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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/19/2014 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 103, 2014, AUTHORIAgenda Item 4 Item # 4 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY August 19, 2014 City Council STAFF Lindsay Kuntz, Real Estate Specialist Jason Stutzman, Civil Engineer III SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 103, 2014, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Non-Exclusive Waterline Easement and Temporary Construction Easement on City Property to the North Weld County Water District and the East Larimer County Water District. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on July 15, 2014, authorizes the conveyance of easements on City Property to the East Larimer County Water District and the North Weld County Water District for their NEWT II Water Transmission Pipeline Project. The East Larimer County Water District and North Weld County Water District have begun the second phase of a multi-phase water transmission pipeline project for the purposes of conveying treated water from the Districts’ Soldier Canyon Filter Plant to their drinking water distribution systems. The alignment of the pipeline will cross a section of the City Property, located east of Taft Hill Road and north of Vine Drive, which is managed by the City Park Planning Department. As such, the Districts have requested a waterline easement from the City for their project. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, July 15, 2014 (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 103, 2014 (PDF) Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 15, 2014 City Council STAFF Lindsay Kuntz, Real Estate Specialist Jason Stutzman, Civil Engineer III SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 103, 2014, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Non-Exclusive Waterline Easement and Temporary Construction Easement on City Property to the North Weld County Water District and the East Larimer County Water District. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to authorize the conveyance of easements on City Property to the East Larimer County Water District and the North Weld County Water District for their NEWT II Water Transmission Pipeline Project. The City of Fort Collins Park Planning Department acquired a parcel of old railroad right of way located east of Taft Hill Road and north of Vine Drive (the “City Property”) for future trail use through the national “Rails to Trails” program. The East Larimer County Water District and North Weld County Water District (collectively, the “Districts”) have begun the second phase of a multi-phase water transmission pipeline project (the NEWT II Project) for the purposes of conveying treated water from the Districts’ Soldier Canyon Filter Plant to their drinking water distribution systems. The alignment of the pipeline will cross a section of the City Property, which is managed by the City Park Planning Department. As such, the Districts have requested a waterline easement from the City for their project. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of this Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The City Property, identified as parcel number 97032-00-949, was an old railroad right of way purchased in 1990 from Burlington Northern Railroad Company. The property was acquired by the City Park Planning Department as part of the Rails to Trails program to be used for future trail purposes, and the property remains vacant. The Districts’ NEWT Project began in 2009, with the first phase being completed in 2010. The second phase of the project (NEWT II) will connect the western end of the pipeline from phase one to the Districts’ Soldier Canyon Filter Plant. This connection will involve the installation of 19,000 feet of 42” diameter waterline. The Districts have requested a waterline easement and temporary construction easement for the new pipeline alignment that crosses the City Property. The installation of the pipeline on the City Property will be done by open trenching of the area. The Districts will then restore the City Property to its original condition after their work is complete including grading and reseeding of the area. The anticipated schedule for the NEWT II Project is September 2014 to May 2015. The work on the City Property will take approximately four to six weeks and is likely to occur between November 2014 and April 2015. The Districts will be required to notify the City prior to beginning construction activities on the City Property. No above ground improvements will be installed in the easement areas. Park Planning staff has evaluated the proposed easements and does not ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 2 believe the conveyance of the easement will interfere with the intended future use of the City Property for trail purposes. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS Real Estate Services reviewed comparable sales information and recent appraisal information of nearby properties to estimate a fair market value for the easements. The estimated just compensation for the permanent easement, temporary construction easement, and fee for processing the easement request is $2787. ATTACHMENTS 1. NEWT II Easements Location Map (JPG) 2. NEWT II Project Summary and Easement Detail (PDF) - 1 - ORDINANCE NO. 103, 2014 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF A NON-EXCLUSIVE WATERLINE EASEMENT AND TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION EASEMENT ON CITY PROPERTY TO THE NORTH WELD COUNTY WATER DISTRICT AND THE EAST LARIMER COUNTY WATER DISTRICT WHEREAS, in 1989, the City and Burlington Northern Railroad Company (BNSF) entered into an Offer to Purchase and Interim Trail Use/Railbanking Agreement (the “Railbanking Agreement”) in accordance with Section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. Section 1247(d); and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Railbanking Agreement was to allow the City to purchase, for recreational trail purposes, a portion of BNSF’s rail line between Fort Collins and Laporte that BNSF otherwise intended to abandon; and WHEREAS, in 1990, pursuant to the Railbanking Agreement, BNSF quitclaimed to the City a parcel of real property located in Fort Collins, Colorado, identified in County records as parcel number 97032-00-949 (the “City Property”); and WHEREAS, in 1993 the District Court for Larimer County ruled in Case No. 91CV474-3 that the City’s interest in the City Property amounted only to an easement, that BNSF still retained the underlying title to the City Property, and that property owners adjacent to the City Property have a right of reverter in the City Property if the Railroad ever formally abandons its interests there; and WHEREAS, BNSF has advised the City, through its attorney, that it disagrees with the District Court’s ruling and believes that it no longer has any interest in the City Property; and WHEREAS, the North Weld County Water District and the East Larimer County Water District (the “Districts”) have requested two easements on the City Property: a waterline easement consisting of .104 acres as described on Exhibit “A”, attached and incorporated herein by reference, and a temporary construction easement consisting of .167 acres, as described on Exhibit “B”, attached and incorporated herein by reference (together, the “Easements”); and WHEREAS, the proposed Easements would be used to install an underground pipeline to connect the Soldier Canyon Water Filter Plant to the Districts’ distribution systems as part of their North Weld - ELCO Water Transmission Pipeline - Phase II (“NEWT II”) Project; and WHEREAS, the Districts will compensate the City $2,787.00 for the estimated fair market value of the Easements and for staff processing time; and WHEREAS, City staff has identified no negative impacts to the City expected to result from the granting of the Easements; and - 2 - WHEREAS, City staff has advised the Districts that the City may not be the only owner of property interests in the City Property, and that the City can only grant the Easements to the extent of its ownership interest and cannot warrant its title to the City Property; and WHEREAS, Section 23-111(a) of the City Code provides that the City Council is authorized to sell, convey, or otherwise dispose of any and all interests in real property owned in the name of the City, provided that the Council first finds, by ordinance, that such sale or other disposition is in the best interests of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the conveyance of the Easements on the City Property to the Districts as provided herein is in the best interests of the City. Section 2. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute such documents as are necessary to convey the Easements to the Districts on terms and conditions consistent with this Ordinance, together with such additional terms and conditions as the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, determines are necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the City, including, but not limited to, any necessary changes to the legal descriptions of the Easements, so long as such changes do not materially increase the size or change the character of the Easements. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 15th day of July, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the19th day of August, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor Pro Tem ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 19th day of August, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk # # # #