Fiscal conservative Look has different view of proposed Ramsey station

Anoka County Commissioner Matt Look says he has the support of at least three colleagues -- like him, all fiscal conservatives -- to build a Northstar commuter rail station in the city of Ramsey.

Now he must persuade the Legislature to back a station that could cost up to $14 million.

"We have a $300 million investment," Look said last week of the $317 million commuter line that runs from Minneapolis to Big Lake. "How do we make this work?

"One resident told me, 'We need to stop this train. It's a black hole.' But through development around a Ramsey station, we increase the tax base. Economic development is the key."

But timing is crucial, said Look, who would like the station to be part of the state bonding bill. If the cost of bonds were to increase 1 percentage point next year, it would add $105 million over the next 20 years to repay a $1 billion bonding bill, Look said.

Look, a former Ramsey City Council member, said he has been lobbying at the Capitol, asking legislators to "put politics aside" and consider funding a Ramsey station this session.

He said that he already has a majority vote on the Anoka County board, that he's been told fellow commissioners Rhonda Sivarajah, Robyn West and Andy Westerberg will support a Ramsey station. He also said Commissioner Dan Erhart, whom Look replaced as chairman of the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority, has offered vocal support and might also vote in favor of the station.

Sivarajah, the new chairwoman of the board, has never been bashful about bashing Northstar. Even with a perceived alliance on the board among Sivarajah, Look, West and Westerberg, her support of a Ramsey station is somewhat of a surprise.

"The only reason I would support the Ramsey station is the veterans clinic," Sivarajah said of a new outpatient clinic for military veterans that is to open in Ramsey this fall.

Of Northstar, she said, "Frankly, the way I look at it, we inherited what we have. Northstar is here. At this point, we have to do what we can to boost ridership in order to bring down the subsidy per rider.

"Am I happy about it not being a success? No," she said of the line, which missed ridership targets in 2010. "It would be great if I was proven wrong. We're stuck with what we have."

Northstar began operating in November of 2009 with stations at Target Field in Minneapolis, Fridley, Coon Rapids, Anoka, Elk River and Big Lake. After falling 21 percent below projections for 2010, ridership showed a 19 percent increase in January.

"I've always supported the Ramsey station, as long as it's a reasonable formula," he said.

What he'd really like built is a station near Foley Boulevard in Coon Rapids. That station would serve as a hub, a common link and transfer point for Northstar and a proposed passenger rail line from Minneapolis to Duluth.

That station comes with a $115 million price tag, because of water and bridge reconstruction issues, said Look. He has not supported a Northern Lights Express line to Duluth, but said he will hold judgment until the next progress report on the line this summer.