Mankato vying for $51M in funding

By Dan Linehan
The Free Press

MANKATO December 16, 2005 12:18 am

— A pair of high-priority, big-ticket items are in the running for what could be nearly $1 billion in state funding for public construction projects.
Minnesota State University is requesting $32.9 million for additions and upgrades to Trafton Hall, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation wants $18.2 million for a new, thrice-denied District Headquarters Facility.
The problem in both current facilities, officials say, is that a lack of space is fueling safety concerns.
Michael Cooper, media relations director at MSU, called Trafton Hall “seriously deteriorated” and in need of new laboratory space.
Rep. Bob Gunther (R-Fairmont) said he toured the science hall and found unsafe conditions, including weak exhaust fans in chemistry labs.
“Unlike most businesses when someone gets injured or killed, (MSU) President (Richard) Davenport pulls out his checkbook and he writes a check,” he said. “That’s taxpayers’ money.”
Trafton Hall is the highest-priority single project for all of Minnesota’s State Colleges and Universities. It received about $3 million last year in planning funding.
That money indicates that the overall project has support with the legislature, said Rep. John Dorn (DFL-Mankato).
Likewise, the new headquarters building is the number one priority for MnDOT.
It was first turned down in 2002, then again in 2004 and finally in this year’s session.
The first request was for $14 million, but it has grown due to inflation and costs of supplies, said Jim Swanson, engineer for District 7, which covers 13 counties in southwestern Minnesota, including Blue Earth.
Swanson is hopeful that MnDOT’s high prioritization will help.
The current, 17-acre building was built in 1963 and has been outgrown by transportation upgrades in the area and the larger and more numerous vehicles needed to support the changes, Swanson said.
For example, a snowplow required 384 square feet of storage space when the facility was built. Now, the vehicles require 624 square feet.
Swanson said no one has been hurt yet, but he’s worried about it.
Local legislators are optimistic about the odds that one or both buildings will get funded in what’s called the bonding bill, which authorizes long-term borrowing for projects of regional or statewide significance.
Legislators said the Trafton Hall proposal has strong legislative support.
“It’s really tied to economic development,” Dorn said.
He referred to Trafton Hall’s science and technology focus, a place where he said Minnesota and the nation want to stay competitive.
And the new MnDOT headquarters has wide support, as well.
Rep. Ruth Johnson (DFL-St. Peter) said the fact that the proposal has been turned down “heightens the chances that it will be passed with this bonding bill.”
But each bonding bill is the result of political compromise, especially because they come on election years.
“If people feel that their projects are being ignored it’s harder to get their votes,” Dorn said. “You’ve got to please a lot of people to pass this.”
The bill requires a three-fifths majority in each chamber to pass, and Dorn said there’s speculation that it will be larger than $900 million.