 |
AGENDA RECOMMENDATION |
Consent Calendar 5.H.
City Council Regular Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 09/23/2024
Agenda Item:
Resolution calling for hearing on Capital Improvement 11084; Victory Drive and Hazeltine Road intersection and lighting improvements.
Recommendation/Action(s):
Adoption of resolution setting October 15, 2024, as the date of hearing for Capital Improvement Project 11084; Victory Drive and Hazeltine Road intersection and lighting improvements.
Summary:
The Engineering Department is ready to proceed with Capital Improvement Project 11084; Victory Drive and Hazeltine Road intersection and lighting improvements, as scheduled in the 2025 Community Investment Plan. Below is a tentative schedule of events related to this project.
Staff is recommending the Council pass the resolution setting October 15, 2024, as the date of the project feasibility hearing for this project. The estimated costs and funding sources for the project are as follows:
Setting the date of hearing is the first step in the process of performing an improvement with special assessments. Projects that have special assessments are initiated either through property owner petition, or as in the case of this project by council. As a part of setting the date of hearing, the council orders a feasibility report.
The feasibility report provides the background of the project, the proposed improvements, the cost of the improvements and the method and amount of proposed special assessments. This report is received by the council during the public hearing on the feasibility of the project. This is the basis of information to provide the council with information to consider the project. The hearing allows all interested persons to provide testimony to the council on the project for council deliberations prior to ordering the project. Should the council find the project feasible, a resolution is passed ordering the project designed and bids solicited for the work. Additionally, a date for the preliminary assessment hearing is set during the feasibility hearing. Notice is provided to assessed property owners of the feasibility hearing as well as an informational meeting that is hosted by Engineering personnel.
The preliminary assessment hearing provides those property owners being assessed with the opportunity to express concerns to the council about the actual special assessment. After the public hearing, the council will consider the proposed assessments, and should the council decide, a resolution adopting the assessment roll will be adopted. Property owners are noticed about this meeting with a letter and a notice is published in the newspaper.
The law sets out discrete timelines and procedures for challenging a city’s special assessment. For the most part, objections must be raised at or before the assessment hearing. Only those who object at this stage may proceed to appeal an assessment to the district court. Further, these provisions for appeals to the district court are the exclusive method of appeal from a special assessment levied under the local improvement code.
No one can formally object to, or appeal, the amount of an assessment unless the property owner signs a written objection and files it with the city clerk prior to the assessment hearing or presents it to the presiding officer at the hearing. Property owners subject to proposed special assessments and are informed of this requirement in the mailed notice.
The next step in the process is opening bids based on plans prepared by Engineering personnel and advertised for bid for the project that was ordered during the feasibility hearing. Once bids are opened, they are presented to the council for consideration. Should bids be favorable, the bid will be awarded to the lowest responsible contractor.
After the project is completed, the final assessments are adopted. On most reconstruction projects, this is done in the year following construction, while resurfacing and alley projects are assessed the same year of construction. Final assessments are typically adopted without a hearing as the assessment rate that is adopted in the preliminary assessment does not change. Only property owner added items will change the final assessment.
Assessments are payable over 5, 10, or 15-years, depending on the amount of the assessment. Deferrals are available for property owners who are over 65 years of age, retired by disability, or call to active duty in which paying the assessment would represent a hardship. Interest does accrue on deferred assessments.
Staff is recommending the Council pass the resolution setting October 15, 2024, as the date of the project feasibility hearing for this project. The estimated costs and funding sources for the project are as follows:
| ITEM | COST |
| Signal Improvements | $500,344.54 |
| Lighting Improvements | $264,235.46 |
| Total Construction Subtotal | $764,580.00 |
| Contingencies | $76,500.00 |
| Consultant Engineering | $68,850.00 |
| City of Mankato Engineering | $30,600.00 |
| TOTAL PROJECT COST | $937,530.00 |
| PROJECT FUNDING | |||
| ITEM | FUNDING SOURCE | AMOUNT | PERCENT |
| Signal Improvements |
City of Mankato | $153,380.95 | 16.36% |
| Blue Earth County | $153,380.95 | 16.36% | |
| Assessments | $306,761.90 | 32.72% | |
| Lighting Improvements |
City of Mankato | $62,392.54 | 6.65% |
| Blue Earth County | $162,003.10 | 17.28% | |
| Assessments | $99,610.56 | 10.62% | |
| TOTAL FUNDS | $937,530.00 | 100.00% | |
Setting the date of hearing is the first step in the process of performing an improvement with special assessments. Projects that have special assessments are initiated either through property owner petition, or as in the case of this project by council. As a part of setting the date of hearing, the council orders a feasibility report.
The feasibility report provides the background of the project, the proposed improvements, the cost of the improvements and the method and amount of proposed special assessments. This report is received by the council during the public hearing on the feasibility of the project. This is the basis of information to provide the council with information to consider the project. The hearing allows all interested persons to provide testimony to the council on the project for council deliberations prior to ordering the project. Should the council find the project feasible, a resolution is passed ordering the project designed and bids solicited for the work. Additionally, a date for the preliminary assessment hearing is set during the feasibility hearing. Notice is provided to assessed property owners of the feasibility hearing as well as an informational meeting that is hosted by Engineering personnel.
The preliminary assessment hearing provides those property owners being assessed with the opportunity to express concerns to the council about the actual special assessment. After the public hearing, the council will consider the proposed assessments, and should the council decide, a resolution adopting the assessment roll will be adopted. Property owners are noticed about this meeting with a letter and a notice is published in the newspaper.
The law sets out discrete timelines and procedures for challenging a city’s special assessment. For the most part, objections must be raised at or before the assessment hearing. Only those who object at this stage may proceed to appeal an assessment to the district court. Further, these provisions for appeals to the district court are the exclusive method of appeal from a special assessment levied under the local improvement code.
No one can formally object to, or appeal, the amount of an assessment unless the property owner signs a written objection and files it with the city clerk prior to the assessment hearing or presents it to the presiding officer at the hearing. Property owners subject to proposed special assessments and are informed of this requirement in the mailed notice.
The next step in the process is opening bids based on plans prepared by Engineering personnel and advertised for bid for the project that was ordered during the feasibility hearing. Once bids are opened, they are presented to the council for consideration. Should bids be favorable, the bid will be awarded to the lowest responsible contractor.
After the project is completed, the final assessments are adopted. On most reconstruction projects, this is done in the year following construction, while resurfacing and alley projects are assessed the same year of construction. Final assessments are typically adopted without a hearing as the assessment rate that is adopted in the preliminary assessment does not change. Only property owner added items will change the final assessment.
Assessments are payable over 5, 10, or 15-years, depending on the amount of the assessment. Deferrals are available for property owners who are over 65 years of age, retired by disability, or call to active duty in which paying the assessment would represent a hardship. Interest does accrue on deferred assessments.