From roads to water projects, area towns win big in public works budget

May 27—MANKATO — Nearly $90 million in construction funding is coming to the Mankato area from a pair of statewide construction bills approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz this week.

In addition to some previously reported big-ticket winners — $35 million for Mankato's regional sewage treatment plant, $8.5 million for classroom building upgrades at Minnesota State University and $21.6 million in improvements at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center — the $2.6 billion in public works projects targets south-central Minnesota for a crime lab, road projects, utility work, a new dam and railroad repairs.

BCA lab

Planning for a new crime lab in Mankato was authorized in the $851 million bill financing construction projects with a portion of the state's budget surplus.

A longtime Mankato resident before his election as governor in 2018, Walz favored spending $47.6 million to build the facility here when he released his construction proposal earlier this year.

The compromise worked out in the final weekend of the legislative session directed a fraction of that amount — $4.5 million — "to design a new Bureau of Criminal Apprehension regional office and laboratory facility in the Mankato area," meaning construction funding would need to be approved in a future session.

The BCA's forensic scientists at the agency's St. Paul and Bemidji facilities are struggling to keep up with the DNA, ballistics and other testing needed to prosecute crimes across Minnesota.

"We are simply overwhelmed with the amount of evidence that is coming into our laboratory day in and day out," BCA Supt. Drew Evans told Fox 9 News last summer.

Evans said the Mankato facility would accommodate 50 additional scientists.

Madelia streets

Local street improvements aren't traditionally a major component of state bonding bills, which borrow money through bond sales to finance construction of long-lasting government-owned facilities. But the use of cash to supplement the bonding bill brought a major increase in the number of city and county road projects receiving funds.

Madelia was the region's biggest winner in that category, receiving $12.8 million for the reconstruction of the nearly mile-long length of Center Avenue, which — not surprisingly — runs down the middle of the Watonwan County town of 2,374.

The funds will be used for design and construction, underground utility lines of Center Avenue South and related work on adjacent streets.

Elysian water

The city of Elysian, and its utility customers, also won a major victory this session.

Lawmakers approved $3.5 million for the Le Sueur County town of 724 to construct and equip a water treatment plant to remove radium, manganese and iron bacteria from drinking water and to build piping and pumping infrastructure from city wells to the new plant.

Mayor Tom McBroom told members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee during a tour prior to last year's legislative session that the new plant would cost $7 million. The financing plan involved half of the cost coming from the state and a combination of $1.9 million in federal water infrastructure funds and $1.6 million from rate-payers covering the other half.

Without the state contribution, water customers would be facing a $5.1 million share, and average water bills would jump from $36 a month to more than $120, McBroom said.

"It's a big pill to swallow, but (residents) understand what we need for safe drinking water," McBroom said. "The only way we can get that, short of just drinking bottled water all the time, is this treatment plant."

Flood road

The state is providing a well-timed gift to recently flood-afflicted Henderson. A total of $3.2 million was allocated for design, engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction expenses related to a project to raise Sibley County Road 6 above the 50-year flood elevation.

The scenic but flood-prone road, which was closed by the overflowing Minnesota River again this month, provides access to Henderson from the north and serves as a backup route into the town when even more flood-prone Highway 19 east of the town is underwater. The state had previously approved $14 million for the County Road 6 project, which is expected to cost $19 million or more.

The last time the Legislature passed a bonding bill in 2020, it also authorized $15.8 million for a $25 million project to raise Highway 93, which provides access to Henderson from the south, above the 100-year flood level.

Rail repair

Sibley County, particularly its farmers, will be the beneficiaries of a $2 million investment in the county's only rail line.

The funding for the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority will "rehabilitate a portion of the railroad track between the cities of Winthrop and Hanley Falls."

The rail authority, made up of the five counties served by the 95-mile short-line railroad, has been incrementally upgrading the once-decrepit tracks over several decades as funding becomes available. The lone railroad provides a critical shipping option for grain producers and for the Winthrop ethanol plant.

Lake Titlow Dam

The bonding bill provides $500,000 to the city of Gaylord for replacement of the dam at Lake Titlow, also known as Lake Titloe.

Local officials were seeking more than twice that amount to replace the nearly century-old dam, which was deemed unstable and in poor condition by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 15 years ago. DNR officials took another look in January.

"They have confirmed that the dam has, in fact, only continued to deteriorate," according to legislative testimony by Molly Milinkovich of the Lake Titloe Beautification Committee.

The lake is a popular feature in Gaylord, one of a very limited number of lakes in Sibley County, and residents have been working to improve the water quality. A dam that can effectively control water levels is an important tool in that effort, Milinkovich said.

The community last sought legislative funding a decade ago, when the estimated cost of a dam replacement was $500,000. Milinkovich asked for $1.1 million during her testimony, saying the updated cost was $1.3 million and pledging to cover the gap with local fundraising.

Sen. Sandy Pappas, chair of the Senate bonding committee, asked Milinkovich where the dam ranked on the DNR's priority list for replacement. Milinkovich said it inevitably ranks low on the list because a failure of the dam would not result in a torrent of water washing through a populated area.

"There is no risk of loss of life," she said.