Consideration of Adopting Resolution #13-12-217 Approving Joint Powers Agreement with Anoka County for CSAH 5 /Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements

The purpose of this case it to review the Anoka County led CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) / Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements and to consider adoption of Resolution #13-12-217 approving the attached draft Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey as related to this project.
 
By approving the JPA the City Council would be providing municipal consent for this project, which is needed at this time to allow Anoka County to move forward with the project in a timely manner.  This project is proposed to be constructed in the summer / fall of 2014. Construction is proposed to begin after schools recess for the summer to minimize impacts to school bus routes, especially as related to Ramsey Elementary School which is located approximately one-quarter mile south of the intersection on CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd).

The CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) / Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements project, designated as City Improvement Project 14-20, proposes various operational and safety improvements at this severely skewed intersection. The primary improvements include installation of a signal system, construction of dedicated right and left turn lanes on all approaching legs, and access management measures including disconnecting the nearby intersection of old CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) with new CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd), and constructing raised concrete median islands along CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) both sides of Alpine Drive.  Attached is a layout of the proposed improvements.

The JPA defines the terms of agreement between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for constructing the proposed improvements including items such as project purpose, method of delivery, estimated costs, fund disbursements, maintenance considerations, and termination of the agreement.

N/A

The primary improvements associated with this project are as follows.

Signal system installation –
This intersection is currently controlled by a 4-way STOP which was installed several years ago in response to numerous crashes that occurred at this intersection. The 4-way STOP was intended to be a temporary traffic control measure until such time that a signal system could be installed. The new signal system will control traffic operations on all 4 legs of the intersection, and will include an Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption (EVP) system to allow emergency vehicles equipped with EVP to change the signal during emergency calls.

Access modifications –
Raised median islands will be constructed along CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) on both sides of Alpine Drive to physically separate opposing streams of traffic and to restrict access (primarily left turn movements) from abutting properties.  The following is a summary of impacts to abutting properties.
 

• Old Municipal Center – Access from/to this property will not be impacted by this project. The raised median on CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) is proposed to end just north of the entrance to this site and will therefore still allow full access to/from CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd).
• 15200 Nowthen Boulevard NW – Access to be restricted from full-access to right-in/right-out only.
• 15220 Nowthen Boulevard NW – Access to be restricted from full-access to right-in/right-out only.
• 15250 Nowthen Boulevard NW – Access to be relocated from CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) to Alpine Drive and will remain a full-access.
• 15243 Nowthen Boulevard NW – Access to be restricted from full-access to right-in/right-out only.

The intersection of old CSAH 5 / new CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) just north of Alpine Drive will be disconnected and the south end of old CSAH 5 will be converted into a dead-end road with a “T” turn-around to accommodate snow plow and emergency vehicle access. All traffic must then access CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) at the current intersection of old and new CSAH 5 approximately one-quarter mile north of Alpine Drive. To address safety concerns due to restricted sight-lines at this intersection as noted by numerous residents during the public Open House held by Anoka County in October, a bypass lane will be constructed along southbound CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd), plus Anoka County proposes to remove the existing trees within County right-of-way at this intersection.

Stormwater ponding –
The City owns a 0.57 acre parcel of property in Alpine Acres in the northwest quadrant of the intersection, which is dedicated in a plat as parkland. According to Anoka County, the property has an assessed value of $3,300 and a portion of the property is classified as wetland, rendering is largely undevelopable. Anoka County is therefore proposing that the city provide a drainage easement over the entirety of this parcel to allow the County to use this parcel for stormwater ponding to accommodate the increased stormwater runoff due to the increased impervious area associated with these improvements. Due to access and grading issues associated with the potential development of this site as parkland, and because an opportunity exists at this time to exchange the use of this parcel for cost reductions related to construction of a missing trail connection north of Alpine Drive between CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) and Krypton Street, staff recommends providing Anoka County with the requested drainage easement over this parcel.

Alpine Drive trail connection (CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) to Krypton Street) –
Numerous trails exist in the project area but a gap exists in the trail system north of Alpine Drive between CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) and Krypton Street where the trail abruptly ends approximately 100 feet west of Krypton Street. Staff has always intended to connect this gap, and the opportunity now exists to cost-effectively connect this gap with this project.  Staff therefore recommends providing Anoka County with the requested drainage easement over the City’s 0.57 acre parcel in Alpine Acres for the County’s use as a stormwater ponding facility. This will then be in exchange for Anoka County preparing the plans and specifications and procuring the necessary right-of-way and temporary construction easements to construct the trail connection, which is approximately 700 feet in length. Anoka County staff soon plans to meet with the abutting property owners to discuss associated tree removals and right-of-way/temporary construction easement needs, including potential compensation for these items.

The estimated construction cost for the trail connection is $17,000.  There will also likely be additional costs for securing the necessary right-of-way and construction easements (+/- 2 feet of right-of-way and temporary construction easements) and compensating for tree removals, though these costs are still unknown. Anoka County has designed the trail connection and incorporated it into their construction plans, and they would bid and inspect the trail during construction, all of which provide additional benefit to the City.

The County therefore proposes the following cost sharing methodology related to the stormwater ponding and trail connection. The City will provide the necessary drainage easement over our 0.57 acre platted parkland property to allow the County to use the land for stormwater ponding, in exchange for which the County will pay to secure the necessary right-of-way and temporary easements to construct the trail connection, as well as provide compensation for tree removals as needed.  The City will then pay all costs to construct the trail, although the County has also agreed to apply federal funds to the trail (federal funds are currently covering about 60% of construction costs) instead of requiring the City to pay 100% of construction costs per standard practice for work not required for their project. This will result in an estimated total cost to the city of $6,800 to construct the trail connection with this project, thereby saving the City about $10,200.

Trunk watermain connection / loop –
City staff recommends constructing a watermain connection to loop the trunk watermain system in this area to provide additional flexibility for maintaining the trunk watermain lines. The watermain would be constructed under the new trail connection north of Alpine Drive between CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) and Krypton Street, which will avoid the need to reconstruct any portion of Alpine Drive outside the current project limits.  The estimated cost for this work is $40,000.

Existing Trails –
Any existing trails impacted by this project will be replaced with identical trail sections having the same width and pavement section, and new ADA compliant pedestrian curb ramps will be installed on all pedestrian facilities in all 4 corners of the intersection.
 
Alpine Drive Culvert Replacement (separate project) –
Staff wants Council to be aware that an RCP equalizer pipe crossing Alpine Drive about one-quarter mile west of CSAH 5 was recently repaired and needs to be replaced.  Since the intersection of CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) and Alpine Drive will be temporarily closed during this project, staff would propose to replace the pipe at that time to avoid disruptions to traffic and to save on traffic control costs.  This work, which is not included in the CIP and would be completed under separate contract, is estimated to cost $35,000.

Estimated Project Costs:

The estimated construction cost of the total project is $1,692,666.35. Federal funds are available for this project and are capped at $936,000. The federal funds shall be split based on the ratio of eligible cost incurred by each party to the total eligible project cost. Eligible costs are the costs of items that can participate in federal funding as shown on Exhibit B of the attached JPA.

The total estimated construction cost to the City is $385,918.61 (prior to application of federal funds available). After federal funding percentage is applied, the cost to the City for our share of the construction costs of the project is $195,140.81 ($385,918.61 minus $190,777.80, the federal funds available to the City).

The City participation in construction engineering will be at a rate of eight percent (8%) of our designated construction share of $385,918.61, which equals $30,873.49. In summary, the total City share of this project before federal funds are applied is $296,883.36 which includes construction and construction engineering costs. The total cost to the City after federal funds are applied, including construction engineering which is not eligible for federal funding, is $226,014.30.

Upon award of the contract, the City will need to pay the County, upon written demand by the County, ninety five percent (95%) of its portion of the cost of the project, which is estimated at $214,713.58. Prior to billing, this estimate will be updated by the County to reflect the actual bid prices as awarded. An updated cost estimate shall be provided to the City at the time of billing. The City's share of the cost of the project shall include only construction and construction engineering expense and does not include engineering design and administrative expenses incurred by the County.

Upon final completion of the project, the City's share of the construction cost will be based upon actual construction costs. If necessary, adjustments to the initial ninety five percent (95%) charged to the city will be made in the form of credit or additional charges to the City's share. Also, the remaining five percent (5%) of the City's portion of the construction costs shall be paid.


Public Works Committee Recommendation –
Staff from the City and Anoka County reviewed the proposed improvements with the Public Works Committee on Tuesday, December 3^rd.  The following is a summary of the comments received by the Committee.
 
 

• Access modifications – The Committee generally agreed that they would prefer that raised concrete median islands not be constructed on County Roads within City limits.  However, in this case it seems to be more acceptable given that County staff met with the affected property owners who generally supported the access restrictions created by the raised medians because of the increased safety provided by them.
• Stormwater ponding – The Committee was generally supportive of providing a drainage easement over this property for use as stormwater ponding.
• Alpine Drive trail connection (CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) to Krypton Street) – Two of the three Committee members (CM Backous and CM Kuzma) supported constructing this trail connection due to the regional benefits provided by this trail connection.  However, CM Riley was not supportive of constructing the trail connection as two of the abutting property owners recently contacted him to note their objections due to reduced green space along their front yards, as well as potential impacts to their driveway alignments / grades.  If Council approves the trail connection, staff will work with Anoka County to ensure that the proposed driveway alignments / grades will meet the property owner’s needs.
• Trunk watermain connection / loop – The Committee was generally supportive of constructing the trunk watermain connection given the benefits provided by looping the system as noted above.

 
The Public Works Committee recommended City Council approval of the draft Joint Powers Agreement as drafted by a vote of 2 to 1. CM Riley voted in the negative in keeping with his objections to constructing the trail connection and, to a lesser degree, due to raised medians being proposed along CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd).
 
It should be noted that the Public Works Committee recommended approval based on a city cost share that was more than $60K less than the amount presented herein.  The city’s cost share and attached JPA were updated by Anoka County after the Public Works Committee meeting and was submitted to City staff on Thursday, December 5^th.  According to Anoka County, the city’s share increased because the previous estimate included all drainage improvements as Anoka County costs.  These costs were then prorated based on the percentage of runoff coming from the City’s and the County’s right-of-ways.  This percentage may still change based on State Aid percentages, but the estimates now show $111,026.61 as the City portion of the drainage minus $63,317.8 (federal funds) with $47,708.81 being the City’s cost for drainage.  Also, additions to common excavation, bituminous pavement removal and aggregate base class 5 quantities increased the total project cost causing the federal funding percentage to go from 60% to 57% which also affected the City’s cost share.

Alternatives:

Alternative #1 – Motion adopting Resolution #13-12-217 approving the attached draft Joint Powers Agreement between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for the CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) /Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements as written.

Alternative #2 – Motion adopting Resolution #13-12-217 approving the attached draft Joint Powers Agreement between Anoka County and the City of Ramsey for the CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) /Alpine Drive Intersection Improvements with the following modifications; _______________.

Alternative #3 – Motion denying adoption of Resolution #13-12-217 at this time.

Funding splits for this project will be apportioned as indicated in the Joint Powers Agreement using Anoka County’s standard cost sharing policy. The City's share would be funded using a mix of Municipal State Aid Funds, Park and Recreation Funds, and Water Utility Funds.

The City's total costs for the improvements shown on the attached project layout are estimated to be $226,014.30 (construction and construction engineering). This total reflects a reduction of $190,777.80 due to the application of federal funding received by Anoka County for this project.  The total cost includes costs for constructing the trail connection north of Alpine Drive between CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd) and Krypton Street, as well as the trunk watermain connection under the proposed trail connection.  If Council chooses not to approve these items with the project the City’s total costs would be reduced by $46,800 bringing the total estimated City cost to $179,214.30.
 
It is important to note that these costs are based on engineer’s estimates and that the city’s actual costs will be based on final construction costs, which may be more or less than estimated costs.

Staff recommends selecting Alternative #1 or #2 if the City Council supports the project and is in agreement with the attached draft JPA as drafted, or with only minor revisions as noted.

Staff recommends selecting Alternative #3 if the City Council does not support the project and/or the draft JPA without significant modifications.

Alternative #1 – Motion adopting Resolution #13-12-217 approving the draft JPA as written.

Alternative #2 – Motion adopting Resolution #13-12-217 approving the draft JPA with the following modifications; _______________.

Alternative #3 – Motion denying adoption of Resolution #13-12-217 at this time.