By: Jessica Lee
The Minnesota House and Senate are split on how much to give the University of Minnesota for new construction projects and building upkeep.
On Thursday, the Senate released its preliminary $750 million bonding proposal, which mirrors Gov. Mark Dayton’s $72 million recommendation to renovate the Tate Laboratory of Physics and update aging University infrastructure.
The proposal, which suggests $57 million to renovate Tate on the East Bank and $15 million for the upkeep of buildings and facilities on all five campuses, is roughly $30 million less than the House version and most notably doesn’t include money to renovate the Bell Museum of Natural History and Planetarium.
The University only requested $6 million to design a new Tate Lab, but the governor and Senate recommended funding the entire construction.
The Senate proposal hasn’t yet been heard in committee. Last week, the Senate higher education committee heard additional bonding proposals.
Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, who’s responsible for creating the Senate bonding bill, brought bills to the Senate higher education committee that would allocate $75 million for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement at the University and $2.5 million for a wellness center at the Crookston campus.
The two proposals are separate from the Senate Capital Investment committee’s omnibus bonding proposal.
Funding for the Bell Museum relocation, a project spearheaded by Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, wasn’t included in the University’s 2013 capital budget request.
Pam Wheelock, vice president for University Services, said Thursday at the hearing it was left out because the University has tried and failed to get the money for years.
The University shifted its request this year to fit with its mission and commitment to research, Wheelock said.
“Decisions were advanced tied to the academic priorities,” she said.
The University’s $170 million request outlines money to renovate Eddy Hall — an idea absent from the Senate and governor’s recommendations as well.
The University’s first priority is receiving HEAPR funding, which funds building construction and maintenance projects on the school’s five campuses.
Wheelock said a quarter of University buildings are more than 70 years old, and the renovation money from the state would ease the burden on students to offset construction costs through fees and increased tuition.
University Chief Financial Officer Richard Pfutzenreuter said although the bonding proposals fall short of their request, the University is thankful for what the state has allocated.
“We always submit to the state our most critical needs,” he said, “but we know that the governor and the elected officials in both the House and the Senate have to set priorities among lots of competing interests around the state of Minnesota.”
Stumpf’s proposals for more HEAPR and the Crookston Wellness Center were passed to the Finance Committee, as was the Senate Bonding Bill.
Hausman’s bonding bill in the House, which passed the Ways and Means Committee last week, has been referred to the Rules and Legislative Administration Committee.
Pfutzenreuter said the University will be lobbying to increase money for construction projects and upkeep as the bills move forward.
Also at the Capitol this week, the bill that increases funding for the University passed its last checkpoint before it hits the House floor.
Legislators, while passing the bill forward, again raised concerns over transparency and spending at the University. Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, said he wants the Legislature to have a bigger say in how the University spends