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09.e2 State Bonding Lobbying Proposal - Libby Law Office PROPOSAL TO CITY OF SCANDIA March 9, 2022 “Building Trust One Conversation at a Time” Libby Law Office 855 Rice Street St. Paul, MN 55117 OVERVIEW Libby Law Office submits this proposal to represent the interest of the City of Scandia in its development of a legislative advocacy program for capital funding improvements with the Gateway Trail and a local wastewater system. It is our understanding that the City is looking for advocacy representation during the current legislative session, which will end no later than May 23, 2022 unless the work is extended by a special session. Time is of the essence and much work needs to be accomplished if we are to achieve success. We have the advocacy and professional skills to get these projects in the queue for consideration. They are quality projects and very similar to projects that have been funded in the past. However, our assessment is that some of the initiatives may not be funded in the 2022 capital investment bill because the demand for these statewide funds is always greater than the resources available. Alternative funding sources should be considered. We believe it is beneficial to explore a variety of state sources for funding. In addition to the state general obligation bonding grants program, it would be practical to fully explore the use of State Legacy funds including Parks and Trails funding, Clean Water Fund Grants, LCCMR Grants, and Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund Grants. This approach would allow the City to extend its financial resources to consider additional projects, such as the last segment of the Gateway Trail. Educating legislators about the importance of these projects to the Scandia community, the region and the State, is our expertise. The staff in our firm have the political and state government skills necessary to achieve your construction grant goals. We have been successfully securing state government support for capital projects for over 40 years. For the past several months, we have worked with the Scandia Heritage Alliance on their proposal for state bond funds. STRATEGY The scope of these proposed projects has already been identified, which is critical to eventual success. There may be a need to prepare additional legislative materials that will fully explain the benefits and cost impact, as well as to provide background to legislative authors and other potential state agency funders. It is also essential to work with key City staff to develop the action steps required to achieve success. The gathering of information, the timing of presentations, and the development of materials for “leave behinds” are crucial. More details are provided in the scope of work section of this proposal. We envision a team approach including Libby Law staff, City staff, and leaders of local advocacy organizations coming together with the vital resources to make our collective efforts more productive. As a matter of convenience, we have broken down essential activities that must happen on both the local and state government level. . SCOPE OF WORK AND COMMUNICATION PLAN 1. Identify state legislative funding opportunities (i.e., capital bonding, direct appropriations, grant funding, etc.) that may assist the City in funding the proposed local improvement projects; 2. Work with the City Council, City Administrator, and advocacy groups to develop positions on relevant legislation, as appropriate. 3. Provide assistance to the Mayor, City Council, staff, and community supporters in arranging lobbying visits as necessary to help ensure productive meetings. 4. Draft legislation and amendments, as necessary; 5. Lobby for the City’s position on legislation and regulatory matters of interest, including: a. Direct contact and communication with state legislators and staff on behalf of the City; b. Direct contact and communication with state agencies on behalf of the City; c. Direct contact and communication with associations and other special interest groups that may have similar interests; d. Provide advice, and review letters of support and talking points on legislation as necessary; e. Help in arranging testimony for the City at hearings before legislative and interim legislative committees; f. Maintain close working relationships with the Mayor, City Council and City Administrator; g. Provide regular briefing reports for the Mayor, City Council and City Administrator on key issues and legislative committee activity during the legislative session (periodically in person as requested). 6. Assist the City in pursuing funding opportunities after the end of the regular legislative session, including during special legislative sessions in 2022, and through state-funded grant processes such as the Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Committee (LSOHC), and the Public Facilities Authority (PFA). TIMELINE Rest assured, every effort will be put forth to get these projects successfully funded in the 2022 Capital Investment Bonding cycle. Nevertheless, immediate success is by no means assured. If our 2022 session efforts are not successful, the City of Scandia is well-positioned for success in 2023-2024. The House of Representatives, Senate, and the Governor are up for re-election in November 2022. The party that wins the majorities will control the House and Senate. They will also select the next Chair of the Capital Investment Committees and the membership of those committees. Although which party is in charge will be known the day after the election, leadership determinations and committee membership will not be finalized until December 2022. These committees will remain viable through 2024 and will make the decisions as to which projects are funded. Consequently, there will be more time to develop and implement a more comprehensive strategy for the next cycle, if needed. An important step in the bonding cycle is to submit detailed project information to MMB. The next annual deadline for local governments to submit this information will be in June 2022. Libby Law Office would work with city officials for this application and develop a strategy to meet this deadline. By submitting the required information in June 2022, success is much more likely in 2023-2024. The application period for the other state grant opportunities, such those available through Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), is also based on annual deadlines that lead up to the legislative session. Year-round work to keep track of relevant grant application deadlines is critical to success. Your funding requests are part of a capital investment process that will have several activities occurring at different times. There are many steps to the state process, and some will take more time than others. The City of Scandia is in good legislative shape because area legislators have already introduced bills to accomplish your goals. FEES The schedule for some legislative-funded processes, such as the Legislative Citizens Committee on Minnesota Resoures (LCCMR), the legacy-funded Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Committee (LSOHC), and the Public Facilities Authority (PFA) varies based on the annual funding cycles of those organizations.. Should the legislative initiative for the Gateway Trail and the sewer project extend beyond the 2022 session, Libby Law would continue working on these initiatives going forward. Therefore, we propose a fee of $2,400 per month, payable in monthly installments commencing in March 2022 and going through May 2023 for a total of $36,000. If the city receives legislative funding for all its requested projects in the 2022 legislative session, and declines to pursue any additional projects, the contract could be cancelled after four months, with a total fee of $9,600, ending June 30, 2022. KEY PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE Bill Strusinski and Les Heen will be taking the lead on this initiative and will be directly involved in all discussions with the City of Scandia, executive branch agencies and members and staff of the Minnesota legislature. OUR PHILOSOPHY We try to approach problem solving by employing the most effective and least costly approach for our clients. We employ a collaborative style in working with clients in order to make certain the priorities of the client are fully accommodated and achieved. This approach enables us to take advantage of the expertise of each associate on our team and to maximize the client’s professional staff resources available to work in specific issue areas. We sort through issues together, so we can clearly identify all of the factors necessary to best protect and advance the interests of the client. The legal and lobbying successes we have achieved are based on a clear understanding of the law, the legislative process and the regulatory process. We believe in the importance of participatory government which affords all parties the opportunity to be represented on all major issues affecting their interests. We are experienced in presenting new ideas and resolving complex problems. We know how to translate concepts and issues into legislation, and we know how to develop strategies that lead to success. In lobbying we build bridges with political leaders and government officials to gain their respect and meet the needs of our clients. Our credibility is always on the line, so we approach all issues in a constructive manner that maximizes our vast knowledge base of public policy and the complexities of the legislative process. We know the players, we know the rules, and we know how to negotiate for the best results. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND OUTCOMES Libby Law Office has experience working with local government units and nonprofits partnering with cities. For example, Libby Law worked with the City of St. Paul and Twin Cities PBS on a successful strategy to secure $9 million in state bond funds in 2014. Libby Law worked with City of Bemidji and Lakeland PBS to secure $3 million in state bonding in 2012. In November 2021, the City of Mounds View approved hiring Libby Law for a bonding proposal now in the planning stages. Other examples of relevant experience, specifically in the past five years, include: Cloquet Fire District: Successfully lobbied for changes in state tax law to establish a process for formation of local fire districts (2021). Pioneer PBS: Successfully lobbied for $1.95 in general fund appropriations to for equipment to finish a public television construction project (2017). KSMQ Public Media: Successfully lobbied for $2.5 million in bonding for a new public television station in Austin, Minnesota (2018). Friends of Minnesota Public Television: Successfully lobbied for $15 million in appropriation bonds for public television equipment at stations across the state (2020). OUR STAFF AND QUALIFICATIONS Libby Law Office has extensive legislative lobbying experience in Minnesota. We have worked with state government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local governments for decades. During the past decade, our work with nonprofit clients working capital bonding has included working with cities as fiscal partners. This work includes partnerships in Bemidji, Austin, and St. Paul, to name a few. We have also assisted our clients in seeking additional funding to reach their capital improvements goals. This includes reaching out to state and federal agencies to seek additional funding. Our work has also included creative solutions to local infrastructure challenges. In our work with Johnson Controls, we showed local governments that it is possible to finance long- term improvements through energy savings, thus saving local governments the burden of additional debt. Bill Strusinski, has over 45 years of state government lobbying experiences. In 1973, he joined the staff of Governor Wendell Anderson. In 1975, the Governor appointed Bill to the position of Deputy Commissioner of the State Department of Administration. As Deputy Commissioner, he was responsible for the daily operations of the State Building Code, State Architects Office, Central Motor Pool, Purchasing and five other divisions that provided general support services to all state agencies. He was also responsible for all state construction for five years and was the Governor’s lead advocate to secure legislative support for over $1 Billion in state capital investment projects. In 1978, Governor Rudy Perpich appointed him as the Commissioner of Administration. He also served two years in the Administration of Governor Quie before leaving state government service to form his lobbying firm. Since his early days in State Government, Bill has developed expertise in building and construction regulations, government finance and tax policy, public health policy, capital investment (bonding projects) and business regulation. He continues to work extensively with the major business regulatory (commerce), legacy, environment, finance, capital investment and tax committees in the Legislature and understands their impact on operating a small business and individuals. Bill has been involved in politics and an active participant in legislative activities since 1972. He is one of the most seasoned and senior lobbyists at the State Capitol. He has received numerous awards recognizing his professional abilities including being named as one of the top ten lobbyists in Minnesota by the Star Tribune Newspaper. Les Heen began working on the Minnesota State Senate staff in 1990, producing and anchoring regional television programs for Senate Media Services. Later that year, he became a committee administrator for Senator LeRoy Stumpf and worked on a wide variety of issues for the Senator’s northwestern Minnesota district. His work included organizing legislative capital investment tours, and reviewing capital investment proposals for the state’s higher education systems while Senator Stumpf served as Chair of the Senate Higher Education Funding Division. As Legislative Network Director for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association starting in 1996, Les directed efforts to make University supporters a powerful force at the State Capitol. In 1998, his grassroots organizing played a major role in securing $242 million for University capital investment projects. Les later worked on statewide communications and legislative initiatives for Minnesota Farmers Union, and served as a guest lecturer for organizations seeking to improve legislative relations. Most recently, Les served for 13 years as President and General Manager of Pioneer PBS—the regional PBS station for southwestern and west central Minnesota. In this role, he testified many times before legislative committees on public television initiatives and worked to secure a $1.95 million legislative appropriation for equipment at Pioneer’s new Granite Falls headquarters. CONCLUSION Libby Law Office and its government affairs professionals have a proven track record and more than 90 years of experience in representing clients at the Capitol. We are in the business of building bridges and helping organizations influence policymakers. We are seasoned veterans at presenting new and innovative ideas and solving complex problems. We are familiar with the process, legislators and administration officials, and have the ability to open doors and assure input into state level public policy development. We believe this proposal articulates a plan for success and accommodates the advocacy needs of the City of Scandia for its planned improvement projects. What we enjoy most about lobbying is using our wealth of experience, knowledge, and contacts in the public and private sectors to successfully represent our clients.