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Home My WebLink About#09 - 15th St. N. Improvements State Aid STAFF REPORT DATE: May 21, 2024 CONSENT AGENDA ITEM: Approve Resolution Requesting a Variance from Standard for State Aid Operations for the 15th Street North Improvements SUBMITTED BY: Jack Griffin, City Engineer REVIEWED BY: Clark Schroeder, Interim City Administrator Clarissa Hadler, Finance Director Marty Powers, Public Works Director Chad Isakson, Assistant City Engineer ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: Should the City Council approve a resolution, requesting a variance from Minnesota Rules for State Aid Operation 8820.2800 subpart 2A for the 15th Street North Improvements? BACKGROUND: On May 7, 2024 the City Council accepted contractor bids and awarded a contract for the street improvements along 15th Street North, from Inwood Avenue to the Lake Elmo-Oakdale City limits. 15th Street North is a designated municipal state aid route and the project is proposed to be funded, in part, using $330,000 from the City’s municipal state aid construction funds. PROPOSAL DETAILS/ANALYSIS: Minnesota Rules for State Aid Operation 8820.2800 subpart 2A, Eligibility for Funding, requires all plans to be approved by the state-aid engineer before opening contractor bids to be eligible for state-aid construction funding. Although the City’s construction plans used for obtaining contractor bids did include all state aid review comments through Addendum #1, formal approval of the plans by the State Aid Engineer had not yet been received prior to the April 18, 2024 bid opening. Therefore, the City must apply for and receive a Variance to the State Aid Operations in order to maintain funding eligibility. The application packet for the Variance Committee must be submitted by June 3, 2024. FISCAL IMPACT: The post-bid total estimated project cost is $532,000. The improvements will be funded through a combination of Municipal State Aid Funds, in the amount of $330,000; Special Assessments, in the amount of $89,000, and General Tax levy funds in the amount of $113,000. Without an approved variance from the State Aid office, the Project will not be eligible to receive state aid funds. RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending that the City Council approve a Resolution, as part of the consent agenda, Requesting a Variance from Standard for State Aid Operation for the 15th Street North Improvements. If removed from the consent agenda, the recommended motion for this action is as follows: “Move to approve Resolution No. 2024-069, Requesting a Variance from Standard for State Aid Operation for the 15th Street North Improvements.” ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution Requesting a Variance from Standard for State Aid Operation for the 15th Street North Improvements. 2. Variance Application Packet. CITY OF LAKE ELMO WASHINGTON COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION NO. 2024-069 A RESOLUTION REQUESTING A VARIANCE FROM STANDARD FOR STATE AID OPERATIONS FOR THE 15TH STREET NORTH IMPROVEMENTS (PROJECT No. S.A.P. 206-110-002) WHEREAS, the City of Lake Elmo intends to improve the pavement surfaces in fiscal year 2024 along 15th Street North, from Inwood Avenue (CSAH 13) to the Lake Elmo/Oakdale City limits, and WHEREAS, the City of Lake Elmo prepared plans and specifications consisting of a full depth reclamation of the pavement surfaces along 15th Street North, Project S.A.P. 206-110-002, submitted the plans and specifications for State Aid review, incorporated State Aid review comments, received contractor bids for the improvements, and WHEREAS, Minnesota Rules for State Aid Operation 8820.2800 subpart 2A, Eligibility for Funding, requires final plans to be approved by the State Aid engineer before opening bids for the project; and WHEREAS, the reason for this variance requests is to comply with State Aid Rules regarding the sequence of approvals within MSA Rules. The project was let on April 18, 2024 prior to State Aid Approval on May 8, 2024, and WHEREAS, all plan changes requested by the State Aid engineer were incorporated into the plan set through addendum #1, and were therefore fully included in the plans used by contractors when submitting their bids, and NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Lake Elmo City Council does hereby request a variance from the Minnesota Department of Transportation State Aid Operations Rules Chapter 8820.2800 subpart 2A (Eligibility of Funding) to allow plan approval after letting of the project in lieu of plan approval prior to letting the project; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Lake Elmo City Council hereby indemnifies, saves and hold harmless the State of Minnesota and its agents and employees of and from claims, demands, actions, or causes of action arising out of or by reason of Project No. S.A.P. 206-110- 002 in accordance with Minnesota Rules 8820.2800 and further agrees to defend at their sole cost and expense any action or proceeding commenced for the purpose of asserting any claim arising as a result of the granting this variance. ADOPTED BY THE LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF MAY, 2024. CITY OF LAKE ELMO By: __________________________ Charles Cadenhead (Seal) Mayor ATTEST: ________________________________ Julie Johnson City Clerk June 29th, 2024 Kristine Elwood State Aid Engineer Minnesota Department of Transportation 395 John Ireland Blvd. MS 500 St. Paul, MN 55155 RE: LAKE ELMO PROJECT No. 2023-121 15TH Street North Improvements SAP 206-110-002  Approval – Variance Request from State Aid Operations Chapter 8820.2800 subpart 2A. Dear Ms. Elwood, Please accept this State Aid Variance request packet for consideration by the Variance Committee at the June 27, 2024 Variance Advisory Committee meeting.. The packet contains the necessary documentation to appropriately support the request for the variance noted above. The bid opening variance is sought for 15th Street North Improvements in Lake Elmo, which includes a full depth reclamation to improve pavement conditions. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact me at (651) 726-5040 or mark.rohweder@kljeng.com Sincerely, Mark Rohweder, P.E. Project Manager Enclosures Cc: Jack Griffin, PE, Lake Elmo City Engineer For more information visit: www.dot.state.mn.us/stateaid/variance.html Or contact: Mao Yang, MnDOT, 651‐366‐3840 Mao.Yang@state.mn.us 1 State Aid for Local Transportation 395 John Ireland Blvd. MS 500 St. Paul, MN 55155 Revision Date: 1/30/2020 Design Element Variance Justification Checklist This checklist should be completed and submitted with all required attachments to the State Aid for Local Transportation Division when a local agency has determined that a variance from Minnesota Rules 8820 for State Aid Operations Rules is justified. The following documents and information is needed when one or more variance requests is identified on a project. Note additional information may be requested by the Variance Advisory Committee after submittal of the checklist and attachments for their investigation. Ensure to check the box for items attached to this checklist and to respond to all questions. Where the question does not apply to the variance request or no impacts, note it in the field provided and give a brief explanation on how that was determined. 1. A variance request cover letter addressed to the State Aid Division Director 2. A formal written request in the form of a certified resolution from the responsible city council or county board that includes the following items. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1, item A a. Identification of the project by location and termini. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1, item B SAP/SP: 206‐110‐002 b. Cite the specific part or standard for which the variance is requested and describe the modification proposed. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1, item C Rule Design Element Request Select One Rule 8820.2800 Subp. 2.A. Bid opening prior to State Aid Appoval Select One Select One A typical resolution format is available on the State Aid Variance website. 3. Define the critical design element involved (i.e. not “Design Speed”): horizontal alignment (radius or degree of curvature), vertical alignment, grades, lane width, shoulder width, bridge width, structural capacity, stopping sight distance (horizontal and vertical), cross slope, super‐elevation, clearance (horizontal and vertical). NA For more information visit: www.dot.state.mn.us/stateaid/variance.html Or contact: Mao Yang, MnDOT, 651‐366‐3840 Mao.Yang@state.mn.us 2 4. For Complete Street consideration, are design elements from A Policy on Geometric Design of Highway Streets from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials being proposed for this variance request? MN Statutes, section 174.75, subdivision 5, MN Statues, section 162.02, subdivision 3a, MN Statutes, section 162.09, subdivision 3a No Yes Reference Page(s)/Table(s): 5. For Complete Street consideration, are design elements from Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities from the Institute of Transportation Engineers being proposed for this variance request? MN Statutes, section 174.75, subdivision 5 MN Statues, section 162.02, subdivision 3a, MN Statutes, section 162.09, subdivision 3a No Yes Reference Page(s)/Table(s): 6. Attach an index map of the project. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item A 7. Attach typical sections for the in‐place section(s) and proposed section(s). MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item B 8. Provide the reasons for the request. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item C The plan approval process and bid opening were not properly coordinated. Bid opening was completed prior to plan approval by MSA. 9. Include existing and projected traffic counts. Existing ADT: 4,003 Projected ADT: 5,070 10. Include legal and posted speeds of abutting roadway sections. 40 MPH 11. Provide information on the economic impacts which may result from the requested variance. For example compare the difference in cost to construct to standard versus the preferred alternative. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item D, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item A The City of Lake Elmo budget for this project included the MSA funds which are available in their construction acount. The City will experience financial short fall in their street maintenance and reconstuction budget without the use of the MSA funds. 12. Provide information on the social impacts which may result from the requested variance. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item D, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item A NA 13. Provide information on the safety impacts which may result from the requested variance. For example provide the summary data on the number of crashes, type of crashes, severity of crashes, and For more information visit: www.dot.state.mn.us/stateaid/variance.html Or contact: Mao Yang, MnDOT, 651‐366‐3840 Mao.Yang@state.mn.us 3 contributing factors and crash modification factors with or without meeting the design element in the variance request. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item D, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item A NA 14. Provide information on the environmental impacts which may result from the requested variance. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item D, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item A NA 15. Provide information on the effectiveness of the project in eliminating an existing and projected deficiency in the transportation system. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item E, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item B The project will complete a full depth reclamtion of the existing street that has multiple pavement failures requiring extensive maintaince. 16. Provide information on the effects on adjacent lands. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item F, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item C NA 17. Provide information on the number of persons affected. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item G, MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item D City of Lake Elmo (approximately 13,500 residents) 18. Provide information on the safety considerations and mitigations as they apply to pedestrians. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item H (1), MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item F NA 19. Provide information on the safety considerations and mitigations as they apply to bicyclists. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item H (2), MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item F NA 20. Provide information on the safety considerations and mitigations as they apply to the motoring public. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item H (3), MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item F NA 21. Provide information on the safety considerations and mitigations as they apply to fire, police, and emergency units. MN Rules, part 8820.3300, subpart 1a, item H (4), MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item F NA For more information visit: www.dot.state.mn.us/stateaid/variance.html Or contact: Mao Yang, MnDOT, 651‐366‐3840 Mao.Yang@state.mn.us 4 22. Include available accident data in detail that indicates the resulting damage (property damage/injury/death), contributing causes, and location. The Minnesota Crash Mapping Analysis Tool (MnCMAT) is available thru the SALT Traffic Safety website at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/stateaid/crashmapping.html. Note that access to the MnCMAT application requires approval of the city or county engineer. Questions on gaining access or use of the application can be directed to mcmat.dot@state.mn.us. 23. Provide information on the effect on future maintenance. MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item E The project will eliminate the annual surface patching that was being completed on the existing pavement due to pavement failure from increasing traffic volumes. 24. Provide information on the effect that the rule and standards may have in imposing an undue burden on a city or county. MN Rules, part 8820.3400, subpart 3, item G The rule was inadvertently missed and missunderstood during conversations with State Aid staff, applying the rule will place an undue burden on the City of Lake Elmo's budget. 25. Any other pertinent factors. The constuction plan set was initialy submitted to MSA for review in March 21, 2024. Review comments were received on April 4, 2024. MSA comments were addressed and the plans were resubmitted along with the title sheet for signature on April 5, 2024. Changes requested by MSA were included in Addendum 1 for bidders. The plan set bidders based their bid matches the plan set MSA signed. Variance Submittal When you are ready to submit this variance request, save the checklist on your local workstation with the project number and Variance Request in the name of the document; e.g. 088‐888‐ 008_Variance_Request.doc. This completed checklist and required attachments should be submitted electronically to your District State Aid Engineer and Mao Yang at mao.yang@state.mn.us by the variance submittal date.