Administration - Jon Haukaas, Director of Public Works
Title
Authorize the Mayor and City Manager to Enter Into a Contract With TKDA for Professional Engineering Services for the TH 65 Access Improvements, Project No. 21-01
Executive Summary
Council is being asked to enter into a contract for professional services for environmental documentation, preliminary and final design for the TH 65 Access Improvements, Project Number 21-01. This will be a Phase 1 contract for the initial stage of environmental review and documentation.
Background
The City of Blaine, in cooperation with the Anoka County Highway Department (ACHD) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), request a proposal to complete the following:
• Environmental documentation process to be completed under Federal NEPA rules to refine alternatives for access improvements to Section 2 identified in the Trunk Highway 65 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study. Section 2 extends from 99th Avenue through 117th Avenue, and
• Preliminary design through Layout Approval of Section 2, and
• The complete preliminary and final design services for the construction of access improvements at Minnesota Trunk Highway 65 and the City of Blaine’s 99th Avenue NE (MSAS 101), and
• The complete preliminary and final design services for the construction of access improvements at Minnesota Trunk Highway 65 and CSAH 12 (109th Ave NE), and
• East and west side frontage road improvements consistent with the alternatives developed for Section 2 of TH65 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study.
The primary purpose of the overall project is to improve public safety and reduce traffic congestion on TH65 by improving operations at access points and improve frontage road connections. The proposed project will refine the alternatives developed through the recently completed TH65 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study.
Proposals were received for the project from the following four firms: Kimley-Horn & Associates, SRF Consultants teamed with SEH Engineering, TKDA teamed with HDR & Associates, and WSB Associates. The proposals and separate cost estimates were independently evaluated by a five member team. That team consisted of two people from the City of Blaine (Director of Public Works and City Engineer), two people from the Anoka County Highway Department (Assistant County Engineer and Senior Project Manager), and one person from MnDOT (North Area Coordinator). The proposals were scored based on:
1. Work plan/schedule: 30%
2. Qualifications/experience of personnel working on the project 30%
3. Expressed understanding of project objectives and value to the taxpayer 40%
After the independent evaluation, the team met via video conference to discuss each firm’s proposal. Each member of the team discussed their reasoning for the scores given to each proposal to ensure we all had the same understanding of what was presented. No evaluator chose to change their scoring from this discussion. The proposal from TKDA with support from HDR was selected unanimously by the team as providing the best overall value and experience for completing the project.
Staff anticipates completing this project in multiple phases. This allows us to use the information gained in each phase to narrow the scope and reducing costs of the subsequent phases.
This Phase 1 contract addresses the environmental review of the TH 65 Section 2 corridor. The final product of this phase is the selection of a Preferred Alternative. Once that is determined by the process set forth in the attached Scope of Work, we can develop the contract for Phase 2 - preliminary 30% design of the section 2 corridor. We should be able to begin that component by the end of the year. Later phases will take that preliminary design and build on it to the final design of the intersections at 99th Avenue and at 109th Avenue.
Strategic Plan Relationship
This project is part of the City’s strategic initiative to have a well-maintained infrastructure by improving safety and reducing congestion of the main corridor through Blaine.
Board/Commission Review
The items was not reviewed at any board or commission.
Financial Impact
Funding shall be through a number of sources. The state legislature currently has a bill pending approval that expands the availability of the 2020 grant to Anoka County for the environmental review of the 109th intersection to be used for the entire section 2 corridor. This will be the primary source of funding in Phase 1. The City and County entered into a Joint Powers Agreement for the use of these funds on February 1, 2021.
Additional grants obtained will be used as appropriate in each phase. The City of Blaine has also included $2 million in its Capital Improvement Program to meet any local match needs.
Public Outreach/Input
There has been significant public outreach through the initial PEL process. The environmental review phase will include additional outreach in the form of Project Management Team meetings, Public Advisory Committee meetings, a Public Open House, Council Meeting updates, and various communications through the project website. See the attached Scope of Work for additional details.
Staff Recommendation
By motion, authorize the Mayor and City Manager to enter into a Phase 1 Professional Services contract with TKDA (with support from HDR) for environmental documentation and preliminary design of the TH 65 Access Improvements, Project Number 21-01 in the amount of $976,825.00. In addition, authorize a 10% contingency to bring the total project budget to $1,073,500.00 and authorize the Director of Public Works to sign all change orders up to the authorized project budget amount.
Attachment List
Consultant Evaluation Scoresheet
Phase 1 - Scope of Work
Phase 1 - Scope Cost Estimate
City - County JPA for use of State Grant Funds