[{"_1":2,"_108":-5,"_109":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86,98],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6518047,"mediaKeyId","5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a","parentId",5399533,"title","Votes at a glance: Consent agenda and exhibition-center contracts approved","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",988000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a&start=988&end=988","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a/thumbnail_988000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6518047/Olmsted-County/Minnesota/Votes-at-a-glance-Consent-agenda-and-exhibition-center-contracts-approved","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6518047-f9bd702fb8401d747cde1caf664a761f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770623182&Signature=GCV~8n~xlkaAwcuIUZNuYmYkdnrtl~ixyMHsUOEmluHdDz9EmLRZ~USEZ6Meth4OgWG9jC~6cAb8BQAvPaXnL~tRbp1T76gr5tWLmv1QLt55LMs6lCYWILyDVwH1c8VlLkYeivqdDGuLxF7y2vPxtprhUUuhh2VpteixXItSfshpCxVSdw-vjodOT91ng~~IaVR8YrH0vKjFEI3WgLzdff9N5cfgz6~~foykGdN-mgHFHUSCeaFzYL9Cv2gj18fnGYMlHaU1fB9ZmSi6xbBoMc2hJIQQhsOfDQeSgIyeXlJVsE2X7nPQ~v0T0KDTONypPKP-XJZGAjgzRnU5AJYNBQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Olmsted County","date","2025-07-16T00:00:00Z","article","The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners approved the consent agenda and separately approved awarding three prime contracts for construction of the Graham Park Exhibition Center.

Consent agenda items (as read on the record) included: approval of June 17 board minutes; gambling permits for Stewartville Sportsman's Club and a Rochester-area builders raffle; acceptance of a Community Living Infrastructure grant award; approval of a DNR agreement amendment (language read as \"approve a bend to DNR agreement\" in the transcript); adoption of amendments to the joint powers agreement for the Region 1 Southeast Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management joint powers entity; award of a contract for \"C25-22 County State Highway 222\"; and adoption of recent fee changes to state WellCore function fees as directed by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The board then approved a motion to award three prime contracts for the Graham Park Exhibition Center (general, mechanical and electrical). The transcript records motions, seconds and voice votes but does not include individual, named roll-call tallies for either the consent agenda vote or the contract awards; the chair called for ayes and the motions carried.

Notes: The transcript provides the consent-agenda line items verbatim; where the transcript did not specify contract or grant numbers or exact dollar amounts, this article reports those items as \"not specified\". The exhibition-center contract awards were discussed in more detail in a separate presentation and vote (see separate article).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Olmsted County Board of Commissioners July 16, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At the June 24 Olmsted County Board meeting the board approved the consent agenda and voted to award three prime contracts for the Graham Park Exhibition Center; individual roll-call tallies were not provided on the record.","taxTitle","Olmsted County, Minnesota","taxId",3597,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6518052,"County legislative analyst summarizes 2025 session outcomes, highlights wins and shortfalls for Olmsted County",1778,3195000,4973000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a&start=3195&end=4973","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a/thumbnail_3195000.jpg","/articles/6518052/Olmsted-County/Minnesota/County-legislative-analyst-summarizes-2025-session-outcomes-highlights-wins-and-shortfalls-for-Olmsted-County","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6518052-a8f1710b82a46e2d4b3af2c49d79a3eb/orig.mp4?Expires=1770623182&Signature=YgX2Zf5rKgLXYwz4-ZdF-4snlX-NaheZvUqxNfhKFSeHhMb0Rx~bWZWrHR-qvIOw8DtdmlsfZ541ewpKnvHlqHDWmSLym5kKDDvMTtwLVAMNedOAPB6SDttRPpFCUe7rxDWH-lNJ6DmNpgbLYCL10FALIGU0NKzSiU5gbw4ZUUBli7EUlfwEQO8jaG19HtOD5XbYx88FDD~hBgyUKAVzmkzmn4Cn2bEffT32T5fdo6czpD~b9p9TSZwLY~U56cMGzx47qG8d98UGMUs9yE9-CV6j5t5rOGgagNI82ICdwwhupmaatpBez3yIGLyJ7nntTjDs0U4jQ4TiGKtsZMET7w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jennifer Birquam, legislative and policy analyst for Olmsted County, presented a summary of the 2025 Minnesota legislative session and how it affected county priorities.

Birquam said the legislature passed a roughly $66 billion two-year state budget and a $700 million capital bonding bill in a year she described as fiscally constrained. She reported mixed results for Olmsted County priorities: several requests received positive hearings but local capital projects were not included in the bonding bill this year.

Key items summarized by Birquam:
- Regional materials recovery facility (MRF): Olmsted County sought $19,375,000; local projects were not included in the bonding bill and the request was not funded.
- Interstate/interchange design (County State Aid Highway 3 and 5/CASA W interchanges): hearings held; funding not secured.
- Southeast Regional Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Initiative: $75,000 was included for a study at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) level but the larger $9 million implementation request was not funded; county staff will continue pursuit through other grant channels.
- Graham Park Exhibition Center sales-tax exemption: would have been an estimated $1,000,000 in savings to the county; it was not included in tax bill changes.
- Mental-health capacity: the legislature appropriated funds totaling roughly $75 million to expand state-operated adult mental-health capacity (Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center expansion funding was split across bills and included capital and operating components); counties continue to follow costs and cost-share issues.
- Human-services technology (SSIS) modernization: $35 million was appropriated to improve the Social Service Information System, adding to prior investments and anticipated federal match.

Birquam also reviewed cost-shift proposals that did not pass in their most severe forms and described an advisory council the legislature established to identify savings in long-term services and supports; she noted potential county exposure if identified savings are not realized by December 2026. She outlined changes to shotgun hunting law repeal language that allows counties south of the prior shotgun-only line to adopt local ordinances restricting firearm types for deer hunting.

Birquam said the county will continue refining 2026 priorities, pursue congressional directed-spending requests submitted for the MRF and highway interchanges, and coordinate with county associations on implementation issues.

Why it matters: the session shaped county capital and program funding prospects, affected county service budgets and left several local requests to pursue in next legislative cycle.","Jennifer Birquam, Olmsted County legislative and policy analyst, summarized the 2025 state legislative session outcomes and their implications for county priorities including bonding requests, mental-health capacity and human services technology modernization.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_46":92,"_48":93,"_50":94,"_52":95,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":96,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":97,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6518057,"Rochester administrator briefs Olmsted County on downtown construction, transit and housing plans",2986,208000,3194000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a&start=208&end=3194","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a/thumbnail_208000.jpg","/articles/6518057/Olmsted-County/Minnesota/Rochester-administrator-briefs-Olmsted-County-on-downtown-construction-transit-and-housing-plans","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6518057-024b8ca8b06de3368106f1c92cc9b041/orig.mp4?Expires=1770623182&Signature=kRnrOLU3daFcIDNpbb~NAnVcFu3HhezwCjdVJRyMBaC5a-85ozhqKmPciSjuW2lhH9yFVjtwyYzZ0yHcVIkc4GZwG4r8jrpclOMoNLRmXhVb1Wk16qun89qwDAy~cPJtNAspO-z4e8K6NZH~3JJ-gu7J6lH1pbU~DDFDOtpnot1bocUvZ~3Pmk1fl8KRbUmqQeq2R-RmOB5i-4zbOBpTX5h8BMHUmnZgLmuuqa2SZQtT7Dj1aNy2OSyGUhTFP4lTysN~iRvrpDxzT-NL2LMV0Lcu1Ihz6umHVHFSWWDJr4vEWWcyo-lFQ5QG2QMUk2ln-FmOcrLpXspt9y~U6Gy2wA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Allison Zellems, City of Rochester administrator, gave the Olmsted County Board an update on major downtown and citywide projects, saying the city is working to coordinate private and public investment and to reduce permitting delays for developers.

Zellems described a period of large private and public investment downtown — including the Bold Forward Unbound project and ongoing Mayo Clinic construction — and outlined city steps to manage the effect of simultaneous projects. She highlighted the city’s updated unified development code and said it has reduced the number of times developers must return to the elected body for approvals.

\"We update this website all the time, Downtown Rochester Construction Dot Org,\" Zellems told commissioners, referring to a public dashboard the city uses to publish two-week forecasts, printable maps and a virtual map of impacts. She said the city produces a one-page weekly update of road and pedestrian impacts and that the virtual map is adjusted as needed.

Zellems reviewed capital projects including the Sixth Street Riverfront improvements, Link Rapid Transit (operating roughly 5 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and every five minutes on peak segments), the McQuillan Splash Pad, and a regional sports and recreation complex under design. She said the city recorded a near-record year for building permits in 2024 and has added staff to speed plan review. \"We have added 15 staff members... Our most recent addition was an additional wastewater engineer,\" she said.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about traffic signage, coordination with MnDOT and Mayo Clinic, homelessness and worker housing. Commissioner Thomas recommended using variable message signage at highway exits to inform drivers of closures and detours; Zellems said she would pass the feedback to her team. On homelessness, Zellems said the city engages through library, parks, public safety and neighborhood services but that the city does not directly provide shelter services; she characterized further action as an elected-official policy decision.

Zellems and commissioners also discussed workforce and housing implications for the construction period; she estimated, based on ongoing project staggers, that daily construction worker counts in downtown could be in the hundreds to low thousands depending on phasing and contractor sourcing.

Why it matters: the city’s construction program and large private investments affect traffic, neighborhood life and county services. Zellems asked for continued coordination with the county and other partners as projects progress.","City of Rochester administrator Allison Zellems updated the county board on major downtown projects including Bold Forward Unbound, Link Rapid Transit, unified development code changes and construction coordination via DowntownRochesterConstruction.org.",{"_33":99,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":100,"_41":42,"_43":101,"_45":101,"_46":102,"_48":103,"_50":104,"_52":105,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":106,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":107,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6518062,"Olmsted County approves three prime contracts for Graham Park Exhibition Center",4155000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a&start=4155&end=4155","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5399533-46e48e9a7c0ca03794d36d9f5313475a/thumbnail_4155000.jpg","/articles/6518062/Olmsted-County/Minnesota/Olmsted-County-approves-three-prime-contracts-for-Graham-Park-Exhibition-Center","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6518062-e0ebb5e8ce35e2f4e0fd03d48673c07a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770623182&Signature=o8tTE1pj9aCZYkoz7-pP4r2kAHm7zX2Lx9d7VkLmcRH6IxAPudu64p7x49tURbVf7ZYkUXEoTCPsDfTfm~ERwXxhbUbuqvStlYQCjfEssiQRIw3NKWVy-RQVSKhHTEZH2xUtv8l0ncOscPVB8PriE8dSQU3oqUygoyVkPBMkEZ5qqpWMKk-099Ny4jc0nxl9VkqpNMGV~AzuLtx1VmXLLQhMNdhrAjM0JiqF6CGzcskbfofAaP3GmfbKP87P46wr5o-dKxhlZ5DgWoLCEUt0dDjugs~F4G3Is8Fd1Mo36qjFHYzul4JPRtXN6gK1uxYFW8pfak4QJnMzZ-6INdskUg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners voted to award three prime contracts for construction of the Graham Park Exhibition Center, moving the project into construction with interim milestones intended to deliver outdoor program areas before the 2026 county fair.

County staff presented the three bids under a best-value procurement that considered factors beyond price. \"We use the best value process for this solicitation, and what that allows us to do is evaluate contractors or vendors on more than just price,\" a county staff member told commissioners. Staff said price was a component of the evaluation but not the only scoring factor.

The staff presentation outlined the construction schedule: a groundbreaking in the next few weeks and substantial completion targeted around Jan. 1, 2027, with interim elements such as an activity pad and a program support plaza staged so portions can be used during the 2026 fair. \"Unfortunately, the Exhibition Center won't be ready before the 2026 fair, so it's gonna create some challenges for planning next year's fair,\" the staff member said.

A motion was made to approve the three separate contracts — general construction, mechanical, and electrical — as listed in the board packet. The motion was seconded and the board approved it. The board did not read a roll-call vote or provide an individual vote tally in the transcript; the board chair called for the ayes and the motion carried.

Why it matters: the exhibition center is a county capital project with a multi-year schedule and impacts to the county fair and downtown-area logistics. Awarding contracts starts the construction phase and sets interim delivery expectations intended to limit disruption to 2026 fair operations.

Details and next steps: staff indicated a near-term groundbreaking and noted interim milestones intended to make outdoor fair areas available in 2026. The board did not amend the contract awards during the meeting and no amendments were recorded.

Votes at the meeting were recorded as a motion, a second and the chair calling for ayes; the transcript does not include a roll-call tally or named vote record.","The Olmsted County Board voted to award three prime construction contracts for the Graham Park Exhibition Center and discussed schedule milestones intended to deliver portions of the site ahead of the 2026 fair.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Consent agenda and exhibition-center contracts approved

County legislative analyst summarizes 2025 session outcomes, highlights wins and shortfalls for Olmsted County

Rochester administrator briefs Olmsted County on downtown construction, transit and housing plans

Olmsted County approves three prime contracts for Graham Park Exhibition Center