Consideration of Adopting Resolution #14-01-017 Approving Joint Powers Agreement with Anoka County for CSAH 5 / Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements.

Purpose:
The purpose of this case it to review the Anoka County led CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) / Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements and to consider adopting Resolution #14-01-017 approving the attached draft Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for this project.

Background:
By approving the draft JPA, the City Council will be providing municipal consent for this project thereby allowing Anoka County to move forward with the project in 2014 and to take advantage of the available federal funding. This project is proposed to be constructed in the late summer and fall of 2014. Construction is proposed to begin in mid to late August, and to be completed by the end of November.  Since the project will be under construction during the fall, school bus routes will be impacted, especially as related to Ramsey Elementary School which is located approximately one-quarter mile south of the intersection on the west side of CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd).

The CSAH 5 / Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements project, designated as City Improvement Project 14-20, proposes various operational and safety improvements at this severely skewed intersection.  The proposed improvements include, but are not limited to, roadway widening, traffic signal construction, dedicated left and right turn lanes, concrete curb and gutter, concrete median (along CSAH 5 only), pavement reclamation, and mill & overlay. The costs of these improvements have been estimated for the purposes of completing the JPA and will be finalized after bids have been received. The costs will be shared by the County and the City. Attached is a layout of the proposed improvements, referred to as “Exhibit A” in the JPA.

The JPA defines the terms of agreement between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for constructing the proposed improvements including project purpose, method of delivery, estimated costs, fund disbursements, maintenance considerations, and termination of the agreement, to name a few.

Observations:

Based on the results of the January 14^th City Council meeting, Anoka County modified the project by removing the most contentious improvements in an effort to ensure that the City Council would vote to approve the project JPA on January 28^th.  The modifications made include:

• Shortened the raised median on CSAH 5 south of Alpine Drive to allow full access to all properties along CSAH 5, including the Dental Office property.
• Added a bypass lane for southbound CSAH 5 south of Alpine Drive to provide drivers a safer left turn into the Dental Office property.
• Removed the proposed City trail connection, north of Alpine Drive, east of CSAH 5.  The City would therefore need to construct this improvement as a separate project in the future.
• Removed the proposed City watermain connection, north of Alpine Drive, east of CSAH 5.  The City would therefore need to construct this improvement as a separate project in the future.
• Reopened the south intersection of new CSAH 5 and old CSAH 5 as a right-in/right-out access thereby allowing drivers to access new CSAH 5 from the south end of old CSAH 5 instead of needing to use the north intersection with the steeper grade.

 
The primary proposed improvements still remaining include;

Signal system installation – This intersection is currently controlled by a 4-way STOP which was installed on November 13, 2006 in response to numerous crashes that occurred at this intersection. Prior to that it was a 2-way STOP controlled intersection.  The 4-way STOP control was intended to be a temporary traffic control measure until such time that a signal system could be installed.
 
The new signal system will include an advance warning signal on southbound CSAH 5, as well as an Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) system to allow emergency vehicles equipped with EVP to change the signal during emergency calls. The signal system will also be equipped to allow the future use of flashing yellow left-turn arrows, when warranted.

Access modifications – Raised median islands will be constructed along CSAH 5 on both sides of Alpine Drive to help channelize traffic however, as noted above Anoka County removed the portion of the raised concrete median south of Alpine Drive that restricted access for left-turning vehicles to properties abutting CSAH 5.  As such, no turning restrictions exist for any properties south of Alpine Drive.
 
Also as noted above, Anoka County reopened the south intersection of old CSAH 5 and new CSAH 5 to allow the properties abutting old CSAH 5 and Potassium Street to access new CSAH 5 from either end of old CSAH 5 as they currently do.  The only difference is that now, due to the raised median north of Alpine Drive, the south access will be right-in/right-out only so anyone wanting to turn left onto the south end of old CSAH 5 from new CSAH 5 will need to make a U-turn at the median nose north of Alpine Drive, then turn right onto old CSAH 5.  Conversely, anyone wishing to turn left from the south end of old CSAH 5 onto new CSAH 5 will now need to turn right onto new CSAH 5, then turn left onto Sunfish Lake Boulevard to access Alpine Drive or points south.
 
On January 14^th, Council directed City staff to develop a design and cost estimate to reduce the grade of the north end of old CSAH 5 at it's intersection with new CSAH 5 since this was proposed to be the only access to new CSAH 5.  However, since Anoka County is now proposing to reopen the south intersection of old CSAH 5 and new CSAH 5, and since Anoka County will be constructing a bypass lane along southbound CSAH 5 to provide a safer left-turning movement to the north end of old CSAH 5 from new CSAH 5, and since the County will be removing all existing trees from the County right-of-way at this intersection to increase sight distances, staff is seeking new Council direction on whether to pursue improvements to old CSAH 5 at this time.  And since old CSAH 5 will either be realigned or reconstructed to provide a new connection to new CSAH 5 when redevelopment of the large area of land to the east occurs in the future, the existing steep grade on the north end of old CSAH 5 will be corrected at that time.  In the meantime, Public Works can continue to monitor the condition of the north intersection during the winter to help clear the road of ice and snow as much as practical, and drivers can continue to use the south end of old CSAH 5 to access new CSAH 5 to avoid the steeper slope on the north end during inclement weather.

If Council wants to incorporate improvements into the overall project to reduce the grade of the north end of old CSAH 5 from it's existing grade of about 10.5% to a more manageable grade, Anoka County is willing to add this improvement to the project as long as the City pays for it.  If Council wishes to pursue this work, Anoka County has developed a preliminary design that is estimated to cost less than $40,000 to reconstruct approximately 250 feet of old CSAH 5 to reduce the roadway grade to 3.5% and provide a 50 foot landing before it's intersection with new CSAH 5.  This cost is not included in the estimated costs below.

Stormwater ponding – To accommodate the increased runoff from the increased impervious area created by the intersection improvements, Anoka County proposes to use the City-owned 0.57 acre parcel of property in Alpine Acres in the northwest quadrant of the intersection.  This parcel, which is dedicated in the plat as parkland and is essentially undevelopable due to access and grading limitations and because most of it is classified as wetland, has an assessed value of $3,300 per Anoka County. The County is therefore proposing to purchase this property from the City for use as a stormwater pond.  If they can’t purchase the property from the City they instead propose to pay the city for a permanent drainage easement over the entire parcel. Anoka County is currently reviewing their options for using this property for stormwater treatment and hopes to provide clearer direction to the City Council on January 28^th.

Existing Trails – All existing trails impacted by this project will be replaced with identical trail sections having the same width and pavement section, and new ADA compliant pedestrian curb ramps will be installed on all 4 corners of the intersection.

Alpine Drive Culvert Replacement (separate project) – Staff wants Council to be aware that an RCP equalizer pipe crossing Alpine Drive about one-quarter mile west of CSAH 5 was recently repaired and needs to be replaced. Since the intersection of CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) and Alpine Drive will be temporarily closed during this project, staff proposes to replace the pipe at that time to avoid disruptions to traffic and to save on traffic control costs. This work, which is not included in the CIP and would be completed under separate contract, is estimated to cost $35,000.


Estimated Costs:
The total estimated construction cost is $1,574,786.85. Available federal funds are capped at $936,000. The federal funds shall be split based on the ratio of eligible cost incurred by each party to the total eligible project cost. Eligible costs are the costs of items that can participate in federal funding as shown on Exhibit B of the attached JPA.

The total estimated construction cost to the City is $335,317.21. After available federal funds are applied ($199,306.20), the cost to the City for our share of the construction costs is $136,011.01. City participation in construction engineering will be at a rate of eight percent (8%) of our designated construction share, or $26,825.38.

The City’s total share of this project before federal funds are applied is $362,142.58 which includes construction and construction engineering costs. The total project cost to the City after federal funds are applied, including construction engineering which is not eligible for federal funding, is $162,836.39.

Upon award of contract, the City will need to pay the County, upon written demand, ninety five percent (95%) of its portion of the project costs which is estimated to be $154,694.57. Prior to billing, this estimate will be updated by the County to reflect the actual bid prices as awarded. An updated cost estimate shall be provided to the City at the time of billing. The City's share of the cost of the project shall include only construction and construction engineering expense and does not include engineering design and administrative expenses incurred by the County.

Upon final completion of the project, the City's share of the construction cost will be based upon actual construction costs. If necessary, adjustments to the initial ninety five percent (95%) charged to the city will be made in the form of credit or additional charges to the City's share. Also, the remaining five percent (5%) of the City's portion of the construction costs shall be paid.

Alternatives:

Alternative #1 – Motion adopting Resolution #14-01-017 approving the attached draft Joint Powers Agreement between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for the CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) /Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements as written.

Alternative #2 – Motion adopting Resolution #14-01-017 approving the attached draft Joint Powers Agreement between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for the CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) /Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements with the following modifications; _______________.

Alternative #3 – Motion denying adoption of Resolution #14-01-017 at this time.

Funding splits for this project will be apportioned as indicated in the Joint Powers Agreement using Anoka County’s standard cost sharing policy. The City's share would be funded using Municipal State Aid Funds.  Attached is a copy of the current MSA account cash flow which shows that $250,000 in MSA funds are reserved for this project in 2014.

The City's total costs for the improvements shown on the attached project layout are estimated to be $162,836.39 (construction and construction engineering).  This total reflects a reduction of $199,306.20 due to the application of available federal funding received by Anoka County for this project.

It is important to note that these costs are based on engineer’s estimates and that the city’s actual costs will be based on final construction costs, which may be more or less than estimated costs.

Staff recommends selecting Alternative #1 if Council supports the project and is in agreement with the attached draft JPA as drafted. 

Staff recommends selecting Alternative #2 if Council supports the project and is in agreement with the attached draft JPA but would like to incorporate improvements to old CSAH 5 to reduce the grade at the north end, which again would be strictly a City expense, or some other minor modification(s).

Staff recommends selecting Alternative #3 if Council does not support the project and/or the draft JPA without first making significant modifications.  If this alternative is selected the project would likely not be able to be completed in 2014 and the federal funding would likely be lost.