05-11-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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A recent curveball we need to deal with is the result of our last on-site visit at each crossing with MnDot and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) officials. (This was the 2nd on-site review and MnDot did not attend the first one back in December of 2013.) MnDot made a number of recommendations about median installation at a number of crossings. These changes added over $100,000 to project costs and create a number of challenges regarding median impact on abutting properties (see detailed cost estimate attached). According to Dave McKenzie of SEII, Inc., we do not need to implement all of these additional roadway improvements to meet FRA scoring requirements for the establishment of a Quiet Zone. By not making all of the improvements at this time, we run the "risk" that should conditions change (accident data, traffic counts, train counts, etc.), we may have to make changes in the future to maintain Quiet Zone Status. Per Mr. McKenzie: "The other roadway improvements are for increased awareness but they do not help the risk index numbers directly." He went on to say that we do need to make improvements on either County Road B or B2 to meet the scoring criteria. This statement is consistent with our past assumptions of a 4 -quadrant gate at Woodlyn and road improvements on County Road B. My recommendation is to only install road improvements on either County Road B or B2 to minimize costs, impacts to adjoining properties, and to avoid the negative aesthetic impact the medians and signage create. Our original plan of County Road B has the least cost impact, but it is problematic due to driveway impacts on the Maplewood side of the street, County Road B2 will cost more and it also has negative driveway impacts plus it impacts our turn lane created when we reconstructed the road a few years ago. Finally, the attached agreements are not necessarily in final form. MnDot continues to make changes given they did not have a template for this type of agreement (5i). In their defense, no quiet zones have been funded in this manner and it has caused them difficulties in complying with Minnesota Management and Budget to ensure compliance with bond fund expenditure requirements. Staffs recommendation is to authorize the Mayor and City Administrator to execute the agreements with MnDot and the railroad while allowing us to make minor modifications to the agreement with the approval of the City Attorney. (The City of Shoreview recently took this same step.) By expediting the approval, we stand a better chance of seeing the Quiet Zones implemented this year. However, that is still not a certainty given railroad work scheduling demands. Again, funding will be provided pursuant to the Grant Agreement with the State of Minnesota, up to the $1,250,000 amount. Any funding beyond that level will come from our Infrastructure Replacement Fund #450, We will also continue discussions with neighboring communities (Maplewood & Roseville) about their willingness to participate in our out of pocket expenses.