East Grand Forks Wants Minnesota To Provide More Funding for Dike

CHICAGO - East Grand Forks, Minn., may get state aid to cover its remaining share of the cost of a new $350 million dike designed to prevent future flooding. But it won't come until next year, when lawmakers take up new bonding projects, Gov. Jesse Ventura said last week after touring the area.

It's a pressing issue - made more urgent by the fact that the Red River's waters are rising again. The City Council called a special meeting on Thursday to declare a state of emergency because the river was expected to crest at 45 feet. Flood stage is 28 feet.

East Grand Forks and Grand Forks, N.D., which is on the other side of the river, were devastated by floods in 1997. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to build a 14-mile dike system to minimize future damage.

The federal government is contributing $176 million, and Grand Forks has proposed covering its $115 million share through a combination of city and state bond sales.

East Grand Forks must ante up about $59 million, and the state has already agreed to provide about $43 million. But city officials want the state to pick up the full tab because they contend that residents - still paying for repairs from the 1997 floods - can't afford a property tax increase to raise the $16 million.

Ventura said during the tour that the issue should be addressed in the next biennial bonding bill, not the current budget. "The governor said he thinks it should be in the bonding bill, where it's paid off over a longer period of time rather than putting it on the backs of taxpayers in one year," a press aide said.

Officials had hoped the money would be included in Ventura's current budget proposal. That's because the federal government has set an October deadline for the cities to line up their funding sources. "We're banking on the state," said city clerk Dave Mack. "We can't afford it, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that the governor will come up with some type of commitment before next year."