Minnesota House panel to vote on remodel of State Office Building
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota State Office Building needs major renovations to fix problems that pose safety risks to the people who work and visit there, state staff tasked with the building's upkeep told a panel of lawmakers Monday.
"Every time the doors open, I have concerns about the infrastructure, if we're gonna have some type of a failure," said retiring Chief Sergeant at Arms Bob Meyerson. "And I always have concerns about the security aspects. It's a dark cloud hanging over our head all the time."
Meyerson and building management, during a House Rules Committee, laid the issues with the 90-year-old building, which is the workspace for all House members, their staff, the secretary of state's office and more. It also is hosts public hearings on policy proposals during session.
The building is on the brink of overall being rated in "poor" condition, said Christopher Guevin, director of facilities management at the Minnesota Department of Administration. It doesn't meet current state and local building codes and is running afoul of compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that requires public accommodations to ensure accessibility for all.
In a slide show presentation, Guevin and Meyerson discussed the building's ailing infrastructure to make their case for a remodel. They showed exterior windows and doors that are energy insufficient, a deteriorating roof with gutters that have leaking pipes, and an HVAC system that often leaks and fails.
"We would really love to have some sort of holistic repair, revitalization, restoration -- whatever you want to call it -- on this building as soon as we can get it," Guevin said. "This continued band aid approach isn't going to work."
On Wednesday, the group of lawmakers will vote on whether or not to proceed with the renovation.
The building was first remodeled in 1986. What's unclear is the cost of the project -- chair of the committee House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler said that information will come during the next meeting. But it's likely to run up a bill totaling hundreds of millions.
A recent state law creating a special Capitol Area building account, designed to address critical safety and security needs of property in the Capitol complex, would allow the Commissioner of Management and Budget to issue bonds for the project, pending the House panel's approval. Construction could start as soon as the summer of next year.
The Capitol renovation, completed in 2017, cost $310 million. Construction of Senate Building cost $90 million and it was marked by political fights, as Republicans' sharply criticized the project.
Some GOP members expressed frustration in this process surrounding the future of the State Office Building.
"Rather than dealing with many of this issues in a way that could've been dealt with over time, we are now being asked to put the taxpayers on the hook for a major renovation, perhaps more than the entire cost of the renovation of the State Capitol Building," said Rep. Anne Neu Brindley, R-North Branch.
Security is also a concern. State Patrol Captain Eric Roeske, director of Capitol security, was quiet about the details, but said there are real vulnerabilities at a time when the risk for threats to government buildings are heightened.
Meyerson, the former sergeant at arms who also served in Roeske's role, called the moment "unprecedented."
There was a fence put in surrounding the Capitol during the civil unrest after George Floyd's murder and it was re-installed for the Derek Chauvin trial and ahead of other demonstrations.
The riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 also put security on the Capitol grounds in focus. Soon after that happened, the a top public safety official told another committee that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracked dozens of threats of violence.
"[Roeske's] dealing with things on ongoing basis that I never had to deal with eight years ago, and they've become rather commonplace for him," he said.