ROCHESTER – Water treatment, flood mitigation, park & rides and groundwork. Those are among the projects southeast Minnesota secured at the Legislature after lawmakers adjourned earlier this week.
Rochester and Olmsted County will see tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure funding for new facilities, while surrounding communities secured millions more for water treatment plants and flood mitigation, among other projects. Local leaders are celebrating their wins in St. Paul, but many say work remains on projects left out of state budget bills.
Rochester secured state reapproval of its longtime local sales tax, which will spur city officials to seek voter approval this fall to sign off on $205 million in sales tax funding for street projects, flood control and water quality work, housing and a regional recreation center.
The city also scored more than $18 million in new infrastructure funding for a parks and forestry facility, a regional trail connection at Willow Creek in southeast Rochester and a new park & ride facility near the Rochester Recreation Center. Lawmakers also signed off on language allowing the city to use $11.4 million in state funding it secured in 2020 on upgrades to the Rochester International Airport over the next few years.
Yet funding for a downtown geothermal energy grid, one of the city's biggest sustainability goals, wasn't included in any bill this year.
"You can't be ungrateful because it's wonderful to get anything," Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said. "But we are the third-largest city in Minnesota and I really thought we would get more than this."
Norton said she was disappointed the district energy grid, which the city has scaled back since introducing the idea two years ago, didn't receive more support at the Capitol. Yet she pointed to new environmental funding passed this session that Rochester could apply for to help pay for geothermal energy among public and private buildings on the east side of downtown. And Rochester could benefit from new state money related to housing and homelessness.
Olmsted County secured more than $23 million in funding for a new recycling facility, an exhibition center near the Olmsted County Fairgrounds at Graham Park, and the first wave of funding for a planned interchange at Hwy. 13 and County Road 44 just west of Rochester.
"This funding is a critical step to finally move us beyond the design phase and get this project off the ground," Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, said in a statement concerning the interchange.
Commissioner Gregg Wright said county officials are ready to start with land acquisition for the interchange. The $55 million project is expected to reduce the number of crashes at the intersection from its average of between 10 and 13 annually, as well as increase road capacity for future growth. Yet Wright noted staff is looking to see whether new transportation funding will lead to more dollars from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the project.
"The $5 million will allow us to do some more planning," Wright said. "It certainly isn't going to get us the project."
Nearby Kasson secured $5 million for flood mitigation, something local officials have worked toward since the city had major flooding twice in 2019.
"It's a big win for our community," City Administrator Timothy Ibisch said.
Austin got $14.5 million toward a $105 million project to build a new water treatment plant, while Pine Island, Wanamingo, Goodhue and Zumbrota received $10 million toward the creation of a $90 million plant to cover all four communities, plus some homes in the Prairie Island Indian Community. And the National Eagle Center in Wabasha secured $8 million for an expansion.