Dredging Albert Lea Lake could cost $20,530,000 to $44,387,000, according to an estimate by an engineering firm hired by the city of Albert Lea.

The estimates were done by Pinnacle Engineering of Minneapolis. City Manager Paul Sparks said one of the company’s specialties has been dredging projects, and said they have become the preeminent company for such studies in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Sparks said that dredging, at that cost, could not be done without a local sales tax to pay for it.

Dredging is the removal of accumulated lake bottom sediments, or &uot;muck.&uot;

Sparks said that the process of dredging, de-watering the dredged materials and disposing of that material could take up to 20 years, depending on the amount of funding available for the project during each phase.

The news comes just as the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is ready to establish a Shell Rock River Watershed District, an independent government entity that will have jurisdiction over Freeborn County’s largest watershed. Dredging one of both of Albert Lea’s lakes has been often discussed as part of a watershed plan in recent years.

The city has said it could work in conjunction with the watershed board to help fund projects if the sales-tax funding is approved.

But reaching a point where that money could be raised is a long process in itself.

To do so, the city needs to get the authority from the state legislature. But to do that, they need to show that there is local support for the tax. This is a hoop that the city hopes they can jump through in the next few months.

The city is considering hiring an outside firm to do a study on the chances of a referendum for the local-option half-cent sales tax.

To get approval for the sales tax at the state level, city officials believe it is important to show there is local support for the sales tax. They’d considered going ahead with a referendum before getting state approval to levy the tax, but that might not be an option.

Steve Schwab, city attorney, said the state has before ruled that having a referendum before legislative approval for the sales tax is unlawful.

While other cities still have done this, Schwab advised the city council to hire an outside group to do a scientific survey to get estimates on how the referendum might turn out.

The city could then use that data to show the local support to the Legislature.