Minnesota lawmakers are close to agreement on a deal that would provide the Mayo Clinic in Rochester with $400 million in state subsidies for infrastructure improvements as the medical giant makes a $6 billion expansion in the next 20 years, reports the Rochester Post-Bulletin.
The paper says lawmakers have cut down the state's share of the subsidy from the original $585 million, while city and county taxpayers will pay more.
State money would be used for transit, parking ramps, an atrium and land development, to help leverage the private money used for the medical center's expansion.
In the current configuration, three groups would have oversight of the project, the paper said:
- A private, nonprofit organization that would handle day-to-day activities.
- That organization would be monitored by a public, eight-member board that includes Rochester's mayor, one representative from the Rochester City Council, one from the Olmsted County Board, one from Mayo Clinic and four individuals appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Minnesota Senate.
- If that board approves a project, it would then go to the Rochester City Council for final approval.
State Sen. Dave Senjem, a Republican from Rochester who is sponsoring the bill, told the paper:
"It feel enormously good right now. I will feel better when it's signed and sealed and everybody has put their thumbprint on it."