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Summer 2014 City Hall - 3800 Laverne Avenue North - Lake Elmo, Minnesota 55042 (651) 747-3900 Spearheaded by a bipartisan effort of local legislators, Lake Elmo was able to secure $3.5 million in state bonds to con- struct a water main line to the I-94 corridor to support fu- ture growth and bypass the adulterated water supply in the southwest quadrant of the city. The funding represents 42% of the overall water infrastructure funds needed to construct the proper hydraulics for the City’s future water utility. “We had a great team of legislators from both sides of the aisle help us with this project,” said Mayor Mike Pearson, who worked tirelessly since last November to have the bill considered for inclusion in the $846 million state bonding package. Senator Karin Housley, (R - St. Mary’s Point) and Senator Susan Kent (D - Woodbury) sponsored the legislative ef- fort in the State Senate. Representative Kathy Lohmer (R - Baytown), Representative Joann Ward (D - Woodbury), Representative Matt Dean (R - Dellwood) and Represen- tative Peter Fischer (D-White Bear Lake) sponsored the effort in the House. Aided by a former state legislator James Clark, Lake Elmo was able to persuade the legislature that it was caught in an impossible situation of having to grow (by the Metropolitan Council edict) in a portion of the community that is fraught with groundwater problems. “Many legislators from across Minnesota were sympathetic to our plight of having to transport water from the north- east portion of the City around the Lake Elmo Park Reserve down to the I-94 corridor,” said Mayor Pearson, who met with more than 30 legislators during the process. The $3.5 million bond will be available for the City to use in 2015 to build a water main from the intersection of 27th Street and Inwood Avenue down to 10th Street where development is scheduled to take place later in the year with four new subdivisions, the ISD 916 $13 million school project, and a new medical clinic. The project will also contain a booster station that will help equalize the water pressure in the community. “The differing elevations of Lake Elmo make it necessary to construct booster stations and put in reducing valves to make sure everyone has proper water pressure,” said City Engineer Jack Griffin. While Mayor Pearson led the effort in the Capitol, Council Member Wally Nelson and members of the Finance Com- mittee worked on the overall budget of putting a water util- ity together spending countless hours reviewing financial statements to make sure the project could cash flow. “The state bonding funds will allow Lake Elmo to build an efficient water system without adversely affecting taxpay- ers. The $3.5 million infusion into the utility allows us to meet the needs of growth, provide clean water to resi- dents, and move toward our stated goal of reducing water rates in the next four years. It was a big game changer for us financially,” said Nelson. State Bonds $3.5 Million for Lake Elmo Water Main Project City Hall - 3800 Laverne Avenue North - Lake Elmo, Minnesota 55042 (651) 747-3900 City Administrator Dean Zuleger and Mayor Pearson recently recognized Senator Housley, Senator Kent, Representative Lohmer, and Representative Ward (inset) for support and advocacy that resulted the inclusion of $3.5 million in the state bonding bill for infrastruc-ture to provide clean water in Lake Elmo.