BAXTER — Members of the Minnesota state senate made a quick stop at Brainerd Public Utilities on Wednesday, Oct. 8, as part of a bonding tour of northeastern Minnesota.
Brainerd city officials pitched three projects they are hoping to help fund with state money. The biggest ask is for $28 million, or about half the cost of a new water treatment facility. The facility would mitigate copper corrosion throughout the distribution system, which is currently above the federal drinking water standard.
Mayor Dave Badeaux noted without the funding, residents’ water bills could increase from about $40 a month to nearly $70. He said the projected costs for the new facility have risen substantially.
"We're not concerned about the people that can pay for it, we're concerned about the people that can't pay for it. The single mothers that are on a limited income or the grandmothers or elderly that have a fixed income," Badeaux said.
Sens. Karin Housley, Sandy Pappas and Ann Johnson Stewart are members of the Capital Investment Committee and were on the tour.
Pappas asked about whether a sales tax paid for not only by residents but also visitors to the tourist area could help. But a local sales tax is already in place in Brainerd, according to city officials, and it pays down the debt the city took on for its wastewater facility.
Pappas offered officials a reality check on the $28 million price tag.
"I mean, our bonding bills are pretty restricted, and there's so many needs in these communities," Pappas said. "All this stuff is aging at the same time."
Badeaux also shared information on two smaller projects: a pedestrian bridge over a busy part of Highway 210 and the expansion of the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail.
For the pedestrian bridge, the city seeks $2.95 million of the estimated $5.9 million cost. The bridge would provide a safe crossing a connect the north and south segments of the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail. Badeaux noted that while nearby Highway 371 gets attention for its traffic counts, Highway 210 sees an average of more than 12,000 vehicles per day. Summer seasonal traffic can increase to 29,000 daily vehicles.
A planned improvement project will see the addition of roundabouts near the planned site at Lum Park, and there are concerns about non-motorized users having to cross at a roundabout.
The trail extension would complete Brainerd's portion of the larger Cuyuna trail system. The request is $695,000, or half of the approximate $1.4 million projected construction cost.
The senators and staff then loaded the bus for their next stops in Floodwood, then Grand Rapids, Keewatin, Hibbing and Ely. The tour continued Thursday along the North Shore.
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