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Home My WebLink AboutA004 - Council Action Form dated April 14, 2015 i ITEM # 29 DATE: 04-14-15 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT VACATION — SOUTH TOWN SUBDIVISION (1615 SOUTH KELLOGG AVENUE AND 317 SOUTH 17T" STREET) BACKGROUND: Staff received a request from the property owner of 1615 South Kellogg Avenue and 317 South 17th Street to vacate the existing public utility easement, as shown on the attached map. The owner of 1614 South Kellogg Avenue is in the process of developing these properties and intends to build a structure over the existing easement, which would not be allowed. The easement area to be vacated is described as 5 feet on both sides of the property line between 1615 South Kellogg Avenue and 317 South 17th Street from the right-of-way line on South 171h north to 10 feet south of the north property lines. Public Works staff reached out to all registered right-of-way users to determine if there were any existing utilities in the easement or future plans to utilize the easement. Staff has received responses from all registered right-of-way users and there are no existing utilities in the easement and no registered right-of-way users have an intention to utilize the easement. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Set the date of public hearing as April 28, 2015, for approving the vacation of the existing public utility easement at 1615 South Kellogg Avenue and 317 South 17th Street. 2. Choose not to approve vacation and maintain control of the current easement. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: By approving vacation of the easement at this time, Council will meet this property owner's need to move forward with development of the site. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, thereby setting the date of public hearing as April 28, 2015, for approving the vacation of the existing public utility easement at 1615 South Kellogg Avenue and 317 South 17th Street. i ITEM # 47 DATE: 04-14-15 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: SKUNK RIVER TRAIL EXPANSION (SOUTH RIVER VALLEY PARK TO SOUTHEAST 16T" STREET) — ENGINEERING SERVICES CHANGE ORDER BACKGROUND: The approved Capital Improvements Plan includes the Skunk River Trail Extension from South River Valley Park south to Southeast 16th Street. The change order under consideration of the City Council is for the engineering services for the portion of the shared use path along the west side of the South Skunk River between South River Valley Park and East Lincoln Way. A future shared use path is anticipated along the west of the South Skunk River for the section south from East Lincoln Way to Southeast 16th Street. However, land negotiations are still ongoing with the affected property owner(s), and must follow the Federal Land Acquisition process due to the use of federal MPO/STP funds for this project. In February 2009, the City Council approved an engineering services contract with Foth Infrastructure and Environment, LLC of Johnston, Iowa, in an amount not to exceed $130,500, for the path from the Hunziker Youth Sports Complex to East Lincoln Way. The original contract with Foth included base topographic survey, evaluation of construction techniques, preparation of plans and specifications to meet Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) letting requirements due to MPO/STP funding, identification and request for additional funding from supporting sources, right- of-way acquisition, hydraulic analysis, bridge design, permitting, and attendance at pre- construction meetings. In February 2010, the City Council approved a change order to the Foth contract, in an amount not to exceed $129,820, for the addition of the segment from East Lincoln Way to South River Valley Park. This amendment combined all segments of the Skunk River Trail as one project. That consolidation was done due to an opportunity presented through Federal Stimulus II funds. This northern segment of the project involved design complexities that included the trail structure under the East Lincoln Way Bridge, the trail structure through the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) embankment, a drainage way structure north of the UPRR tracks, and hydraulic modeling in these areas. It also included cultural resource reviews, wetland review and mitigation, in addition to permitting and coordinating with several agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and UPRR. There are also several property owners to negotiate with to acquire needed easements for the trail. Since February 2010, there have been unsuccessful attempts to acquire federal funding sources for the trail expansion. With Foth's assistance, the City has gone through several rounds of applying for federal funds, and lengthy amounts of time passed between application submission and notifications. There has also been a prolonged 1 negotiation and review process with the UPRR. As a consequence, several of the needed permits, environmental clearances, design documents, and real estate appraisals need to be updated. In addition, critical points along the Skunk River have been re-surveyed to confirm any changes to the river bank. From this survey work, it was determined the river banks have moved in locations critical to the trail. This will impact the proposed trail alignment and require preliminary design work to be redone. The proposed change order is in an amount not to exceed $74,590. This change order will bring all work completed to date up to current design standards and existing conditions of the Skunk River, thus allowing the continuation of the necessary steps needed for the proposed construction of the Skunk River Trail Expansion. This additional work covered by the change order includes project coordination with state agencies (Iowa DOT and Iowa Department of Natural Resources), environmental clearances, real estate services and easement negotiations with property owners and the UPRR, topographical surveys, preliminary design plans, final design plans, and bid period services. Funding for this change order will come from the 2011/12 Shared Use Path System Expansion program, which includes $430,000 in Local Option Sales Tax and $360,000 in MPO/STP funds. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve the change order to the engineering services agreement with Foth Infrastructure and Environment, LLC of Johnston, Iowa, in an amount not to exceed $74,590. 2. Direct staff to pursue modifications to the project design. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: The City did not receive Federal Stimulus II funding for the trail project construction in 2010. Due to the complexity and high cost of constructing these trail segments, the City has spent considerable time applying for competitive grant funding to finance these trail segments. Because of the competitive nature of these grants, outside construction funding was not obtained. In order to proceed with this trail segment using local and MPO/STP funds, additional engineering services are now needed. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council accept Alternative No. 1, thereby approving the change order to the engineering services agreement with Foth Infrastructure and Environment, LLC of Johnston, Iowa, in an amount not to exceed $74,590. 2 M iNf' is 4 r ! . a .. A Ix - ° M1 0 f 2 m� err " k O vv z Y Proposed Easement Vacation Area V, A fi Sit c 1 n t \ 7� Q ` S 17TH ST ' 'le ro 20 S 30 a, IN IM � R, "} 0 :3 y>µe mfG 81Pr c0.rya1 am;r•nasun•y>,a mNt n•avin.wm•n tweN. tlnn u�.cr ieus•no eo.s nmq>=.M1.rns�rrvoys orormus o,om.�i..n�,ns=om.�o+e•„n.a,,..a y Ino vs. r+u n Nnpr mfiwtle•entivN• Tnn Ratluct p r tars MrwNwNnmy rry p nenwno eecu q, mNrn.ssor eav rmnt+g.m .mmq•�n».rrmNrrvaa.m•mrum•o1M•�e ten•>a�wortl.•ppropui•�•>slwua.ns6m m . Attachment A 1615 South Kellogg/317 South 17th Scale: 1 In = 75 ft Proposed Easement Vacation Area N OgTH Date:4/2/2015