Consider Award of Contract for Consulting Services Related to City Project #09-24; COR Wetland Mitigation

Ramsey Town Center LLC had a wetland mitigation plan approved by the LRRWMO in October of 2005.  That plan allowed for 4.05 acres of wetland impacts in Ramsey Town Center (RTC), requiring 8.10 acres of mitigation; portions of which have been implemented to date.  The HRA is now the master developer of the COR (formerly RTC), and staff has been working with our consultant URS and the LRRWMO for the past year and a half to bring the project wetland impacts into compliance with the approved plan.  Attached is a map illustrating the original mitigation plan for the COR project.

The Charter School Wetland and the NW Wetland have been graded to establish wetland hydrology, but still require vegetation management and monitoring before they can be accepted as mitigation.  The WNW wetland was proposed to be expanded and enhanced under the original permit, and was to remain on the site as part of the greenway corridor through the development.  With the evolution of the COR it is anticipated that this western portion of the site will be re-guided and utilized for a big box type of use, and include the establishment of a larger water feature/lake.

Based upon HRA direction in February of 2010 staff negotiated a revised permit with the LRRWMO to include implementation of a vegetative establishment and monitoring plan for the Charter School and NW Wetlands, and the purchase 105,602 S.F. of off-site wetland banking credits in lieu of creating the WNW mitigation area enhancements (thereby opening up additional developable land in the NW corner of the COR).  See attachment for the revised permit requirements.

On June 1, 2010 the HRA directed staff to finalize the process of revising the mitigation permit with the LRRWMO, and concurrently investigate the option of calling on the bond from the previous development team that secured the original permit. The revised permit was accepted by the LRRWMO in September of 2010, and correspondence was exchanged with the bonding company beginning in October. Staff met with representatives of the bonding company in December of 2010 and negotiated a settlement agreement in the amount of $59,000 to perform the revised on-site mitigation work based upon the new permit requirements; the NW and Classroom wetlands. The City was required to purchase the off-site banking credits, which was completed prior to the end of the 2010 calendar year in the amount of $50,609.76, but any money left over following implementation of the on-site mitigation work can be used to reimburse the funds used for the banking credit purchase.

On January 11, 2011 the HRA authorized staff to execute two agreements; one with the bonding company formalizing the settlement agreement referenced above, and the second with the LRRWMO accepting the requirements of the outstanding permit obligations.  At that meeting they also authorized staff to negotiate an amended contract with URS, in an amount not to exceed $25,000, for design and monitoring services under the terms of the revised wetland mitigation permit that the HRA has now assumed.  Staff executed an contract with URS in the amount of $6,300 on March 15, 2011 for the design and preparation of plans and specifications for soliciting proposals to complete the required wetland mitigation.  Recently staff received notice that Tony Kaster, the wetland consultant that prepared the original RTC wetland mitigation permit for Ramsey Town Center LLC and has subsequently been performing the revised permitting process for the City, has left URS and is now working for the ANTEA Group, another environmental firm in the area.  Staff has received proposals from both URS and the ANTEA Group to perform the remaining implementation duties; including bidding assistance, project revisions and addendums, field oversight and inspections during the planting and maintenance phase, 5 years of monitoring, and preparing annual reports for submission to the LRRWMO (see attached).

The plans and specifications for this wetland implementation project have been distributed to contractors for quotes, which are due back to the City by May 23, 2011.  They will be brought forward to the HRA on May 31st for consideration of an award of contract.

One item of note from the LRRWMO negotiations on the amended permit is the fact that the Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) was not supportive of allowing impacts to the existing WNW wetland without a plan in place showing that these impacts were necessary.  The HRA requested the ability to fill the existing WNW wetland under this amended permit to allow for greater flexibility in development scenarios and clear the entire westerly area of the COR of potential future impacts.  The TEP could not arbitrarily approve wetland impacts without proving that such impacts are unavoidable.  They did agree, however, that this existing WNW wetland is of low quality and they would not be opposed to future impacts if a development scenario could demonstrate the required Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) rules were followed.  This means that a permit will be required in the future when a specific development proposal comes forward that would impact the WNW wetland area.  Any potential future impact that would require a permit could be mitigated by purchasing banking credits, minimizing proposed impacts under a development proposal, or incorporating mitigation into the west side vision of the COR.  This item will need to be addressed at a later date when the western portion of the COR is more defined, a development proposal comes forward for this area, and impacts are shown to be unavoidable.  If a new permit is required it would involve additional effort beyond the scope of services planned for resolving the existing outstanding permit we are currently discussing.

Staff recommends an award of contract to the ANTEA Group in the amount of $13,197 to complete the required WCA permitting obligations for the COR wetland mitigation.

Funding for these proposed wetland actions are included in the future land sales budget for the COR, and this project funding was already approved at the January 11, 2011 HRA meeting.  This item is before you again only because the original motion authorized staff to negotiate these contracts with URS, and staff is proposing to utilize another consultant for this portion of the project because of their familiarity with the COR, additional scope, and proposed costs.

Motion to authorize staff to award a contract to the ANTEA Group in the amount of $13,197 to complete the required WCA permitting obligations for the COR wetland mitigation.

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Motion to allow the City attorney to review the contract language and make any necessary revisions as to the legal form.