Armstrong Hall, water recovery facility included in infrastructure deal

May 22—MANKATO — Built in the 1950s, Mankato's water resource recovery facility is aging; particularly, its digestion system, disinfection system and biosolids storage are in need of some work, said City Manager Susan Arntz.

"Much of the equipment is years beyond its useful life," she said.

The city has pushed for funding for its project to renovate and update the facility for the past couple years.

As the clock ticked down on the final hours of the Minnesota State Legislature's 2023 regular session in St. Paul, lawmakers passed a bonding and cash bill — as a pair of capital investment bills — to help fund infrastructure projects across the state, including the Mankato site.

Mankato's facility doesn't just serve Mankato, but serves some 65,000 residents in places like Eagle Lake, Madison Lake and Skyline.

The facility was allocated $25 million from the bonding bill and $10 million from the cash bill for the project.

That money, combined with around $9.1 million in federal money they're hoping to get and contributions from the cities that utilize the facility, should be enough to cover the cost of upgrades, Arntz said.

The upgrades will include improvements to the systems that need it and more.

"All three of those major components will be improved, and then there are some other things like the lab, the lab doesn't meet today's standards, the building doesn't meet ADA standards today, so there'll be some other benefits with this remodel that will also be a priority," said Arntz.

Local lawmakers are also pleased to see the facility included in the mix of projects.

DFLer Sen. Nick Frentz, of North Mankato, said the upgrades' benefits will stretch beyond Mankato.

"Clean drinking water, water treatment, those are just basic needs," he said. "It serves I think 65,000 area residents, so it serves constituencies from other parts of the region."

DFLer Rep. Luke Frederick, of Mankato, also described it as an important asset to the region.

"These upgrades have to be made because part of the facility is failing, so whether or not the state came in, there had to be something done. With the state stepping in with these bonding dollars, we're able to offset what is the cost to the people in the region," he said.

The passage of this year's pair of bills comes after lawmakers failed to pass a bonding bill last year during the typical bonding cycle.

This year's deal includes $2.6 billion; that's $1.5 billion in borrowing and $1.1 billion in cash.

One of Minnesota State University's oldest buildings on campus will also soon get an upgrade thanks to being included in the legislation.

Lawmakers allocated $8.4 million in the bonding bill for the university's Armstrong Hall replacement project.

The money voted on late Monday evening is an important first step in the university's three-phased approach to the project, said Rick Straka, vice president of finance and administration at the university.

The first phase involves the money needed for design work and building out the lower level of their current clinical sciences building, Straka said.

In the next bonding cycle, scheduled for next year, Straka said the university plans to seek money for the construction of Armstrong's replacement building.

Two years later, in the bonding cycle after that, they would seek money to renovate Memorial Library into a learning center, complete additional renovations and then to demolish the original building.

Gov. Tim Walz made the case for including the project in the bonding bill last month when he visited campus.

Walz' tour demonstrated the building's narrow hallways and aging infrastructure while students and faculty made the case for updated learning spaces.

Straka said students and faculty can expect more interactive and collaborative spaces in the years to come.

"Certainly we'll be looking at much more flexible space as we go forward, also more accessible space throughout the new building and a much more collaborative learning space, so looking a lot more at group work and small teams work and the ability for our faculty members to meet with small groups of students and so forth," he said.

Straka said the university got what they needed from lawmakers in this bill.

Other money in the cash bill for local projects includes $21.6 million to renovate St. Peter Regional Treatment Center facilities, including buildings used for the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.

The legislation also included $300 million for nursing homes.

The deal includes direct grants and a workforce incentive fund.

In a news release, Republican Sen. Rich Draheim, of Madison Lake, said the funding was necessary.

"At a time when the need is greater than it has ever been, nursing homes across the state are facing a critical crisis," the statement said in part.

"I am proud Republicans held firm to secure this historic funding. It will provide a badly-needed lifeline to these facilities."