Approve a Professional Services Contract Extension for the Tinklenberg Group

The purpose of this case is to consider a proposed extension of the contract with the Tinklenberg Group as it relates to the Ramsey US Trunk Highway 10 Improvement Development Plan.  The term of this proposed extension would be for the six(6) month period from July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. The rate for this extension would be $3,500.00 per month.  Due to the near completion of the highway 10 funding a 6-month term is recommended at this time to be reassessed at year-end to determine ongoing needs and possible 2022 legislative requests.

Background: 
The City has worked with the Tinklenberg Group for most of the past decade. Mr. Tinklenberg continues to work with federal, state, county, and regional officials to advance Ramsey's interests in developing the Highway 10 corridor.  The City's past success during this period have included a $40 million INFRA federal grant, plus past grant awards totaling $35M for the Armstrong Interchange Project, which was awarded several grants, including a $10M federal (TIGER) grant, a $10M state (CIMS) grant, a $8M bonding allocation from the state, and a $10.2M award from the Counties Transit Investment Board (CTIB), which fully funded the project.

In 2017, work with the state legislature successfully secured an estimated $1.5 million in funding for the engineering and design of the Ramsey Boulevard underpass of the BNSF rail line, and the City of Ramsey received an additional $2 million from the 2018 state bonding bill for the Ramsey Boulevard rail separation project. Most recently, $31 million was designated to the Ramsey Gateway Highway 10 project via the past 2021 legislative process.  Although not all funding has been officially secured, in many respects, the project is considered by transportation officials to be fully-funded and is planned to start construction in late 2023 and early 2024. 

Staff believes this extension of the Tinklenberg contract is important to monitor and wrap-up Highway 10 funding, and to pursue efforts to supplant some of the City's $4 million contribution to the corridor project with federal, state, and railroad funding options.  The services under the contract allow the City to more effectively maintain a strong and consistent message to the Legislature and Congressional delegation until full funding is officially confirmed. 

Intent of this Extension:
This proposed extension is intended to capitalize on the exciting accomplishments already achieved under earlier phases of the City's US Trunk Highway 10 Improvement Development Plan and continue the implementation of strategies adopted in that plan. It will support the utilization of federal grant dollars awarded and leverage those dollars to secure state, regional, and MnDOT funding necessary to construct identified improvements on US TH 10 within the City of Ramsey.

The extension of the contract is outlined in the attached document as outlined in the attached document.

NA

A six-month extension of current contract is recommended.  Alternatives include not granting an extension, a shorter term (e.g., 3 month) or longer term(e.g., 12 month).

Funds would come from the City's Public Improvement Revolving Fund.
 

Staff recommends approval of the contract extension as outlined in the attached proposal, for a period of six months.