It may not be the Brooklyn Bridge, but a span's for sale in Bloomington

Whether it's new or falling apart, renovated or replaced, Bloomington just doesn't want to own the old Cedar Avenue bridge.

On Thursday, the city will host a second meeting of interested parties to talk about the bridge's future and the possibility that someone else -- anyone else -- might take ownership.

The closed span, which crosses Long Meadow Lake in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, is due to be replaced by 2010 with a new bridge for bikers and pedestrians. About $3.3 million in state and federal funding has been secured for the job, which is expected to make the crossing a destination for nature lovers and hikers as well as a key link for biking commuters.

Bloomington Deputy Director of Public Works Jim Gates says a new bridge will be a regional asset that's better owned by someone else. But right now, interest among other agencies seems minimal.

"We do not want the bridge," said Charlie Blair, manager of the wildlife refuge. "As I said to Jim Gates, not only no, but hell no!" he said with a laugh.

Joel Stedman, regional manager for parks and recreation for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said he's going to the meeting mostly to listen. "We have no position one way or the other," he said. "We have not had any discussions with the city about ownership."

And the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Tom O'Keefe, west area manager for the Metro District, said the department isn't at all interested in owning the bridge. "It doesn't serve a trunk highway purpose, and that's our reason to own a bridge," he said.

Historical and engineering analyses of the bridge will be done this fall. Construction to repair or replace the bridge is expected to begin in winter 2009. Conditions tied to federal funding mean the project must be completed by 2010.

Everyone invited to Thursday's meeting has a stake in what happens.

Hennepin and Dakota counties are linked by the bridge. Land on either side is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. DNR walking and biking trails converge near the bridge, and MnDOT owns nearby storm-water ponds. Bloomington owns the stub of old Cedar Avenue running to the bridge and a right-of-way along the Minnesota River that once served private property. It's now refuge land.

"We don't own the Minnesota River," said Gates. "We don't own Long Meadow Lake. We don't think we should own the new Cedar bridge."

However, refuge manager Blair said that while he supports the bridge project, the Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't get funding to care for bridges. "We generally do not take ownership of those structures unless it is absolutely necessary to the management of the refuge, which in this case it is not," he said.

Gates conceded that while the various agencies' reaction to taking over the bridge was "fairly lukewarm" at the first meeting in June, he hopes to keep the conversation going. "We want to plant the seed, get folks thinking about it," he said. And the right buyer would get a fair price, he added.

"We could sell it for a buck."