An $800 million House bonding proposal unveiled Tuesday includes two local bonding requests.

The first is for a $7.4 million Riverland Community College request to relocate truck driving and collision programs from Austin to Albert Lea and to integrate programs into shared spaces with auto service and diesel programs. The second is for money to extend sanitary sewer lines to the Stables area.

Riverland President Adenuga Atewologun said the project is critical to helping the area’s workforce shortage and attracting students.

He said the project should help truck companies, noting truck company officials have told him they have had a hard time hiring enough truck drivers.

The project will also help increase the college’s efficiency, he said, noting he is hopeful the project will be funded in the Legislature’s final bonding bill. He plans to continue discussing the need for the project to legislators.

District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, said she is excited about the inclusion of the Riverland project in the bill, noting education is “near and dear” to her heart.

She said the project would better serve students and the region by utilizing space the college already has and combining some areas. She said she thinks “it’s good on a number of fronts.”

She said it is good for students who are looking to be educated and good for the region to attract workers to alleviate its workforce shortage.

Bennett said a $70 million water infrastructure fund includes funding to extend sanitary sewer to the Stables area, noting the proposal does not cover extending water to the region.

Albert Lea City Manager Chad Adams said city officials are trying to verify with the Public Facilities Authority whether they will be able to receive funding to extend water services to the area if it is not included in bonding bill, noting he thinks it would be cost-effective to include the two projects in one year.

He said city officials are optimistic the entire request will be funded this year, noting failing septic systems have been an issue in the area for decades.

Adams said residents have been interested in annexation so the services could be extended.

Bennett said extending water may be included in the House’s final bonding bill. She noted though she has advocated for each of Freeborn County’s bonding requests to the Capital Investment Committee, she knows not all of them will pass. She said the House proposal is meant to fund the state’s “meat and potato” projects such as education, infrastructure, roads and highways.

Other area projects not included in the proposed bonding bill includes development of Blazing Star Landing and development of Bent Tree Trail.

The Blazing Star Landing bonding proposal is for $3.5 million to move Front Street north to make way for lakefront development and preliminary preparation work north of the railroad. Adams said city officials knew there was a chance the proposal would not be included in the bill, noting the proposal was submitted after the House Capital Investment Committee visited in October. He said he expects Bennett and District 27 Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, to advocate for it to be included in the Legislature’s final bonding bill.

He said though the project may not be seen by state leaders as a critical infrastructure investment, he believes it is important to job creation and the economic vitality of southern Minnesota.

Development of Bent Tree Trail includes an  approximately 12-mile, multi-use trail that would span from Madison Avenue in Albert Lea to near Hartland. The trail would connect to the bike lane on Front Street that connects to the Blazing Star Trail.

The funding would be for a bridge on the west side of Albert Lea, other bridge rehabilitation, site grading and plan design.

“We’ll support those local projects, but we’re disappointed ours was not included,” Freeborn County Administrator John Kluever said.

Developing trails has been shown to be a good driver for economic and development and would likely be for the region, Kluever said.

He said he plans to revisit bonding for the project next year if it is not included this year, noting it will be up to commissioners to decide whether to submit a bonding request.

Also included in the bonding proposal is $227 million for local road and bridge projects, $130 million for water infrastructure projects and $137 million for higher education, with a significant portion of that funding going to asset preservation.

Bennett said she thinks the House will take a vote on the bill by the end of this week, noting it is lower than the Senate’s $1.5 billion bonding proposal and Gov. Mark Dayton’s $1.4 billion proposal.

Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, chairman of the House Capital Investment Committee, said in a press release the proposal prioritizes fixing local roads and bridges, higher education and water infrastructure.

“We have worked diligently to put together a proposal that focuses on the priorities important to communities across Minnesota,” Torkelson said. “This bill invests in local roads and bridges, our higher education institutions, and will help local communities make improvements to their water infrastructure. This is a true compromise that finds agreement with the governor and the Senate and respects taxpayers by not exceeding our 10-year bonding average.”