City Council Meeting Date: April 18, 2017
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Sean Simonson, Engineering Manager
David Bennett, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer
Title
Consider Ordering the Improvement and Preparation of Plans and Specifications for the 2017 Street Reclamation Project
Body
Action Requested:
Staff recommends approval of the Resolution - Ordering the Improvement and Preparation of Plans and Specifications for the 2017 Street Reclamation Project (STRT2017-A36). A supermajority vote (6 of 7) is required for approval of the resolution in accordance with Minnesota State Statute Chapter 429.
Summary Report:
The City Council is being asked to consider a resolution ordering the 2017 Street Reclamation Project and authorize preparation of plans and specifications. Per Minnesota State Statute, this resolution requires a supermajority (6 of 7) for approval. Staff is recommending Council order the improvement.
From this point, final plans for the improvement will be prepared. The reclamation project includes the following streets:
• Maple Street from Woodley Street to Ninth Street (including sidewalk)
• Ninth Street from Maple Street to Nevada Street (including sidewalk)
• Nevada Street from Ninth Street to Seventh Street (including sidewalk)
• Bunday Court
• Hillside Court
• Professional Drive from Woodley Street to TH 3 Service Road
• Marvin Lane from Division Street to Washington Street (including sidewalk)
• Sibley View Drive from Jefferson Parkway to Sibley View Court
• Sibley View Court
The actions requested above are required by Minnesota Statutes Chapter 429, which specifies the actions that must be taken to assess property owners for the cost of local improvements. The City Council has moved this project forward to this point with the actions shown in the attached project process (Attachment 2).
Background
On December 6, 2016 the City Council passed Council Resolution 2016-116 which ordered the preparation of the original feasibility report for the 2017 Street Reclamation Project. The original Feasibility Report was approved and an Improvement Hearing was set and held at the February 7, 2017 City Council Meeting. At the Improvement Hearing, sidewalk installation was discussed on the Marvin Lane portion of the Project Corridor. Since this additional sidewalk was not noted in the Improvement Hearing Notice, it was required by the State Stature 429 Process to amend the Feasibility Report to include sidewalk on the Marvin Lane portion of the Project Corridor and re-notice the Improvement Hearing. City Council approved the updated Feasibility Report by Resolution 2017-018 and set the Improvement Hearing at the March 7, 2017 City Council meeting. At the April 4, 2017 City Council Meeting, the aforementioned Improvement Hearing was held.
Project Highlights
Streets
All street segments proposed in the 2017 Street Reclamation Project are classified as “Local” streets in the current Comprehensive Plan. Soil borings have already been completed and indicate a sufficient existing gravel base to complete full-depth reclamation on all segments. The generated material from the reclamation process will then be re-graded and re-compacted to provide a new granular base for the street segments. The streets will then be paved with bituminous asphalt. Curb and gutter spot repairs will be performed as needed to provide positive drainage for the new street surface.
Utilities
Minor repairs to the sanitary sewer will be performed as indicated in the Feasibility Report. The majority of the repairs made are related to upgrading facilities to the current City Standards. Watermain repairs are also minor. One repair of note, Hillside Court, will have a City Standard fire hydrant installed due to the lack of a hydrant for that area. Storm sewer repairs are also proposed to be minimal. Rehabilitation of existing structures and the replacement of a few structures are planned.
Sidewalks and Tree impacts
Currently, the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan (Attachment 3), which was adopted by City Council on Motion 2010-0031 on February 16, 2010 identifies the Maple Street, Ninth Street, and Nevada Street portion of the project corridor as an area with “Lack of Sidewalk on Key Routes”. Attachment 4 shows the overall sidewalk and trail connections that would link to the proposed sidewalk installations. Staff has indicated in the Feasibility Report that construction of the sidewalks throughout this specified corridor can be constructed and funded with the available funds that have been allocated to this project.
Maple St./Nevada St./Ninth St
Staff has also evaluated the proposed design for conformity to the Complete Streets Policy which was adopted on Resolution 2012-064 on July 17, 2012 (Attachment 5). This policy was adopted to ensure all streets are planned, funded, designed, constructed, operated and maintained to safely accommodate users of all ages and abilities. Incorporating sidewalks specified by the SRTS Plan on both sides of this particular project corridor would be consistent with adhering to the adopted Complete Streets Policy. The “Directives” section of the Complete Streets Policy under provision”1” allows specific exceptions to adhering to the policy (see attached Complete Streets Policy). The City Administrator and City Engineer do not believe any of the conditions for exceptions exist with the proposed design. Therefore, we are not recommending any exceptions to the proposed design that includes sidewalks on both sides of the project area.
An Arborist Report was completed for the Maple Street, Ninth Street, and Nevada Street Project Corridor where sidewalks are proposed for installation. Trees located in the Right-of-Way (ROW) were evaluated and given a rating of 0 - 9. Conditions 4 - 9 are considered healthy; trees 0 - 3 have significant defects, and are recommended for removal. A total of 43 trees were inventoried throughout this area. Of those 43 trees, 36 were in the ROW and 7 were located outside of the ROW, but were evaluated due to possible root impact with sidewalk installations. Of the 36 trees located in the ROW, 7 trees are recommended for immediate removal due to an evaluation score of 3 or less. Also, 1 Green Ash tree is recommended for removal due to the susceptibility to Emerald Ash Borer. With the proposed sidewalk design, it is estimated 4 additional trees will need to be removed due to new sidewalk installations on both the Nevada Street Area, and the Marvin Lane Area, for a total of 12 trees on the entire project. Trees are scheduled to be replaced at a 2:1 ratio if space allows.
Marvin Ln.
Sidewalks were not originally planned on Marvin Lane during the early design stages of the 2017 Street Reclamation Project. Since the planning of the Project has begun, the City of Northfield has also completed the Jefferson Parkway TH 246 Intersection Control Evaluation (ICE) Study. As part of this ICE Study, consultants also evaluated additional accesses to the Northfield High School, including the current access on TH 246. A result of the this study, it was suggested to add a pedestrian crossing at the north property line of the high school to line up with the existing sidewalk access along the School’s northern property line. Along with the pedestrian crossing, it was also proposed to add a sidewalk from the proposed crossing on the east side of TH 246 to Marvin Lane as part of the above mentioned ICE Study. (Attachment 6) Therefore, with the 2017 Street Reclamation Project, it is suggested to install a sidewalk on the South Side of Marvin Lane from TH 246 to Washington Street as a future link to the proposed sidewalk recommended as part of the ICE Study. This sidewalk option on Marvin Lane was also included in Motion 2017-035, which was passed at the February 21, 2017 City Council Meeting directing Staff to update the Feasibility report to include sidewalk on Marvin Lane.
During the conceptual design phase, sidewalk installation on the south side of Marvin Lane, along with sidewalk on both sides of the road, in the Maple Street, Ninth Street and Nevada Street area, which is consistent with the SRTS plan and limiting the impact on existing trees, were the two main criteria taken into consideration. Staff came up with the following recommendation for consideration:
West Curb moved in from Nevada Ct. to Seventh St., East Curb moved in from Ninth St. to Woodley Street and South curb moved on Marvin Lane from Washington Street to TH 246
This option includes sidewalks on both sides of the Maple Street, Ninth Street, and Nevada Street corridor. However, this option incorporates the removal of the existing curb and gutter on the west side of the corridor from Nevada Court to Seventh Street, and narrowing the street four feet to a 32’ width. Sidewalks and retaining walls in this area would be placed directly behind the curb to lessen the tree impacts. Removal of the existing curb, coupled with the narrowing of the street results in saving an estimated 10 trees on the west side. The cost for this change is minimal due to offsetting costs of less retaining wall versus additional curb. Additionally, curb and gutter would be removed on the east side of Maple Street from Ninth Street to Woodley Street. Again, this area would be narrowed 4’ to allow for a 5’ sidewalk, and an approximate 4’ boulevard. Finally, curb and gutter would be removed on the south side of Marvin Lane from Washington Street to TH 246 to create a 32’ Street, and allow for a 5’ sidewalk and an approximate 4’ boulevard.
Staff completed rough pedestrian counts in the fall of 2016 after school began on the Maple/Nevada Street area. Staff observed 20 pedestrians, a combination of students walking to and from Sibley Elementary along with students getting picked up and dropped off by the bus for either the middle school or high school.
In summary, staff feels the improvement is necessary and feasible and the improvement should be ordered.
Alternative Options:
1. The City Council could delay this project; however, the pavement will require significant repair work in order to keep the streets in marginal condition for traffic.
2. City Council could approve the project with no sidewalk on Marvin Lane.
Financial Impacts:
The estimated total project costs indicate there is enough funding available to complete this project. The financial costs are shown in Attachment 7.
Tentative Timelines:
The project process (Attachment 2) accounts for all the required actions by City Council to ensure that Minnesota Statute Chapter 429 procedures are followed so that assessments for local improvements may be levied to abutting benefitting properties.