ARCHIVE: FISCAL YEAR 2023 COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING REQUESTS
Information on all Fiscal Year 2023 CPF requests submitted by the Office of Congresswoman McCollum is listed below in no particular order:
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Project: Agricultural Research Service Cereal Disease Lab: St. Paul, MN
$8,000,000
University of Minnesota, 600 McNamara Alumni Center S.E., 200 SE Oak Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455
The funding would be used for the planning and design phase of a new next generation Cereal Disease Laboratory facility in St. Paul, MN. As the premier cereal disease research laboratory, these investments are critical if we are to continue making gains in addressing new and emerging highly pathogenic strains in wheat, or mycotoxins in corn, that not only destroy crops but cause illness and death in livestock and humans consuming the infected grain. With the complexities of our changing environment coupled with increased vulnerability to the global food supply, access to new cutting-edge technical capabilities is needed to take on growing challenges in cereal disease.
Certification Letter
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Project: Familiar Faces: Engaging Frequent Users of Emergency and Shelter Services
$2,000,000
Ramsey County, 270 Courthouse 15 West Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul, MN 55102
The project proposed by Ramsey County is to develop and operate the “Familiar Faces” demonstration project to address the frequent users of emergency services who have cycled in and out of shelters, jail and hospitals, for whom a much more targeted approach is necessary. This program benefits the individuals who get helped, and it benefits the larger community as we take these people out of the system. This program provides for the better use of overall resources by not having people become familiar faces at all.
Certification Letter
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Project: Washington County Sheriff Office Hybrid Patrol Vehicles and River Patrol Boats
$1,600,000
Washington County, 14949 62nd St. N Stillwater, MN 55082
The project proposed by Washington County is to purchase 20 Ford Interceptor Hybrid Squad Cars and two new River Patrol Boats and Motors. This project would allow the Sheriff’s Office to invest in the latest Hybrid vehicle technology to help reduce the fuel consumption and the impact the fleet has on the environment. The purposed vehicles would be used by deputies to patrol both local roadways and the interstate System. The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for patrolling both the St. Croix River and the Mississippi River. These riverways are both used by recreational and commercial boat traffic. The size of the vessels that operate on these waterways and the large geographical area that they cover require a robust and safe watercraft to perform the necessary public safety services, including safety patrols, search and rescue, critical infrastructure protection, such as bridges, dams and refinery, and responding to emergencies. These boats are regional asset’s that are used to assist other local, state and federal agencies.
Certification Letter
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Project: Como Park Zoo and Conservatory Hydro Geothermal Heat Pump
$5,500,000
City of Saint Paul, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd, Saint Paul, MN 55102
The funding would be used to replace the inefficient natural gas steam boiler, which is more than 40 years old, with a Hydro Geothermal Heat Pump (HGHP), a more energy efficient heating and cooling system. This will address critical animal habitat and energy efficiency asset preservation to meet modern zoological practices, and will help begin the decarbonization of the Como Zoo & Conservatory campus. The HGHP achieves a much higher performance profile than a natural gas steam boiler and traditional geothermal system. The proposed retrofit is expected to reduce Como Zoo & Conservatory emissions by up to 50%, lowering facility operating costs so more resources can be used to enhance programs that serve the community, and will also help the city attain their carbon neutrality goal by 2030 as outlined in their Climate Action Resiliency Plan.
Certification Letter
Financial Services, General Government Subcommittee
Project: Plaza del Sol
$1,000,000
Latino Economic Development Center, 804 Margaret Street, St. Paul, MN 55106
The funding would be used for the rehabilitation of Plaza del Sol, which would house at least eight small businesses on its first floor. Additionally, the commissary kitchen will be the launchpad for dozens of new Latino-owned small businesses annually. The revitalized Plaza will provide jobs and contracts for small businesses, as well as office space.
Certification Letter
Financial Services, General Government Subcommittee
Project: Neighborhood Development Center Cybersecurity Information Center
$1,600,000
Neighborhood Development Center, 625 University Ave. W., St. Paul, MN 55104
The funding would be used to build out space, likely in NDC’s new Frogtown Crossroads building at University and Dale in St. Paul, as a cybersecurity information center, and launch a program that will allow budding cybersecurity professionals trained through MSU’s program to hone their skills amongst peers and experienced cybersecurity professionals, while receiving NDC’s training, technical assistance, and lending services to launch their own cybersecurity firms.
Certification Letter
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Project: Sewer Lift Station Replacement
$480,000
City of Birchwood Village, 207 Birchwood Avenue, Birchwood, MN 55110
The funding would be used for the replacement of the City’s current sewer lift station, which is subject to corroding/erosion due to a neighboring community’s watermain break that flooded the station and has left the station permanently damaged. The station is functionally obsolete, OSHA non-compliant and subjects workers to poisonous sewer gases. There is just a five minute effluent storage capacity in the event of a pump failure. Such failure could cause catastrophic damage to the public water system and to White Bear Lake from sewage leaking/draining into the lake, which is just 150 feet away. The entire City of Birchwood is reliant on this liftstation—there is no work-around option.
Certification Letter
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Project: East Wellfield Manifold Pipe
$4,400,000
City of Woodbury, 2301 Tower Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
The funding would be used for a “shovel ready project” that will connect three municipal drinking water supply wells (Well 15, 16, and 18) within the City of Woodbury to a single raw water line to facilitate subsequent connection to a water treatment facility addressing contamination now and into the future. The City of Woodbury has been substantially impacted by contamination of its source water. Over the past 15+ years, Woodbury residents have had to adjust to changing standards, health advisories, health concerns, and water restrictions due to widespread PFAS contamination. This project supports good governance, builds resiliency in potable water supply, and takes steps towards resolving identified operational issues, water quality differences in the community, and cost disparities, and supports future flexibility as the science on water quality evolves.
Certification Letter
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee
Project: Research Investigative Lab
$1,500,000
Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, 200 University Avenue E., St. Paul, MN 55101
The project proposed by Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare is critical for research and patient care. Among other things, the lab would be used to conduct research related to assessment of motor control, movement disorders, spasticity, and pain. Equipment needed in that space will include but not be limited to magnetic stimulators for non-invasive neuromodulation, electromyography equipment for muscle excitability, muscle force assessment equipment and ultrasound for muscle composition. The new investigative lab will also include a rehabilitation research and clinical care space needed to advance the development of biofeedback, robotics, and exoskeleton development to target impaired motor control for rehabilitation of individuals with cerebral palsy, brain injury, and other neuromuscular disorders. The lab will support novel research to improve the standard of care for children with brain, bone and movement disorders treated at Gillette Children’s as well as those treated elsewhere across the country and world.
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee
Project: Pipers to Professionals Program
$2,000,000
Hamline University, 1536 Hewitt Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55104
The funding would be used to provide our underserved students with wrap-around support services while they engage in a paid internship to most effectively promote student development for professional employment. Internships are one semester in length and include a minimum of 120 hours of each student’s committed time. Students earn four credits for completing an internship of this length, which is often paired with a capstone course. This pairing provides opportunities for knowledge growth, as well as technical and soft skills development.
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee
Project: Positive Racial Identity Development for Youth Program
$1,000,000
Penumbra Theatre, 270 Kent Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102
The funding will benefit youth ages 2-21 and their families, and will support the development, testing, and early implementation of Penumbra’s new PRIDE curriculum. PRIDE (Positive Racial Identity Development & Empowerment) will support children of all races as they learn about concepts and experiences of race, identity, and social justice at developmentally critical stages.
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee
Project: Youth Workforce Development
$2,000,000
The Sanneh Foundation, 1276 University Ave W, St. Paul MN 55104
The project proposed by The Sanneh Foundation (Sanneh) combines career exploration with local employers, tangible work experience, social capital building developmental relationships, and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into a comprehensive year-long youth workforce development program. Minnesota has one of the largest opportunity gaps in the nation by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). This project will target this well-documented opportunity gap, and benefit diverse youth and emerging adults of all genders from low-income families and communities of color between the ages of 16 and 24.
Certification Letter
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee
Project: North End Community Center
$8,000,000
City of Saint Paul, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd, Saint Paul, MN 55102
The funding would be used to complete construction of the North End Community Center and provide state-of-the-art amenities to encourage social and physical activity including multi-purpose community rooms, a teaching kitchen, youth and teen rooms, a gymnasium, dance room, fitness room, and outdoor courtyard. The park improvements include a multi-sport artificial turf field, sepak takraw/badminton courts, basketball courts, picnic areas, a paved community plaza, and open green space.
Certification Letter
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee
Project: Ordway Center for Performing Arts Facilities Improvement
$3,930,000
The Ordway Center for Performing Arts, 345 Washington Street, St. Paul, MN 55102
The funding would be used to replace the roof above the Ordway’s Music Theater, upgrade its lighting infrastructure, and install LED light fixtures.
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee
Project: Playwrights’ Center
$4,450,000
Playwrights’ Center, 2340 Myrtle Avenue/710 Raymond Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55114
The funding would be used for redesign and renovation of the existing structure. This includes buildout of technology-enabled classrooms; multi-purpose space; a multi-use 150-seat lab theater; a flexible rehearsal studio; adaptable writing spaces; public/community gathering spaces; a commercial kitchen; new roof and HVAC/electrical systems; an elevator; A/V systems; landscaping; storm water management; labor and materials, etc.