Committee hears MDVA requests for asset preservation and Building 16 remodel at Minneapolis Veterans Home

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs asked the House Capital Investment Committee on Feb. 18 for bonding to address deferred maintenance across its statewide facilities and to fund a remodel of Building 16 at the Minneapolis Veterans Home.

"We have 71 buildings across the state with a replacement value of a half a billion dollars," John Kelly, Director of Government Affairs for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, told the committee. He said the governor's recommendations include $11,940,000 for asset preservation and $17,404,000 for a Building 16 remodel.

The department said asset preservation funding would target deferred maintenance such as roofs, boilers and electrical systems in six veterans homes and four state veterans cemeteries. Kelly said much of the work would address historic structures still in daily use on the Minneapolis campus and that some buildings are "more than a hundred years old." He described the asset funds as aimed at the backlog of highest-priority needs.

On Building 16, Kelly said the domiciliary resident building "was built in 1973 and it houses 50 occupants." He told members the original HVAC system has passed its useful life and pre-design work showed multiple building systems need replacement. "The remodel of Building 16 will ensure that MDVA meets state and federal building codes, life safety codes, [and Department of Health] surveys," Kelly said, adding the project would provide a safer environment for vulnerable adults.

Representatives on the committee asked whether federal funding pauses had affected MDVA. Kelly said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' grants were, in his view, not impacted by a federal pause: "None of those were impacted...the per diems that help fund our resident care are flowing," he said, while noting reimbursements for recent new homes remain in the pipeline.

Kelly clarified the Building 16 request is a state bonding request only: "For this project we're simply asking for straight bonding request to cover the cost. We're not seeking matching funds from the federal government."

The presentation framed the requests as part of a series of recent investments that included completion of three new veteran homes and a new veterans cemetery; committee members raised questions about timing, federal reimbursements and project scope. The department stood for member questions and did not request immediate committee action during the hearing.