City of Grand Forks, North Dakota

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	Mayor and City Council Work Session March 9, 2005 – 5:00 p.m. A101 Council Members Present: Doug Christensen, Hal Gershman, Gerald Hamerlik, Dorette Kerian (joined meeting in progress), Curt Kreun. Council Members Absent: Bob Brooks, Eliot Glassheim. Others Present: Mayor Brown, Richard Duquette, John Schmisek, Al Grasser, Earl Haugen, Daryl Hovland, Don Shields, Dennis Potter, John Packett, Maureen Storstad, Roxanne Fiala, Pete O’Neill, Pete Haga, Greg Hoover. Gershman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. He praised Mayor Brown for the his State of the City Speech that was given at noon and for his vision and efforts to keep the community growing and improving. 1) Update on Road and Highway Funding by State of ND. Richard Duquette, Administrative Coordinator, stated that he had changed the agenda item for this meeting so that he and Grasser could provide information to the Council on some funding changes at the state level for road projects. Grasser stated that he received a copy of the updated Department of Transportation funding plan for regional projects. He continued that for 2006 he has no issues with the updated plan. He then directed the group to 2007 in regards to the 42nd Underpass Project Note. He explained that the intent of this note is to make a change and have the City upfront fund the project and that this is different from the prior funding plan. Schmisek added that in the previously distributed CIP information this project was not included with the upfront funding and at this time we would be looking at a borrowing to do that which would have an interest cost of about $350,000 for the City which would not be reimbursed. Grasser stated that his intent would be to slightly change the construction schedule on this project, moving the bidding date from the spring of the year to the fall, thereby moving the bulk of the project expense into 2008, which would save the City this interest. Schmisek continued that with that scenario the City could cash flow the project. The group discussed who benefits most from the completion of this project. Haugen stated that the MPO has conducted some study of this and the community as a whole will benefit and in particular, those using DeMers to access the highway, and even more specifically those employed at or attending the University. Haugen added that in one of their studies that involved a normal day without any activity at the Alerus Center, traffic on the street was an average of 8,000 cars. Duquette inquired whether the MPO views 42nd Street as a future corridor roadway for the City. Haugen responded that the MPO, City and ND DOT all view that street as a planned future traffic corridor roadway. Kreun inquired whether there were other projects that may be delayed if we do have to cash flow the project as proposed due to the delay in state funding. Grasser responded that we would then not be able to complete any other projects until 2010. The group discussed the 42nd Street project and items that still need to be finalized, such as the land acquisition and the project concept report (pcr). The group discussed whether there was enough benefit to completing this project with the City cash flowing it or whether we would have more benefit from completing some of the smaller projects that we are pushing back to allow us to cash flow 42nd. Grasser stated that once the PCR is complete we will have a better feel for the direction that we should proceed. The group discussed the status of the FEMA repayment and whether the dollars currently being set aside for that may be available to assist with other projects. Schmisek stated that the FEMA issue is still in negotiation and that until the completion of the negotiation he would not be able to give the Council information on potential amounts that would be available for other uses or what any potential payment timeline would be. The group concurred that if financially feasible the project should move forward with the November bid date. Grasser directed the group to page 2 of the handout, which deals with 2008 projects. He referred to the note which states that the Columbia Road and Gateway Drive Project has been programmed for a time beyond 2010 and the Washington Street Underpass Project has now been programmed beyond fiscal year 2011. Gershman inquired whether any other cities were seeing similar things. Haugen responded that of the four largest cities there is probably not much of a gap among funding for all of them. He continued that of the regional roadways that we have all have had work done in the recent past and so a gap for our city is not out of line. Christensen inquired whether if we did not use the funding for the underpass whether those dollars may be available for other uses. Grasser responded that no they can only be used for a narrow range of items. Gershman inquired whether there are other urban projects that could take the place of the ones that were on the list. Grasser stated that there are a number of projects and he would create a list for the group to review. Grasser stated that he would like the group to keep in mind that as far as the 42nd underpass project, UND may want some land of ours and he wants to keep our options open for buying land that may be necessary should we continue with the project and cash flow it. The group expressed that they are open to options, but would prefer to choose an option that would not overly inflate the project cost. Grasser stated that he would be able to provide better cost estimates on all of the options once the PCR is completed. He continued that there will be public meetings on the project with in the next couple of months. The group stated that they would like to receive the list of other potential urban projects as soon as possible so that a decision on how to proceed could be made. Grasser stated that when he compiles the list he will structure the optional projects so that they cash flow the same as the 42nd Street project would. Hamerlik asked that Grasser also review the full definition of the Columbia Gateway project, as he thought that in earlier discussion it was not slated to go all the way down to 8th Ave N. Grasser stated that as yet there are no Transportation Enhancements programmed for any of the years and once these are determined he will inform the council. Haugen stated that he believes that it funding is promising for both the 55th trail and the Gateway entrance. Gershman stated that the City should also contact Columbia Mall, as they have offered to donate their large flag poles to the City for use, as they are removing them from the mall. The group discussed that the 42nd Street project could also be helped with support from the university since there is a plan to continue growth of their research areas and creating a regional research corridor with a base at the university. Gershman adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sherie Lundmark Admin Spec Sr.