Professional Services Contract Amendment for the Tinklenberg Group

Purpose:
Consider a proposal from The Tinklenberg Group for an amendment establishing fees for the last six months of the current professional services contract approved in July 2019.  The purpose of the contract is to advance and promote the construction of improvements within the Trunk Highway 10/169 corridor within the City and, more specifically, to seek funding for the City's current priority transportation projects.

Background:
The City has worked with the Tinklenberg Group for most of the past decade, with the most recent contract with the Tinklenberg Group being approved in July 2019.  The Contract was approved with a $3,300 per month to be paid for the first 6 months, with the remaining 6 month fee to be negotiated based upon approval of both parties in regard to activity and scope of the final 6 months. Tinklenberg is proposing that the fee be increased by $1,200 per month (i.e., from $3,300 to $4,500 per month) for the four months (February - May) of the legislative session.  The attached update and proposal provides justification.  In total, the contract would increase $4,800 from the current rate.  January and June would remain at $3,300 per month.

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.  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.  More recently, the City of Ramsey received $2 million from the 2018 state bonding bill for the Ramsey Boulevard rail separation project.

Staff believes this extension is important given the recent planning and design work being done by Bolton and Menk and the City's current legislative request for Highway 10 funding.  The services under the contract allow the City to more effectively push our current legislative initiative, and to maintain a strong and consistent message to the Legislature and Congressional Delegation in 2019-2020,

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Staff support amending the current contract to provide for a fee of $4,500 for February, March, April, and May of 2020, with the months of January and June remaining at the current $3,300 per month rate.  The contract will expire June 30, 2020.










 

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

Staff recommends consideration of the proposed contract amendment to adjust fees.

The alternative direction the Council may take includes keeping the fee at the current $3,300 per month (or another number as negotiated) and asking the consultant to adjust the expected effort proportionately.  This alternative may result in a loss of momentum toward the accomplishment of the stated goals.  Consequently, amendment of the contract to reflect the expected effort is recommended at this time.

Motion to approve emend the contract with The Tinklenberg Group to increase the monthly fee by $1,200 per month (i.e., from $3,300 to $4,500 per month) for the four months (February - May) of the contract, as stated in the attached proposal dated January 6, 2020.