DNR says it needs $132M. So why is it only asking for $33M?

[h2ofwlr]

http://www.twincities.com/2016/03/31/dn ... g-for-33m/
Highlights:
The DNR is asking for $33 million in taxpayer loans to fix aging infrastructure, including parks and trails.
A DNR-funded report says it actually needs $132 million a year for 10 years.
DNR commissioner says the backlog is partly fault of DNR, which never did a complete inventory until recently.

By Dave Orrick | dorrick@pioneerpress.com
March 31, 2016 | UPDATED: 3 days ago

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources seems to have a massive money problem.

A gaping hole in the DNR’s budget has led to a $453 million price tag for maintenance and upkeep on infrastructure that includes its most popular parks and trails, according to the agency.

This, for a state agency with a total annual budget of less than $500 million.

The DNR “requires” $132 million a year over the next 10 years to address the problem, which includes a $342 million backlog, according to the agency’s 10-year plan, which it adopted last year and updated in February.

Yet the agency is asking lawmakers for only $33 million in taxpayer loans to cut into the problem, according to a plan outlined Wednesday.

Which raises questions.

What’s the problem? State parks look great.

Most visitors — and there are more and more every year — agree. Tettegouche State Park recently opened a new $7 million visitors center, and no one is warning of imminent park closures. Much of the problems are out of the public eye, such as the 80-year-old sewer line that services Itasca State Park, where Commissioner Tom Landwehr hosted a media event to outline the DNR’s bonding request to lawmakers. Eroding bridges, cracked dams, deteriorating paved bike trails and leaking roofs at office buildings are among the facilities that need maintaining, Landwehr said.

$453 million. Is it really that bad?

That’s what the DNR says, citing an analysis by LHB Architects. But that number will be scrutinized. “I would question those figures,” said Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, who chairs the House Capital Investment Committee. “I don’t have sound information, but I wouldn’t just swallow them because they say it.” But Torkelson said he does believe there’s a major backlog.

What about the Legacy Amendment money?

The DNR gets about $25 million a year from the Parks and Trails Fund, one of several funds from a sales tax hike approved by voters in 2008. Landwehr is taking the position that voters intended that money for new projects, not maintenance of existing ones. That reasoning has been echoed by reports from the Office of Legislative Auditor. However, the lines have often been blurred in spending of other Legacy funds.

How did it get this bad?

Landwehr said the DNR itself is at least partly to blame. In 2014, the DNR hired LHB Architects of Minneapolis for $255,000 to examine the agency’s 2,700 buildings. No one ever had done such a full review before. “A lot of us were kind of shocked,” Landwher said Wednesday. “It was a real wake-up call.” Landwehr also said that during the recession, funding for such projects took a back seat when state funds were tight.

Torkelson said there’s plenty of blame to go around. “People like trails and they want more trails, but every time we add a trail, you’re adding to the maintenance need,” he said. “I’m not sure we’ve done an adequate job of planning for that.”

Does the DNR have a plan?

In October, the agency adopted a 10-year plan to address the money hole. That’s where the $132 million per year stems from.

Why aren’t they asking for more?

Politics, and fiscal reality. The $33 million, if approved — and that’s hardly guaranteed — would be nearly twice the amount the DNR has ever received for a bonding request.

Are there other sources of money?

Yes. User fees. Park admission, cross-country ski passes, and so on. Both Landwehr and Torkelson said they might be in play in the future. Torkelson noted that cyclists can use state trails without any fee right now.