City Council Meeting Date: July 19, 2016
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Sean Simonson, Engineering Manager
David Bennett, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer
Subject:
TITLE
Consider Adopting Assessments for the 2016 Woodley Street Reconstruction Project.
BODY
Action Requested:
Staff recommends approval of the Resolution Adopting Assessments for the Woodley Street Reconstruction Project (2013STRT-A18).
Summary Report:
The City Council is being asked to approve a resolution (Attachment 1) adopting the assessments for the 2016 Woodley Street Reconstruction Project (2013STRT-A18). The statutorily required 14-day notice for the June 21, 2016 assessment hearing was published in the Northfield News on May 25, 2016 and notices were sent to abutting property owners on May 20, 2016. On June 21, 2016, the City Council held a public hearing on assessments for the Woodley Street Reconstruction Project (2013STRT-A18). During the public hearing, Council received one objection from the President of the Edgewood Townhomes Association regarding the assessment amounts. Additionally, the resident from 820 Woodley St. East inquired about the assessment amount, but did not file an objection with the City Clerk or object at the public hearing. City Council voted to close the public hearing with the exception of the two properties, and directed staff to investigate assessments for the Jefferson Road Project, Pheasantwood Townhomes, and review the estimated market value of the land versus the assessment.
Notice was again mailed to the two affected properties on June 29, 2016 informing them of the continuance of the Assessment Hearing scheduled for the July 5th City Council Meeting. At the July 5th City Council meeting, City Council made a motion to close the Public Hearing for 820 Woodley St. East due to no formal objection as required by Minnesota Statutes, Section 429.061, subd. 2 and for the Edgewood Townhomes. After discussion, the City Council adopted Resolution 2016-068 Alternative 2, setting the total assessment for the Edgewood Townhomes at $8570, or $952.22 for each of the nine properties.
Adoption of the assessments through resolution is the final step in the assessment process for the project. The City Council has moved this project forward to this point with the actions shown in Attachment 2. The action requested above is required by Minnesota Statutes Chapter 429, which specifies the action that must be taken to assess property owners for the cost of local improvements.
Alternative Options:
Do Nothing - Council could choose to not adopt the assessments; however, that would require alternative funding for the project.
Financial Impacts:
A summary of the project costs based on the lowest bid and original planned funding is shown in Attachment 3. The project will be financed through a combination of enterprise funds, assessments, MSA dollars, and bonding.
The proposed street and utility improvements are eligible for assessments according to the City of Northfield’s Assessment Policy. All abutting properties are proposed to be assessed accordingly. A benefit appraisal was prepared as part of this reconstruction project, and it took into account zoning and land use within the project area. The assessment rate is a cost per linear foot of street frontage depending on the type of improvement and zoning/land use.
The proposed assessment roll (Attachment 4) shows the assessment for each of the abutting properties. Using the proposed rate of $70/linear foot, the estimated assessment revenue is $335,119.98. The individual assessments range from a low of $560.00 to a high of $11,200.00 for single family residential.
It is anticipated that some individual water and sewer service connections will need to be replaced along with the project. Service connections are the responsibility of the property owner from the right-of-way to the building. In the past the City has given property owners the option of having this work completed with the project and being assessed the additional amount. It is proposed to use a similar method for this project.
Following the process required by Minnesota Statute Chapter 429 will allow the benefits of this project to be assessed to the property owners which aids in establishing overall project funding.
Tentative Timelines:
The attached project process details the actions taken to date as well as the upcoming actions that will be requested of Council.