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Regional Rail Authority sets 6% levy to maintain trails and stewardship, cites Met Council grants
Summary
Carver County—s Regional Rail Authority asked the county board to approve a roughly 6% preliminary levy increase to fund corridor stewardship, salaries and capital projects; commissioners approved the request and staff noted Met Council grants are funding large corridor acquisitions and repairs.
The Carver County Regional Rail Authority (RRA) presented a preliminary 2026 levy and budget on Sept. 2 and the county board approved the requested increase to support ongoing stewardship, maintenance and capital-replacement work on three regional trail corridors.
Lynden Ravjant, public works director and railroad engineer, told the board the majority of RRA levy dollars pay salaries for maintenance and administrative work and a modest amount funds corridor preservation and capital projects. "The annual budget, the county portion, the levy portion, majority of the funding pays for salaries, and some goes to corridor stewardship and preservation," Ravjant said.
Major items and grants: Ravjant said the RRA is programming multi-year repairs and replacements, including culvert liners on the Minnesota River Bluff Regional Trail and bridge repairs on the Dakota Rail Trail. He highlighted the near-completion of the County Road 10 trailhead and said the authority is managing Met Council grants and a planned property acquisition funded by the Met Council for the former Union Pacific corridor; those grants will support future capital work without drawing down county levy funds.
Board action: the board approved the RRA preliminary levy and budget; the RRA presenter noted the authority maintains a fund balance and intends to use grant proceeds and reserves for larger corridor projects scheduled through 2031.
Ending: Ravjant said the RRA will continue coordinating with the Met Council and county public-works staff to time corridor repairs with highway and bridge projects to reduce costs and service interruptions.
