Mankato, MSU pitch infrastructure needs before lawmakers

Oct. 27—MANKATO — Wastewater upgrades and much-needed classroom redesigns were the foundation of a state Senate stop Tuesday in Mankato as local officials made their respective cases for public infrastructure funding.

The Senate Capital Investment Committee visited Minnesota State University as part of a statewide tour to discuss MSU's $7 million request for the first phase of rebuilding Armstrong Hall. The city of Mankato also presented a $20 million request to cover part of the expenses for major upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

Mankato is planning a $44.8 million upgrade to the city's Water Resource Recovery Facility, which includes replacing its disinfection basin, a new power generator, better piping, a new waste-receiving station and a new complex to digest solids and store gas, among other things. City officials say much of the decades-old facility is in need of repair, such as digester tanks built in 1956 that at times leak gas.

The facility is key to Mankato's water treatment strategy as the city also serves surrounding townships and trades phosphorus credits with more than 40 cities and organizations throughout the state.

"This is not just about Mankato," City Manager Susan Arntz told lawmakers. "This is about several other communities around the state, frankly, that we serve."

Mankato seeks $20 million in public infrastructure money, also called bonding funds because Minnesota borrows money to pay for public works projects. The city also plans to use another $20 million in state water funds through the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority and the remaining $4.8 million through local water-usage fees.

If all goes well, the city would start construction in 2022 or 2023 and wrap up around 2025.

City officials say the project also will save money for state lawmakers in the long run, as Lake Crystal officials have approached Mankato about attaching their wastewater treatment services, which would save money for the adjoining community of 2,500 people. If Mankato can't find funding for wastewater upgrades, Lake Crystal would have to go before lawmakers with a $16 million to $20 million wastewater treatment request of its own.

"This is not about nice-to-haves, this is about need-to-haves," Arntz said. "This is, yes, about Mankato, but it's equally as important about the customers that we serve."

MSU needs $100 million

MSU officials took lawmakers on a tour of Armstrong Hall, showing where the narrow hallways create issues for students with disabilities and how the "cookie-cutter" classrooms aren't suitable for the more interactive lessons the university aims to deliver to students.

"The spaces that we look at, we want them to reflect those who we serve, in particular our students, and what our mission is in supporting the region and the job market," MSU Provost Brian Martensen said.

MSU first pitched the project to demolish and replace Armstrong Hall at two-thirds the size in 2019, but the university's request wasn't high on the Minnesota State system's list of college and university project priorities. Lawmakers left MSU's request out of a massive $1.9 billion bonding bill passed in October 2020, though Democrats did have the project included in earlier bonding proposals.

The first phase of the project, which involves designing the new building and renovation plans for a nearby library, has grown to $7 million. All told, the project to build a new Armstrong Hall will cost about $100 million.

The project will ultimately cost MSU less to build a new hall at a smaller size than renovate the more than a half-century-old Armstrong building, but some lawmakers may have trouble justifying new construction over needed repairs.

"New buildings are a hard sell," said Tom Bakk, the Senate bonding committee chair.

Lawmakers had a better response to Mankato's project, with senators from both political parties praising the city for its proposal.

"You guys are pioneers," said Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester.

Senjem lauded Mankato's regional approach to wastewater treatment and said he wished Rochester would have followed the city's lead. Most small towns will need wastewater treatment upgrades over the next 20 years, which Senjem said will be difficult to fund without more regional hub models like Mankato's.

Those local requests are part of an estimated $5 billion in bonding proposals lawmakers expect to receive during the next few months. Bakk said he hopes lawmakers are willing to put together another $1.9 billion bill, but how a bonding bill proceeds in the Legislature in 2022 will depend on whether Congress can pass an infrastructure bill this year.

"If they get something passed, the question's going to be how does that impact what we do?" Bakk said.

State lawmakers will likely try not to duplicate funding for projects that receive federal money, while potentially granting more money to projects that can leverage federal dollars to get done.

A 2022 bonding bill also will look different from previous years in that a sizeable portion of the proposal could include projects lawmakers approved in 2020.

Supply chain issues with construction materials haven't let up since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and Bakk said he expects many projects that overran their budgets because of material and labor costs will come back before lawmakers.

Still, some politicians see hope for local project funding. Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, said he's heard positive reactions to requests from MSU, Mankato, and the city of North Mankato's $8.5 million Caswell Park project.

"Just like with a family, just like with a business, smart investments pay — they don't cost," Frentz said.