Loading...
2. Resolution 4861 - Meridian RoadF, City of Kalispell Post Office Box 1997 - Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 - Telephone (406) 758-7000 Fax - (406) 758-7758 REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Chris Kukulski, City Manager SUBJECT: Resolution 4861 in Support of fully funding of the Meridian Road Project in 2004. MEETING DATE: February 17, 2004 BACKGROUND: The attached letter dated January 26, 2004 was developed as a result of several conversations between the City and MDT. The letter clearly outlines the reasons for requesting that an exception be made to the State's rules in order to reconstruct Meridian Road in 2004. After reviewing our approach to this issue with the State it was determined that a Resolution by the City Council would serve to further assist us in our efforts. Therefore we would ask the Council to approve Resolution 4861. RECOMMENDATION: The City Council approve Resolution 4861 a Resolution supporting the reconstruction of Meridian Road in one phase in 2004. Respectfully submitted, Chris A. Kukulski, City Manager RESOLUTION NO.4861 A RESOLUTION TO DECLARE THE SUPPORT OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL FOR AN INTERLOCAL REQUEST OF THE MONTANA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ALLOW AN EXCEPTION TO THEIR POLICY WHICH PROHIBITS BORROWING AGAINST FUTURE ALLOCATIONS FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FULLY FUNDING THE MERIDIAN ROAD PROJECT IN 2004. WHEREAS, the Meridian Road project is the first priority for the Urban Highway System in Kalispell; and WHEREAS, traffic on Meridian Road continues to grow to the point where congestion is approaching unmanageable levels; and WHEREAS, the congestion on Meridian Road adversely impacts traffic on both County and City roads in the area; and WHEREAS, on February 5, 2004, the Board of County Commissioners passed Resolution No. 1683, a resolution encouraging the Montana Transportation Commission to allow an exception to its current borrowing policy to allow the Meridian Road project in the City of Kalispell to be fully funded, in 2004. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KALISPELL, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I. That the City Council of the City of Kalispell hereby declares its support for the interlocal request to the Montana Transportation Commission to allow an exception to their current borrowing policy to allow the Meridian Road project to be fully funded in 2004. SECTION II. The City Manager is authorized and directed to communicate this resolution to the Montana Department of Transportation and Flathead County. PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND SIGNED BY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF KALISPELL, THIS 17TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2004. Pamela B. Kennedy Mayor Attest: Theresa White City Clerk f City of Kalispell Public Words Department Post Office Box 1997, Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 -Telephone (406)758-7720, Fax (406)758-7831 26 January 2004 Montana Transportation Commission Re: Urban Highway System, Meridian Road Project, Kalispell Honorable Members of the Commission: The City of Kalispell is seeking your consent to grant an exception to the Commission policy on borrowing against future allocated Urban System funds in order to ensure the timely and much needed construction of the Meridian Road Project in Kalispell. The current Commission policy, dating to 1998, limits the Kalispell Urban Area's ability to morrow against its future allocations to a maximum of five (5) years and/or one-half the annual allocation for the program. Specifically, Kalispell is requesting an exception to the current policy to allow borrowing the full amount needed to fully fund this critical project in the 2004 FFY. There are many reasons for Kalispell making this request but most prominent among them are urgent community need and rising costs. The 1993 Kalispell Area Transportation Plan identified the Meridian Road project as the number one priority Urban Highway System project for the Kalispell Urban area. It is the first and only Urban System project attempted thus far. Since 1995 the Montana Department of Transportation and the City of Kalispell have labored steadily to develop a workable design, acquire right-of- way, and accumulate adequate funding to construct the improvements. Since the Transportation Plan was prepared ten years have passed during which traffic on this critical connector between US 93 and US 2 has grown 45% through year -ending 2002. This growth has been in direct proportion to the growth within our community and is certain to continue steadily upward with the rapidly increasing pace of development in the NW Kalispell area. Congestion on this critical traffic artery is approaching unmanageable levels. Costs have risen dramatically to levels not remotely anticipated when this project was begun nearly ten years ago. Right-of-way is severely restricted by development throughout the project length. Acquisition is complete, but the cost to acquire ROW rose from an original estimate of $545,000 to nearly $3.5 million. The severe constraints of ROW greatly complicated design. Rather than simply moving utilities out of the highway work zone, utilities must be moved to the extreme edge of ROW, but they must remain inside the highway work zone. This raised utility costs substantially and also raises the cost and complexity of roadway construction. As a result of the design complications and passage of the years needed to solve them, the cost to construct this project has increased from early estimates of $5.2 million to nearly $12.1 million today. tuo©12004.a©c MDT has reviewed several options for moving this project forward: Funding all the project this year can be done without conflicting with projects in other Urban Program areas. This option will require the borrowing of program funds beyond the current Urban Borrow Policy limits. Two potential phasing options were identified. However, each option would create undesirable conflicts with programmed projects in other urban areas and neither option should be recommended on that basis alone. Further, the phased approach would leave a significant Meridian Road segment between US 93 and Three Mile Drive unimproved for at least another decade during which traffic growth will virtually guarantee the creation of an unacceptable traffic safety hazard due to greatly increased congestion. The problem of rising costs becomes crystal clear when consideration is given to the potential option of waiting the time needed to accumulate funds for full construction. Project funds for the Kalispell area currently accumulate at the rate of approximately $455,000fyear. However, MDT estimates that highway construction costs rise an average of 3% each year. For this project, inflation each year would consume approximately $210,000 of the $455,000 annual allocation leaving about $245,000 to accumulate annually towards the current $5.76 million construction deficit. This low net rate of construction fund growth will ensure an additional delay of approximately 24 years before construction can begin. These timing delays and cost penalties also hold true for funding the uncompleted segment of the two phased options. After reviewing these options we strongly encourage your favorable consideration of our request for an exception to the current borrow policy to allow this project to be fully funded in 2004. We concur with MDT that doing so will avoid conflicts with projects in other Urban Program areas. Other options such as delaying the project or phasing construction bring with them traffic problems we seek to avoid, schedule conflicts, much higher project costs, and needless delay of a much needed project. Again, for all the reasons stated above, we urge you to approve this request for an exception the Commission's Urban Borrow Policy so that this critical local transportation project can move forward this year as planned_ S' ely, W Pamela B. Kennedy, Mayor City of Kalispell _ RESOLUTION NO.I dK WHEREAS, the City of Kalispell has requested that the Montana Transportation Commission allow an exception from the Commission's policy which prohibits borrowing against future allocations for more than five years, for the construction of the Meridian Road Project in the City of Kalispell; WHEREAS, the Meridian Road Project is the first priority for the Urban Highway System in Kalispell; WHEREAS, traffic on Meridian Road continues to grow to the point where congestion is approaching unmanageable levels; and WHEREAS, the congestion on Meridian Road adversely impacts traffic on the County roads that feed into Kalispell on Meridian Road, NOW, THEREFORE, IT I.S HEREBY RESOLVED, by the Board of Commissioners of Flathead County, that Flathead County strongly encourages the Montana Transportation Commission to allow an exception to its current borrowing policy to allow the Meridian Road Project to be fully funded in 2004. Dated this - day of February, 2004. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Flathead C unty, Montana f Howard W. Gipe, Chairman M RoberV,W. Wye, Member By ATTEST: Gary a 1, Me er Paula Robinson, Clerk ByG r „� Deputy