201 WASTEWATER REHABILITATION PROJECT

***WE MADE IT INTO THE BONDING BILL PASSED BY THE 2026 MN LEGISLATURE FOR $6.4M TOWARDS PHASE 1***

PHASE 1: township-sewered properties south of Reitz Lake, and all township-sewered properties along Pierson Lake

PHASE 2: township-sewered properties north of Reitz Lake, and all township-sewered properties along Lake Bavaria

NEXT STEPS:

We will follow MN Statutes Chapter 429 outlining the process for proposed improvements that is paid in part by benefiting property owners through a special assessment.

~Feasibility Report prepared by engineer & call for Public Hearing

~Public Hearing Notice will be mailed to affected property owners

~Public Hearing (1st) presentation of project, reasonable estimate & method used to calculate assessment. Feedback from impacted property owners. Board may or may not vote at the end of the Hearing whether to Order the Improvement (requires unanimous) prompting the detailed design and specifications by the engineer in preparation for putting the project out for bid for 2027 construction.

~Preliminary Assessment Roll would be created

~Project bid (Winter 2026-2027)

~Construction 2027 - collapse septic tanks & install sanitary sewer lines to connect and flow to the Metropolitan Council lines for treatment.

~Public Hearing Notice will be mailed to affected property owners

~Public Hearing (2nd) presents the proposed assessment and appeal process. Board may vote to adopt the Final Assessment Roll at the end of the Hearing and certify to Carver County.

~30 day pre-payment period to avoid interest if paid in full

~Incremental collection of the amount assessed is spread over a period of years (as determined in the Hearings) for payment with 1st and 2nd half property taxes to Carver County

BACKGROUND: A community meeting was held on March 20, 2024 for residents/property owners connected to the 201 Community Sewer System to review the Facility Plan by Bolton & Menk (engineers) relating to replacing the 201 system with sanitary sewer, along with discussion of the preliminary assessment numbers. Project was supported by those in attendance and has been approved by the board with public funding requests for the $21.4m estimated project cost ($11m state bonding consideration ($6.4m made it into the 2024 Bonding Bill that remains in limbo following the statutory end of the 2024 legislative session) ; $2.5m congressional consideration ($2m has been approved for the US House Appropriations Bill, with same amount supported in the US Senate); and $1.1m county investment consideration.

Late Winter 2025: The Congressional funds were stripped from the Continuing Resolution recently passed by Congress. We have reapplied for consideration for the next Congressional budget cycle. We remain hopeful that our project will be included in a Bonding Bill by the end of this MN Legislative Session (May 2025) so we may consider proceeding with the design/specs to go out for bid in 1 of 2 phases as investment is secured.

PUBLIC INVESTMENT TOWARDS PROPOSED PROJECT

STATE:

The 2025 MN Legislative Session and Special Session DID NOT result in funding of community projects such as ours. We have submitted our FY26 Capital Budget Requests for consideration and inclusion in the 2026 Bonding Bill. We will continue to maintain our existing system while we await public investment in our proposed wastewater rehabilitation project. Next update anticipated in Spring 2026.

Our local representatives continue to carry our bill requesting bonding funds to be allocated to our project. We should know by mid-May whether this project funding crosses the finish line before the end of the 2026 Session. If passed, as anticipated, notice will be mailed to impacted property owners to hear from residents and consider next phase of the project. ***WE MADE IT INTO THE BONDING BILL PASSED BY THE 2026 MN LEGISLATURE FOR $6.4M TOWARDS PHASE 1***

PHASE 1: township-sewered properties south of Reitz Lake, and all township-sewered properties along Pierson Lake

PHASE 2: township-sewered properties north of Reitz Lake, and all township-sewered properties along Lake Bavaria

COUNTY:

Carver County Board of Commissioners are engaged and supportive of this project. The budget process is underway for consideration of their level of contribution towards this important infrastructure improvement project. (The current 201 system was installed via a project between Carver County and the Federal Government back in the 80’s when seasonal cabins on lakes around Carver County were starting to develop into residential communities. Laketown Township has maintained it’s portions of the system since its installation and well beyond its 25 year expected cycle.) Carver County has not yet committed to their portion of investment. You may wish to reach out to them to urge them to contribute along with the Feds, State, Township, and benefiting residents.

FEDERAL:

We have received notice of support from all 3 - both US Senators and our Congressman - that our application has made their cut for consideration. Passed in House, passed in Senate, and President has signed - its official that we have been awarded $2m towards this proposed project.

—> Now that public investment is secured to the point where the project becomes feasible, proper notice will be mailed to each property owner impacted by the proposed improvement in accordance with the law and timeline. Notices will also be published in the Waconia Patriot.