A year after a proposal to build a new arena at the DECC disappeared in the muddy waters of the Minnesota Senate's bonding bill, the expansion proposal is revived and looking better than ever, say its supporters.
"The DECC was not dead -- that's far from the case -- it was just delayed," said DECC Executive Director Dan Russell.
On Wednesday, Russell was putting the finishing touches on a new brochure on the DECC expansion for the state Legislature.
The biggest difference between this year's proposal and last year's is the price tag: the estimated cost of construction is 13.9 percent higher. Now, instead of $67 million, the construction budget is $76 million.
That's a big part of the reason it's critical that the state approve its half of the funding this year, added Russell, noting that the other half of the funding is being raised locally. The local half uses three sources: The DECC would contribute $461,000; a total of $455,000 would come from the University of Minnesota Duluth (which would use the new hockey arena for its games), and the remainder, $1,300,000, would come from a proposed city of Duluth entertainment tax. In a special referendum held in Duluth last year, close to 61 percent of almost 20,000 voters were in favor of a 0.75 percent increase to the city's food and beverage tax to help pay for the city's share of the project.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Our local funding plan still works at (the $76 million) level," Russell said. "But if it doesn't pass this year, we would have to revisit (the issue). Obviously, construction costs are going up a lot faster than food and beverage receipts."
Although this is not a bonding year for the state, Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon said she is feeling even more positive this year than the last.
"I think if we pass it this year it will be very fortunate," she said, noting that the average request is closer to $10 million and Duluth is requesting closer to $40 million now. "Those kind of requests usually take several cycles, maybe six or seven years, to pass. ... Having said that, there is a very positive attitude in the Legislature and the governor's office. We've gotten commitments from the governor, the majority and minority leaders in the Senate, the bonding chair, the speaker in the House and I know they're talking to the minority leader in the House tomorrow. The mayor (Herb Bergson) is here working on that now."
Minnesota House Representative Mike Jaros, DFL-District 7B, pointed out that this is not a bonding year, so passing the funding request for the DECC would be unusual. However, he added, the support is there.
"It would be nice if we could do it," Jaros said, adding that the inflation of construction costs is ridiculously high. "I'm hopeful it will happen this year, for sure next year."
Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-District 7A, is also optimistic.
"We're working hard," he said. "And the support is there."
Russell said he didn't want to play any kind of blame game for the DECC's failure to pass last year.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Like any big project, it becomes a political football," Russell said. "Last year we were competing in a limited bonding bill against projects from across the state and frankly, many projects from northeastern Minnesota ... We left last year's session optimistic. We wanted to build on the support we had for 2007, not try to figure out (what went wrong) in 2006."
All three local legislators and Russell said the money for the DECC could come from an unusual source this year: the state surplus funds, now estimated at about $1 billion, Solon said.
"What I hear is that -- rather than in the bonding bill -- we're more likely to get it in one time money, in cash," she said. "Heck, we don't care how they give it to us."
Still, no one is betting the bank on getting the money this year.
"You never know until the deal is done," Solon said. "But it is helpful when citizens who support it continue to let the governor and legislators know they support it."
