Capitol View: November 1, 2011 Archive

Capitol renovation takes on urgent tone

Posted at 1:08 PM on November 1, 2011 by Tim Pugmire (2 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

State officials moved a bit closer today to the launch of a major renovation of Minnesota Capitol building.

Gov. Mark Dayton and other members of the Capitol Preservation Commission approved spending up to $150 million $150,000 for pre-design work for the project. The panel also adopted guiding principles for the renovation that focus on architectural integrity, building function and safety. Lawmakers have not yet approved the full project, which is estimated to cost more than $200 million. Dayton says the cost is daunting, but he says the current deterioration of the Capitol is adding urgency to the discussion.

"It will be more expensive to do it five years or 10 years from now," Dayton said. "That's a guarantee. So if we do it, let's do it right and do it in a way that is as much as we can foresee will put it in the kind of condition for the next 100 years that the people of Minnesota for the next 100 years would expect of us."

Legislators have come close to approving Capitol renovations before, but House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, says he now believes there is the political will to follow through with the project.

Here's a May 2011 report that details the problems at the Capitol:

MN Capitol - Facility Condition Executive Summary Report - May 2011[1]

Dayton and legislative leaders say sales tax increase won't work for stadium

Posted at 2:04 PM on November 1, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton, Vikings stadium

Gov. Dayton and the four legislative leaders say there isn't support in the Legislature to exempt Ramsey County or Minneapolis from holding a referendum on a sales tax increase to pay for the Vikings stadium.

Officials on both sides of the river had proposed a sales tax increase to help pay for the new stadium. Ramsey County proposed a half cent sales tax increase to raise $350 million for a $1.1 billion stadium in Arden Hills.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said a sales tax increase of 0.35 percent in Minneapolis could help pay for a stadium on one of three sites in his city. Rybak, however, also proposed a downtown casino as a way to raise the city's share of the stadium.

Dayton says he is "now actively assessing and discussing with the team other financing options." He plans to release his own stadium proposal next week and wants to call a special session for the week of Nov. 21.

Here's the statement from Dayton, GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers, GOP Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, DFL House Minority Leader Paul Thissen and DFL Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk:

Statement on Vikings Stadium talks

Saint Paul--At last Friday's meeting of Legislative Leaders: Senators Amy Koch, Julie Rosen, Terri Bonoff, and Richard Cohen; Speaker Kurt Zellers; Representatives Morrie Lanning, Paul Thissen, and Terry Morrow; with Governor Dayton and Chairman Ted Mondale, the consensus among the legislative leadership was that there was not sufficient support in either body to exempt Ramsey County or the City of Minneapolis from holding a referendum on increasing a local sales tax to finance a Vikings stadium. The participants requested the weekend to assess that conclusion.

Today, Governor Dayton and the Leaders of the Republican and DFL Caucuses in the House and Senate reaffirm that there is not majority support in either body for an exemption from a voter referendum. Without such an exemption, the earliest either Ramsey County or the City of Minneapolis could conduct a referendum would be in conjunction with the November 2012 General Election.

Governor Dayton said, "Last Friday's meeting was very significant in eliminating one proposed source of financing for a People's Stadium in either Ramsey County or Minneapolis, unless the Vikings are willing to endure the time delay and continuing uncertainty in obtaining voters' approval. Given this reality, we are now actively assessing and discussing with the team other financing options."

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