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5.2. SR 08-09-2004 Howard R, Green Oompany Item 5.2. July 30, 2004 File: 230000M-0325 The Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, Minnesota 55330 RE: REQUEST TO PAVE 221sT AVENUE Dear Councilmembers: At your July 6, 2004 City Coundl meeting, you received a letter from Dave Steiner, President of the Ridges of Rice Lake Homeowners Association, requesting that the City pave the gravel portion of 221~ Avenue. The Council also received a memo from staff outlining some of the issues that should be taken into account when considering the request from the Homeowners Association. Copies of both of these documents are attached. Based on Council direction at the July 6, 2004 meeting, staff has prepared a cost estimate and an exhibit showing the abutting properties with their frontage and owners indicated. The gravel portion of 221st Avenue is approximately 2,550 feet long. The paving width on either end of the gravel portion is about 26 feet wide and 3 ~ inches thick. Using the 2004 overlay unit prices as a guide, we have estimated that the cost to pave the gravel portion of 221s~ Avenue would be approximately $50,000. Attached is an exhibit which shows the approximate length of the gravel portion with the properties identified by PIN number, owner, and front footage adjacent to this portion of the roadway. I will be in attendance at your August 9, 2004 work session to answer any questions you may have regarding this issue. Sincerely, HOWARD R. GREEN COMPANY Ter~ J.~a~er~, p.~ S:\PLANNING\Terry Maurer\221st Paving 7-30-04 CC.doc 2550 University Avenue West · Suite 400N · St. Paul, MN 55114 · 651/644-4389 fax 651/644-9446 toll free 888/368-4389 July 2, 2004 File: 230000M-0325 Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 RE: RIDGES OF RICE LAKE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION REQUEST TO PAY 221sT AVENUE Dear Council Members: Attached is a letter from Mr. Dave Steiner, President of the Ridges of Rice Lake Homeowners' Association. As I am sure you are aware, Ridges of Rice Lake is the clustered neighborhood being developed on the north side of 221st Avenue between CSAH 1 and TH 169. Mr. Steiner's letter requests that the City pave the remaining portion of 221st Avenue, which is approximately a half- mile of gravel road between the main entrance to Ridges of Rice Lake going easterly to approximately the abandoned railroad trail. To fully consider this request from the Homeowners' Association of Ridges of Rice Lake, some background is necessary. Staff would offer the follow comments and thoughts for the Council's consideration: City Council has had no financial involvement in paving the portions of 221st Avenue between TH 169 and CSAH 1 that are currently paved. The developers of Ridges of Rice Lake paved the portion of 221st Avenue from Ridges of Rice Lake to the west to CSAH 1. It should be noted that it was not a requirement of the plat, but a request of the developers, that they be allowed to pave that portion of 221st Avenue for marketing purposes. The easterly portion of 221st Avenue from TH 169 to approximately the abandoned railroad bed was paved by the gravel mining operations in the area. This paving was done at their expense, in conjunction with working with the City staff. At the time of the initial development of the Ridges of Rice Lake plat, the developers indicated that they had plans in the future to develop more property to the east. As properties to the east were developed, it was anticipated by City staff that there would be a requirement of any development to pave the remaining portion of 221st Avenue. To date, there has been no indication that further developments along 221st Avenue will be forthcoming. Currently, the City has approximately 15 miles of gravel roads. Although the Street Department and Engineering Department would like to have no gravel roads, it is not economically possible for the City to take on the burden of paving this many miles of road. There is an ongoing maintenance cost to maintain a relatively short stretch of gravel roadway at the City's extreme north end of town. Paving the gravel portion of 221st Avenue would reduce the maintenance costs incurred for that roadway. J:\DOCUME~l\tmaurer\LOCALS~l\Temp\e9\Ltr-070204-Council.doc City Council July 2, 2004 Page Two o ° If the City Council were to direct that the gravel portion of 221st Avenue be paved in anticipation that the money could be recovered if a development adjacent to this portion of roadway were to occur in the near future, staff feels that it would be very difficult to recover all of the City's investment, and may be difficult to recover any of the investment. No developer wants to market a new development from a gravel road, and is therefore generally willing to do the paving leading up to their development. If the paving is completed, it is more likely that the developer, if asked to pay for the City's investment, will look at it like an assessment whereby the development would pay for the half of the road their development sits on and the frontage that it covers of the paved portion. The mention in Mr. Steiner's letter that the Ridges of Rice Lake has received little or no street sweeping/maintenance is due to the fact that the developers essentially are still responsible for the roads in the development. The final lift of bituminous has not been placed on the roadways as of this time. It is anticipated this work will be completed in the summer of 2004, at which time the City will take over maintenance and operation of the roadways. Presently, the City's maintenance department only plows the snow from the roadways. Once the roads are completed, they will be swept, crack sealed, and seal coated in a normal rotation with all other residential roadways within the City of Elk River. 7. It is also important to mention that all families in Ridges of Rice Lake acquired and/or built their homes with 221st Avenue in the condition that currently exists. Staff has from time to time received calls asking what the City's plans are for completing the paving of the roadway; the answer always given is that as future development occurs on the gravel stretch of roadway, the City will work with the developer to pave the remaining portion. 8. There have been some initial discussions with Sherburne County that 221,t Avenue may make a good candidate for turnback from the City to the County at some point in the future for continuation of County Road 21 west of TH 169. City staff is looking for direction from the Council on how to react to the request from the Ridges of Rice Lake Homeowners' Association. City staff could prepare an analysis of the cost and internal funding scenarios available for paving this portion of 221st Avenue. If it is the Council's desire to proceed with this request, this work could likely be completed in 2004 I will be at your July 6, 2004, City Council meeting to discuss this issue further. Sincerely, Howard R. Green Company Terry J. Maurer, P.E. TJM:sw J:\DOCUME~l\tmaurer\LOCALS~l\Temp\e9\Ltr-070204-Council.doc Ridges of Rice Homeowners Association June 29,2004 Lake Elk River City Hall 13065 Orono Pkwy Elk River, MN 55330 Dear Mayor Klinzing and City Council Members Dietz, Kuester, Motin and Tveite: As president of the Ridges of Rice Lake Homeowners Association, I'm writing you on behalf our association members. We are proud of our neighborhood and many of us, that are new residents of Elk River, are proud to be part of your community. I suspect you are familiar with the development, but I'd like to take a few words to describe our association members. We currently have approximately 30 families. Within this small population, we coach 8 youth sports teams, lead a cub scout troop, volunteer in 6 school classrooms, teach accelerated reading classes, co-chaired "United for Kids" and participate in many other community church volunteer activities. While we are a new neighborhood, we already have deep, rooted commitments to adding value to the community. Our "giving" is not purely time, however. Approximately $1500 per year per household goes towards a city tax. We are not on city water or sewer (we pay @ $450 per household for our private systems) and to date, we have little to no street sweeping/maintenance. While there are future plans for a city park, we currently do not have one and have taken common area land and donated materials to create a skating area for the kids in the development. The purpose of this letter is to request that you pave the remaining % mile of gravel road on 221st Avenue Northwest. As you probably know, it is the primary route to highway 169. In its current condition, it represents a driving safety risk (as opposed to a paved road). I'm sure you are frequently spending money to have it graded. Right or wrong, most builders and realtors set the expectation with homeowners, that the road would be paved. I, and other association board members, would like the opportunity to talk with you about the timing and action for this request. We feel it is a reasonable baseline expectation for our neighborhood. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss the next steps. Sincerely, Dave Steiner President, Ridges of Rice Lake Homeowners Association (763) 559-6451 (home) (763) 232-6439 (cell) Dave. Steiner@Target.com 75-10~-3300 HETRICt< 79' 250' 0 0 325' 75-672-0003 CITY PARK 1476' 1326' 221S 7 1696' TILLER CORP 75-109-2200 HIPSAG (DOUGLAS) 75-109-1201 75-104-4500 HIPSAG (DOUGLAS) 664' FIEISCHACKER 75-109-1 :) 75-104-4-306 HIPSAG (PAUL &: LAUREEN) L~ 338' f75-104-4507 GRAVEL 75-10~.-4-305 AIRHART 270 330' PROTIO