Lawmakers face $3.25 billion in bonding requests
And that includes $25 million for a Bemidji regional events center and $59.21 million for Red Lake Reservation schools.
The requests, forwarded to legislative capital investment committees on Monday, include $2.04 billion from state agencies and $1.21 billion from local government entities.
State guidelines limit the amount of borrowing authorized each year. The Finance Department calculated the 2008 borrowing limit at $990 million. This year an off-year for capital budgets, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the DFL-led Legislature-- $334 million bonding bill-- which was made higher by a conference committee than the Senate's $285 million bill and the House's $255 million offer.
Pawlenty's capital projects bill called only for $71 million.
In 2008, the city of Bemidji will ask for $25 million as a 50 percent match for its $50 million regional events center.
According to documents filed with the Finance Department, the Bemidji Regional Event Center, "will be a 3,500 seat multi-event arena with an attached conferencing space of approximately 10,000 square feet. The BREC will have Bemidji State University as the anchor tenant and will e designed as a multi-purpose facility to meet the needs of the north-central Minnesota region."Â
The center would be used for "wide variety of events with regional interest including conferences, trade shows, concerts, hockey and curling."
Funding for the Red Lake School District is the first priority of two projects from the state Education Department. With $30 million in the vetoed bill this year by Pawlenty, the request is upped to $59.2 million for 2008.
The school district would continue renovation of and an addition to Red Lake High School and Middle School, including renovation for specialty curriculum for technology education, vocational education, physical education, cafeteria/commons, kitchen, community education spaces and classrooms additions. Also, an upgrade would be made to the heating plant and piping for both schools. All would cost $32.1 million.
The funding would also construct additional elementary classrooms to accommodate increased enrollment, expansion of common spaces, and addition of a building segment to link Red Lake Elementary School with the Early Childhood Learning Center. Project cost is $23.7 million.
Plus, a Media Center and a Head Start Center would be added to Ponemah Elementary School, along with parking and playground improvements, all at $3.5 million.
Finance Department documents show that the long-range facility plans remain virtually unchanged since 2004, other than inflation adjusted, with funding levels sought in 2006 and 2007 bonding unsuccessful.
They also show that since 1992, the Red Lake School District has received $51.6 million in state bonding for schools.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system bonding priorities were issued earlier, and now are a part of the Finance Department agency compilation.
They include $8.9 million for BSU's Sattgast Science Building addition and renovation, ranked fifth systemwide. Also, $2 million is included for BSU to acquire the old Bemidji High School, a request which was in the 2007 vetoed bill.
BSU also had $1 million in campus repairs in the vetoed bill, and MnSCU's 2008 $271 million request includes funding for science lab renovations, including renovating a clinical research center at BSU.
In a long-sought-after project, the state Department of Natural Resources' capital requests includes $5 million for field office consolidation and renovations, including funds to pre-design a consolidated DNR regional headquarters building in Bemidji.
“All DNR divisions have staff in and around Bemidji, but they are scattered in five locations and capacity limits have been exceeded," documents say. “In addition to the five state-owned buildings, there are DNR staff in leased offices in the area, and are other state agencies in facilities as well.
The DNR has placed a priority of fourth of 28 requests.
Also, the DNR is asking for $2 million for trestle repair at Walker for the Heartland Trail. Three trestles on the trail have been declared unsafe for vehicle traffic between Park Rapids and Cass Lake: Akeley ($900,000), Kabekona ($1 million) and Steamboat ($100,000, with $300,000 provided in 2006 bonding).
And, as part of $12 million for state park improvements, funding would improve Itasca State Park by rehabilitating Wilderness Drive and Itasca Main Park Drive, restoring Nicollet Court to provide new lodging facilities in the Douglas Lodge area, restoring beach area facilities, rehabilitating the museum building and construction of a new amphitheater area.
Among local requests is $2 million to design, construct, furnish and equip a Northern Emergency Training Administration Center at Gonvick. This year's vetoed bill had included $50,000 for planning and design funds.
The center would provide emergency first responders, such as law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical staff and hazardous materials handlers, instruction in the prevention, intervention, response, mitigation and recovery due to natural disasters or terrorist acts.
The center would serve 26 northern counties, following current Minnesota Homeland Security guidelines and recommendations.
In another request, the city of Northome wants $4.975 million to pre-design, design, construct and administer a sanitary sewer rehabilitation project. It would work with water mains that are more than 50 years old and under stress, replace and repair parts of the storm sewer system.
Pawlenty will take all the requests and submit his capital budget by Jan. 15, with the Legislature then preparing its own wish list. Framing a capital budget will be the 2008 session's chief business.
The largest request is that of Bloomington, which seeks $192 million to build a parking ramp at the expanded Mall of America. Duluth, which has been denied in two bonding bills, is back again with a $40.2 million request to renovate the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
While the figures forwarded this week represent a deadline requested by the Finance Department, officials predict another $1 billion in late arriving requests may still be received.
