The nine

"The corporation's governing board consists of nine voting members...."

The legislative language 

The corporation's governing board consists of nine voting members, as follows: the mayor of the city, or the mayor's designee, subject to approval by the city council; a member of the city council, selected by the city council; a member of the county board, selected by the county board;  two representatives of the medical business entity defined in section appointed by the city council from among five candidates nominated by the medical business entity; one representative of labor, appointed by the city council from among three candidates nominated by the Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council; one representative of the city business community other than the medical business entity, appointed by the city council from among three candidates nominated by the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce; and two members, appointed by the governor.

The whole may be less than the sum of its parts 

It's not final, but suffice to say, no matter the sum of the members, the parts call out for consideration. For in this case, the sum may be less than the whole of its parts.

In recent days, the Post Bulletin has published reporting and opinion  regarding the openess of the procees by which this legislation (and the initiative it represents) has proceeded thus far. Not very, is the general conclusion. http://bit.ly/100w4EC; http://bit.ly/12PWoyL; http://bit.ly/18sahcm

Now acknowledging as well the power this governing board will wield (http://bit.ly/ZEYjFL), the PB raises concerns regarding transparency and accountability that have been simmering in some circles since the first of the year.

In response, we are treated to public officials whose responses range from indifference to contempt of concerns raised about these issues. Be clear: private enterprise is private. But, as Furst observes,

When you go to the Legislature and ask for extraordinary taxing powers, development authority and a half-billion dollars in infrastructure and transit funding, however, it's not a private matter.

"It's not asking too much," Furst concludes,"...to expect transparency and true community involvement as it moves forward."

Nine is not enough

Unfortunately it may be too much to hope for that the best means for transparency and community involvement moving forward will become available to us.

• The best means requires a DMCC board that includes the range and diversity of views adequate for representing the stakeholders impacted by and vested in the decisions of that board and the public funds being expended.
• The best means also requires that the "business entity consultant" implements a plan and planning process obligated to provide the board with the adequate input to secure and enhance the lives of all who are impacted by and vested in the decisions of the board and the public funds being expended.

Who on the conference committee (Norton? Senjem?) would step up to support these remedies?

To hold that the presence of elected officials appointed to this board will provide for accountability overlooks that these appointees remain accountable only to those constituents by whom they are elected, not to all those whose lives this board impacts. Nor is it sufficient to say that community involvement comes with marketing research, visioning exercises, and world cafes - however well-intended. Nor are public hearings where stakeholders are relegated to the role of petitioner and supplicant.

Meaningful community involvement comes only with a voting presence on the board sufficient to represent the community. 

Without adequate representation now and a strong commitment to the simple good governance of transparency and accountability, this "biggest economic development project in Minnesota history" will soon enough be reduced to something very much like:

UPDATE:

Turns out there are eight.