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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-01-17 Minutes - Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) NURB Meeting – August 1, 2017 1 Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) Regular Meeting Tuesday, August 1, 2017 The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana. Present: Absent: Voting Members: Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Vice Chair John Usher, Chair Bobbi Clem Dan Doehring (arrived at 6:36 p.m.) Robert Pavlic Non-Voting Members: Ethan Barlow Dalton Brink Commissioner Liaison: I-Ho Pomeroy Staff: Shane Strong, KLJ Engineering Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary Guests: Brad Koon, KLJ Engineering Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace Avenue Maurice Quanbeck, 520 North 11th Avenue Call to Order – Vice Chair Jeanne Wesley-Wiese called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. Changes to the Agenda – No changes were made to the agenda. Public Comment – No comment was received under this agenda item. Minutes – June 6, 2017. It was moved by Bob Pavlic, seconded by Bobbi Clem, that the minutes of the meeting of June 6, 2017, be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 3-0 vote. NURB Meeting – August 1, 2017 2 Discussion/Action Items – Discussion regarding feasibility study for quiet zone. Brit Fontenot reminded the Board that this potential project has been on the back burner for the past year because the bonding process and plans for the street improvements to be constructed with those monies took precedence. He noted that Brad Koon, from KLJ’s Helena office, is present to walk through the process of creating a quiet zone. Brad Koon stated the Helena quiet zone project is nearing completion. Billings and Helena are the only two cities that currently have quiet zones; and City staff in Billings did their own project. KLJ Engineering is the only consultant in the state that has worked through this process. He estimated that a quiet zone project takes a little more than a year from beginning to the trains not blowing their horns, depending on how long it takes to get approvals from the City, the Montana Department of Transportation if state routes are involved, and the railroad. Brad Koon stated the first step is determining what the limits of the project are to be. He noted that trains begin blowing their horns a quarter of a mile from the crossing. In Bozeman, the crossings at North Wallace Avenue, North Rouse Avenue and Griffin Drive are close, so he recommended that all three crossings be considered at the same time. Brad Koon reviewed the accepted improvements for a quiet zone. He noted that those include medians or delineators in the center of the road a distance of 60 feet to 100 feet on each side of the crossing; curbing is the preferred option with street lighting adjacent to it. Another option is four quadrant gates instead of the standard two; however, that option is expensive and is costly to maintain. Brit Fontenot noted that North Rouse Avenue is currently being reconstructed, and the Montana Department of Transportation may not be supportive of adding a median at this time. Responding to Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Brad Koon stated Manley Road intersects Griffin Drive close to the railroad crossing; however, he believes it is more than the minimum distance for a median. He noted that there are also clearance distances from the edge of the travel way to the edge of the pole, and it may be necessary to add curbing on the sides of that roadway at the crossing. Mr. Koon noted that once the mitigations have been identified, the next step is to go to the web based quiet zone calculator, which contains all accident and traffic information for each crossing, and enter the improvements into the system. The existing crossing has a risk index that is used for the baseline and, if the model shows a risk below that level or a national number, it meets the requirements for a quiet zone. He noted that if improvements to two of the three crossings make the risk index low enough, no improvements would be required for the third crossing; however, he would encourage consistency in the improvements. Brad Koon identified an option to the quiet zone that does not require all of the study, analysis and engineering. Rather, it involves installation of wayside horns at the crossings. Those horns direct the sound at the traffic and result in trains not blowing their horns. He showed the decibel levels from the Helena study of trains blowing their horns for the various crossings versus the wayside horns, noting the sound is greatly reduced but not fully eliminated. The cost of the wayside horns is approximately $150,000, which is roughly the total cost of a quiet zone. NURB Meeting – August 1, 2017 3 Responding to Chris Nixon, Brad Koon stated the Montana Department of Transportation would allow the installation of wayside horns at its North Rouse Avenue crossing; however, they would not pay for it. Responding to questions from Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Brad Koon stated that, in addition to medians and quadrant gates, other acceptable mitigation measures for quiet zones include closing crossings during certain hours or closing them completely. Brad Koon stated that once analysis has been completed, the next step is a diagnostic review, in which all parties involved meet on the site and determine the best way to mitigate the identified issues. A notice of intent is submitted, including a formal submittal that outlines the proposals for each crossing and the risk indexes. After a sixty-day review period, the next steps include addressing any comments, designing the improvements, final approval, bidding and building of the improvements. The final step is issuance of a notice, and thirty days later the trains stop blowing their whistles. Brad Koon noted that Shelby will be doing a combination of quiet zones and wayside horns soon and has obtained a $980,000 Federal Railroad Administration grant for that project because safety improvements, including fencing, sidewalks and an improved walkway for Amtrak passengers, are a part of the project. Brit Fontenot reminded the Board that its first financial obligation is now to the bond issue. He suggested that the Board may wish to review how it has allocated the remainder monies to determine if there is a desire to change priorities. He cautioned that preparation of a grant application must be outsourced since the City has no grant writer on staff. He also noted an addendum to the KLJ agreement would be needed to include this new project. Bobbi Clem suggested that KLJ be asked for an estimate on the costs of assessing the three crossings and submitting a recommendation. Brad Koon suggested that the feasibility study include measurements and preliminary surveys at the three crossings, identified mitigation measures, a diagnostic review and an estimate of costs for each. Brit Fontenot cautioned that TIF monies can only be spent within the district, except in cases where infrastructure extension outside the district connects it to another portion of the network. In this instance, he cautioned that may not be an appropriate extension. He suggested, however, that this Board could take a leadership role in pulling together the needed information and possibly seeking funding for the project. Brad Koon stated he will prepare a proposal based on a middle ground analysis and an estimate of costs through diagnostic review and resolution along with a timeline. Brit Fontenot asked that this proposal be placed on next month’s agenda as an action item. Update on RUDAT process and findings. Bobbi Clem reported that the committee is now Vision NorthEast and has determined the area to be encompassed is this tax increment financing district plus the adjacent residential areas east of North Rouse Avenue. She noted the group is not considering any of the RUDAT proposals that involve possible reuse of private NURB Meeting – August 1, 2017 4 property. They plan to do branding of the neighborhood that may include a website and map in an effort to promote making this part of town feel like a community. They may also propose the creation of a business improvement district and identify a central place for events. She noted the northeast neighborhood is very creative and funky, and they are interested in keeping it that way, even if development becomes more dense. The committee is looking at ways to celebrate the offbeat character of the neighborhood; and its first event will be coordinating the parade of sheds, which will be held on Sunday, September 17. She noted they are also looking at other events in conjunction with the parade, including an ice cream social and possibly games in the East Aspen Street park area. Bobbi Clem asked about the possibility of having a fundraiser at this event; Brit Fontenot responded that no public right-of-way or public property may be used for fundraising. Updates on current projects. Shane Strong reported that the East Peach Street improvements are under construction. The contractor is 20 percent through the contract time; and the sewer improvements are not yet completed. He must replace the water main between North Plum Avenue and North Ida Avenue next and then install the stormwater system before the street improvements can be undertaken. The contractor is currently working between Avocado Street and North Wallace Avenue. Once that is completed, he will move to the section between North Wallace Avenue and Perkins Place. The contractor plans to do the underground work only and subcontract out the street construction portion of the project. Brit Fontenot recognized that road construction results in dust, noise and inconvenience. He asked that any extraordinary problems be forwarded to him or Shane Strong so they can be addressed as quickly as possible. Shane Strong noted the first pay request for this project should be received soon. He stated this is a five-month contract with a November 1 end date; however, given the slowness of the project and some of the problems the contractor has encountered to date, he anticipates a winter shutdown. Shane Strong stated NorthWestern Energy needs to complete its utility work and, at the moment, they are negatively impacting the parking lot at Audrey’s Pizza. Bob Pavlic estimated that he is seeing 100 cars per hour on Front Street and Avocado Street, which is the only unpaved street in Bozeman. He asked that dust mitigation become a higher priority in conjunction with this project. Shane Strong turned attention to the North Wallace Avenue project, stating the punch list items have now been completed, and he will do a final walk through with the City Engineering Department. The only outstanding issue he is aware of is grassing in the boulevard. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese asked about the crumbled or cracked concrete, citing several examples of problems she has seen recently. Shane Strong responded he will check those out. He then noted he has received a request for final payoff and release of retention. NURB Meeting – August 1, 2017 5 Shane Strong provided a brief update on East Tamarack Street, stating he is still waiting for the County to give him the elevation of the bridge abutment and for Dowl Engineering to provide him the proposed right-of-way for the intersection of North Rouse Avenue and East Tamarack Street so he can identify where the fiber is to be run. He noted the plans can be wrapped up when he gets that information, and the document can then sit on the shelf or the project can be bid this fall with work to begin in the spring. Shane Strong stated the plans for the pedestrian bridge are roughly 95 percent done. He is waiting for City Engineering to tell him if just sidewalk on one side of East Aspen Street is being required or if curb and gutter must also be done. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese asked if it would be possible to put in a curb sidewalk rather than a boulevard sidewalk to minimize impacts on residents. She then voiced her preference for a fines trail instead of concrete sidewalk. Staff updates on items of interest to the Board. Brit Fontenot reported on the closing of the bond sale, noting that all of the documents have been signed. He noted that the bond monies will be spent this year and next year for reconstruction of the two major east/west roads in this district. Update on financial status of NURB fund. Robin Sullivan distributed copies of the revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2016-17, noting that the second half property taxes have been received. She stated most, if not all, of the expenditures for this fiscal year are reflected in this report. Bobbi Clem submitted an invoice for reimbursement for gopher traps in the East Aspen Street park area. Set agenda for September 5, 2017 meeting or cancel meeting. To be included on the agenda, in addition to the standard agenda items, are possible action on a quiet zone at the railroad crossings and a review of the budgeted monies for Fiscal Year 2017-18. FYI/Discussion (formerly Neighborhood News). Commissioner Liaison Pomeroy announced that her restaurant will participate in a fundraiser for the Heninger family on Sunday, August 13. Adjournment – 8:08 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, Vice Chair Wesley-Wiese adjourned the meeting. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Vice Chair Northeast Urban Renewal Board City of Bozeman