Montevideo vet home planned

Plans to build additional “Veterans Homes” in Minnesota got a boost by the Minnesota Legislature last week.
The omnibus bonding bill, which Governor Mark Dayton has signed, puts aside $32 million for creating three new veterans homes in Bemidji, Montevideo and Preston.
Currently there are homes in Fergus Falls, Minneapolis, Silver Bay, Hastings and Luverne.
Each of the proposed homes with a maximum of 72 beds will need to clear a number of hurdles to open its doors.
But the state funding is a major achievement in the process.
It’s expected two-thirds of the funding will have to come from the federal governemtn for the homes.
Each project has until next April to submit an application for the matching federal money.
Applications for the veterans homes will compete with applications from across the United States. The government has a priority list.
“There are probably 60 or 70 projects on the federal list that would be ahead of any Minnesota project at this time,” said Ben Johnson, legislative director for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs.
Projects that get a number one priority listing are likely to be funded.
The Federal Government “sweetened the pot” for funding of such projects this past year when President Donald Trump increased funding up to $575 million to go toward state veterans homes.
“It’s the most money the state government has ever put aside for veterans home construction,” said Johnson.
Minneota’s bonding bill allocates $9.4 million to the Montevideo project — less than to the other two.
Johnson indicated the good news is the state funding wil allow the three sites to do pre-design work, meaning the cities can hire professionals to do the preliminary work of creating a solid application.
The Montevideo project has been 11 years in the making. Apparently the city has over $5 in local funds, but it’s not certain if those are actual funds or pledges.
Minnesota is allowed 1,058 beds for ceterans homes, according to the Federal government. There are 824 in use at the existing veteran homes — meaning there are 234 left to be developed.
Also good news was the fact the legislation requires the state pay for operating the homes. A state commitmen to operate the homes is a requirement for federal funding.