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1XIEQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Date: 06/20/11 Item No.: 12 . a 40 Item Description: Approve Contract to Prepare Environmental Documentation for the Twin Lakes AUAR Subarea I Infrastructure Improvements rITUrp, 2 In 2009, the City received a, $, 1 million federal appropriation to complete public infrastructure 3 construction work within the Twin Lakes Redevelopment Area. Because the funding source is federal, 4, we are required to develop additional environmental documentation to proceed with the project. This 5 process is managed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Office of State Aid, who in turn 6 coordinates the funding approval with the Federal Highway Administration. The environmental "7 documentation approval process takes between 3 months to a year to complete depending on the issues 8 identified. In order to use these funds for a project, the environmental documentation needs to be 9 approved and the project authorized by MnDOT prior to soliciting bids for the project. 110 As a result, due to timing we were unable to use these funds for the construction of the Twin Lakes 11 Phase 2 public infrastructure project in 2010. At the time the City Council authorized staff to bid the 12 Phase 2 project we had sufficient funding through TIC' balances and other grants sources. 13 To ensure that these funds are available for Twin Lakes Infrastructure construction, staff recommends 14, that the City proceed with the development and approval of the necessary environmental documentation. 15 Staff is recommending that the funds be used to purchase the right of way necessary to construct Phase 116 3 of the public infrastructure. This is the next logical step in the construction of the public 1 "7 infrastructure. We have discussed with MnDOT what is required to proceed with using the federal funds to purchase 119 this right of way and have been advised that we need to complete a Project Memorandum (ISM). 20 Completing a PM for the proposed project requires experienced transportation planners and NEPA 2 1 (National Environmental Policy Act) specialists. To accomplish this work, staff has solicited proposals 22 from three consulting companies. Staff has reviewed the proposals and is recommending that we hire 23 SRF Consulting Group, Inc. to complete the work. They worked on the AUAR and are very familiar 24, with the site and they have staff experienced in developing environmental documentation of this nature. 25 What follows is a summary of the proposals received: Consultant Estimated Cost SRF Consulting Group, Inc 40 I • Bolton & Menk, Inc. WSB & Associates 26 Federal environmental review requirements apply to any project that uses Federal Funds. The selected 27 consultant will use the City's Twin Lakes AUAR (2007) and other environmental studies as an 28 information base. New impact measurement corresponding to the project and land acquisition area will Page I of 2