Agenda - Council - 01/14/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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$63,317.8 in available federal funds resulting in a total City cost for drainage of $47,708.81. 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. Results of City Council direction from December 10th. On December 10th the City Council requested City and Anoka County staff to contact all property owners impacted by the proposed improvements to ensure that everyone is aware of the proposed improvements, and that they had been offered a chance to voice their opinions prior to City Council considering approval of the JPA and the project in general. On December 17th, City staff mailed project information letters to all property owners with properties abutting or accessing roads proposed for improvement as part of this project. The letter also included contact information to allow property owners to voice their questions or concerns regarding the project. A layout of the project was also included in the mailing. The layout was the same layout as attached to this case. A resident on Potassium Street responded to the letter by voicing her concern about now being required to use the north leg of old CSAH 5 to access new CSAH 5 (Nowthen Blvd). She said she has problems in the winter navigating the steep slope on old CSAH 5 due to icing of the street so she routinely uses the south access to old CSAH 5 in the winter, which will no longer be an option. Staff did discuss this with Anoka County following the Open House last fall and Anoka County estimated the cost to be over $100,000 to reduce the grade on the north entrance, realign the driveway to the adjacent property on the north side, and purchase needed right-of-way from the property owner to the south. However, knowing that Anoka County proposes to clear all trees from their right-of-way at this intersection and will construct a bypass lane on southbound CSAH 5 to prevent rear -end collisions for drivers waiting to turn left onto old CSAH 5 from new CSAH 5, and since this road is used exclusively by residents who know the streets well and can adjust their driving habits to accommodate the existing steep grade, and since this road will someday be reconstructed when adjacent properties redevelop, staff did not pursue improving the north leg of old CSAH 5 at this time. City and County staff also met with the owners of the three residential properties north of Alpine Drive to discuss the proposed trail and watermain connections. In summary, the property owners are generally opposed to the proposed trail connection due to its relatively close proximity to their homes and the anticipated loss of privacy they will experience when people are using the trail. Regarding the proposed watermain connection, the property owners are generally not opposed to this improvement as long as they are not required to pay for the watermain as part of this project, and as long as they are not required to connect to the watermain unless they request to do so. One of the property owners may in fact request to be connected to city water during the project, and another property owner requested that a letter be mailed to each owner with more information on the costs and process required to connect to city water should they choose to do so at this time. Staff will mail such a letter if Council provides municipal consent for the project and approves construction of the watermain connection. Associated tree removals and right-of-way/temporary construction easement needs were also discussed, as well as potential compensation and/or optional mitigation measures. Staff anticipates that one or more of the three property owners will be in attendance at tonight's meeting and may wish to express their opinion on these items with Council. Anoka County staff contacted the property owners along CSAH 5 whose accesses are proposed to be restricted by the raised concrete median islands. According to Anoka County, the property owners generally support the project and understand the County's reason for proposing the raised median islands, but some are still concerned about their reduced access due to the raised medians. Staff anticipates that one or more of these property owners will be in attendance at tonight's meeting and may wish to express their opinion on this item with Council. Attached is a summary of Anoka County staff conversations with property owners regarding the project. Council also asked Anoka County to check whether the federal funds awarded to this project would be jeopardized if raised median islands were omitted from the project. Anoka County staff did check and provided the following response. "We checked with MnDOT State Aid and for this type of federal funding, the median is not a required component of the project. But, at a staff level, we feel the median is a necessary safety component of the project. This is a high speed roadway at a skewed intersection, with access points close to the intersection. The median provides channelization to insure the drivers have a clear understanding of where they should be in approaching the intersection, reduces the risk of drivers crossing the centerline, while also providing a means of managing access points that are in close proximity to the intersection. If we removed the median, we would still have to restrict the access to the business in the southeast corner to right-in/right-out because a left turn lane cannot be developed for southbound traffic turning left into the business, due to its close proximity to the intersection. This would result in there not being a location for a u-turn for southbound traffic to get back to the business. We have again spoken with the owner of the business, and he is not interested in having the access relocated to Alpine Drive." Alternatives: Alternative #1 — Motion adopting Resolution #14-01-017 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 #14-01-017 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 #14-01-017 at this time. Funding Source: 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 (signal/street improvements), Park and Recreation Funds (trail connection), and Water Utility Funds (water connection). 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. Should Council not approve the trail and watermain connections as part of this project, the City's estimated 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. Recommendation: