Office Space Disputes Threaten Capitol Renovation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota lawmakers are caught in a dust-up over office space at the State Capitol, and it's threatening to delay the massive Capitol restoration now underway.
The three-year, $272 million project is on time and on budget. But the tenants in the new building -- including the governor, the Senate, the House and the attorney general -- cannot come to agreement over how much space they will control.
The Capitol Preservation Commission overseeing the Capitol work met Wednesday, but failed to reach agreement on who will get how many offices.
"This is where we get hung up in, you know, Who's getting this percent more or whatever," Gov. Mark Dayton said. "My view is the public space is what's most important, and the rest of us should fit in accordingly."
Dayton's office will be larger in the newly-renovated building. Failing to agree is expensive, because if there's no signed agreement by next week, construction crews will slow down or stop their work.
It's estimated it will cost the state $680,000 a month.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders are reviving election campaign complaints about the Senate Office Building, now under construction behind the Capitol.
They're complaining that Democrats are holding out for double offices -- in the new building and in the Capitol.
"If you've got a new building, I think everybody should be in the new building," Republican Minority Leader Sen. David Hann said. "As a leader of my caucus, I want to be where my members are."
Democratic and Republican leaders are expected to have as many as a dozen new offices at the renovated Capitol, in addition to their working offices in a new building.
But Democrats say it's logistics, not politics, that's behind the controversy. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Tom Bakk predicts agreement soon.
He says the House and Senate are configured differently, and require different kinds of office space.
"We're just organized so much different, and the space around our chamber's so much different," Bakk said. "We're just kinda trying to figure out what's the long-term use."
The ongoing Capitol renovation will be at its peak next year, and state lawmakers are considering canceling the 2016 legislative session.
Work is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
