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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 03/15/2022 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matthew Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O’Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT Jim Alexander, project director for southwest light rail transit (SWLRT), and James Mockovciak, SWLRT outreach coordinator for Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, provided a presentation to the Council on SWLRT updates. Alexander presented a project overview of the metro green line extension. When looking at the overall project, a lot of the major bridges are in Eden Prairie. 29 new structures are up and all are under construction now. A lot of retaining walls and track have been laid. One of the key challenges of the project has been the shared freight rail corridor. Overall, they are currently a little over 60 percent done on the civil construction. Minneapolis is at the tail end of completion for the project. The civil contractor, led by Lunda/McCrossan, is in charge of building the bridges, track, and stations. Aldridge-Parsons Joint Venture (JV) is the systems contractor who started last year. There are many specialty contractors they have been working with regularly to complete this project. Case asked how close Eden Prairie is to completion. Alexander replied he does not have a percentage of civil construction completed specific to Eden Prairie. They are nearly ready to turn over the Eden Prairie portion of the line to the systems contractor to work on. One of the challenges they run into is it looks like it is done, but it is not. Once the system is done there is testing. The most obstructive roadway closures are essentially over. For the most part, structures and retaining walls are built. They still have about 1,000 piles to do. They had announced in January the timeline will be later than anticipated. Completion was pushed until 2027. The two key issues have been the corridor protection wall and the secant pile retaining wall. The corridor protection wall is a crash barrier that divides the freight rail from the light rail in eastern Minneapolis. It was originally planned to be a change order, and once the change order was requested the cost was a lot more than originally anticipated with the City Council Workshop Minutes March 15, 2022 Page 2 contractor as well as a longer timeline. The secant pile retaining wall is necessary for one of the tunnels they are building. One of the sections, near a condominium, has developed cracks. They have hired experts to assess what is going on and what has been the cause of the cracks as they have only been digging holes so far. Case inquired if they are optimistic the work they have done has not created the cracks. Alexander replied he would like to hear the information from the engineer. Toomey inquired if there is room to move the tunnel. Alexander replied there is no room to move the tunnel. The portion near the condominiums is about 500 feet long. The tunnel is about 2,200 feet long. He is confident they will find a path to go through. Toomey inquired if the cracks are in the foundation of the building. Alexander replied at the transition between the link building and silo building there is minor separation occurring. Alexander stated the third key issue has been the Eden Prairie town center station. This change, collectively with the other changes, has been an issue for the contractor. Getschow stated the town center station being listed in the article as a challenge has caused some consternation as it was always intended to be a change order. The City also helped secure a grant for funding. Alexander stated the cost of the change order in combination with other changes has caused challenge. Town center station is nearly done. The tunnel is the primary culprit of the extended timeline. Alexander stated initially the contractor was scheduled to complete their work by October this year. Due to the challenges, they needed to add another 34 months to the contract. They also have to negotiate a new schedule with the systems contractor. Once their contract has been negotiated, they will need to adjust the supporting contracts for consultants. The new revised estimated total is $2.65 to $2.75 billion dollars. Narayanan inquired about federal funding and if there will be additional funding from the new infrastructure bill. Alexander stated he will have funding information later in the presentation, but they are not coming to cities for additional funding. They are working with Hennepin County, Governor’s Office, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). One of the challenges they have with FTA is the locked in number prior to the engineering stage. Case inquired if the difference in cost is specifically associated with the three key challenges. Alexander replied the cost of those changes has already been accounted for. The additional monies are to see this project out to the extended timeline and to anticipate potential issues. Alexander stated a study done by The Eno Center for Transportation compared peer group metropolitan area projects in Pittsburg, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and Houston. This project is at or below the cost of those projects. Narayanan inquired about the large price difference. The project cost has been historically underestimated, and it is difficult to capture costs. They are getting multiple opinions on the estimates, and they are also factoring in COVID and supply shortages. City Council Workshop Minutes March 15, 2022 Page 3 Alexander stated a lot of developments are happening along the line, an important key piece of the transit system. Another focus of the project is the disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE). To date, they are sitting above their initial goals in the construction contract. Next steps, the systems engineer will begin to test the west portion of the line prior to the tunnel. The testing program is very rigorous. Toomey inquired how long testing takes. Alexander replied the operators are allotted at least six months to test. Prior to their testing there is integrated testing for at least six months. James Mockovciak stated they are often questioned about being able to run a portion of the line until the other half is finished. Alexander added there really isn’t a feasible way to do so and staff it. The 2021 construction highlights include the project being 60 percent complete with civil construction, 25 of the 29 bridges underway, 8 of the 8 tunnels underway, 114 of 131 retaining walls are completed or under construction, 95 percent of 946 private utilities complete, 75 percent of nearly 1,300 public utilities complete, completed all 15 building demolitions, systems contractor mobilized and in design and procurement, Franklin Operation and Maintenance facility modifications are nearly complete, and 26 of 27 light rail vehicles are delivered. The vehicles are outfitted with additional cameras. They have to ride a certain number of hours before they are in service. 11 of the 16 stations are underway. Eden Prairie has done a remarkable job with adding lighting and art elements. In regards to 2022 construction activity, there will be some lane closures by the Prairie Center Drive crossing later in the year. There will be roadway closures on 70th Street in the spring to get the track laid. The off-ramp from westbound T.H.212 to Shady Oak Road will be closed for retaining wall work. Narayanan inquired if construction in Eden Prairie will be completed in 2022. Mockovciak replied by the end of the year it will look like it is visually completed but there will still be a lot of little details to finish. It will likely be about 95 percent completed. Alexander stated their systems contractor will be storing some of the supplies and equipment in Golden Valley needed for later so they do not run into supply chain issues. There are a total of 20 traction power substations (TPSS). Freiberg inquired how the TPSS works. Alexander responded it brings in alternating current and sends it to the catenary system. The catenary system, the overhead wires and poles, then sends power to the car. Alexander stated the Metro Transit Police Department is made up of 141 sworn full-time transit police officers and 50 part-time. Narayanan inquired how many police officers will be assigned to the green line. Alexander replied he does not have the exact numbers. Getschow noted a few years ago it was stated there would be about 40 officers added. Toomey inquired about security measures for the ends of the line. Alexander noted there are security measures at all the stations, but likely more at the ends. Narayanan inquired if there is facial recognition. Alexander replied he is uncertain. Case inquired if there is data to address the fears of the potential rise in crime. Mockovciak responded they have been in conversations with cities and police departments about security measures, and not only the reactive ways but the proactive ways in which they can respond to these concerns. Alexander added each of City Council Workshop Minutes March 15, 2022 Page 4 the stations is equipped with safety and security measures such as lighting, cameras, and phones. Mockovciak provided an update on communications and outreach. In 2021 they received 31 total hotline calls from Eden Prairie residents. They continue to put out a weekly email on construction news. They will be in attendance at City events such as Arbor Day and the Hometown Celebration. Lotthammer added there is an artist who put together an artistic depiction of a train to help provide information on LRT. This will be shared between the LRT cities at events. Mockovciak they also held three public walking tours in every city, and they will continue to do so this year. They will continue to do their pop-up events as well. Narayanan stated he supports light rail transit, but he has been disappointed by the delayed timeframe. He inquired if there is increased operating costs and costs per passenger. He also inquired how Council can or should continue to defend the project. Alexander replied they are not just building a green line extension but rather a robust transit system. Toomey inquired if the project will be paused during the audit. Alexander replied they project will resume during the audit, but the staff in his office will continue to be focused on the project while also focusing on the audit. Case stated the vision of the project and the need for a transit system has not changed. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM III. ADJOURNMENT