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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/20/2018 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 032, 2018, APPROPRIAgenda Item 15 Item # 15 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY February 20, 2018 City Council STAFF Mark Jackson, PDT Deputy Director Chris Van Hall, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 032, 2018, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Transportation Fund for Regional Contribution to Larimer County for North I-25 Improvements. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to appropriate Transportation Reserve funds in the amount of $453,158 to be remitted to Larimer County as part of an annual (five-year span) regional contribution of local matching funds for CDOT’s North I-25 Improvements Project. With Resolution 2016-077, Council authorized Mayor Troxell to enter into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Larimer County and participating local agencies, including the City, to contribute local matching funds for this purpose. This is the second annual installment of these payments to Larimer County. Local matching fund commitments accelerate the improvements to I-25 in Northern Colorado. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Council adopted Resolution 2015-100 (Attachment 1) on November 17, 2015, stating its support for a Larimer County proposal to use increased County mill levy funds as a method to facilitate funding for Interstate 25 (I- 25) improvements. Larimer County proposed to temporarily reapportion part of its General Fund mill levy funds to the County’s Road and Bridge Fund for a period of five years. These reapportioned funds are estimated to generate a total of $10 million over the course of the five-year period. The increase in the County Road and Bridge Mill Levy revenues received by the City and the other municipalities will be available to fund construction of roads and streets within their boundaries, making funds from the City’s general fund or other funds available for contribution to the I-25 improvements. The County proposed using these contributions for improvements and local match opportunities on the I-25 Corridor within Larimer County. All eight Larimer County municipalities passed Resolutions supporting the proposal. Council adopted Resolution 2016-077 on October 4, 2016 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an IGA with Larimer County and other local agencies for the purpose of providing local funds back to Larimer County to be used in contribution to the North I-25 Corridor Improvements Project as described above. This regional collaboration and agreement will result in $10 million of matching funds to help accelerate the project. The IGA was fully executed on December 27, 2016 (Attachment 2). Fort Collins’ total contribution to this five-year funding commitment is $2,229,730.70. Fort Collins’ annual share of funds is approximately $450,000 in each of the five years. The first annual payment of $445,946 was approved by Council March 07, 2017.This appropriation request authorizes fulfillment of the second annual payment per the IGA. Larimer County’s request for the second annual payment was received January 26, 2018 (Attachment 3). Agenda Item 15 Item # 15 Page 2 The North I-25 Improvements project will begin construction in summer 2018 and is scheduled to be completed by December 2021. The $255 million project is funded using federal, state and local dollars. The project boundaries are State Highway 14 (Mulberry Road) on the north and State Highway 402 in Loveland to the south. It will add a third managed lane in each direction, make key improvements to bridges, connect the regional bicycle/pedestrian trail under I-25, and provide an additional park and ride with bus slip ramps at Kendall parkway in Loveland. Improvements will help ease congestion, provide additional multi-modal capacity for auto and bus traffic, make key bicycle/pedestrian trail linkages, and improve safety and stormwater issues. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS Larimer County’s proposal does not modify the total mill levy, and does not decrease the amount of Road and Bridge Levy funds currently received by the City of Fort Collins. Creation of a source of local match funding is advantageous in order to take advantage of funding partnerships and grant opportunities that may arise to help improve the I-25 corridor. This contribution, combined with additional commitments from regional agencies and private development, results in over $25 million identified and committed for local match. This regional collaboration and commitment helped accelerate the schedule for I-25 improvements in Northern Colorado by fifteen years. The City of Fort Collins’ Transportation Reserve Fund’s estimated balance at year end 2017 is $13.8 million (note: some of these funds are assigned for specific purposes such as Harmony Road maintenance). The local share amount of Larimer County Road & Bridge Levy funds received by Fort Collins in 2017 was $1.09 million, reflecting an increase of approximately $509,000 over that received in 2015 (pre-IGA). The increase in Road and Bridge Funds received covers the amount of Fort Collins annual contribution, with no negative financial impact to the City. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Staff presented information related to the IGA with Larimer County as well as overall North I-25 Improvements Project updates to the Transportation Board at its February and November 2016 meetings. Board response was positive and supportive. Staff continues to regularly update the Transportation Board on progress of the North I-25 Improvements Project. PUBLIC OUTREACH The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) held numerous open house meetings and provided project information for many years about I-25 improvements, including the I-25 Environmental Impact Statement (2011), and more recent improvements including the I-25/SH-392 interchange, Berthoud Hill Climbing Lane project and Crossroad Boulevard Bridge Improvement project. The City of Fort Collins has been an active partner in CDOT efforts impacting Fort Collins. ATTACHMENTS 1. Resolution 2015-100 (PDF) 2. Intergovernmental Agreement for Funding I-25 Improvements (PDF) 3. IGA billing for Fort Collins, January 26, 2018 (PDF) RESOLUTION 2015-100 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUPPORTING THE LARIMER COUNTY PROPOSAL TO USE COUNTY MILL LEVY FUNDS FOR INTERSTATE 25 (1-25) IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, Interstate 25 (:'I-25") serves as the primary north-south highway connection for Northern Colorado including Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, I-25 is the primary roadway route for regional connectivity to commerce, health care, education and employment; and WHEREAS, 1-25 is designated as a federal freight route; and WHEREAS, 1-25 in Northern Colorado suffered damage and prolonged closure as a result of the September 2013 floods; and WHEREAS, it is critical that 1-25 roads and bridges be made more resilient to impacts from weather emergencies and natural disasters; and WHEREAS, the Colorado Department of Transportation ("CDOT") is making an application for a Risk and Resiliency grant, through a Presidential Challenge, to replace the Cache la Poudre Bridge, the Big Thompson Bridge, and the Little Thompson Bridge and to repair the Saint Vrain Bridge (collectively, the "Bridges"); and WHEREAS, CDOT has identified these Bridges as 'pinch points' that currently restrict expansion of the number oflanes on 1-25 in northern Colorado; and WHEREAS, the Risk and Resiliency grant for the Bridges is a portion of a larger grant application for the entire State of Colorado that is scheduled to be evaluated and awarded by the end of2015; and WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that the grant request' will need matching local funds to be viable and that Larimer County should provide a portion of that match; and WHEREAS, the City Council understands that the increased property valuations for Larimer County property owners in 2015 provides an opportunity to temporarily increase the Road & Bridge Mill levy for a period of five years without detriment to other County programs, without decreasing the amount currently shared back to local agencies, an_d without modifying the total mill levy; and WHEREAS, assessed valuations on properties in munidpalities are shared between the municipality and Larimer County and assessed valuations on properties in the unincorporated areas go to Larimer County; and WHEREAS, on October 22, 2015, the Larimer County Board of Commissioners presented at the Larimer County Joint Regional Meeting to the eight communities within ATTACHMENT 1 ATTACHMENT 2 ATTACHMENT 3 -1- ORDINANCE NO. 032, 2018 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES IN THE TRANSPORTATION FUND FOR REGIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO LARIMER COUNTY FOR NORTH I-25 IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, on November 17, 2015, City Council passed Resolution 2015-100 stating its support for a Larimer County proposal to use increased County mill levy funds as a method to facilitate funding for Interstate 25 (I-25) improvements; and WHEREAS, on October 4, 2016, City Council passed Resolution 2016-077 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with Larimer County (the “IGA”) and other local agencies for the purpose of providing local funds to Larimer County to be used as a contribution to the North I-25 Corridor Improvements Project; and WHEREAS, the IGA was signed by the parties and dated December 27, 2016; and WHEREAS, the $237 million North I-25 Improvements project began construction in late 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by December 2020; and WHEREAS, the project boundaries are State Highway 14 (Mulberry Road) on the north and State Highway 402 in Loveland to the south and the project will add a third managed lane in each direction, make key improvements to bridges, connect the regional bicycle/pedestrian trail under I-25, and provide an additional park and ride with bus slip ramps at Kendall Parkway in Loveland; and WHEREAS, the purpose of this item is to appropriate Transportation Fund reserves in the amount of $453,158 to be remitted to Larimer County as part of an annual (five year) regional contribution of local matching funds under the IGA for CDOT’s North I-25 Improvements Project; and WHEREAS, this is the first of five annual payments to Larimer County under the IGA, with a total funding commitment from the City of $2,229,730; and WHEREAS, Fort Collins received approximately $1.09 million in 2017 from the Larimer County Road and Bridge Fund representing an incremental increase in revenue from increased property valuations of approximately $509,000 for 2017; and WHEREAS, the increase in the City’s share of the County Road and Bridge Mill Levy revenues will be utilized to fund construction of roads and streets within its corporate boundaries in accordance with C.R.S. §43-2-202(4), making other funds available from the City’s Transportation Fund reserves for contribution to the Project; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9 of the City Charter permits the City Council to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year such funds for expenditure as may be -2- available from reserves accumulated in prior years, notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, this appropriation benefits public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Fort Collins and serves the public purpose of enhancing roadways and other transportation related infrastructure; and WHEREAS, the Financial Officer has determined that the appropriations as described herein are available and previously unappropriated in the Transportation Fund. 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 for expenditure from prior year reserves in the Transportation Fund the sum of FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT DOLLARS ($453,158) for regional contribution to Larimer County under the IGA for North I-25 Improvements. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 20th day of February, A.D. 2018, and to be presented for final passage on the 6th day of March, A.D. 2018. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 6th day of March, A.D. 2018. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk