Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/28/2008

Home

Acting Mayor Elvig recessed the Work. Session at 6:20 p.m. to allow for time to complete this exerCIse. Acting Mayor Elvig reconvened the meeting at 6:35 p.m. 3) Discussion of IP#06-20; Armstrong Boulevard Public Works Director Olson stated that he wanted to go over some of the agreements and provide a brief history on the what has brought the City to this point, as well as talk a bit about the projected costs and give a better representation of what this is. He stated that there was a Master Development agreement done in September 2003, and everyone agreed on a general scope of the project. He stated that in June 2004, there was a proposal from TKDA, which is who the County wanted to do the project because they were familiar with railroad crossings. He stated that in April 2005, the City entered into a Joint Powers Agreement with the County that clarified the scope of the improvements. He reviewed the construction costs for thethree major improvements, Sunfish Lake Boulevard, Ramsey Boulevard, and Armstrong Boulevard. He stated that Ramsey Boulevard was completed in 2006 and cost $3,559,257 and was the 234th worst intersection in the State. He stated that Sunfish Lake Boulevard was ranked the fifth worst intersection in the State. He stated that now the City is faced with direction for Armstrong Boulevard. He stated that the design services were approved in 2004 and was almost complete when Ramsey Crossings came up. He stated that they reprioritized projects because traffic on Armstrong wasn't as high as was originally expected with the Ramsey Town Center. He stated that at this point, in his opinion, it is not urgent that this move forward. He stated that the cost estimate is a lot higher than what was originally estimated, partly because of oil prices. He stated that the biggest controversy was the planned median on the north side of C.R. #116. He stated that he isn't sure that this is much different than the issues that came up with the Sunfish Lake Boulevard, but wanted to note that it is a contentious issue from the resident's perspective. He stated that about 300 households were notified and could be at the meeting tonight. He stated that the City applied for and received a MnDDT grant for this project, but if it is isn't used within a year, it will be lost. He stated that staff would like to look at the possibility of the money being set aside for a possible match from federal dollars for an overpass. Councilmember Elvig clarified that Public Works Director Olson is proposing that this project be postponed and possibly changed into an overpass project. Public Works Director Olson stated that this is correct and now that this project is over $5 million, it seems to him that it would be a good idea to take a look at alternative funding sources to see if that money can be a local match for a bigger interchange improvement. He stated that the Mississippi River crossing is an important connection for the future. He stated that Armstrong is very similar to Ferry Street interchange and if there is a way to talk to other governmental agencies to separate the issues because the bridge crossing could be 30-50 years from now, there is a chance that this could be designed similar to Ferry Street. He stated that the cost for this type of thing would be $30-40 million, and there will probably be a need for additional right of way. City Council Work Session / October 28,2008 Page 5 of6