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7.4. SR 05-11-1998.y of iver MEMORANDUM Item # 7.4. TO: FROM: DATE: Mayor and City Council Pat Klaers, City Adm//~trator May 11, 1998 SUBJECT: School Street Project Update Councilmember Holmgren has requested that this item be added to the agenda. In case you missed it, attached is the 5/6/98 Star News article on the proposed School Street improvement project. I have met with Dr. Flannery and he has advised me that the School Board had some general questions regarding the cost of the project, the interest rate on the assessment roll for the project, and the "fairness" for why no properties on the south side of the road were being assessed. The school understands that even if the south properties were assessed that they may not see reductions in their assessments. As the Council may recall, at our joint meeting with the School Board it was suggested that the school pay half the cost of this proposed improvement project and the City pick up the other half. If this approach would have been acceptable to the school, then the project could have proceeded in 1998 with no project public hearings and no assessment public hearings. If the City is to pursue assessing property owners to the south, then these two public hearing steps would be required and this would push completion of the project out until the very end of the 1998 construction year. In fact, it could even require that the project be completed in 1999 if some property owners appealed their assessments and the City waited the 30 days to determine if the people appealing their assessments followed up with the appropriate filing of notices. On the positive side however, it looks like School Street will be open and passable throughout the construction project and it may be that construction in October would not be a major inconvenience to the School District. Without the agreement and support of the School District, public hearings are required for this project and this may mean that we should be looking at a 1999 project. If the City is to consider assessments on the south side of the street, then we would have to look at assessments on a front footage basis for 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425 the street, storm sewer, and sidewalk. This may result in a lower cost to the City and some assessments to the south property owners, but it may also result in appeals and the City ending up in district court to justify the benefit of this project. Based on a front footage basis, the cost to the School District would seem to be lower than the "ball park" $200,000 estimate, however we have previously experienced an aggressive construction environment and this may result in assessments on a front footage basis costing the School District more than an actual 50/50 split of the project. We could offer the School District an either/or situation, but this would require an assessment hearing after bids are opened. It is even remotely possible that we could assess 50% of the project to the School District, assess part of the project out on a front footage basis for the south property owners and the City pays the balance. This project has always been in a concept stage until recently and actually the Council has not authorized plan and specification, but just asked staff to start working on the project. The City Engineer has moved forward with obtaining more detailed construction cost information and analysis. So far all we have been working from in terms of costs for the project is our best guess and these estimates tend to be conservative or on the high side. For example, at this point we don't even know if the sidewalk on the north side can be saved or will need to be replaced. The final design will help determine the final cost estimate. i Education ~,~, Mav G,-1~98/Elk ~iver St~r N~w$/3 Board balks at School Street Widening by Jim Boyle Staff writer' The Elk River Area School Board discussed, but did not bite on, a proposed School Street- widening project last Tuesday. Instead, it directed Super- intendent David Flannery to meet ~vith the city of Elk River about options to make the pro- ject more affordable. The city is proposing the .road improvement and has for about five years. There is some support for the project on the School Board; however, the decision to send the superintendent out on a fact-finding mission is already likely to push the project off another year, F]annery explained. And while there is support for the project in g~neral, there are some School Board members who seem apprehensive or ques- tion and/or question how big an issue School Street traffic is.. Traffic jams like this occur twice a day on School Street when school is in session. The city of Elk River is proposing it be widened to four lanes. (Photo by Jim Boyle) Tom Zerwas, the Elk River police chief, was disappointed to hear of the School Board's inde- cisiveness. "It seemed like this was going to be the year," he said. "It's real- ly unfortunate they didn't decide to go ahead. ~Ls far as I'm con- cerned it's an accident waiting to happen.". The police direct Lraffic in front of VandenBerge Junior High School before school and after school, Zerwas said. Without the high school, Zerwas said, there would be no need for the road improve- ments. Board Member Therese VanBlarcom questioned whether the school district was shouldering a responsibility fro' road improvements for the eco- nomic development of Elk River. She said there needs to be ways to get from east Elk River to west Elk River other than Highway 10 and School Street. Pat Klaers, Elk River's city administrator, has said the city is waiting for the school district to petition the widening project, unless somethinghappens that causes the council to rethink its position. The city could force the project -- and the assess- ment. For now, the School Board wants to know if there is a way that the school district could pay for the assessment interest- free or if there were any other options. Board members lem~ned last Tuesday it would cost the school district an addi- tional $112,000 in interest to pay for the project, if they went with a 15-year payment plan. The school district could pay it all off up front, but a $200,000 .bill would be tough to swallow all at once, members said. City officials have wanted the project done ever since the other half of School Street was widened about five years ago. "We stopped where we did because we didn't want to pay another $200,000 to finish the street," Flannery reported last Tuesday. The school district is coming off another assessment on which it pays about $20,000 per year. Everyone agrees that widen- ing the road would make it safer. In the absence of the road improvement, the School Board plans to look at its high school parking policy as means of con- trolling the level of traffic.