Adopt Resolution #21-060 Approving Plans and Specifications and Authorizing Advertisements for Bids for Business Park 95 Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #21-03

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to adopt Resolution #21-060 Approving Plans and Specifications and Authorizing Advertisements for Bids for Business Park 95 Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #21-03.
 
Background:
City Improvement Project 21-03 proposes to reconstruct the Business Park 95 subdivision including; 140^th Avenue, McKinley Street, Radium Street and Unity Street. The streets total approximately 6,314 lineal feet (1.20 miles) in length. The title sheet showing the project scope is attached to this case.
 
On February 24, 2020, the Ramsey City Council indefinitely suspended the annual sealcoat program and reallocated $250,000 of the budgeted 2020 sealcoat funds to overlay streets in the Business Park 95 subdivision, which were prematurely deteriorating due to pavement stripping, the driving force for suspending the annual sealcoat program. Following the results and recommendations of a pavement  forensics analysis completed by WSB and Associates, Staff concluded that the streets in Business Park 95 were beyond the scope of overlay improvements. On March 16, 2020, the Public Works Committee supported Staff’s conclusions and recommendations that overlaying the streets in Business Park 95 was not feasible or cost-effective and should not be completed in 2020.

On November 10, 2020, the Ramsey City Council authorized Staff to execute proposals from Bolton & Menk for collecting topographic survey, and from Chosen Valley Testing (CVT) for completing geotechnical work, as required to prepare plans and specifications for reconstructing the streets in Business Park 95 in 2021.
 
On December 8, 2020, the Ramsey City Council approved the 2021 – 2030 Capital Improvement Program, which includes street reconstruction improvements for Business Park 95 in 2021 at an estimated cost of $1,567,500 with Pavement Management Funds covering $1,425,000 of the project costs, and Storm Water Utility Funds covering the remaining $142,500. That same evening Council authorized Staff to execute proposals from Nelson Sanitation & Rental, Inc. for televising services of the sanitary sewer and storm sewer within the project area, and from Water Conservation Services, Inc. for watermain leak testing services within the project area.
 
The watermain leak test results indicated that all of the watermain is in good condition and does not need repairs.
 
The sanitary sewer televising showed that the sanitary sewer system is generally in good condition and does not need any major repairs. However, one small crack was observed in the obvert (top) of a pipe segment near the intersection of Unity Street and 140^th Avenue. Staff considered the options for repairing the crack and recommend lining the pipe in the future instead of replacing the pipe as part of this project, which would require closing the street for several days to dig the pipe up and replace it. It is also significantly cheaper to line a pipe than to excavate the street and replace the pipe and a portion of the street in the process. Lining a pipe can also be completed without closing the street to traffic.
 
The storm sewer televising showed that more than half of the storm sewer was plastic pipe, and that much of the smaller diameter plastic pipe needed to be replaced. In addition, several hundred feet of concrete storm sewer needed to be replaced. This cost was not accounted for in the CIP storm sewer cost estimates, which significantly increased project costs.
 
In 2020, Business Park 95 was included in the Ground Penetrating Radar Pavement Evaluation performed by Braun Intertec. This data provides bituminous and aggregate base thickness information. The Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data is included in the street segment summary attached to this case.
 
The Business park 95 subdivision is a commercial subdivision with heavy truck traffic. During the fall of 2020, Staff took traffic counts with annual daily traffic (ADT) volumes of; 846 on Unity Street south of Bunker Lake Boulevard, and 2,245 on McKinley Street east of Sunfish Lake Boulevard. The City does not have a standard commercial pavement section, however, since these roads must be open during all seasons to heavy truck traffic, the streets are proposed to be reconstructed to a 9-ton design using MnDOT’s design guidelines. Based upon pavement coring’s, the existing pavement section meets a 9-ton design. The existing concrete curb and gutter is generally in good condition and will be lerft in place to the maximum extent possible.
 
The streets are proposed to be reconstructed using the full-depth reclamation process. This includes reclaiming the existing pavement and aggregate base section, removing the top 4-inches of reclaim, and then compacting the remaining 6-inches of material in place to serve as aggregate base. Then 4-inches of new bituminous pavement is proposed to be placed on top to effectively provide a 10-inch minimum pavement section, meeting a 9-ton design strength.
 
The pavement on the east end of McKinley Street ends approximately 450-feet east of Radium Street, after which it becomes a gravel surface for approximately 75-feet before turning into a private driveway. This leaves no space within public right of way for snow plows or emergency vehicles to turn around. The plans include an alternate bid for extending the pavement on McKinley Street approximately 250-feet east, and constructing a paved cul-de-sac on the east end within existing right-of-way. The cul-de-sac extension is supported by the Public Works Department and Fire Department. This cul-de-sac extension would have the added benefit of providing better access to an existing trunk sanitary sewer line which exists in green space east of McKinley Street. Bidding the cul-de-sac extension as an alternate bid will allow the City Council to know the bid price before deciding whether to construct the cul-de-sac extension. Attached is the plan sheet showing the scope of this alternate bid work.
 
Approximately 450-feet of the west end of McKinley Street is proposed to be left as is as this segment will be reconstructed with the Sunfish Lake Boulevard & BNSF Railway grade separation improvements, part of the Ramsey Gateway Highway 10 Improvements project. The construction limits on the west end of McKinley Street were designed to match the tie down location for the segment of McKinley Street to be reconstructed with the Ramsey Gateway Improvements to avoid "throw away" costs. The elevation of Sunfish Lake Boulevard at McKinley Street will be about 20-feet higher when the Sunfish Lake Boulevard & BNSF Railway grade separation improvements are complete.
 
The base bid improvements proposed with this project are identified in the City’s current 10-year CIP, and can be funded using a combination of Pavement Management Funds, Stormwater Utility Funds, and previously budgeted funds. The alternative bid is proposed to be funded with the Public Improvement Revolving Fund.

Final plans are not attached to this case to prevent potential bidders from downloading plans attached to the case to prepare and submit their bids, rather than purchasing the plans through QuestCDN, the electronic bidding software used by the City of Ramsey. This ensures that all bidders are bidding off the same set of plans, and that all bidders are notified of any plan revisions (addenda) issued during the bidding process. Attached is the title sheet from the plans showing the scope of the improvements, as well as a plan sheet showing the typical sections, which includes information on the proposed pavement section. Plans are available upon request from the City Engineer.
 
Staff proposes to open bids on April 19, 2021, and to present the bid results to City Council on April 27, 2021 for award of a construction contract to the lowest responsible bidder. 

Letters were mailed to business and property owners on January 28th notifying them of the proposed street reconstructions in Business Park 95. Only one response has been received to date, which generally stated that they approved of the project but did not approve of extending McKinley Street to the east and constructing a cul-de-sac as this was a waste of taxpayer money in their opinion.  

 

If Council approves plans and specifications and authorizes advertising for bids, bids will be advertised on Friday March 26, and again on Friday, April 2, both in the City's official newspaper, the Anoka Union Herald, and in Finance & Commerce.

Motion to adopt Resolution #21-060 approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for Business Park 95 Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #21-03.

Funding for this improvement is proposed to come from the Pavement Management Fund, Stormwater Utility Fund, Public Improvement Revolving Fund (if Council awards the alternate bid on April 27th), plus $250,000 of the budgeted 2020 sealcoat funds that were reallocated to overlay the streets in Business Park 95, which were ultimately deemed unfit to overlay and must instead be reconstructed.
 
Staff has estimated project costs for the proposed improvements based on the final plans and anticipated 2021 construction costs at $1,432,846.43, which includes 23-percent indirect costs for administrative, engineering, finance, and legal costs. A breakdown of the base bid and alternate bid project costs is below. 

• Base Street Project Costs                $ 1,106,461.01
• Base Storm Sewer Project Costs     $   124,049.19
• Alt CDS Street Project Costs            $   139,354.08
• Alt CDS Storm Sewer Project Costs $     62,982.15
• Total Estimated Project Cost             $1,432,846.43

Staff recommends adopting Resolution #21-060 approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisements for bids for Business Park 95 Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #21-03.
 
The Public Works Committee reviewed the Business Park 95 Street Reconstructions project on March 16, 2021 and recommended that the City Council approve the plans and authorize advertisements for bids. The committee recommended the alternate bid be paid for with Public Improvement Revolving (PIR) Funds since this work involves construction of a new street and cul-de-sac and not maintenance of existing pavement, which is what the Pavement Management Funds are intended for. Additionally the committee recommended approaching the City of Anoka to discuss a future street connection via McKinley Street. 

Adopt Resolution #21-010 approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisements for bids for Business Park 95 Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #21-03.