City Council Meeting Date: November 21, 2023
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 Bluff View Street Improvements Project.
BODY
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approves the attached Resolution Adopting Assessments for the Bluff View Street Improvements Project (2018EVP-Z12).
Summary Report:
The City Council is being asked to approve a resolution (Attachment 1) adopting the assessments for the Bluff View Street Improvements Project (2018EVP-Z12).
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 3. 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.
The City of Northfield has approved plans and specifications for the above-mentioned project and awarded a contract for the completion of the work. The project was initiated by a request from the Koester’s (Owners) and Bluff View LLC. (Developer) to have the City make the improvements for Bluff View Street Improvements on property they own. The owner and Developer have signed a 100% Petition for the Improvements and an Agreement of Assessment and Waiver of Irregularity and Appeal. The only remaining step in the process is to adopt the assessments for the project. The attached assessment roll indicates the amount owed by the Owner and Developer.
No hearing is being held prior to the adoption of the assessments as the property owner and Developer have petitioned for the project and signed the agreement of assessment. The assessment roll was prepared according to Section 175:00 of the City Code as adopted by the City Council.
Alternative Options:
No Action - Council could choose to not adopt the assessments; however, that would require alternative funding for the project. The only other option would be to issue street reconstruction bonds instead of improvement bonds (429). The use of street reconstruction bonding at this point would result in a delay due to the process required to issue those bonds.
Financial Impacts:
A summary of the project costs based on the final contract amount is shown below. The project will be financed through a combination of, enterprise funds, bonding and special assessments.
The proposed assessment roll (Attachment 5) shows the assessment for each of the abutting properties. The estimated assessment revenue is $1,502,415.63. The Developer has pre-paid $328,582.90 on 10 lots. Therefore, the remaining amount of $1,133,265.44 will be evenly split over the remaining 36 lots for an assessment amount of $31,479.60 per lot.
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: