Consider Request to Amend the Master Plan for Mississippi West Regional Park and Develop Cost-Share Agreement for the Mississippi Skyway 

The purpose of this case is to request authorization to pursue the development of a multi-jurisdictional cost share agreement for the pedestrian bridge proposed to connect the Northstar Rail Station in The COR, with the regional trail and park on the south side of Highway's #10 & #169.  The intention of this agreement would be that it also leads to a designation for the bridge as an 'Equally Valuable Facility' (discussed below), and serves as the cost equivalent for the Right of Way (ROW) for the proposed Riverdale Drive project.

The proposed pedestrian bridge has been shown as part of Ramsey's Master Park and Trail Plan for decades. In 2012 a elevated skyway was completed from the municipal parking ramp over Veteran's Drive at the time of rail station construction.  Following that, $100,000 was awarded to the City of Ramsey from Metropolitan Council's Transit Oriented Development program, resulting in the Preliminary Engineering work for the remainder of the Mississippi Skyway. Thereafter, a private landowner donated the easement  for the 'touchdown' area of the pedestrian bridge alongside Riverdale Drive.

Subsequent to the above progress, in 2014 the City of Ramsey received $490,000 from the National Park Service to be used for the Mississippi Skyway.  The pedestrian facility at present, spans Veteran's Drive and both of Burlington Northern Santa Fe's railroad tracks— representing million's of dollars in regional partnerships connecting transportation systems, to residential and commercial areas as well as recreational destinations.

Also in 2014 was the completion of the Highway 10 Access Planning Study, which outlines a detailed strategy "...to identify high-benefit improvements that are fiscally responsible so that improvements can be funded, programmed, and implemented incrementally.  The price paid for waiting for funding to construct expensive, comprehensive improvements will be continued congestion, numerous conflict points and continued severe and fatal crashes."

One of the incremental projects identified within the Highway 10 Study was the extension of Riverdale Drive from Traprock Street (the entrance to Mississippi West Regional Park) to Ramsey Boulevard.  This street right of way needed for Riverdale Drive would be approximately 5 acres, 'taken' (also called a 'conversion') from the regional park.

Mississippi West Regional Park is owned and managed by Anoka County Parks under the structure and guidelines of Metropolitan Council as a regional park.  One of these guidelines are that mitigation or payment needs to occur for the acquisition or conversion of park land to any other use.

The conversion of Regional Park System lands will only be approved by Metropolitan Council for conversion to other uses provided that either "Equally Valuable Land" in the same Regional Park is added in exchange for the land lost for park; or, an "Equally Valuable Facility" is received "as an exchange of land for facilities when recreational benefits...are increased as a result of the exchange." 

This last example is what is being proposed to account for the conversion of parkland to ROW for Riverdale Drive, with advancing the construction of the Mississippi Skyway (by virtue of the Cost Share Agreement) as the Equally Valuable Facility.







 

No public notification is required.  Following authorization by City Council, staff will notify and contact other jurisdictions on the proposal to share the cost of the regional facility (pedestrian bridge) this case discusses.  

Observations:
For any conversion of park land to another use, Metropolitan Council would require a Master Plan Amendment, submitted by the implementing agency, in this case, Anoka County Parks for Mississippi West Regional Park.  A Master Plan Amendment is also required for any significant changes to the existing Master Plan.  In addition to the development of a Cost Share Agreement, another aspect of the park plan amendment would be to move up the phasing of the pedestrian facility from the Fifth Phase to the Second or Third Phase of park development.  (The boat landing was the First Phase, initiated by the City of Ramsey in 2009.)

Alternatives:
An alternative to seeking approval for considering the completion of the pedestrian bridge as an Equally Valuable Facility
for the conversion of park land to roadway ROW for Riverdale Drive, would be a cash purchase of the ROW.  A land appraisal cost is pending, and Staff's estimated cost for acquiring the +/- 5 acres of ROW is between $200,000 and $350,000 dollars. 

 

No funding is required as part of this case.  However, it is expected that a successful Cost Share Agreement would include significant Federal grant funding for the pedestrian bridge.  (A regional solicitation is anticipated to be announced in the summer of 2016, with grant awards up to $5.5 million for multi-use trails/bridges .) Additionally, it may reiterated here, that the city does have the $490,000 from the National Park Service for the bridge, that must be applied to this project by 2017.

As the proposed Riverdale Drive frontage road, and the proposed pedestrian facility's connection of transit to the park both add considerable value to the regional park, together with measurable safety improvements—staff recommends pursuing the Master Plan Amendment to realize additional benefits (developing the Cost Share Agreement for the Mississippi Skyway), in contrast to issuing a cash payment to Anoka County for acquiring the roadway ROW for extending Riverdale Drive.

Motion to authorize Staff to pursue a Cost Share Agreement with Anoka County Parks and Metropolitan Council and other funding entities for the Mississippi Skyway—and secure the right of way for Riverdale Drive through a Master Plan Amendment to Mississippi West Regional Park.