Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 02/11/2016

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Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Date: 02/11/2016 By: Mark Riverblood, Engineering/Public Works 5. 1. Information Title: Recommend Development of a Cost Share Agreement with Anoka County Parks and Metropolitan Council for the Mississippi Skyway. Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to recommend to City Council that staff be directed to work towards 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 proposed pedestrian bridge has been shown as part of the 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 rest of the Mississippi Skyway. 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 (ROW) 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 needs to occur for the acquisition or conversion of park land. 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.