Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 14 - Eagle Point Blvd-Authorize Feasiblity Report AGENDA MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMUNICATION -- page 1 -- DATE: January 20, 2015 REGULAR ITEM # 14 AGENDA ITEM: Eagle Point Boulevard Street Improvements – Authorize Preparation of 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 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: $11,000. If authorized, FOCUS Engineering Inc. will prepare a feasibility report in a not to exceed amount of $11,000 for the Eagle Point Boulevard Street 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. SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED: The City Council is respectfully requested to consider approving Resolution No. 2015-04, Ordering Preparation of a Feasibility Report for the Eagle Point Boulevard Street Improvements. The recommended motion for this action is as follows: City Council Meeting [Regular Agenda Item 14] January 20, 2015 -- page 2 -- “Move to approve Resolution No. 2015-04, Ordering preparation of a Feasibility Report for the Eagle Point Boulevard Street Improvements in a not to exceed amount of $11,000.” LEGISLATIVE HISTORY/BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Over the past few years the City has received complaints regarding the condition of Eagle Point Boulevard and received repeated requests to address the problems. Street pavement heaves during the winter creating a series of “bumps” at each crack in the roadway, approximately every 15 feet (see attached letter dated February 13, 2013 and email dated March 28, 2014). The street was built in 2001 and is only 14 years old. Staff has been in contact with the property owners and have indicated that a street reconstruction will be necessary to correct the issue. It is the City’s policy to assess 100% of the street improvement costs to commercial and facility properties. In 2013, a petition was received to pursue this improvement, however the City did not have sufficient bonding capacity to include the project in the CIP. In the fall 2014, the City cancelled the 2015 Street Improvement project, rescheduling each of the three neighborhood areas for improvement in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This change, along with other changes in the 2015-2019 CIP created bonding capacity to enable the City to pursue improvements to Eagle Point Boulevard in 2015. Therefore this improvement was included in the 2015 CIP adopted by the City Council in December 2014. After recently contacting the property owners, the City of Lake Elmo received a Petition, pursuant to Minnesota Statue 429, requesting street improvements along Eagle Point Boulevard from Inwood Avenue to Hudson Boulevard. The petition has been reviewed and certified by the City Clerk to represent at least 35% of the properties to be benefited by the requested improvements. Consistent with most public street improvement projects the use of special assessments has been identified as one of the available funding mechanisms for the improvements, where the benefitting property owners 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. Should the Council choose to accept the petition and authorize the Feasibility Report, the report will evaluate and consider a new street section for Eagle Point Boulevard. The Report will advise on the scope of recommended improvements along the corridor, provide estimated project costs 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 City Council Meeting [Regular Agenda Item 14] January 20, 2015 -- page 3 -- properties based upon the City’s Special Assessment Policy for Local Improvements dated June 2014. RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending that the City Council authorize FOCUS Engineering, Inc. to prepare a Feasibility Report for the Eagle Point Boulevard Street Improvements in a not to exceed amount of $11,000. The recommended motion for this action is as follows: “Move to approve Resolution No. 2015-04, Ordering preparation of a Feasibility Report for the Eagle Point Boulevard Street Improvements in a not to exceed amount of $11,000.” ATTACHMENT(S): 1. Resolution No. 2015-04, Ordering Preparation of a Feasibility Report. 2. Signed Petitions. 3. Location Map –Scope of Improvements. 4. Project Schedule. 5. Property owner pavement condition complaint correspondence.