CONSENT AGENDA - Jean M. Keely, City Engineer
Title
AUTHORIZE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH RICE CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT FOR THE CITY OWNED PROPERTY AT 12260 LEXINGTON AVENUE
Background
This agreement will clean up outstanding issues on the City owned parcel at 12260 Lexington Avenue. These issues relate to Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) rules and the construction of Water Tower 4 in 2008 and a gravel road to Well 19 that was constructed in 2016. These two items were not done in compliance with RCWD rules and as a result, RCWD is requiring that the City agree to come into compliance with the rules prior to issuance of a permit to construct the Northeast Area Trunk Watermain and Sanitary Sewer project that was awarded on May 17, 2018.
The main areas of RCWD rule compliance focus on:
• Wetland delineation on the parcel
• Dedicating the required easement over County Ditch 53-62 on the west side of the parcel
• Dedicating the required buffer easements and buffer maintenance agreement over wetlands located in the RCWD wetland management corridor on the west side of the parcel
• Storm water runoff treatment
• Potential impacts to existing wetlands from gravel access road to Well 19
Staff has worked with RCWD to develop an agreement that would allow the City to receive a permit for the watermain and sanitary sewer project upon signing the agreement and then work toward meeting the compliance requirements in the agreement during the process of constructing Water Treatment Plant 4 (WTP4). The construction of WTP4 will already require a wetland delineation and storm water runoff treatment under the existing rules so it is beneficial to allow the City to meet compliance during the WTP4 project rather than require compliance immediately and potentially have to later change things during design/construction of WTP4.
All costs for meeting compliance will be funded by the Water Utility Fund. It is estimated that costs for the wetland delineation and easement dedications will be approximately $7,000-10,000. Stormwater runoff treatment practices are already identified as part of the design and construction of WTP4, no additional costs are expected beyond what would have already been required to meet the rules. The determination of what needs to be done with the gravel access road to Well 19 will be made after the wetland delineation is done. Any removal or relocation of the access road would be done with the construction of WTP4 also as the project footprint will be disrupting a portion of the road. Costs would be dependent on what is decided, but would be anticipated to be less than $15,000 if a full removal and replacement was done.
By signing this agreement, the City would agree to come into compliance with RCWD rules for the City owned parcel at 12226 Lexington Avenue. The City Attorney and Staff have reviewed this agreement. The Rice Creek Watershed Board approved the agreement on the May 23, 2018 board meeting.
Recommendation
By motion, authorize the City Manager to enter into an Agreement with Rice Creek Watershed District for the City owned property at 12260 Lexington Avenue.