City of Austin to seek $14.5 million in bonding dollars for wastewater treatment plant project

Governor Tim Walz recently announced his plan to spend approximately $2.7 billion for infrastructure projects across Minnesota.  Among the local entities seeking bonding dollars during the upcoming legislative session is the city of Austin, which will be seeking $14.5 million in bond funding toward completion of its $80 million wastewater treatment facility renovation and expansion project,  and Austin City Administrator Craig Clark stated to KAUS News that although the Governor’s bonding proposal does not feature any line-item provisions for Austins’ or any other cities’ wastewater treatment plant project, it does feature over $70 million in point source implementation grants that would be used for such projects as the one being undertaken by the city of Austin…

Clark went on to state that the city is optimistic the bonding dollars will be received due to the fact that both local and state legislators recognize the need for funding for wastewater infrastructure projects not only in Austin, but across the entire state as well….

The Governor’s bonding proposal includes $9.924 million for Riverland Community College for design and renovation of the Austin East Campus to create a Student Services Hub to serve as a student center of operations.  The project would eliminate $1.2 million in deferred maintenance.  Other local entities seeking bonding dollars during the 2022 legislative session include the Cedar River Watershed District for flood hazard mitigation and the Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota in Austin for its Bioimaging Center.  Both the Minnesota House and Senate Capital Investment Committees traveled to Austin to review the various projects in November of 2021.