Approve Tinklenberg Group Proposal for Professional Services Contract Extension

Purpose:
Consider a proposal from The Tinklenberg Group for an extension to an existing professional services contract.  The purpose of this contract is to advance and promote the construction of improvements within the Trunk Highway 10 corridor within the City and, more specifically, to seek funding for the City's current priority projects.

Background:
The City's Highway 10 Committee met on Tuesday, July 18 and after discussion and consideration of the attached Tinklenberg proposal, it was the consensus to recommend it for adoption.

The City has worked with the Tinklenberg Group for most of the past decade, with the most recent contract with the Tinklenberg Group was from February 2017 through June 2017, at the cost of $5,000 per month during that legislative timeframe.  This current proposal attached runs from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, and is a 12-month contract, compared to the last few years of 6-month contract extensions.  The contract last fall, during a non-legislative period was paid at $2500 per month.  The 12-month contract term will result in less administrative time and allow the City and the contractor to use a uniform blended amount for the 12-month period.  At the proposed $3300 per month, the annual cost for this contact will be $39,600. The Highway 10 Committee recognized the value of a sustained effort over time, and support the 12-month term of this contract.

The most recent contract work under the contract involved working with the state legislature and successfully secured what is expected to be over $1 million in funding for the engineering and design of the Ramsey Boulevard underpass of the BNSF rail line.  Note, the actual amount will be determined once final costs for the Hanson Boulevard project in Coon Rapids become known.  

Also, generally, 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 efforts in working with Mr. Tinklenberg have yielded a successful conclusion to the $35M Armstrong 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.  Previously, the North Star Rail Station in Ramsey was also a successful effort.

NA

Attached is a proposal from The Tinklenberg Group entitled Proposed Extension of the Ramsey US Trunk Highway 10 Improvement Development Plan, dated January, 2017.  The  proposal outlines a number of work plan elements to be performed over the next twelve months and is intended to capitalize on the work previously performed and to advance US Highway 10 improvements in accordance with the MNDOT plan.  In addition, the plan acknowledges working with all levels of government in order to continue a consistent message regarding the need for Highway 10 improvements.





 

The proposed fee is $3300 per month, the total for the 12-month contract being $39,600.  Funds would come from the City's Public Improvement Revolving Fund.

Staff recommends consideration of the proposed contract extension with the Tinklenberg Group for 12-months through June 30, 2018.   

The alternative direction the Council may take include shortening the term of the contract, NOT to approve the proposed contract, or seek other consultant proposals.  Either of these alternative will result in a loss of momentum toward the accomplishment of the stated goals.  Consequently, continuation of the contract is recommended at this time.
 

Motion approving the attached consulting services proposal  with the The Tinklenberg Group for an additional 12-month contract to  June 30, 2018.