Recommendation to City Council to apply for Federal Transportation Enhancement Funding – Mississippi River Trail

As the Commission may recall, the City was successful in a recent grant application for Federal funding through the Transportation Enhancements program, administered by Metropolitan Council for the Mississippi River Trail (MRT); from Anoka to Mississippi West Regional Park.

This case recommends that City Council authorize City staff to apply for approximately one million dollars in funding from this same source for the trail to be extended approximately 3 miles, west of the park to City limits, just west of MnDot's Wayside Rest in the highway's R.O.W.    A requirement of the application, is a commitment to fund at least 20% of grant by a local match, which is discussed below. (While the grant application is drafted, it is not yet in it's final form - and therefore precise details are not yet available.)

As discussed above, this new application for the MRT itself will be approximately one million dollars - which will necessitate that at least 20% of the total construction costs (administration and engineering are excluded from the project cost and the match), must be contributed locally.  Staff is working out the details of the matching funds, with the intent that Anoka County Parks would commit that amount through improvements to Mississippi West Regional Park for the proposed 2016 project (both the grant funded trail and the matching investment in the park). 

Attached is the draft spreadsheet detailing the anticipated trail costs at about $977,000.000. Once the aforementioned details are worked out with Anoka County, the project is likely to be identified at approximately one and one quarter million dollars.  Also attached is the Project Location Map, and draft Plan Sheet Index for reference, as well as the Resolution anticipated to be approved by City Council on July 12th.

Pending both final details of the agreement with Anoka County, and the award of Federal monies for the grant, funding for the trail would be covered by the grant, and the local match would be made by the improvements in Mississippi West Regional Park discussed above.

However, as administration and engineering are not eligible project costs, these expenses (in-house or contracted services), would need to be discussed by City Council as part of the 2016 General Fund budget process in 2015.

Motion to recommend to City Council that staff be authorized to apply for Federal funding for the Mississippi River Trail.