Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/10/2012

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CC Work Session 2. 1. Meeting Date: 01/10/2012 By: Tim Himmer, Engineering/Public Works Title: Discuss Potential Improvements to Garnet Street NW, located within NOW AND THEN ESTATES Background: Street maintenance activities on Garnet Street NW, between 167th Avenue and the BROOKFIELD subdivision, have not occurred on the City's standard maintenance plan. Maintenance activities have been delayed in this area for several reasons over the years; including the idea that adjacent development would expand to this area and thus result in new street layouts and/or installation of utilities, poor subgrade, and discussions with the residents regarding potential fixes and assessments. This roadway segment is one of the lowest rated streets in the City, and accounts for a large portion of the City's annual patching budget. Staff has met with the residents along this street on several occasions over the past 3 years, and they feel that the City has not properly maintained this street by providing regularly scheduled overlays and sealcoats and should therefore be responsible for the premature deterioration. They have also complained about damage to the road that occurred during construction activities associated with the BROOKFIELD subdivision. They have stated that they would not be supportive of the options outlined to date, due to cost considerations, and would most likely counter -petition the improvement. They have asked that the road continue to be patched to a good condition until such time that an improvement project can be initiated that would keep assessments in line with what other neighborhoods are paying for a similar improvement. They were also interested in the status of the discussion related to a potential franchise fee, as that may make the costs more palatable. This item was most recently discussed by the Public Works Committee on November 15, 2011, and the direction from that meeting was to approach the residents with a proposal to reconstruct the roadway with concrete curb & gutter, a sidewalk, and all utilities. The residents would only be required to contribute 50% of the road costs, and the City would address the required soil corrections with the utility installation. There would be no utility costs attributed to the residents at this time; they would just have to pay trunk and connection charges in the future if/when they decide to connect to the municipal utility system. Attached is an estimate of the costs associated with such an improvement. This proposal was outlined to the residents at an open house on December 14, 2011. The consensus from those in attendance was to wait for the possible franchise fee funding option that may be utilized in the future for roadway improvements. They also expressed concern with the inclusion of concrete curb and gutter, utilities, and a sidewalk. They wanted to maintain the rural character of their neighborhood, and not cause a chain reaction of development that might drive some of their neighbors out. Attached are a few e-mails received by staff related to this project. Observations: To date staff has received comments from 8 of the potential 13 assessable property owners; 6 have said they would like to wait on the possible franchise fee funding options & request delaying improvements (keep patching), 1 has said he is interested in fixing the street as soon as possible (regardless of cost), and 1 remains undecided. While going through the long term street maintenance and reconstruction initiative, it was discussed that we could utilize the Public Improvement Revolving (PIR) Fund as seed money for this program and initiate a pilot project. Staff was considering this segment of Garnet Street as that kick-off project; an example for what the program would provide and accomplish. This improvement is currently included in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) as a 2012 project but there is not money available in the PIR fund to this extent to complete this improvement (see below).