Flaherty & Hood, P.A. is proud to announce that its legislative team helped secure millions of dollars for its clients in the 2020 capital investment bill. The Minnesota Legislature passed the historic $1.9 billion public works funding bill, commonly referred to as the “bonding bill,” earlier this month and Governor Tim Walz signed it into law on Oct. 21.
Flaherty & Hood represents several clients whose projects will receive funding through the bill, including:
- City of Annandale: $4.09 million for road and utility infrastructure
- City of Bemidji: $10.194 million for the city’s water treatment plant
- City of Foley: $8 million for sewer infrastructure
- City of Mankato: $7.2 million for riverbank restoration
- City of Red Wing: $10 million to construct the Sturgeon Lake Rail Overpass
- City of Sartell: $5.5 million for street improvements in and around the city’s medical complex
- Red Rock Rural Water System: $5.5 million to construct a water plant that will bring fresh, clean and treated drinking water to farmers and small cities in an expanded area of Murray and Cottonwood Counties.
- Wright County: $1.4 million to construct a non-profit dental clinic in Buffalo, Minn., that will serve thousands of low-income dental patients each year
In addition, Flaherty & Hood represents two non-profit organizations, the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) and the Greater Minnesota Partnership (GMNP), and advocated on their behalf in support of several projects and programs that were included in the bonding bill:
- $269 million for clean water infrastructure, including important grant and loan program administered by the Public Facilities Authority
- $116 million for housing programs
- $8.2 million for the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Grant Program (BDPI), which provides grants to help cities pay for the public infrastructure needed for business growth
- $30 million for the local bridges program
- $75 million for local roads
The bill also includes language that will create a child care facilities program, which Flaherty & Hood helped to develop on behalf of the CGMC and GMNP. Although the program was not funded in the bill, its inclusion in the 2020 bonding bill is an important first step in getting the program running.
