Political Notebook

Nelson calls for transparency in DEED grant decision

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Sen. Carla Nelson and she said she did not mean to come across as blasting the governor. She said her concern has been to make sure the process is transparent and that members of the public know that there is a set list of criteria that must be used to determine which projects should get funded.

"I just know that as a citizen sitting in southeast Minnesota and reading not just what the governor said and the media around this in general, I was left with the impression this could be a gubernatorial decision, she said." 

Below is what I initially posted based on the senator's press release. Click here to Download Nelson press release

 

Rochester Sen. Carla Nelson blasted DFL Gov. Mark Dayton today for saying he will make the final decision on which projects should be awarded some of the $47.5 million in economic development grant money.

In a news release, the Republican senator said she was "taken aback" by media reports last week that the governor said he would decide how that money should be divvied out.

"It is essential that lawmakers and the public be assured that the removal of legislative earmarks not be replaced by mere gubernatorial earmarks or political pandering," she said.

There's plenty at stake for the city of Rochester in the grant process. The city has requested $25 million from the Department of Employment and Economic Development grant to expand the Mayo Civic Center. That project was among several others that failed to make it into the final $496 million bonding bill. Instead of deciding which projects should get the $47.5 million, lawmakers created the grant program. Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem has said that was a way to get rid of earmarks. Critics accuse lawmakers of abdicating their responsibility to determine how these dollars are spent.

Nelson said she contacted DEED's commissioner on Friday to urge that the grant process be as transparent as possible.

"I want to publicly thank and congratulate DEED Commissioner Mark Phillips for committing to me that once the final selections have been made, all documentation and the rating sheet for each project application will be made publically available," she said.

Nelson, a member of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, has said she played a key role in helping crafting the 11 criteria that are to be used in ranking the projects. They incude number of jobs created, the projected increase to the local tax base and the capacity of the project to attract revenue from out of state.

"The legislative language clearly states that project selection must be based on the highest return in public benefits for the public cost incurred," she said.

 

 

Roch scales back request for Mayo Civic Center by $10 million

In hopes of boosting its odds of getting state funding, the city of Rochester is looking for $10 million less for the Mayo Civic Center expansion.

The city applied for $25 million available through a $47.5 million economic development grant. The city had previously wanted $35 million for the project. In its application, the city said it recognizes there are limited funds available and was only asking for the money needed to move ahead with the planned expansion of the Mayo Civic Center's convention space. The city would also seek bids on the other parts of the project, which  include renovating the arena, auditorium and presentation hall. But if the funding falls short of the amount needed to get the entire project done, the city said it will seek additional bonding dollars during the 2013 legislative session.

It will be up to the Department of Employment and Economic Develoment to decide how to divvy out those dollars. One things for sure — Rochester has got plenty of competition.

DEED Spokesman Monte Hanson said the department was inundated with a last-minute deluge of applications before yesterday's end-of-the-day deadline to apply for the grant. There are a grand total of about 90 applications. The department is expected to release a list of all the grant funding requests.

Mayo Civic Center faces steep odds in quest for grant money

A Minnesota state commissioner tasked with doling out $47.5 million for economic development projects warned on Tuesday that the city of Rochester faces tough odds in getting money needed to expand the Mayo Civic Center.

"This is such a big project, this is going to be very challenging. But I'll never say never," said Mark Phillips, commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Phillips was in Rochester on Tuesday speaking to members of the Rochester Rotary Club. He talked about the grant in an interview after his presentation to the club.

So why the uphill climb for the Mayo Civic Center project?

One issue is just the sheer size of the request. The city had asked for $35 million in bonding money to fund the $77 million project. It's possible the city could ask for less money, but it would still end up being a large chunk of the grant money. Then there's the issue of competition. Local governments have until June 26 to apply. Phillips said he's not sure what to expect in terms of the number of applications, but he has received at least 35 phone calls about the grant.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has already sent a letter indicating that his city plans to ask for $27 million to help fund a new St. Paul Saints stadium. The Metropolitan Council is also expected to apply for dollars to fund the Southwest Light Rail Corridor.

One thing that will likely limit the number of applications is a requirement that grant money awarded for projects be matched dollar for dollar.

Also important to consider are the politics. Phillips said House leaders approached him during the last legislative session to tell him that if they could not get enough support to get the St. Paul Saints stadium included in the bonding bill, they would put aside a pool of money with the stadium in mind. He said some promises were made in exchange for votes for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.

"There wouldn't be a legislator on the planet that would be surprised if the Saints stadium was funded because of the fact there were a lot of St. Paul votes traded for a Saints stadium," he said. "There is a lot of expectation that the Saints will be funded. Whether that will happen or not, I don't know."

I'll have more about this in a story running in tomorrow's paper.

House to take up bonding bill with no local projects

The Minnesota House is expected to vote today will vote soon on a new $443.9 million bonding bill that has no local projects in it. Bill sponsor Larry Howes, R-Walker, put together the new bonding proposal after his $221 million bill to restore the state Capitol failed by one vote.

Originally, Republicans were looking to move two separate bonding bills — one focused on the state Capitol and the other on statewide projects. That second $280 million bill included $9 million to expand The Hormel Institute, $3.1 million to relocate the Rochester Work Force Center to Rochester Community and Technical College and $485,000 to renovate the Stewartville Fire Hall. This new bonding bill does not fund any of these projects. Instead, it allocates $221 million to the Capitol repairs, $102.5 million for transportation projects, $60 million for college and university building repairs, $30 million for flood mitigation, $20 million for wastewater infrastructure, $10 million for housing programs and $433,000 to cover cost of selling bonds. The big question is whether a bill without any local projects can get the 81 votes needed to clear the House. Republicans only have 72 members, meaning they must be able to get some votes from Democrats.

Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester, said right now he is not sure if he can support the bill. He said he wants to know who will make the decision on how to spend some of these dollars — especially in the area of transportation. He said the House Transportation and Policy Finance Committee spent a lot of time ranking projects and that lawmakers should have some input in determining where those dollars are spent.

Senjem introduces bills to fund Mayo Civic Center, veterans museum

With Senate Republicans slated to release their bonding proposal tomorrow, Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem has recently introduced a bill to fund the $35 million expansion of Rochester's Mayo Civic Center.

It's hard to know whether that is good news for the project when it comes to the Senate bonding bill or not. Senjem, who chairs the Senate Capital Investment Committee, declined to introduce the civic center bill last year. He has said whether the civic center makes it into the Senate Republicans' bonding bill depends on how much his fellow Republicans are willing to borrow this year for construction projects. He has also said if the Mayo Civic Center project is included then other civic center projects for St. Cloud and Mankato would also likely have to be part of the deal to get the necessary votes.

House Republicans put forward a scaled-back, $280 million bonding proposal. Funding for the Mayo Civic Center is not included in that proposal. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's $775 million bonding proposal includes funding for the Mayo Civic Center project.

Rochester hospitality industry representatives have been  hard to get the civic center expansion in the bonding bill, arguing it will provide a much-needed boost to the city. Meanwhile, the Rochester Tea Party Patriots have been vocal in their opposition to the project raising concerns about its costs.

The Mayo Civic Center project has had trouble winning over Republicans in the House. DFL Rep. Tina Liebling is sponsoring the civic center bill in the House and DFL Rochester Rep. Kim Norton is the only co-sponsor.

Senjem also introduced a bill seeking $15 million in state bonding money to build a new veterans and emergency services museum in Rochester. Fellow Rochester Republican Sen. Carla Nelson is a co-sponsor of both of the bills.

Senate bonding tour includes Mayo Civic Center, Zip Rail

The Senate Capital Investments Committee will be headed to southeast Minnesota on Wednesday to check out a lengthly list of construction projects.

The two-day tour kicks off at 9 a.m. with a visit to Lake Byllesby in Canon Falls to learn about some proposed dam improvements. From there, the committee heads to Red Wing, Mantorville, Rochester and Winona. Day two of the tour includes stops in Chatfield, Stewartville, Austin and Albert Lea.

The Senate committee's tour schedule is in sharp contrast to the House Capital Investments Committee, which only made one stop in Rochester to learn about a proposal to relocate the city's workforce center to Rochester Community and Technical College. The Senate committee will be learning about five Rochester projects. They include Olmsted County's proposal for $15 million for study and design work for the proposed Zip Rail line to the Twin Cities, $35 million for the Mayo Civic Center expansion and $6 million for a new 65th Street Northwest and U.S. 52 interchange. Why checking out so many more projects? Probably doesn't hurt that the senate committee chairman is Rochester Republican Sen. Dave Senjem.

But just because a project makes the list does not mean its a shoe-in to get state funding. Senjem said the state has more than $2.2 billion in requests and any bonding bill the Republican-led legislature backs will likely be around $400 million to $500 million.

"You really have to say "no" to the vast majority of them just based on the numbers," Senjem said.

How big is big enough when it comes to bonding bill?

When it comes to the question of how big the state's 2012 bonding bill should be, Republicans and Democrats remain quite far apart.

While visiting the Stewartville Fire Hall, House Capital Investments Committee Chair Larry Howes said he expects to put together a bonding proposal ranging from $350 million to $450 million in size. He said that is a size that he believes many conservatives in his caucus will be willing to get behind.

"Until somebody tells me to go a little higher, I'm going to stick with that for now," he said.

It should be noted that some conservatives, including state Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, oppose any bonding this year.

Meanwhile,  Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL lead on the House Capital Investments Committee, said she plans to introduce her own $775 million bonding proposal. She argues the state should borrow the most amount of money it can while staying within established debt guidelines.

"There is no reason to scrimp this year in this particular economic time. The interest rates are still so incredible that we are practically paying no interest on this, so to squander this opportunity makes no sense," Hausman said.

It still remains to be seen what type of a bonding proposal DFL Gov. Mark Dayton will bring forward.

Representatives of the House Capital Investment Committee made three stops in the area today. They visited Stewartville to consider a $485,000 request to renovate and expand the fire hall. They also stopped at Rochester Community and Technical College to listen to the pitch for an $8.8 million project to relocate Rochester's Workforce Center, Inc. to the campus. They then headed to Austin to learn about the Austin Port Authority's proposal to expand The Hormel Institute. They are looking for $13.5 million.

Senjem not on board with Roch vets museum — yet

Preston Republican Greg Davids recently made headlines earlier this month when he announced  plans to seek  $15 million in funding for a proposed veterans museum in Rochester. Davids said he plans to seek legacy funding and state bonding money for the Minnesota Veterans and Emergency Services Museum. But what does the chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee think about the project proposed for his hometown?

Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said at this point he has a lot of questions.

"I haven't jumped on board heavy on this one. Not saying it's a bad idea, I just don't know enough about it," he said.

Senjem's questions include who would own the facility and where it would be located. There has been plenty of debate about whether the proposed 60,000-square-foot museum should be built at Soldiers Memorial Field.

He added, "If the state is going to own it and run it, is somewhere on the Capitol grounds or near the Capitol a better visitor or tourism location?"

It will be interesting to see if any Rochester lawmakers sign up as cosponsors for Davids' proposal.

Bye bye Potter for Chatfield arts center name

Bills backing the city of Chatfield's efforts to get $7 million in state funding notably do not use the term "Potter Center for the Arts." Last year, the project was harshly criticized by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty who mistakenly referred to it as a "pottery center." He ultimately vetoed the project from the final bonding bill agreement saying it was an example of "misplaced priorities."

So did backers drop the word Potter to avoid confusion? No, according to Chatfield City Administrator Joel Young. He said even before last year's bonding fight erupted, the project had been officially named the Chatfield Center for the Arts. Included in the project is the restoration of Potter Auditorium — but that is only one part of the project.

Still, dropping the name may help dispel confusion that the proposed arts center is in any way focused on pottery. The project would provide a center for performing and visual arts expected to attract residents from across southeast Minnesota. Supporters also say the project is about more than just the arts — it's also about economic development. They estimate the $14.5 million project would create more than 140 new jobs in the region.

But Chatfield still has some negative perceptions to overcome. In 2008, a proposal to build a new facility for the Chatfield Brass Band Music Lending Library. That project referred to as the "sheet music museum" was pointed to as an example of wasteful government spending proposals by opponents. Pawlenty vetoed the $400,000 for the project.

At a hearing yesterday on a bill to get $7 million in state Legacy Amendment dollars for the arts centers, one of the first questions centered on that lending library. Specifically, would it be included in the plan? City officials say the library would be offered space at the facility but it is up to them whether they would accept it. Backers are also trying once again to get state bonding money for the proposal.

Roch mayor to join Dayton for bonding bill announcement

Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede is slated to join DFL Gov. Mark Dayton at an 11:15 a.m. news conference at the state Capitol. Dayton is expected to unveil his $1 billion bonding bill proposal. If I were a betting person, I would put money down that the $34 million the city of Rochester has been seeking to expand the Mayo Civic Center is in that bill.

Dayton has said he will put forward $500 million in projects he supports funding and will allow the legislature to determine where the other $500 million should be spent. He argues this is a great way to create needed jobs in the private sector. But Republican legislative leaders have made it clear they are not interested in a large construction borrowing bill this session.

Senate Capital Investment Chair Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said last week that he doubts there will be any kind of bonding bill this session. He has said he will not introduce the Mayo Civic Center funding bill this session and questions whether he will bring it up next year — a traditional bonding bill year.

The Mayo Civic Center has been a major priority for the city, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce and the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau. It was vetoed from the bonding bill last session by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.