Mayoral Minute: Jacobs Says He is Frustrated by SLP Freight Reroute Study

St. Louis Park Patch sat down with St. Louis Park Mayor Jeff Jacobs last week for a monthly chat.

St. Louis Park Patch: No cost estimates have come out from the county’s study of a through St. Louis Park. Is this frustrating you?

 Mayor Jeff Jacobs: Yes, a lot. I want to know what all this stuff is going to cost. In fact, I’m getting a lot of push back from the community saying, “You have to make a decision.” And I say, “No, no, no, I don’t make a decision yet. I can’t.” It’s like walking up to a district court judge and saying, “Here, your honor, is half the case. Now give me a decision right this minute.” … At the end of the day, I’m frustrated by the fact that it’s taking this long … For a number of reasons. One, because I think people out there in the community want to know what the answer is. And second of all, we’re up against some timelines here. If this (Southwest Transitway light rail) is going to get built, we need to get our act together and figure out where freight rail is going to go (and) who’s going to pay for the mitigation for it … Frankly, this is probably the most important decision St. Louis Park will face for the next 50 years.

 St. Louis Park Patch: What kind of decision can the city make? What role does the city play in all of this?

 Jacobs: Well, I think we can impact the decisions politically … But the decision ultimately rests with someone else … In terms of where the freight rail goes, I don’t know if the city controls that. Again, we’ve been asked (for input), and I think that’s nice … But the decision is going to rest with … I don’t even know (who), to tell you the truth. Whether it’s a consortium of the state, the county, Twin Cities Western Railroad — they’ve got a big trump card. I’m sure there will be various state agencies, maybe someone at the federal level. There’s also, in terms of where the freight rail goes, in my perspective, the 800-pound gorilla in the room — the city of Minneapolis. At some point, if you’re talking about keeping (freight traffic) on the Kenilworth line, you’re going to take some houses there … We’re going to wait to see what the studies say, and I think at some point the city of St. Louis Park is going to have to take a more coherent position in respect to the freight rail.

 St. Louis Park Patch: Tim Donahue recently coached his of the St. Louis Park boys hockey team. Do you know him? What are your thoughts on his impact to the community?

 Jacobs: I don’t know him well. My kids were not hockey players. But I did hear that he was retiring as the hockey coach, and you know, he’s obviously coached a lot of kids, and I know what he emphasizes is teamwork. And he (also) emphasizes hard work, and that’s cool. Because every kid that’s ever played on a team, I think, gets something out of that … He’s had a huge impact on a lot of kids, and a guy like that, he becomes “the coach.” That’s kind of a term of art in people’s lives. A coach is a mentor, he’s a teacher, he’s a little bit of a drill sergeant, but the point is he emphasizes teamwork and hard work, and (Donahue has) been all about that … I’m sure the team will miss him … He’s a good guy, a really good guy.

 St. Louis Park Patch: Do you think the has been working well as instituted, or do you think it maybe should be mandatory?

Jacobs: So far, according to the public safety people, it seems to be working OK … It’s something we struggle with a lot. We’ve changed our policy over the course of time. Do we get a little more lenient with people, because towing people’s cars and tagging them is a pain in the neck? On the other hand, we get a lot of push back from people who say, “You gotta get those cars out of there faster, because the plows can’t plow.” It’s one of those balance situations. Really, it would be nice if people just all got their cars off the street so the guys can plow those roads in relatively short order.

 St. Louis Park Patch: Do you think the St. Louis Park School District handled the recent properly?

Jacobs: Yeah, I do. Those schools (St. Louis Park senior and junior highs) are old and have asbestos in them. That’s no secret — they’ve known that … A lot of those floor tiles were built with asbestos … I’ve dealt a little bit with asbestos in my law practice, so I know how dangerous that stuff is … To get exposed to it for a couple days is one thing, but when you have students who are in that building for years, teachers that are there for decades and employees that are in there for a long time, that’s dangerous stuff. Asbestos is a very, very dangerous mineral. Once it’s in your lungs, it never leaves … I think (the district) handled it right. They did a good job with public outreach and public notification. I think closing the schools for a couple of days while they dealt with it was a good idea.

St. Louis Park Patch: What do you think the community has lost with the ?

 Jacobs: It’s a shame that the business didn’t do well … I know it was a real asset for the Orthodox Jewish community. Because they had kosher food, and that’s not all that easy to get. And the food was great — I ate there a couple of times and it was very good. So, obviously anytime a business closes, you have a boarded up building, which I hate to see … (And) it’s a gathering spot. When a place like that closes, you lose that neighborhood, community sense.

 St. Louis Park Patch: Have you had the time to analyze what’s going on at the Wisconsin state capitol? Do you side with Gov. Scott Walker? Do you side with the public employees?

Jacobs: I think Walker is overreaching, frankly. I don’t think it’s a good idea (to strip collective bargaining rights). And this is interesting, because you’re talking to not only the Mayor of St. Louis Park, but also, I think, one of the most active labor arbitrators in the state of Minnesota (Editor's Note: Jacobs is employed by the firm Wilkerson & Hegna) … I think the way you deal with economic issues like the state of Wisconsin has, or the state of Minnesota, or any other state, is through collective bargaining. The city of St. Louis Park has a great relationship with our employees and our unions … These are (employees) that run into burning buildings, or stand up to their backsides in mud when it’s 10 below zero and the water line has broke. Do you want to do that? Because I don’t … I of course have some vested interest in this, not only politically but professionally. I have a real vested interest in seeing to it that collective bargaining is maintained … People need to be able to bargain collectively through unions for their mutual benefit … Taking away collective bargaining rights leads to abuse … Frankly, I think it’s a slap in the face to every public employee out there. I know government workers are disparaged because (people think) they don’t work very hard, and they have this sort of guaranteed job. That’s nonsense.

Want to put a question to the mayor? E-mail St. Louis Park Patch local editor Michael Rose at michael.rose@patch.com. Your question may be used in an upcoming interview.