Glendalough State Park in Battle Lake, Minnesota, is getting $750,000 for this trail center project as part of the state bonding bill. (Submitted rendering: Minnesota DNR)
Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday signed a transportation-heavy $825 million bonding bill, despite his concerns that the legislation didn’t go far enough to aid higher education and other wish-list projects.
The bill is largely unchanged from the final measure approved by the Legislature on the last day of the legislative session. Still, Dayton used his line-item veto to eliminate a $1 million grant to review the scientific work of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Dayton said the grant was “unnecessary.”
With trunk highway bonds and other money sources, the bill offers $1.459 billion overall for public works projects across the state. The biggest chunks go to transportation ($544 million), local projects ($311 million) and higher education ($180 million).
Other categories include $145 million for building preservation, $133 million for water infrastructure, and $90 million to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency for housing infrastructure bonds and public housing rehabilitation.
State Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, said he’s pleased that Dayton signed the bill because it “addresses a lot of the needs” in the state.
“We are addressing the infrastructure needs of the state in large part and I think we should be able to do some significant work over the next couple of year because of this bill,” said Urdahl, who chairs the House Capital Investment Committee.
During a press conference at the State Capitol, Dayton said he signed the bill because it will pay for public works projects and provide jobs throughout Minnesota. A high point is the $133 million for water infrastructure, he said.
But the governor added that he has “serious concerns” about what is not in the bill, especially in the areas of higher education and mass transit. Bus rapid transit, passenger rail and other transit projects were ignored in the bill.
Though the final bill puts $45 million toward University of Minnesota asset preservation, Dayton asked for $250 million for that purpose in his $1.5 billion bonding recommendation.
Dayton also wanted $10 million for design, site preparation and preconstruction of a clinical research facility on the U of M’s Twin Cities campus, a project that didn’t make the cut in the final bill.
But the bill includes money for other higher education priorities such as the U of M’s Pillsbury Hall renovation ($24 million), asset preservation for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities facilities ($45 million), and an academic learning center at Bemidji State University ($15 million).
On the transportation side, $400 million is going to the state’s Corridors of Commerce program, which supports projects that increase highway capacity, reduce bottlenecks and contribute to a growing economy.
After the governor’s press conference, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that three additional highway projects – two in outstate Minnesota and one in the metro area – will receive Corridors of Commerce money.
Greater Minnesota projects include a Highway 14 expansion between Owatonna and Dodge Center ($160 million), and a Highway 23 upgrade that will create a continuous four-lane roadway from Willmar to St. Cloud ($105 million).
The third project will convert Highway 252 to a freeway and install MnPASS toll lanes on the road ($163 million total, including $31 million from local governments). That project extends from Highway 610 to Dowling Avenue in the cities of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park.
Also in the bonding bill, $35 million is set aside for the Local Road Replacement program and $5 million is earmarked for the Local Bridge Replacement Program.
For metro area projects, the bill provides $13.5 million for an interchange in Dayton, $15 million for a regional medical center in Hennepin County, $18 million for a Second Harvest Heartland facility in Brooklyn Park, and $5 million for Minneapolis American Indian Center fixes.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is receiving $26.58 million for asset preservation and $20 million for flood hazard mitigation. Among the smaller projects, Glendalough State Park is getting $750,000 for a new trail center. The park is in Battle Lake, in west central Minnesota.
Even so, Dayton said the bill isn’t generous enough because Republicans in the Legislature set an $825 million limit on the use of general obligation bonds.
“The GOP majorities set an arbitrary, ill-funded, and woefully inadequate limit to the total size of the bill,” Dayton said.
Asked about Dayton’s comments, Urdahl said it’s “all relative.”
“Historically, in the even-numbered years … we average in the $800 million” range, he said. “This was not an unusual amount to do in an even year. And $825 million is a lot of money. … We have done a lot.”
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