201 SEWER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

A community meeting was held on March 20, 2024 for residents/property owners connected to the 201 Community Sewer System to review the Facility Plan by Bolton & Menk (engineers) relating to replacing the 201 system with sanitary sewer, along with discussion of the preliminary assessment numbers. Project was supported by those in attendance and has been approved by the board with public funding requests for the $21.4m estimated project cost ($11m state bonding consideration ($6.4m made it into the 2024 Bonding Bill that remains in limbo following the statutory end of the 2024 legislative session) ; $2.5m congressional consideration ($2m has been approved for the US House Appropriations Bill, with same amount supported in the US Senate); and $1.1m county investment consideration.

Late Winter 2025: The Congressional funds were stripped from the Continuing Resolution recently passed by Congress. We have reapplied for consideration for the next Congressional budget cycle. We remain hopeful that our project will be included in a Bonding Bill by the end of this MN Legislative Session (May 2025) so we may consider proceeding with the design/specs to go out for bid in 1 of 2 phases as investment is secured.

STATUS OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT TOWARDS PROPOSED PROJECT

STATE:

The 2025 MN Legislative Session and Special Session DID NOT result in funding of community projects such as ours. We have submitted our FY26 Capital Budget Requests for consideration and inclusion in the 2026 Bonding Bill. We will continue to maintain our existing system while we await public investment in our proposed wastewater rehabilitation project. Next update anticipated in Spring 2026.

Our local representatives continue to carry our bill requesting bonding funds to be allocated to our project. We should know by mid-May whether this project funding crosses the finish line before the end of the 2026 Session. If passed, as anticipated, notice will be mailed to impacted property owners to hear from residents and consider next phase of the project.

COUNTY:

Carver County Board of Commissioners are engaged and supportive of this project. The budget process is underway for consideration of their level of contribution towards this important infrastructure improvement project. (The current 201 system was installed via a project between Carver County and the Federal Government back in the 80’s when seasonal cabins on lakes around Carver County were starting to develop into residential communities. Laketown Township has maintained it’s portions of the system since its installation and well beyond its 25 year expected cycle.)

FEDERAL:

We have received notice of support from all 3 - both US Senators and our Congressman - that our application has made their cut for consideration. Passed in House, passed in Senate, and President has signed - its official that we have been awarded $2m towards this proposed project.

—> Rest assured, when public investment has been secured to the point where the project becomes feasible, proper notice will be mailed to each property owner impacted by the proposed improvement. Notice would also be published in the Waconia Patriot, providing the estimated project costs and a date for an Improvement Hearing to take public comment before voting on whether or not to proceed with the project.