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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 17 - Old Village-Authorize Feasiblity Report AGENDA MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMUNICATION -- page 1 -- DATE: July 1, 2014 REGULAR ITEM # 17 AGENDA ITEM: Old Village Phase 1 Street and Utility Improvements – Authorize Preparation of a Feasibility Report SUBMITTED BY: Jack Griffin, City Engineer THROUGH: Dean A. Zuleger, City Administrator REVIEWED BY: Ryan Stempski, Assistant City Engineer Cathy Bendel, Finance Director Nick Johnson, City Planner SUGGESTED ORDER OF BUSINESS: - Introduction of Item .................................................................................. City Engineer - Report/Presentation………………………………………… .................. City Engineer - Questions from Council to Staff ............................................. Mayor Facilitates - Public Input, if Appropriate………………………………….Mayor Facilitates - Call for Motion ............................................................... Mayor & City Council - Discussion ....................................................................... Mayor & City Council - Action on Motion .................................................................... Mayor Facilitates POLICY RECOMMENDER: Engineering FISCAL IMPACT: $20,700. If authorized, FOCUS Engineering Inc. will prepare a feasibility report in a not to exceed amount of $20,700 for the Old Village Phase 1 Street and Utility Improvements. If the improvements are ordered, the report costs will be charged against the project fund and become assessable to the benefiting properties. Should the project not be constructed, the report costs cannot be assessed. City Council Meeting [Regular Agenda Item 17] July 1, 2014 -- page 2 -- SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED: The City Council is respectfully requested to consider approving Resolution No. 2014-57, Ordering Preparation of Feasibility Report. The recommended motion for this action is as follows: “Move to approve Resolution No. 2014-57, Ordering preparation of a Feasibility Report for the Old Village Phase 1 Street and Utility Improvements in a not to exceed amount of $20,700.” LEGISLATIVE HISTORY/BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Over the past six months, the City of Lake Elmo and Washington County have been working jointly on the Lake Elmo Avenue (County Road 17) Corridor Management and Safety Improvement Project to improve Lake Elmo Avenue from 30th Street to Trunk Highway 5 while extending sanitary sewer service into the Downtown Village area. While Washington County is the lead agency for the project, each entity will be responsible for sharing in the project costs. At the April 8 Transportation Workshop, the project team presented a proposed utility and project phasing plan that would phase the improvements over the 2015 and 2016 construction seasons. In 2015, street, drainage and utility improvements, including the extension of sanitary sewer service, would be completed along 30th Street from the Reid Park lift station to Lake Elmo Avenue, then north along Lake Elmo Avenue to the north side of the UP Railroad, then east along Upper 33rd Street to Laverne Avenue, then north along Laverne Avenue to Trunk Highway 5. Then in 2016, street, drainage and utility improvements would be constructed along Lake Elmo Avenue from the UP Railroad to Trunk Highway 5 together with Downtown streetscape improvements (see attached project Location Map). Consistent with most public street and utility improvement projects the use of special assessments has been identified as one of the available funding mechanisms for the improvements, where the benefiting properties are specially assessed all or a portion of the cost of the improvement, pursuant to the City’s Special Assessment Policy and Minnesota Statues, Chapter 429. In order to maintain special assessments as a viable funding alternative, the City Council must direct the preparation of a feasibility report meeting the statutory process for public improvements that are specially assessed. The report will advise on the scope of recommended improvements along each corridor, provide estimated project costs of the City cost share for the recommended improvements, identify easement and right-of-way, permits, and other requirements of other local agencies needed to implement the improvements, recommend whether the improvements should be made as proposed or in connection with some other improvement, and advise if the improvements are necessary, cost effective, and feasible. The Report will also provide a proposed preliminary assessment roll for each of the benefitting properties based upon the City’s Special Assessment Policy for Local Improvements, dated June 2014. It is anticipated that a Council workshop will City Council Meeting [Regular Agenda Item 17] July 1, 2014 -- page 3 -- be necessary once a draft preliminary assessment roll has been developed in order to address the more unique assessment aspects for a Downtown revitalization type project. The report will address street, drainage and utility improvements for the following alignments: • 30th Street North, from the Reid Park lift station to Lake Elmo Avenue. • Lake Elmo Avenue from 30th Street to Upper 33rd Street. • Upper 33rd Street North, from Lake Elmo Avenue to Laverne Avenue North. • Laverne Avenue North, from Upper 33rd Street North to Trunk Highway 5. Utility improvements will address both sanitary sewer service to replace individual on-site treatment systems, and replacement of aging watermain infrastructure. Costs will be developed in conjunction with Washington County and their consultants and the Washington County cost participation policy will be used to identify the City cost share for the improvements along the County road system. Streetscape improvements (landscaping, street lighting, etc.) together with other ancillary costs such as overhead utilities are not included in the scope of this report since these project components are being developed under a separate contract. However, it is anticipated that the total project costs for these additional improvements may need to be incorporated as part of the project assessment policy and preliminary assessment roll and carried forward as part of a joint improvement hearing process. RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending that the City Council authorize FOCUS Engineering, Inc. to prepare a Feasibility Report for the Old Village Phase 1 Street and Utility Improvements in the estimated amount of $20,700. The recommended motion for this action is as follows: “Move to approve Resolution No. 2014-57, Ordering preparation of a Feasibility Report for the Old Village Phase 1 Street and Utility Improvements in a not to exceed amount of $20,700.” ATTACHMENT(S): 1. Resolution No. 2014-57, Ordering Preparation of a Feasibility Report. 2. Project Location Map. 3. Project Schedule.