourned at 9:54 a.m. The raw transcript appears to render Commissioner Xiong's name as "Zhang" or "Zhong" and refers to one commissioner as "Commissioner Shaw," likely a transcription variant. All items on the agenda were approved unanimously by 7-0 roll-call votes.

Consent Calendar

  • Agenda of August 18, 2026 (2026-300): Approved unanimously after a motion by Commissioner Miller, seconded by Commissioner Xiong.
  • Minutes of May 19, 2026 (2026-301): Approved unanimously after a motion by Commissioner Jebens-Singh, seconded by Commissioner Miller.

Discussion Items

  • Capital Grant Agreement for METRO Bronze Line BRT Engineering Phase (2026-286): Jennifer Jordan of Public Works presented the Capital Grant Agreement with the Metropolitan Council and Ramsey County for the METRO Bronze Line Bus Rapid Transit Project. She said the design is at 3 percent, and both Ramsey County and Metro Transit will bring consultants back in fall 2026 to begin detailed design and stakeholder engagement. Remaining questions include whether the bridge along Johnson Parkway can be shifted and what the treatments around it will look like. A commissioner (identified as "Commissioner Shaw" in the transcript, likely a transcription variant of Commissioner Xiong) expressed full support for the project, said he would not pause progress, and acknowledged that constituents in his district have concerns because the line would be in their backyards. He stressed the importance of continuing to meet community members where they are and noted he also represents about 78,000 other constituents. Approved unanimously as Resolution R2026-010; the resolution also authorized the Chair to execute the agreement and the County Manager to enter into related agreements within funding limits.
  • Fund Balance Transfer for RiversEdge Land Work (2026-280): The board authorized the County Manager to transfer up to $2,500,000 from the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority fund balance to the RRRA capital fund for completion of land title surveys, title insurance commitment, title abstracts, and legal assistance related to property ownership for the RiversEdge Project in downtown Saint Paul. The transfer is to be accounted for in the Riverfront Redevelopment project budget established by the County Board, with County Manager authority to enter into agreements within funding limits. Approved unanimously as Resolution R2026-011.
  • Transit Impacts Research Program 2026 Funding (2026-282): The board approved a $30,000 expenditure for Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority's share of the Transit Impacts Research Program for 2026. A commissioner expressed support for the program and urged that the research evaluate completed projects such as the Green Line, which has been operating for 10 years, including development along the corridor, median home values, changes in car usage on University Avenue, and crash data, rather than only documenting advantages of transit. There was also a suggestion that future funding requests include a mini workshop so the county can outline its vision for the research. Approved unanimously as Resolution R2026-012.

Corridor Updates

  • None reported.

Key Outcomes

  • All agenda items passed unanimously with identical 7-0 roll-call votes; no negative votes or abstentions were recorded.
  • Resolutions adopted: R2026-010 (Bronze Line engineering grant agreement), R2026-011 (RiversEdge $2,500,000 fund balance transfer), and R2026-012 ($30,000 Transit Impacts Research Program funding).
  • Motions for agenda items 3-5 were made by Commissioner Xiong and seconded by Commissioner Miller.
  • No corridor updates were provided, and Chair Ortega declared the meeting adjourned at 9:54 a.m.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call to the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority roll call. Jeffin Singh? Here. McGuire. Here. Mick Murtry. Here. Miller. Here. Moran. Here. Zhang. Here. And Ortega. I. I'll entertain a motion on the agenda of August 18th, 2026. So moved. Second. See no discussion roll call. Jeff and Singh? Aye. McGuire. Aye. McMurtry. Aye. Miller. Aye. Moran. Aye. Zhang. Aye. And Ortega. Hi. I'll entertain a motion on the minutes of May 19th, 2026. So moved. Second. See no discussion roll call. Jeffin Singh. Aye. McGuire. Aye. McMurtry. Miller. Aye. Moran. Aye. Zhang. Hi. And Ortega. Hi.

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