City Council Meeting Date: June 2, 2020
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 2020 Mill and Overlay Project.
BODY
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approves the attached Resolution Adopting Assessments for the 2020 Mill and Overlay Project (2019STRT-A45).
Summary Report:
The City Council is being asked to approve a resolution (Attachment 1) adopting the assessments for the 2020 Mill and Overlay Project (2019STRT-A45). A required 14-day notice for the assessment hearing was published in the Northfield News on April 29, 2020 and notices were sent to property owners abutting the project. On May 19, 2020, City Council held a public hearing on assessments for the 2020 Mill and Overlay Project.
City Council closed the public hearing for all properties with the exception of all Carleton College properties proposed for assessments. City Staff notified Carleton College (Attachment 2) of a continued public hearing regarding the Carleton College properties at the June 2, 2020 City Council meeting.
Council made a motion at the May 19, 2020 Council Meeting to amend First UCC assessment based on upon the fact that the property is a corner lot and it is their long side assessment. Long side assessment should be 10% of the frontage based on City Ordinance. Staff has made that change to the proposed assessment roll.
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.
Alternative Options:
Do Nothing - 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 Awarded Bid Price is shown below. The project will be financed through a combination of enterprise funds, bonding and special assessments.
The proposed street and utility improvements are eligible for assessment according to the City of Northfield’s Assessment Policy. All abutting properties are proposed to be assessed accordingly.
The proposed assessment roll shows the assessment for each of the abutting properties. The estimated assessment revenue is $1,339,265.00.
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.