Developers could receive a 40 percent tax credit

A local senator has initiated several bills he hopes will pass in this year’s legislative session.

District 27 Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, has made changes to a tax credit bill he initiated in the 2015 legislative session.

He said the update will help more Greater Minnesota cities secure workforce housing, an issue he cited as a critical component of filling Albert Lea’s workforce shortage.

The bill would incentivize investors and developers to build middle-income housing in Greater Minnesota communities where there is a shortage, he said. Under the proposal, investors would receive a 40 percent state tax credit for contributions made toward eligible workforce rental housing.

Sparks said the bill helps investors gain a return on their investment.

“I’m hopeful we’ll be able to get this passed this legislative session,” he said.

He said he continues to work on local bonding requests.

The city of Albert Lea has requested $3.5 million for the first phase of the development of Blazing Star Landing to move Front Street north to make way for lakefront development.

The project will not begin until private development is secured.

The city has also requested $1.3 million to extend sanitary sewer and water to the Stables area, north of Albert Lea.

The Stables area includes 60 homes.

The Stables project was included in Gov. Mark Dayton’s $1.4 billion list of public construction projects.

Freeborn County is requesting $1.5 million for the development of Bent Tree Trail on an abandoned Union Pacific Railroad line, that would span from Madison Avenue in Albert Lea to near Hartland. The trail would connect to the bike lane on Front Street that connects to the Blazing Star Trail.

The funding would be for a bridge on the west side of Albert Lea, other bridge rehabilitation, site grading and plan design.

Riverland Community College has requested $7.43 million to renovate outdated space to relocate truck driving and collision programs from Austin to Albert Lea and to integrate the programs into shared spaces with auto service and diesel programs.

Sparks, a member of the Capital Investment Committee, said the Senate could submit a bonding bill by about the end of the month.

Sparks has initiated a bill, called the Minnesota Initiative Plan, that would call for $5 million statewide to help women and minorities start businesses. It takes a program used in the metro area and expands it to the rest of the state.

He said the bill was formed after talking with Abby Murray and Mariah Lynne of The Marketing Plant in Albert Lea, along with a few other business owners.

Gov. Mark Dayton has a similar program he has requested that would put in $6 million in funding statewide.

The senator has also authored a bill that would establish voluntary solar site management practices for owners of ground-mounted solar sites with a generating capacity of more than 40 kilowatts.

Sparks introduced a bill late last week that would make sure cities like Austin and Albert Lea are eligible to receive current and proposed broadband funds after many existing grants and some initial bills this session limited the cities that would qualify.

At issue is the state’s Border-to-Border broadband grants and some state statutes in regards to access to broadband funding across the state.

Currently, many of the funding sources target unserved communities but not underserved communities.