Transit hub, 911 center top Hennepin County's bonding-bill wish list

Transportation and public safety -- two bread-and-butter government services -- are at the heart of Hennepin County's wish list for state bonding money this year.

As approved by the County Board last week, Hennepin is seeking nearly $37 million for four transit projects ranging from rapid bus transit to commuter rail. Most of that amount -- $20 million -- would go to the multivehicle transportation hub being planned for the Target Field area in downtown Minneapolis.

In all, the county is making $68 million in bonding requests. The biggest single sum on the list is $30 million for the planned Sheriff's Office 911 communications center in Plymouth. The center, which would replace the current facility in Golden Valley, will dispatch calls and handle emergencies for dozens of cities in the county.

Whether the county gets its requests partly depends on whether Republican legislative leaders agree to give DFL Gov. Mark Dayton the large bonding bill he is expected to introduce this week.

Dayton has said that the bill, which could approach $1 billion, will create jobs and include projects vetoed last year by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But many GOP leaders aren't keen on the idea of borrowing money to boost employment.

"It's not clear what the nature of the bonding bill will be, but the governor has said he wants a robust bill. It's not a time to fold up our tent," Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin said.

Pawlenty last year vetoed bonding for three of the current requests -- the Minneapolis transportation hub, the Southwest light-rail transit line and an African-American museum.

The dispatch center, expected to cost nearly $34 million, already is tucked into the county's five-year capital budget. State bonding would ensure that it gets built "in a timely fashion," McLaughlin said. Officials hope it can begin operating by 2014.

The Target Field transit hub, called the Interchange, would serve as a connecting point for passengers on light-rail trains, commuter rail and buses. When the Central Corridor light-rail line opens in 2014, about 500 trains will pass through it each day. Total cost of the hub project, which includes new train platforms and a large plaza, is estimated at $80 million.

The county is hoping for $6.75 million in bonding for a transit station at Interstate 35W and Lake Street in Minneapolis. Much like the new 46th Street station on 35W, it would help people quickly board and get off freeway buses. The project includes ramp and bridge improvements as well as landscaping.

Hennepin also is seeking $5 million for preliminary studies on each of two proposed transit projects: the Northern Lights Express passenger-rail line from Minneapolis to Duluth (the county belongs to the governing board) and the Southwest light-rail transit line from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie.

Then there's the Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center, slated to open later this year in a 127-year-old renovated mansion just south of downtown Minneapolis. The county, which would serve as the pass-through agency for the project, is seeking $1.2 million for the nonprofit museum.

If the county succeeds in winning bonding funds, the museum would be responsible for paying back the debt, she said.