Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Dct Capital topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Direct Care & Treatment seeks $11.4M for asset preservation, $15M for St. Peter water and sewer
Summary
Department of Human Services’ Direct Care and Treatment division told the Capital Investment Committee it needs bonds for facility repairs across secure treatment campuses and requested $15 million specifically to replace water, sanitary and storm infrastructure at the St. Peter campus.
Nancy Freeman, chief operating officer for Direct Care and Treatment (DCT) at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, told the Capital Investment Committee on Feb. 27 that DCT operates specialized, secure behavioral‑health facilities statewide and faces a persistent deferred‑maintenance need.
Freeman said DCT manages about 3,000,000 square feet of state physical plant across large campuses in St. Peter, Anoka, Moose Lake, Brainerd and Willmar plus more than 70 state‑owned group homes, with replacement value the presentation listed as over $1 billion and an estimated deferred‑maintenance balance over $180 million. The governor’s capital request includes $11,430,000 in bonding for asset preservation at DCT facilities and a separate $15,000,000 request to replace the water, sanitary and storm‑sewer infrastructure on the St. Peter campus.
Nut graf: DCT said its facilities are secure and therapeutic by design but that aging underground utilities on the lower St. Peter campus—constructed in the 1950s—have “far exceeded their useful life” and that an engineering analysis completed in 2018 recommended full replacement of the mains and sewers.
Freeman said prior design funding of $1,050,000 was appropriated in 2023 and that the project team has completed design work and hopes to bid if construction funds are provided this session. The department said replacing the St. Peter utilities is necessary to keep the campus operating 24/7 for roughly 1,100 patients, clients and staff; without replacement the probability of system failure is “very high.”
Committee members asked about grant competition and program accessibility when early childhood facility grants were mentioned in the packet; DCT staff described statutory eligibility and competitive RFP processes (see separate article on early childhood facilities). Freeman closed by noting DCT projects typically include energy‑savings components and that annual operating savings across listed projects were estimated in the packet at about $500,000.
Ending: Committee members had few immediate questions and were invited to follow up offline for more specifics on project lists and schedules.
