Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/03/2017 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP AND OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2017 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief James DeMann, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Assistant City Engineer Randy Newton, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Cynthia Harder GUESTS: Jim Alexander and Sarah Ghandour, Southwest Light Rail Transit Project Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and H(5:30) I. SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the workshop to order at 5:32 p.m. and said the topic of the workshop is an update on Southwest Light Rail Transit(LRT). Getschow introduced Jim Alexander, Project Director of the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project, and Sarah Ghandour, Southwest Light Rail Transit Project's Assistant Manager of Design. Alexander announced he and Ghandour plan to cover three items in their update: civil construction, Eden Prairie Town Center Station design update and Eden Prairie Town Center Station North/West access concept. Alexander said the civil construction bids were reviewed at the core management committee last week. On September 20, Met Council voted to reject all four bids for the civil construction package, which includes the 14.5 miles of the project to Eden Prairie, due to cost and non-responsiveness issues. Alexander said they are working closely with Hennepin County and looking at cost saving opportunities while maintaining the new project start status, major scope elements (14.5 miles of LRT), and bidder interest. Alexander showed the re-solicit bid schedule as receiving bids in January 2018, awarding a contract in April 2018 and issuing a limited notice to proceed in May 2018. Tyra- Lukens asked if anyone is able to bid on the project. Alexander replied there are certain qualifications builders must meet in order to bid on this project and he did not expect any new entities to bid even though there is a small possibility that could happen. Alexander reviewed potential plan modifications for all cities that are part of the project, including waiving or reducing ROW and building permit fees; replacing poly preform striping tape with paint; poly wrapping pipes instead of coating pipes; and using chain link City Council Workshop Minutes October 3, 2017 Page 2 fencing instead of ornamental fencing at stations and corridors. Another modification specific to Eden Prairie was changing MnDOT bridge railings to chain link. Alexander confirmed there was not a strong interest from Met Council to remove stations; they are working to make the modifications to get the project approved through specification language. Tyra-Lukens asked for clarification on the difference between striping tape and paint for roads. Randy Newton, Assistant City Engineer, said Eden Prairie uses epoxy paint on all City roads and MnDOT uses tape then grinds it in because it's more permanent but more expensive. Case thought the cost of fencing was not a large amount compared to the rest of the project and asked how much switching to chain link would save. Alexander replied the estimated fencing cost is $1.5 million and the lowest bid of the entire project was $797 million. He said the County wants to see savings, even if it seems small in comparison to the total cost. Alexander continued they're navigating the funding process since they're funded locally and federally; half by the County and half by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Alexander explained FTA will not sign off on the Full-Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) to get a 50% share until other phases are complete with the project. Bids need to be received, then financial and risk analyses are needed. It is anticipated the FFGA will not be received until late 2018. Alexander stressed the importance of keeping the contractor happy during that time when the cost would be on the local side. Tyra-Lukens said there are possible large reductions such as the Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF). She thought after running the LRT for five years, there could be a chance to increase the size of OMF however the likelihood of fencing eventually being upgraded is minimal. Alexander said significant cuts in the OMF are being considered. Nelson agreed it is important to do the fencing right the first time. To gain clarity on when decision must be made, Getschow asked if the plan is to go back to Corridor Management Committee (CMC) to present recommendations for what the changes could be, including OMF. Alexander said they plan to touch base with CMC again this month but OMF would be a separate package; they won't go to CMC for approval and they are not looking to take it before their Council. Getschow pointed out Eden Prairie is unique due to the parking structure at Southwest Transit. Major building construction is occurring in Eden Prairie, along with right-of-way. Ellis said all cities collectively have 2.1 million dollars in fees. Eden Prairie has 500,000 dollars spread between the parking structure and the individual stations. Building Services will do inspections and permits for the stations and Public Works will do permits for anything related to utilities and the right-of-way. Getschow said a discussion is needed internally to decide if a Locally Requested Capital Improvement(LRCI) is needed to keep ornamental fencing at the stations. A LRCI is already being used to keep ornamental fencing on the bridges. Jeremiah said the fencing at Southwest Station is unique and Ellis said chain link fencing at the City West and Golden Triangle stations would save about$200,000. If the City wanted to keep fencing, the City may be City Council Workshop Minutes October 3, 2017 Page 3 required to pay for it. Nelson asked if the fence in discussion is going up to the station or at the station. Ellis said the ornamental fencing will lead up to the station but the fencing at the station is in question. Ellis said MnDOT has design guidelines for bridges they must have a certain level of aesthetic. Tyra-Lukens asked if chain link meets MnDOT's standards and Alexander confirmed it does not. Nelson said the stations should look like what Eden Prairie is envisioned to look like for the next twenty years and she is not sure if they will back away from that initial idea. Ghandour reviewed the tentative change order schedule for Town Center Station and said they are looking to wrap up design by the end of the year and begin work in fall 2018. This timeline is dependent on when the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) grant is awarded. Money will not be reimbursed if spent prior to the date the grant is awarded. Ellis said they will continue to apply for grants to close the gap on the infrastructure costs. So far, Ellis said a grant was received for 6.1 million dollars which would cover Met Transit infrastructure and some City infrastructure. There is a gap of about 2.1 million for the station and roadwork. Ghandour said an easement will be required from Bowlero to Eden Road. Along the sidewalk there will be new street lighting,bike parking,planter boxes, a pedestrian crossing, curbside parking on both sides of Eden Road, and an access ramp to the water tower. Tyra-Lukens asked why access to the water tower would be required. Ghandour said the easements will increase access, in particular pedestrian access, to the stations. Jeremiah said there is no room for a plaza by Bowlero and when they were looking at the site, they determined the water tower plaza is a nice area. Ghandour said there will be retaining wall behind the station (eight feet at the tallest point). Ghandour showed plans for the design of the station pointing out the landscape theme, color and pattern is consistent with Eden Road. Lindsey Danhauser, Senior Recreation Supervisor, said Town Center design guidelines influenced the design of Town Center Station and the panel graphic options are prairie-style inspired. Ghandour explained the North/West access concept to provide access from Town Center Station to Costco and Rosemount Emerson's parking lots. To create this access point, the base point wall would be shifted between 15-18 feet to provide enough space. Jeremiah said the access point is part of the grant application and would account for a third of the 1.4 million dollar grant. The biggest part of the cost is the right-of-way and trail easement. Tyra- Lukens asked why a long trail is being built instead of simply an access point. Case asked who the trail benefits. Jeremiah thought Costco employees would benefit from access to the station. A number of options were considered for allowing pedestrian access and none of them are ideal. Case asked for data to project ridership and how many nearby employees would use this light rail station. He thought a northerly connection is not needed until the road is built or redevelopment occurs in the area. Getschow said there is a change order needed and a funding gap for the entire station needs to be closed. Alexander said the project is very viable and moving forward; County partners City Council Workshop Minutes October 3, 2017 Page 4 are very engaged. Hennepin County is picking up half the funding on the local side. The other half will be funded by FTA. After bids are received in January, the financial and risk assessments will be done to meet FTA requirements, and after the application is finalized the FFGA grant will take up to five months for review. Given this timeline, the grant is anticipated in late 2018. Tyra-Lukens thanked Alexander and Ghandour for their presentation. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM III. ADJOURNMENT