Agenda - Council - 04/12/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC Regular Session 7. 5. Meeting Date: 04/12/2016 By: Mark Riverblood, Engineering/Public Works Information Title: Consider Request to Amend the Master Plan for Mississippi West Regional Park and Develop Cost -Share Agreement for the Mississippi Skyway Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to request authorization to pursue 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 intention of this agreement would be that it also leads to a designation for the bridge as an 'Equally Valuable Facility' (discussed below), and serves as the cost equivalent for the Right of Way (ROW) for the proposed Riverdale Drive project. The proposed pedestrian bridge has been shown as part of Ramsey's 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 remainder of the Mississippi Skyway. Thereafter, a private landowner donated the easement for the 'touchdown' area of the pedestrian bridge alongside Riverdale Drive. 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 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 or payment needs to occur for the acquisition or conversion of park land to any other use. 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