Agenda - Council Work Session - 08/06/2018

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City Considering Franchise Fees to Fund Long -Term Street Maintenance Program The city of Ramsey recently adopted a Three Year Strategic Action Plan which identifies a goal of main- taining all city streets to an average ongoing rating of 6.5 using the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) system, To achieve this goal on all 174+ miles of city streets, the estimated annual cost over the next 5 years (2014 through 2018) would be $2,202,000, Over the next 10 years (2014 through 2023) the estimated annual cost would be $2,525,000, and over the next 60 years (2014 through 2073) the estimated annual cost would be $4,368,000. The estimated life -span of a typical city street in Ramsey is 60 years assuming routine maintenance opera- tions are performed over the life of the street. If routine rnaintenance is not performed, the estimated life ofa typical street is less than 30 years. The routine mainte- nance plan that is currently proposed includes: • Crack sealing streets 3 years after initial construction, overlays, and reconstructions • Crack sealing/seal coating streets in years 6, 13, 26, 33, 46, and 53 • Overlaying/edge milling streets in years 20 and 40 • Reclaim/repave or reconstruct streets around year 60 Lrack Sealing Street Overlay In order to allow city streets to be maintained as cost-effectively as possible. it is critical that the citv utilize a reliable. long-term funding source for the long-term street rnaintenance ❑rograrlm, Funding Source Funding sources for recent city street improve- ment projects have included the use of special assess- ments for sealcoating and overlay projects, as well as Municipal State Aid allotments, General Obligation bonds, and general levy budgeting. Unfortunately, these funding sources are becoming less and less reli- able due to shrinking state and local agency budgets and more frequent petitioning against projects results in project cost increases and/or project delays. Other funding sources include applying for grants, the use of Public -Private Partnerships, special legisla- tion (such as Street Improvement Districts), and/or the implementation ofutility franchise fees. Of these, only franchise fees can provide a reliable, dedicated funding source to ensure that all routine rnaintenance operations can be funded and completed on schedule to cost-effectively maintain all city streets. Public Hearing On October 8th, the City Council will hold a Public Hearing to solicit input regarding the imple- mentation of utility franchise fees through our electric and gas utility providers (Anoka Municipal Electric, CenterPoint Energy, and Connexus Energy) to help fund the long-term street rnaintenance program.