The Bloomington City Council is set to approve a resolution on Monday, Oct. 26, that authorizes the city to apply for and sign a grant agreement with the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority. The same resolution makes "related budget adjustments." The item is No. 3.5 on the consent agenda, which is the list of routine business the council usually passes in a single vote with no discussion.
The published agenda gives a title and nothing else: no project, no dollar amount, no explanation of the budget changes. The most likely candidate is the North Central Sanitary Sewer Project. It is the kind of grant the authority hands out. That link is an inference, though, and the agenda doesn't confirm it.
Here's the background. In February 2025, a capital investment bill, HF 1280, proposed giving $13 million in state bond money to the Public Facilities Authority for a grant to Bloomington. The money would go to sewer improvements "to facilitate increased sanitary sewer capacity needs in north central Bloomington, including the Penn American District." Lawmakers ended up approving less. The city said in August that it had won $4 million in state bonding money for the North Central Sanitary Sewer Project in May.
That project is the big dig, mostly underground, that people around I-35W and I-494 have been driving past. The city says the plan calls for 13,330 feet of 24-inch sanitary sewer pipe running from American Boulevard and Morgan Avenue to Syndicate Avenue and West 92nd Street. That includes a crossing under I-35W just south of the 35W/494 interchange. The new line is meant to keep up with the housing and mixed-use projects filling in the Penn American District. Design started in 2025, and the city says construction will continue through 2026 and 2027.
According to the city's project page, the route runs east on American Boulevard from near Knox Avenue, south on Irving Avenue, under I-35W, down Fremont Avenue, and then east on West 92nd Street. Crews are using trenchless installation to limit disruption. The city says the sewer work carries no special assessments. The page doesn't list a total project cost.
Why does a grant agreement matter if the state already approved the money? State bonding dollars don't just land in the city's account. A city usually has to apply to the administering agency and sign a contract before it can draw the funds. Approving the resolution would also update the city budget so the state money shows up on the books.
Next up: the council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, in Council Chambers at Civic Plaza, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road. The meeting streams live on Bloomington TV and the city's YouTube channel. Unless a council member pulls the item for discussion, it will pass with the rest of the consent agenda. We'll update this story if the staff report or the council's action names a different project or a dollar amount.
To weigh in, residents can speak at the podium or call 1-415-655-0001 (access code 2630 962 1568#, password 102626#) and press *3 to raise a hand. Project questions go to civil engineer Darin Rezac at 952-563-4540 or [email protected].
