Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Greater Minnesota Bdpi topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Representative Johnson seeks $2.5 million annually to replenish Greater Minnesota public infrastructure grant fund
Summary
Representative Pete Johnson introduced House File 335 to provide $2.5 million per year to the Business Development Public Infrastructure grant program for Greater Minnesota; the committee laid the bill over for further consideration.
Representative Pete Johnson introduced House File 335, a bipartisan proposal to continue funding the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI) grant program, requesting $2,500,000 per year in the biennium to support infrastructure projects in communities outside the seven‑county Twin Cities metro area.
The BDPI fund, created in 2003, provides grants covering up to 50% of capital costs for public infrastructure tied to eligible economic development projects. Representative Johnson told the committee that since 2010 about $75 million has been awarded through 167 grants, producing thousands of jobs in Greater Minnesota.
Two city administrators testified remotely in support. John Mulder, Hermantown city administrator, said Hermantown received a $2,000,000 BDPI grant to help prepare a 40‑acre site along Highway 53 that had formerly been an EPA Superfund site. Mulder said the projected infrastructure cost exceeds $5,000,000; with a state grant of $2,000,000, a city contribution of $1,000,000 and private investment, the development could yield between 200 and 205,000 square feet of commercial space and generate an estimated 203 jobs.
Cassie Hyde, city administrator for Fosston, described a separate 40‑acre industrial park project funded in part with BDPI and an Economic Development Administration grant. Hyde said BDPI funding helped keep lot prices affordable and attract businesses; the city's prior industrial park expansion produced more than 100 new jobs. Both administrators told the committee the grants made projects possible that otherwise would not have moved forward.
Representative Johnson said the bill's requested amount aligns with the governor's budget and helps offset inflationary pressures so more projects can be funded. The committee laid the bill over for further consideration; no vote on funding nor final action occurred during the hearing.
If enacted, the bill would replenish BDPI funds to support public‑infrastructure costs tied to industrial parks and other job‑creating development in Greater Minnesota communities, with proponents arguing the investment leverages private capital and supports housing and utility upgrades that follow new industrial development.
