A swing vote on the Inver Grove Heights Swing Bridge?

An Inver Grove Heights plan to turn the deteriorating Rock Island Swing Bridge into a scenic Mississippi River viewpoint comes with a $300,000 catch for Dakota County.

That's how much the city is hoping the county will chip in -- in cash or in kind through county staff support -- to complete the $2.42 million pier project that could be a prominent feature of the county's regional trail network.

Although the County Board didn't have to decide Tuesday, Inver Grove Heights Mayor George Tourville made it clear that a partnership with the county could make or break the plans to save the historic bridge that began crumbling last fall.

"What happens if you don't get the $300,000 from the county?" asked Commissioner Paul Krause. "Do you walk away?"

"The answer may be yes," Tourville said.

Inver Grove Heights has been scrambling to put together the bridge project since the spring, when $1.3 million in federal stimulus money became a potential source of funding.

The city has until Nov. 13 to take ownership, obtain permits and meet a deadline for the federal grant. It has secured commitments from the state to pay for removal of junk parts, and it plans to contribute $720,000 to the project.

"We have some opportunities to partner with them and my colleagues are willing to continue those conversations," she said.

But the conversation hasn't been easy or brief.

Dakota and Washington counties had already begun dismantling the bridge after its partial collapse in 2008. This year, Inver Grove Heights jumped into the project.

The $300,000 request on Tuesday came just moments after the commissioners, acting as a committee, opted to pay $291,000 and transfer maintenance and operation of County Road 24, also known as 66th Street, to Inver Grove Heights between Concord Boulevard and the bridge site on the Mississippi River.

Tourville said the money from the transfer will be used for road repairs and a trail that would connect the Mississippi River Regional Trail to the refurbished 670-foot pier.

Commissioner Liz Workman noted that the county could spend more than $300,000 in legal fees if there were a battle over ownership.

"The contribution they're asking for isn't the least bit unreasonable," she said, after noting, "I thought you guys were nuts for taking this project on first of all, but I commend you for doing it."

But other commissioners, including Kathleen Gaylord and Tom Egan, said they wanted to know more before moving forward with any kind of contribution.

"We're not going to resolve it today," Gaylord said. "We've still got quite a few questions."

Inver Grove officials said they would keep the county informed and would bring the request back after learning more about the federal grant in November.