Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 07/20/2021 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 094, 2021, APPROPRI Agenda Item 10 Item # 10 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 20, 2021 City Council STAFF Brad Buckman, Manager, Civil Engineering Dan Woodward, Civil Engineer I Claire Havelda, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 094, 2021, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves and Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations for the Drake and College Intersection Improvements Project and Related Art in Public Places. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to appropriate $498,900 in Transportation Capital Expansion Fee (TCE F) Fund reserves and $1,100 in Transportation Services Fund reserves to begin design and coordination on the Drake and College intersection (the “Intersection”) improvements. This work must be done to run concurrently with several active developments within the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) plan area that are in the vicinity of the Intersection. In addition, this item will authorize the transfer of $5,000, one percent of the appropriated funds, from the Capital Project Fund to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund for Art in Public Places (APP). STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The state highway Intersection of Drake and College is a critical arterial-arterial intersection in midtown Fort Collins that presents safety concerns and congestion issues. The Urban Renewal Authority (“URA”) area recently adopted a plan that included several public improvements in the intersection vicinity that focus on intersection improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles. (Attachment 1) There have been several active developments, both nearby and directly adjacent to the intersection, proposed recently. To effectively coordinate improvements to the intersection with the URA improvements, the City needs to begin conceptual and preliminary engineering and design. The City collects transportation impact fees from new developments and redevelopment, which can increase capacity of the transportation network. These Transportation Capital Improvement Fees (“TCEF”) help support capital projects which increase vehicular, multimodal, and transit capacity. Appropriation of TCEF funds to coordinate intersection improvements with proposed URA improvements will cause cohesive design and streamline a transition to full project funding. The project goals follow the intent of TCEF funds. This work will be done under City standards and approved and/or adopted plans, such as the Midtown in Motion Plan. This appropriation would only begin the design process a nd help to identify opportunities for cost savings, funding, right of way needs, project constraints, and other items needed to understand the project area. Early involvement by the City will enhance flexibility in design and capture development momentum. Per Chapter 23 of the City Code, Article XII (addressing Art in Public Places), Section 23 -304, all appropriations for construction projects estimated to cost over $250,000 shall include an amount equal to one Agenda Item 10 Item # 10 Page 2 percent of the estimated cost for works of art. As such, the total APP contribution to be appropriated with this action, and transferred to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund, is $5,000. This will consist of $3,900 of TCEF reserves and $1,100 of Transportation Services Fund reserves. The Trans portation Services Fund reserves are needed to satisfy the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) portion of the APP contribution (22%), as TCEF funds are restricted and cannot be utilized for O&M; however, TCEF funds are allowed to be used to satisfy the artwork portion of the contribution (78%). CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS This appropriation would initiate the project. The funding anticipated for conceptual design, right-of-way assessment, and other items to develop the project scope to be appropriated with this Council action is summarized below: Funds to be Appropriated with this Action Transportation Capital Expansion Fee (TCEF) Fund Reserves (Transferred to Capital Projects Fund) $498,900 Transportation Services Fund Reserves (Transferred to Capital Projects Fund) $1,100 Total $500,000 Transfer to Cultural Services and Facilities Fund (APP Contribution) $5,000 Additional funding will be identified for future phases of the project. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Staff presented to the Council Finance Committee on June 16, 2021. (Attachment 2) PUBLIC OUTREACH Staff met with URA representatives and will continue to coordinate and meet with residents, property owners, and other stakeholders through the remainder of design and before and during construct ion. ATTACHMENTS 1. URA Map - College and Drake Intersection (PDF) 2. Council Finance Committee Minutes (draft) (PDF) Princeton Rd E Thunderbird Dr W Thunderbird DrMcclelland DrFrontage RdBay RdRedwing RdSCollegeAveE Drake RdW Drake Rd I³ College / Drake URA MapPotential Capital Improvements Printed: May 07, 2018 Path: S:\Engineering\Projects\Capital Projects\Maps\Drake_College Intersection\Proposed URA Boundary.mxd /0 100 200 300 40050Feet ATTACHMENT 1 Finance Administration 215 N. Mason 2nd Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6788 970.221.6782 - fax fcgov.com Finance Committee Meeting Minutes June 16, 2021 3:00 - 5:00 pm Zoom Meeting Council Attendees: Julie Pignataro, Kelly Ohlson, Emily Gorgol, Susan Gutowsky Staff: Darin Atteberry, Kelly DiMartino, Kyle Stannert, Travis Storin, Teresa Roche, Carrie Daggett, John Duval, Jackie Kozak Thiel, Theresa Connor, Lance Smith, Gerry Paul, Jamie Gaskill, Heather Young, Lisa Schroers, Dan Woodward, Kyle Lambrecht, Blaine Dunn, Kelley Vodden, Jordan Granath, Lawrence Pollack, Cody Forst, Dave Lenz, Zack Mozer, Victoria Shaw, , Lindsay Ex Others: Kevin Jones, Chamber ____________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting called to order at 3:00 pm Julie Pignataro; I would like to note for the record that I have conferred with the City Manager and the City Attorney and have determined that the Committee should conduct this meeting remotely because meeting in person would not be prudent for some or all persons due to a current public health agency recommendation. Approval of minutes from the May 24, 2021, Council Finance Committee Meeting. Emily Gorgol moved for approval of the minutes as presented. Kelly Ohlson seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously via roll call by; Julie Pignataro, Kelly Ohlson and Emily Gorgol. A.TCEF Supplemental Appropriation Dan Woodward, Capital Projects Engineer Drake and College – TCEF Supplemental Appropriation EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This item is proposing to appropriate $500,000 in Transportation Capital Expansion Fee (TCEF) Reserves to begin design and coordination on the Drake and College intersection improvements. This work is needing to be done in order to run concurrently with several active developments in the area and in conjunction with the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) plan area. GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED Does Council Finance Committee support bringing a Summer 2021 appropriation of Transportation Capital Expansion Fee (TCEF) reserves to begin design on the Drake and College intersection? ATTACHMENT 2 BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION The intersection of Drake and College is critical arterial-arterial intersection in midtown Fort Collins with safety and congestion issues. The area recently adopted a URA plan that included several public improvements in the area, with a particular focus on intersection improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles. There have been several active developments in the area both nearby as well as directly adjacent to the intersection that have been proposed recently. In order to effectively coordinate improvements to the intersection in conjunction with the URA improvements, the City needs to begin conceptual and preliminary engineering and design. The TCEF Program supports the use of these funds to begin work on the intersection from previously collected development fees. This work will be done in accordance with City standards and approved and/or adopted plans, such as the Midtown in Motion Plan. This appropriation would only begin the design process and help to identify opportunities for costs savings, funding, right of way needs, project constraints and other items needed to fully understand the project area. Discussion / Next Steps; Julie Pignataro; I don’t’ see that Clay Frickey is on this call – I have missed a few URA meetings, and I am trying to remember what the plan looks like for this area? Darin Atteberry; We have been talking about the development at the southwest corner and some activity on northeast corner. We have heard some preliminary design ideas, but most of the conversations have been around preserving the transportation options in addition to the private developments on the north and south side. Julie Pignataro; I have always wanted this to be more of a transportation hub – major MAX stop - rail has been causing some issues there - transportation is not my forte but my concerns are that we are too early and if we make these commitments we may be missing out on some opportunity for this to be a transit hub for the city It is really the new center - right between where I used to work and where I live hated everything about it for 4 years. Maybe I am misunderstanding the process What is the deliverable that can be expected out of this process? Darin Atteberry; In those urban renewal conversations with the private property owners, we have also been talking about parking structure - parking can be a challenge especially when CSU is in session. At the station at Drake and Mason has always been a challenge. When we were talking about potential (not on the adopted master plan) weren’t we talking about potential under or over crossings of the railroad? Brad Buckman; we are looking at that intersection in conjunction with the railroad crossing and a possible overpass or underpass at that crossing which would be more of a longer-term investment. We feel this is important because we want to start looking at the conceptual design of the intersection and how the new King Soopers and the developments will come in and fit with that intersection but also how that might fit with a potential overpass or underpass – we are working closely with URA (EH - Josh Birks and Clay Frickey) on a possible funding partner for this. We are not ready to ask for construction funding – not there yet - this is to try to get the conceptual design and the bigger picture of that intersection. Julie Pignataro; how flexible is that design once it is complete? Dan Woodward; we like to start earlier when we can to try to coordinate and to be flexible - we do not expect to get a final design – more let us explore – what are the opportunities we have? what does an over or underpass look like? How can this intersection fit in with a transit hub with the adjacent developments? It is very flexible Juile Pignataro; do our Max plans involve Drake at any point? Does it keep going for mass transit? What is next? Brad Buckman; right now, we have West Elizabeth that we are looking at in a conceptual design level. Trying to get that postured for grant funding so that is the next BRT we are looking at -east / west. We are at the very early conceptual stages for North College which is the next piece of the BRT network which would go up to Highway 1. Those are the next couple of BRTs we are looking at. Darin Atteberry; looking out 25+ years – I think the Harmony corridor and Mulberry corridor are both long range corridors for BRT expansion Emily Gorgol; this seems early, but I understand the reasoning – also the College and Drake intersection - I am surprised that we are redoing it again - camera at the intersection. Would like to see more than working on funding with the URA - they do a ton of engagement work – how is that going to be incorporated into this plan? There was a lot of discussion of transportation and not cars And how are we making that corridor more friendly to bikes and pedestrians and making it more assessable -so it seems out of alignment as we are still a car dependent talking about wanting a more walkable and bikeable community - tie into the max – I understand you want to do a conceptual study /review – Are we ready this early in the game and we have the connections to bring the input into the design I am ok with going forward – it was just surprising to me that we were talking about this intersection. Dan Woodward; the URA and the plan development, their outreach, the multi modal piece of that is the reason we want to engage so early - we really want to partner with a lot of the momentum around the things that are discussing on the front end – The TCEF allows for multi modal and that would be one of the primary focuses of this - so, if we can collaborate on where we locate a parking structure or where an over or underpass might be. We want to be able to engage in a design, conceptual, cost perspective earlier on so we can fully understand. Your points are very well taken – those are the exactly the sort of things we want to look at early on and accommodate. Kelly Ohlson; question on slide #3 - When is the last time we examined / updated this process of deciding what is a fair payment? Travis Storin; I can confirm that it was 2017 - across all of the Capital Expansion Fees (not just TCEFs) there was a significant level of work / exhaustive review done by a fee task force. Kelly Ohlson; developers pay into this big pot of money then they can come to us and say other than the local streets that we have to pay for we are now building two collector streets and we reimburse all of that? Kyle Lambrecht; above the local street portion Kelly Ohlson; why is that? They are causing some of the issues that require the collector streets, and they benefit greatly from them. I am always looking out for the minimum wage worker not having to pay for developer’s streets. Kyle Lambrecht; the reimbursement back to the developer comes from the development fee that was collected. What is obligated in the program - the development is obligated to construct impacts solely associated with their development and what is defined as the local street portion (cross section of a local street, sidewalks, parkways, etc.. (slide #4) What can happen in these cases - site #2 will come in and we will ask them to make improvements on their frontage as well as the intersection for instance – The value of these improvements then can be assigned to these other sites as well so that when they come back and develop, they are also obligated to reimburse this first development for improvements that address their impacts as well. So, even though this person /developer is ‘first in’ we are asking them to come in and build these improvements and address these now as a single time of impact to public - As these additional pieces come in they would need to be reimbursing the initial developer for constructing improvements that meet their local needs. Kelly Ohlson; I thought we said we paid out of the bucket of money for the collector streets for that development. Why would the developer get reimbursed for what we paid for? I do want to understand this – I would like the Fnance Committee to see it so it will not be the last time we see this. - I thought I understood it – they contributed into big pot now we need the collector streets – the dollars that the other sites pay in goes back into the city pot of money – that is not what I heard – make sure that those that benefit pay their fair share. Kyle Lambrecht; I apologize - I was speaking about the adjacent developer’s local street obligation. Carrie Daggett; John Duval has worked directly with putting the fee program together. John Duval; there is a series of things that happen - the CDEF is supposed to pay for the collector streets and other major portions and the local portion is paid for by the developer for their impacts. But when they are required to oversize streets near them that is when the TCEFs are used to reimburse the developer for the collector and the oversized streets. They also ask other developers as they come in and build along those streets if the city has paid for those collectors then they will need to reimburse the city for the local portion - occasionally the reimbursements could go directly to the developer who oversized it - if the city has not reimbursed them already. The city is not actually obligated to reimburse them - they are subject to annual appropriation and so, we only pay them if and when we have the money available for those oversized improvements. The concept is that the developers and their developments are also paying the TCEF and paying their fair share for the oversizing portion as well - Developers paying in TCEF – pay for the oversizing portion as well We would like you at the same time to build the oversizing and we will give you an IOU - when we have the money to pay you back – sometimes the money is available sooner than expected or a few years out. Kelly Ohlson: If site #2 develops first - Does site #4 pay their fair share as well for street improvements? Confirming that first in does not benefit or get punished and that everyone pays their fair share. John Duval; that is the theory of the system – site #4 will pay their local portion – they will also pay the CDEFs they are required to pay for their share of the oversize improvements - the same thing for site #2 as well Kelly Ohlson; what is the most likely range for an overpass or underpass? Dan Woodward; we have started to engage in looking at some of that - is it feasible? What does something like that cost? Near range or long range? Brad Buckman; the most likely range would be $30-45M Kelly Ohlson; I am guessing since it is raining federal dollars that is what we are working for, and we want to be shovel read. Dan Woodward; you are correct - we are trying to get these queued up Brad Buckman; this would have to be a large grant type funding - multi modal improvements and grants Kelly Ohlson; Kroger is the #1 grocer and #A2 retailer in the US - as we talk about those who have the ability to pay - Have they requested any public money? Darin Atteberry; my recollection is no - we have made a couple of visits to try to get them to think in a different level in regard to mixed use, higher density, parking structure – talked about potential leverage but as you know, there is no interest in that. I will confirm this with Josh Birks, but my understanding is that is no activity around a private/public partnership related to that site. We tried as that is a very critical intersection but not a lot of interest in that. John Duval; the southwest corner is the only area where we are talking about URA benefits - funding The Timberline Recycling Center agenda topic was moved out to the July 7th Council Finance Committee meeting due to time constraints. Meeting adjourned at noon. -1- ORDINANCE NO. 094, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES AND AUTHORIZING TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DRAKE AND COLLEGE INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AND RELATED ART IN PUBLIC PLACES WHEREAS, the state highway intersection of Drake and College is a critical arterial- arterial intersection (the “Intersection”) in midtown Fort Collins that presents safety concerns and congestion issues; and WHEREAS, the Urban Renewal Authority (“URA”) recently adopted a plan that included several public improvements in the vicinity of the Intersection that focus on intersection improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles; and WHEREAS, there are several URA development improvements in the vicinity of the Intersection that the City wishes to coordinate with and therefore needs to begin conceptual and preliminary engineering designs to keep pace with the implementation of the URA improvements; and WHEREAS, the City collects impact fees from new developments and redevelopments which can be used to increase capacity of the transportation network; these Transportation Capitol Expansion Fees (“TCEF”) can help support capital projects which increase vehicular, multimodal and transit capacity; and WHEREAS, appropriation of the TCEF funds for Intersection improvements to coordinate with the URA improvements creates a cohesive design and streamlines the project funding; and WHEREAS, the appropriation will begin the design process and help identify opportunities for cost savings, funding, right-of-way needs, project constraints and other items needed to anticipate the needs of the Intersection area; and WHEREAS, this appropriation benefits the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of Fort Collins and serves the public purpose of improving the overall Intersection safety for bicyclist, pedestrians, and vehicles; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9 of the City Charter permits the City Council, upon the recommendation of the City Manager, to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year such funds for expenditure as may be available from reserves accumulated in prior years, notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended the appropriation described herein and determined that these appropriations are available and previously unappropriated from the Transportation Capital Expansion Fee Fund and the Transportation Services Fund, as applicable, and will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Transportation Capital Expansion Fee Fund or the Transportation Services Fund, as applicable, to exceed the current estimate of actual -2- and anticipated revenues and all other funds to be received in these Funds during this fiscal year; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 10 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council, upon recommendation by the City Manager, to transfer by ordinance any unexpended and unencumbered appropriated amount or portion thereof from one fund or capital project to another fund or capital project, provided that the purpose for which the transferred funds are to be expended remains unchanged, the purpose for which the funds were initially appropriated no longer exists, or the proposed transfer is from a fund or capital project in which the amount appropriated exceeds the amount needed to accomplish the purpose specified in the appropriation ordinance; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended the transfer of $5,000 from the Capital Projects Fund to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund and determined that the purpose for which the transferred funds are to be expended remains unchanged. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the Transportation Capital Expansion Fee Fund the sum of FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($498,900) for expenditure from the Transportation Capital Expansion Fee Fund for transfer to the Capital Projects Fund for the Drake and College Intersection Improvements Project and appropriated therein. Section 3. That there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the Transportation Services Fund the sum of ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($1,100) for expenditure from the Transportation Services Fund for transfer to the Capital Projects Fund for the Drake and College Intersection Improvements Project and appropriated therein. Section 5. That the unexpended and unencumbered appropriated amount of THREE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($3,900) in the Capital Projects Fund is hereby authorized for transfer to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund and appropriated therein for the Art in Public Places Program art projects. Section 6. That the unexpended and unencumbered appropriated amount of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,000) in the Capital Projects Fund is authorized for transfer to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund and appropriated therein for the Art in Public Places Program operation costs. Section 7. That the unexpended and unencumbered appropriated amount of ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100) in the Capital Projects Fund is authorized for transfer to the -3- Cultural Services and Facilities Fund and appropriated therein for the Art in Public Places Program maintenance costs. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 20th day of July, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of August, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of August, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk