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Bennett hopeful at least some projects will benefit from bonding funds to Public Facilities Authority

District 23A Rep. Peggy Bennett said she is optimistic at least a couple of the local clean water projects will receive funds through money appropriated to the Public Facilities Authority in the bonding bill that passed Monday.

The $720 million bonding bill included $206 million toward clean water and drinking water projects. Whether a project receives funding depends on where it falls on a list from the Public Facilities Authority.

Bennett said she knows Albert Lea is fairly high on the list, but she had not yet received a list of the projects that will receive funding.

The Public Facilities Authority provides a combination of grants and low-interest loans.

“I am feeling good that at least some of our projects will be in that,” she said. “This is something I have been pushing for a long time — focusing our bonding on really core needs.”

The city of Albert Lea had asked for $12.5 million for one phase of the expected $80 million in costs to replace its wastewater treatment plant, which has grown substantially since it was first proposed.

In Clarks Grove, the city requested $9.9 million in bonding funds to design, construct and equip water and sewer infrastructure in the city. This includes two new lift stations, a water treatment plant and the replacement of sewer and water system infrastructure throughout the city.

In Manchester, the city asked for $2 million for the design and construction of a new clean water distribution system, new water treatment plant, a new well and other related water improvements.

The infrastructure in all of three of these communities was built around the same time thanks to grants from the federal government, but now they are all wearing out at the same time, too.

Bennett said she is happy the Legislature passed a bonding bill, especially considering that they did not pass one in 2024 when it was an actual bonding year. She said she will push for one again next year to get back on track.

In the end, she said as the two parties negotiated with Gov. Tim Walz, they opted not to do any local projects, such as community centers and others.

Aside from the bonding bill, Bennett said there were ups and downs to the legislative session.

While the focus this year was the budget, she had hoped some other things would have been done as well.

She said her biggest disappointment was that no significant fixes were passed to some of the legislation that has caused problems since it was passed in 2024.

“There was very much digging in the heels of anything that was passed over the last two years,” she said. “It was very difficult.”

Some of the issues she was hoping to see addressed were bills regarding discipline at schools and laws on fraud prevention, among others.

She was disappointed in the outcome of the education bill because schools will be facing cuts, particularly in special education, all while the state Department of Education will see an operating increase.

She had also hoped to see some significant mandate relief for schools. She said districts will face hefty burdens with all of the mandates they have to accomplish and the financial cuts. She said some of the mandates cost a lot of money to implement, and not all of them are funded.

Bennett said she is pleased there will be no new taxes, though there were some fee increases that passed.

She also agreed with removing adults who are in the country illegally from being eligible for subsidies for health insurance starting Jan. 1. Children will still be allowed to stay on.

Regarding health care, she noted cuts in nursing home funding, which she did not agree with, and said she was disappointed that these cuts would be happening, while the state agency overseeing them would see an operating increase.

Another bill will allocate $30 million for strengthening ambulance services in rural Minnesota. She said she was unsure how entities would qualify for funding.

The Legislature also approved increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate for hospitals, which she said will help rural hospitals, and other action was taken to support rural pharmacies.