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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-06-15 NURB min NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 1 Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) Regular Meeting Tuesday, October 6, 2015 The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana. Present: Absent: Voting Members: Tom Noble, Chair Daniel Doehring Erik Nelson (arrived at 6:40 p.m.) Robert Pavlic Jeanne Wesley-Wiese Non-Voting Members: John Usher Commissioner Liaison: I-Ho Pomeroy Staff: Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director Craig Woolard, Director of Public Service Allyson Brekke, Associate Planner Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary Guests: Maurice Quanbeck, 520 North 11th Avenue Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace Avenue John How, KLJ Engineering Dustin Johnson, KLJ Engineering Call to Order – Chair Tom Noble called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. Changes to the Agenda – No changes were made to the agenda. Public Comment – No comment was received under this agenda item. Minutes – September 1, 2015. It was moved by Dan Doehring, seconded by Bob Pavlic, that the minutes of the meeting of September 1, 2015, be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 2 Discussion/Action Items – Update on street improvement design for North Wallace Avenue. Director of Public Service Craig Woolard reminded the Board of previous conversations about the possible creation of a special improvement district and cooperation with this district for improvements to North Wallace Avenue from East Lamme Street to L Street. He stated that, because of the traffic volumes on this street, 85 percent of the improvements will be paid from the street reconstruction fund while the property owners will be responsible for the remaining 15 percent. He reminded the Board that after an initial public meeting, an informal ballot regarding the improvements was sent out, and the response was overwhelmingly in support. Since KLJ has been retained by this Board, the City has also retained KLJ Engineering to prepare the design for the street improvements. A kick-off meeting was held last week, and topics of discussion included traffic calming and design features for pedestrian safety. KLJ Engineering is currently working on design options; a second public meeting will be held on October 22; and he anticipates a consensus on the design by the first part of December. That step will be followed by KLJ preparing the final design and the engineering estimate; then the City staff will proceed with the formal SID balloting prior to moving forward with the process for creating a special improvement district. If the SID moves forward, he anticipates bidding in February and construction to begin in May or June 2016. Responding to Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, the Director of Public Service confirmed that the 85/15 funding split applies to the basic reconstruction components while additional amenities, such as traffic circles, will be fully paid by the property owners. He stressed that the costs of those additional amenities will actually be a very small percentage of the estimated $1 million project and asked that the project not be derailed over those small costs. Responding to Chair Noble, the Director of Public Service stated the street reconstruction program is a City-wide one; and the North Wallace Avenue project is the first one being considered under the program. John How, KLJ Engineering, stated that adding traffic circles at a later date is more costly than installing them in conjunction with a street reconstruction project. Further responding to Chair Noble, Director of Public Service Woolard stated that only one design will be forwarded for the SID process since firm cost estimates are needed. He then cautioned that if these street improvements do not move forward, the next street on the list for reconstruction will move up. Responding to questions from Erik Nelson, the Director stated it might be possible to give careful consideration to bulb outs under the reconstruction program. He then indicated there are no federal or state program monies to be considered for this reconstruction. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese noted the Board had talked about including a pedestrian crossing at the railroad in this reconstruction project. Dustin Johnson, KLJ Engineering, reminded the Board that it has paid for designs for improvements to East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street; and if they wish to roll those projects into this package, there is additional work to be done. Director of Public Service Craig Woolard noted that, from a construction project standpoint, the bigger the project, the better the cost. He then cautioned that if all of the street NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 3 improvements are to be bid together, the designs must be completed by the time the North Wallace Avenue project is ready to bid. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot cautioned that the Board needs to consider the costs of design, being mindful of its budget and what it can reasonably pay for this fiscal year. Erik Nelson noted completing the bid documents for the streets that have already been designed moves those projects one step closer to being shovel ready. He acknowledged that if the projects are not undertaken this upcoming spring, it may be necessary to adjust the cost estimates but the remainder of the documents would be ready to go. John How reminded the Board that it must balance the impacts that street reconstruction will have on the district with the costs of those projects. Director of Public Service Woolard suggested that if all of the street improvements are bid together, the contract could specify which streets need to remain open to accommodate businesses and residents within the district. He recognized that to do all of the street improvements in a single season would result in paying mobilization costs only once; however, he cautioned that the savings of doing so must be weighed against impacts on the property owners and residents. He suggested another option might be to bid the North Wallace Avenue improvements as the base bid, with East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street being bid as alternates. Responding to Erik Nelson, the Economic Development Director stated there are adequate monies in the bank now to cover the costs of the North Wallace Avenue improvements lying within this district. He then noted the Administrative Services Director has indicated that the process would need to be started tomorrow if this Board wishes to issue bonds in the Spring. He observed that, since he lives on East Story Street, he knows firsthand how disruptive the reconstruction of a street can be on traffic and residents in the area. He encouraged the Board to carefully consider whether the impact on residents is worth the cost savings of bidding all of the improvements in a single package. Erik Nelson voiced his support for proceeding with the finalization of construction designs for East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street. Dustin Johnson reminded the Board that the East Peach Street design does not meet City standards with its drainage swales and other unique features. He also cautioned that, if the Board wishes to have those street designs completed, the staff at KLJ Engineering will be trying to complete the designs for two streets plus undertaking the complete design process for a third street; and staff will be running out of the capacity to do all of the work. Director of Public Service Woolard stated there are some sewer pinch points on East Front Street, and he does not want to build a new street that will then need to be torn up to address those sewer issues. Dustin Johnson noted that the designs for North Ida Avenue/Front Street have some unique design features, such as reverse crowns and drainage features, that work for the street as it serves the area now; however, he is concerned that future redevelopment of the depot might result in the need to redo those improvements. NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 4 Erik Nelson reiterated that, since the documents for East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street are approximately 90 percent complete, he feels they should be completed, noting that bonds cannot be issued without that step. Responding to Bob Pavlic, Director of Public Service Woolard stated there will be a shared use path by Kenyon-Noble. He recognizes there may be potential conflicts with trails, a pedestrian path and the railroad crossing. He cautioned that it will be extremely difficult to get a dedicated pedestrian path across the railroad track. John How stated that, if the Board wishes, KLJ Engineering will coordinate possible pedestrian improvements with MRL. He cautioned, however, that if the project is to be bid in February with construction to be done during the summer, this step is already a month behind. Dustin Johnson, KLJ Engineering, noted that design of the pedestrian improvements is easy; it’s the railroad permissions and approvals that complicate and lengthen the process. Responding to Erik Nelson, Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated that staff will proceed when directed to do something, bringing responses back to an upcoming meeting for Board consideration and action so that processes can continue to move forward. Responding to Erik Nelson, Director of Public Service Craig Woolard stated design options and rough renderings will be submitted to the public meeting on October 22; and a consensus on design must be completed by December 15. He confirmed that the rough renderings can be submitted to this Board at its November meeting for comment. Responding to questions from Chris Nixon, the Director of Public Service stated East Lamme Street north of Hawthorne School was part of the mill and overlay project. He stressed that North Wallace Avenue is too far gone to maintain but once it is reconstructed, it can be the subject of street maintenance projects for many years. He estimated there are twenty streets in the community that need to be reconstructed. Review of projects in work plan. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese asked that the railroad crossing be added to the list of projects. Chair Noble asked that the quiet zone also be added to the list. Set priorities for District Capital Improvement Program. John How distributed rough estimates for the top projects contained in the work plan. He cautioned that not all of the projects are included because not all of them are candidates for bonding, and the maximum bond issue available at this time will only cover the costs of the projects listed. He noted those projects include East Peach Street, East Tamarack Street/Front Street/North Ida Avenue, North Wallace Avenue, pedestrian bridge, pedestrian railroad crossing upgrades and quiet zones. Dustin Johnson reviewed the amounts contained in the memo dated October 6, noting that the numbers for the East Peach Street project are three years old and will probably need to be increased. He stated the costs for the East Tamarack Street/Front Street/North Ida NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 5 Avenue design were lumped into a single figure; and he has done his best to split those costs across the individual streets. He stated that, where there was a range of cost estimates for a project, he took a middle one. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot characterized the quiet zone and pedestrian railroad crossing upgrades as wild cards since they are dependent upon railroad approvals. Erik Nelson noted an argument could be made that those projects are bigger than the district and that they are actually of community-wide benefit. He suggested the Board could facilitate the projects by bearing the costs of design and then seeking community-wide support for the costs of construction/installation. He suggested this could be accomplished through a presentation to the Commission that includes the design and suggested sources of funding. Responding to John How, Erik Nelson voiced his interest in bonding for the maximum amount possible, noting that the mathematics suggest it is the most beneficial option. He noted that finishing the engineering design for the street projects and preparing the documents for bidding will be moving those projects forward, and bonding can be undertaken once the cost estimates have been updated. Responding to Chair Noble, Economic Development Director Fontenot stated he has heard the Board provide direction to staff to update the design and cost estimates for East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street/Front Street/Ida Avenue to construction ready documents and to proceed with the bonding process for the maximum amount available, with both steps to be completed by Spring 2016. Chair Noble noted that at next month’s meeting, updated costs for street reconstruction and the bonding capacity should be available. He asked that the costs for the East Tamarack Street project be split from the other streets in that design package, since it appears construction of the other street improvements should be delayed for a variety of reasons. He then observed that the Board currently has the monies available for the pedestrian bridge. Erik Nelson suggested that as many projects be retained on the list as possible until firm numbers are available for both costs and bonding. He then asked that the cost estimates include a line for contingencies rather than engineering/administrative cost estimates. Dustin Johnson noted that KLJ Engineering received the cost estimates last week; and they need to vet the numbers provided to ensure their accuracy. It was moved by Erik Nelson, seconded by Tom Noble, that the Board express its intent to proceed with the projects outlined in the memo from KLJ Engineering dated October 6, with the caveat that once the final cost estimates and maximum bonding amount are available, they may need to be edited. The motion carried on a 5-0 vote. Update on Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts. John How, KLJ Engineering, stated he has no draft document at this time. He noted they are waiting for information from another consultant that the City hired before his firm was retained. He asked that this item be placed on the agenda for next month’s meeting unless he receives direction from the City Manager that the document be submitted to the Commission prior to November 3. NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 6 Prepare list of questions to submit to Jim Lewis, MRL, regarding depot, railroad crossing and other railroad issues. Chair Noble suggested that KLJ Engineering prepare a list of questions and submit it to the railroad, providing the results to this Board. John How responded that he will have Brad from the Helena office work with Jim Lewis. Responding to comments from Chair Noble, Dustin Johnson cautioned that pedestrian barricades could be pretty expensive; however, he noted that an asphalt pathway across the railroad would not be. Responding to Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, John How cautioned that the installation of a dedicated sidewalk will require acquisition of additional street right-of-way; and that will delay the project for at least a year. Dustin Johnson noted that the signal arms could be moved so that the pedestrian crossing lies within the protection of those arms. Erik Nelson suggested that the Board could use $20,000 to do a pedestrian crossing now and the upgrade it to a deluxe version in five or six year with the assistance of other funding sources. Bob Pavlic noted that the owner of Treasure State Oil has removed the gas pumps from the site and is strictly doing bulk sales. He continues to lease the depot from the railroad, but it is nearly emptied out. Economic Development Director Fontenot noted there has been some community interest in doing something with the depot. Erik Nelson noted that there is not much parking along the depot property. He suggested it may be possible to develop shared parking in the East Aspen Street right-of-way for the district. He recognized a trail has already been constructed in the right-of-way, but noted there is still adequate room for parking. Set agenda for November 3, 2015 meeting or cancel meeting. Chair Noble noted that, in light of discussions during this meeting, items for the November agenda include bonding, an update on the street designs and estimated costs, a report on the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District, and updated work plan cost estimates. Responding to Economic Development Director Fontenot, John How stated the plan for North Wallace Avenue improvements will still be in rough form for the November meeting. He then stated the final design will not be ready for City Commission action until December 15, so this Board can take its action on the design at its December meeting. FYI/Discussion (formerly Neighborhood News). Dustin Johnson announced that he has accepted employment as a County Engineer in Eastern Washington and his employment with KLJ Engineering is done at the end of this meeting. He then noted that Steve Grabel is the engineer for the North Wallace Avenue project, so it will continue to move forward. NURB Meeting – October 6, 2015 7 Responding to Chris Nixon, John How stated the North Wallace Avenue right-of-way at the railroad crossing is currently 40 feet, while the preferable width is 60 feet. Adjournment – 8:08 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, Chair Noble adjourned the meeting. Tom Noble, Chair Northeast Urban Renewal Board City of Bozeman