Agenda - Council Work Session - 11/07/2011

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CC Work Session 2.2. Meeting Date: 11/07/2011 By: Brian Olson, Engineering/Public Works Title: Consider approval of agreement with the Metropolitan Council to enter into the transit taxing district Background: On 04/26/2011 the City Council was presented the proposed terms of an agreement to enter into the transit taxing district and heard a presentation by Arlene McCarthy from the Metropolitan Council regarding the condition by which the City of Ramsey may receive approval of a rail station. At that meeting the Metropolitan Council indicated that they expect to see approximately $295,000 annually from Ramsey residents when the City of Ramsey opts into the transit taxing district. On 06/07/2011, the City Council was provided an update on the Rail Station PMT meetings and was provided another opportunity to provide feedback on the transit taxing district agreement. On September 27, 2011, the City Council approved the Master Cooperation, Funding and Delegation Agreement contingent upon successful negotiation of the transit taxing district and lease agreements subject to the review and approval of the City Administrator and City Attorney. The purpose of this case is to provide you information regarding the transit taxing district agreement and discuss the conditions upon which the City Council will consider entrance into the transit taxing district. Ed Byers from the Metropolitan Council will be present at the meeting to discuss the Metropolitan Council position regarding this requirement. Attached to this case is a agreement that is expected to be approved in the near future to keep the rail station project on track. Observations: On September 27, the City Council offered the following comments and concerns regarding the transit taxing district agreement: • The parking for Northstar passengers shall be made available by the City at the parking ramp adjacent to the station and shall not be limited. (The number of stalls that are available for transit will be limited to 350 stalls.) This condition is acceptable to the Metropolitan Council. • The City Council made it clear in two meetings that they wanted to expand transit service to the area by expanding the service that currently goes to the Anoka Technical college to the Ramsey rail station. After Mr. Byers had conversations with Pat Born and Brian Lamb from the Metropolitan Council, it was determined that this condition could not be accepted as part of the Transit Taxing District Agreement, however options for additional future transit bus service are being explored. • The City Council also wanted the rate for the ride from Ramsey to be the same as the rate from Anoka. This is also a condition that the Metropolitan Council will not accept as the Northstar train is a distance based fare and therefore would not be fair to the other communities. Whereas, it is true that the fare is the same between Anoka and Coon Rapids ($4.00), the distance separating these stations is only 2 miles. The distance between Anoka, Elk River (fare at $5 .50)and Ramsey stations is approximately 5 miles. They feel that the fare will be somewhere close to $4.50 per ride but do not want to lock themselves into any fare structure in the future. Keep in mind that while Ramsey is entering into the Transit Taxing District, Elk River is outside of the Metropolitan area and will not be part of the District. • The last comment that was received by the City Council revolves around the requirement to stop the bus service that is currently operating when the rail service is operational. Since the stoppage of the bus has led to a comment from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) about the possibility of repayment of