Agenda - Public Works Committee - 02/19/2019

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Anoka County Improvement Projects • Roundabout at Armstrong Boulevard/CSAH 83 and Alpine Drive • Last fall Anoka County requested $1.35M in Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding for state fiscal years 2022/2023. • HSIP is a federal -aid funding program designed to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. The object of this program is to identify, implement and evaluate cost effective construction safety projects. • Anoka County was recently awarded HSIP funding of $1.35M (estimated total project cost = $1.5M). • Local cost share (Anoka County and City of Ramsey) = $150,000. • City of Ramsey costs will be per the Anoka County cost share policy. • Anoka County plans to begin project design efforts within the next year. • Construction will likely occur in 2022/2023, pending future City of Ramsey and Anoka County approvals. MnDOT Improvement Projects . Ferry Street / Trunk Highway 47 Grade Separation @ BNSF Railway Crossing (2017) • Preliminary design still on hold • MnDOT is exploring the potential realignment of Highway 47 to remove the S-curve at the Anoka County fair grounds • Ramsey Staff is continuing to track this project • MnDOT is considering combining with other Highway 10 improvements Items of Interest . City Council to Consider Topsoil Ordinance Amendment on February 26th • In the mid-2000s, the City adopted a development requirement requiring all new construction to add 4" of premium topsoil over disturbed areas. The intent was to reduce the consumption of water related to lawn irrigation based on direction from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources following requests for several new public water supply wells. • The adopted topsoil standard, which is still in place today, calls for the use of MnDOT Specification 3877 Premium Topsoil Borrow which has 5 — 15% organic matter, 10-25% clay, and 25-60% silts, which is a much more robust and expensive topsoil than our peer communities require. • On July 24, 2018, Capstone Homes submitted a letter requesting that the City consider revising the topsoil standard by eliminating the Premium Topsoil Borrow specification, a now former MnDOT specification. The request identified two negative effects of the current topsoil requirement. First, that the topsoil is doing too good of a job of holding water. They acknowledge that many homeowners are likely not adjusting their irrigation systems to account for the topsoil and are actually contributing to the problem. Secondly, they identified price as a concern compared to the cost of 'regular' black dirt. • Based on available cost data, it costs roughly $1,500 more to apply premium topsoil over 6,000 square feet (0.15 acres), and $4,000 more to apply premium topsoil over 43,560 square feet (1.0 acre), than it would cost to apply topsoil specified by our peer communities. • It should be noted that Staff has observed numerous unusable areas of lawns due to oversaturated, spongy turf resulting from continued use of irrigation systems or from multiple days of precipitation, typically where back yard drainage systems exist. • On August 20th and November 19th, 2018, Community Development Staff discussed Capstone's topsoil amendment request with the Environmental Policy Board. The EPB requested Staff to gather information on what some peer communities with similar sandy soils require for topsoil and what the purpose of the requirement was (to ensure an apples -to -apples comparison). Staff looked at the requirements for peer communities such as Andover, Big Lake, and Blaine, all of which have a topsoil requirement and are growing communities on sandy soils. Ultimately, the EPB recommended proceeding with amending the definition of topsoil to be more similar to surrounding peer communities. • On February 7th, 2019, Community Development Staff discussed the topsoil amendment request and the EPB's recommendation with the Planning Commission. Following discussion, the Planning Commission also recommended amending the City's topsoil ordinance by amending the definition of