Capitol delays
Nevermind yesterday's thaw -- rising temperatures may be coinciding with rising tempers over office space at the new Capitol. Gov. Mark Dayton, Sen. Tom Bakk and House Speaker Kurt Daudt have been unable to come to an agreement on space allocation, and without that agreement the $273 million project could be delayed because the builder won't know how to proceed. That in turn could add to costs.
No one comes out of this looking very good. New GOP Speaker Daudt probably did himself a favor by not showing up at the Capitol Preservation Commission meeting and then releasing a statement that was optimistic on a deal while promising to fight for more space for public areas at the new Capitol.
The commission meeting had the feel of a family holiday dinner with a hostile subtext, except no one would spell out exactly what the problem was that needed to be resolved. Very Minnesota.
Senate Republicans used the stalemate to remind everyone after the meeting about the new Senate office building, which they again called an unnecessary waste of taxpayer money.
Dayton and Bakk both expressed confidence that a deal is close at hand. So, perhaps much ado about nothing. And inside baseball, to be sure, until those costs start rising. Then the public will start to care.
There was more discussion at the meeting about the 2016 session. Senate Minority Leader David Hann reiterated his belief that they should go without one (not making friends with contract lobbyists!) while Bakk revealed that legislative leaders have been exploring the possibility of moving the Legislature offsite. (During the next phase of construction, in 2016, they will only have access to the House chamber.)
Bakk said no one in St. Paul is real eager to rent space to the Legislature. (Fill in your own joke here about how the tenants are unruly and occasionally deadbeats.)
