Golden Valley Company has Message for Govenor

February 13, 2008
By Sean Ryan, Channel 12 News

Having spent 13 years doing construction work primarily on government projects, Bret Weiss, president of Golden Valley-based WSB & Associates, Inc., has a message for the governor.

"By not having a stable source of funding, it's more difficult for us to plan for investment in our companies, in our communities and in the state of Minnesota," said Weiss.

Wednesday, in his sixth State of State address, Governor Tim Pawlenty said he would veto any DFL-sponsored transportation bill that includes a tax increase. But Weiss says something must be done, or construction jobs are headed out of state.

Pawlenty objects to the gas tax increase as well as other user fees in the transportation bill proposed Tuesday. Weiss says it's a price Minnesotans should be willing to pay.

“Having a gas tax or a sales tax increase is not just a cost," he says, "but it's an investment in the future of Minnesota."

Weiss's company has done major projects in the northwest metro, including the Boone Avenue and Hwy. 55 intersection. Without funding, Weiss says the state will lose resources, like his company. He points to Osseo-based Barbarossa and Sons, Inc., a construction company that closed its doors due to lack of work, as one of the casualties of poor funding.

"There are huge consequences. A lot of construction companies are going out of business and a lot of jobs are being lost as a result of not having a stable source of funding," Weiss said. "If you help us build our industry here, we'll help export our expertise to other states and we'll bring those jobs back to the state."

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