Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Bonding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
St. Louis County forwards three capital requests — landfill PFAS treatment, courthouse preservation and Ash River wastewater project — for 2026 bonding
Summary
St. Louis County approved submission of three prioritized capital appropriation requests to the state for the 2026 legislative session: a $6 million solid waste campus phase focused on PFAS mitigation, $2 million for courthouse preservation, and $7 million for an Ash River wastewater project.
The St. Louis County Board voted June 3 to submit three prioritized capital appropriation requests for the 2026 state bonding process and to begin the state submission process required by the June 13 deadline.
Commissioner Richard McDonald moved the board forward with the list and Administrator Gray and Deputy County Administrator Jim Gottschall briefed commissioners on the proposals, their timing and next steps. Gottschall said the county must submit requests to the state management and budget system by the June deadline to be considered for the 2026 legislative session.
The three prioritized requests the board authorized for submission are:
- $6,000,000 for phase 2 of the integrated solid waste management campus, focusing on a proposed canyon site, PFAS landfill leachate mitigation and construction of a centralized regional full-scale treatment facility.
- $2,000,000 for courthouse asset preservation, including a new roof on the Hibbing Courthouse and replacement of original elevators in the Duluth Courthouse (the elevator work was described as approximately $1.2 million of the total request).
- $7,000,000 for the Voyageurs National Park Clean Water Ash River project, requested as a grant to the joint powers board that includes St. Louis and Koochiching counties for design and construction of a wastewater collection and treatment system in the unorganized area of Ash River.
Commissioner Nelson noted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) had awarded St. Louis County a $400,000 grant for PFAS mitigation and described it as recognition of the county’s work and as supporting the county’s approach to PFAS destruction methods. Several commissioners urged the state legislature to pass at least a baseline bonding bill to allow projects to proceed and discussed the uncertainty from a legislative session that remained unresolved at the time of the meeting.
Commissioner Jurkovich, who said he sits on the Voyageurs National Park Clean Water Board, described the Ash River request as economic development for the gateway community and said the county is the governing body for the area. Chair Harla and other commissioners discussed project timing for Eveleth and Progress Parkway and noted some projects may proceed with or without state bonding depending on bid and construction schedules.
The motion to submit the prioritized requests passed by voice vote; the board recorded the motion as carried.
