Gov. Tim Pawlenty (left) tries on a Minnesota State Mankato tie as President Richard Davenport (right) beams his approval. The governor was in Mankato May 23 for a press conference, using the opportunity to praise legislative approval of $32.9 million in bonding for improvements to Trafton Science Center.
ST. PAUL — A $950 million state construction package, including a nearly $33 project for Minnesota State University and a boost in spending for security at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter, was headed for passage early Sunday by the Minnesota Legislature.
Although stadium bills ultimately overshadowed it, the large bonding bill was the intended centerpiece of the 2006 legislative session that was moving toward adjournment today. The legislation authorizes the sale of state bonds to finance new college buildings, state park improvements, prison expansions and other projects across Minnesota.
Minnesota State is one of the big winners in the bill with the inclusion of a $32.9 million renovation and addition to the Trafton Science Center, as is higher education in general. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has $191 million in total projects in the bill. The Trafton proposal was the top MnSCU project for Gov. Tim Pawlenty and was widely supported by lawmakers, so its inclusion was no surprise.
The project will result in major improvements to the school's primary science building, providing classrooms, laboratories and offices.
"That's a great project," said Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague, who was a member of the bonding conference committee that hammered out the final list of projects. "I'm thrilled that's going to get underway."
The St. Peter Regional Treatment Center received the expected $2.5 million to design and build a new program and activity building as part of the treatment center's program for sexual psychopaths and other mentally ill and dangerous patients. In addition, the bill includes $5 million for security improvements at state hospitals with most of the money headed for St. Peter. That represents a doubling of funding for security upgrades — a direct reaction to the April escape of four convicted sex offenders from the St. Peter facility.
"It became clear that there were some additional needs," Brod said.
A new district headquarters building in Mankato for the Minnesota Department of Transportation remained in doubt late Saturday. The $18.2 million project was left out of the bonding bill, leaving a transportation funding and policy bill as its only remaining option for approval this session.
House and Senate negotiators continued to struggle in their efforts to find a compromise on that bill, and its fate was in doubt as lawmakers looked to wrap up the session.
"I hope we get a transportation bill," said Rep. Connie Ruth, R-Owatonna, one of the 10 lawmakers trying to negotiate a compromise bill.
Ruth said the issue was snagged on a metro-area sales tax proposed by the Senate, and she was unsure if a deal could be reached.
"I tell you, it's a bit disappointing," she said, adding that Mankato deserves a new MnDOT headquarters and would be the last district in the state to get a modern facility.
The 43-year-old building at the intersection of Hoffman Road and Victory Drive is undersized and not suited for the larger equipment now used by MnDOT. City officials are also anxious to see the new headquarters built because the city's scattered Public Works Department would be consolidated in the old MnDOT building once the new state facility is constructed on Mankato's east side.
Approval of the state bonds would tip a third domino as well, clearing land for future development that is currently used by the Public Works Department between Riverfront Drive and the Minnesota River.
Brod said the bonding committee didn't consider putting the MnDOT building in its bill, saying it was more appropriate for the project to be funded out of the transportation bill.
Lawmakers received nearly $3 billion in requests for construction projects funded by state bonds. Those requests needed to be reduced to about $950 million to meet the Legislature's self-imposed limit on borrowing, and Brod said they did a good job of focusing on the most worthy projects.
"There has been a lot of talk about stadiums, but clearly by no means has our time here been spent only on stadiums," said Brod, pointing to the bonding bill as the prime example. "... It was kind of the premier thing that we needed to get done this year even though (the media) have paid more attention to other things going on around here."
There were no last-minute miracles for local proposals for state funding through the bonding bill.
Lawmakers were diligent in keeping most local projects out of the $950 million list of construction work heading for approval early this morning. No area projects rejected by the House and Senate were slipped into the final bill during the conference committee negotiations.
The United South Central and St. Peter school districts sought bonding money for new schools. Rep. Bob Gunther, R-Fairmont, and Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, hoped for funding for a new museum in Winnebago and for improvements to Farmamerica, the agricultural interpretive center near Waseca.
All were left out. Gunther promised to try again next year to find funding to augment the Winnebago museum, which is expected to begin construction this summer and will house the city's significant collection of Indian artifacts.
"We'll try to fund it through Historical Society funding next year," he said.
Sen. Dennis Frederickson, R-New Ulm, successfully got $1 million included in the bill for an upgrade of railroad tracks between Gibbon and Chaska used by the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority. The railroad is looking to do a $4 million upgrade of the tracks to allow for higher traffic, something that will be increasingly important with the expansion of the Winthrop ethanol plant.
The bill provides substantial sums for grants to fund repairs to city, county and township roads and bridges. There's $52.5 million for bridges and $16 million for roads.
Minnesota State University and South Central College will get a share of $40 million set aside for basic repairs of facilities at the dozens of campuses in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
The second phase of the construction and expansion of prison facilities in Faribault received $27.9 million. The money will go for more space for prison programs, for a geriatric center to provide care to aging prisoners and additional prison beds.
Mankato-area police, firefighters and emergency responders will have a new training facility nearby. The bonding bill includes $1 million for the facility near Jordan. Ultimately planned as a $14 million facility, the initial appropriation will finance a large shooting range. The complex will also include fire training facilities and even a rail spur for simulations of train derailments involving hazardous waste, according to Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague.
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