MARSHALL — They had a variety of goals: improving city infrastructure, bringing in new jobs, and providing better public services. But representatives from area cities all said that state bonding dollars would help their communities achieve those goals.

Officials from the city of Russell said a requested $4 million in state funding would help take much-needed water and sewer projects “past the finish line” to completion.

“These improvements are really needs. They are not wants,” said Russell city council member Glen Grant.

This week, Southwest Minnesota State University held a campus tour for members of the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee. It was the second time in as many weeks that legislators have come to Marshall to hear bonding requests from southwest Minnesota. Last week, it was members of the state Senate who visited SMSU.

On Tuesday, legislators heard capital requests from university representatives, as well as the cities of Russell, Maynard and Clara City.

House Capital Investment Committee chair Fue Lee, DFL-Minneapolis, said this week’s tour through southwest Minnesota was one of five regional tours the committee is going on before the start of the next session. Committee members will have a difficult task ahead in going through the $7.4 billion in capital requests that have been submitted for the 2024 session, Lee said.

“This is going to be the very start of the process for us,” Lee said.

The $7.4 billion in requests comes right after the Minnesota legislature approved a $2.6 billion infrastructure package, he said.

Improving local infrastructure

SMSU representatives led off the presentations on Tuesday, discussing both a capital request and the university’s priorities for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) funding.

“We’ve got a multi-phase capital project,” said SMSU facilities director Tony Nubile. The university is requesting about $14 million in state bonding dollars for the first phase of that project. SMSU plans to build a Wellness and Human Performance Center, which would build a new entrance to the university and renovate existing space into new classrooms and labs.

The university is also seeking HEAPR funding to update the campus’s locker rooms, a $12 million task.

Representatives from the city of Russell also brought forward a funding request that would have a big impact on their drinking water and sanitary sewer systems. Mayor Hilary Buchert said Russell was asking for about $4 million in state bonding, which would go toward part of a multi-phase utilities project.

Grant said Russell faces infrastructure problems ranging from inoperable valving in the city’s water system, to stormwater ponding and water main breaks.

“Water main breaks cause a huge disturbance,” said Laura Ostlie, of Bollig Engineering. Russell has had more than six main breaks in the past year, she said.

The total cost to make the water and sewer improvements would be just under $23 million, city representatives said. The city planned to use $18.9 million in local funding, but the bonding dollars would help keep the costs lower for community members.

“We want to keep Russell affordable for our residents,” Buchert said. Updated water and sewer systems would also allow the city to grow in the future, she said. “We want to keep things growing.”

Supporting their communities and economies

The cities of Maynard and Clara City also approached legislators on Tuesday, with requests that would help fund building projects in their communities.

Clara City is requesting $1 million in state bonding to help construct a new public library, said city administrator Steve Jones. Clara City has never had a dedicated library building, Jones said. The library’s current location is a renovated former bank building, he said.

Jones said the city now has the opportunity to build a new library on donated land. They were proposing to use both state bonding money and local donations to help lower the project’s impact on taxpayers. Clara City’s tax and utility rates are already some of the highest in their area, he said.

The proposal noted that other funding sources, like USDA loans or county financing, could also potentially be used for the library project.

The city of Maynard presented a bonding request that would help them remodel the former MACCRAY West Elementary building, to serve as potential office or business space. Maynard Mayor Rick Groothius said the school building’s closure in 2022 meant the loss of 51 jobs – or more than 40% of the jobs in the city, he said.

Groothius said community members in Maynard have raised funds to help keep up the building. Earlier this year, the Maynard Community Foundation offered Chippewa County the building to use for new Family Services offices. He said they have also had some interest from other potential occupants.

“We’ve got to get jobs back in that building,” Groothius said.