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RESOLUTION R-1718-47: A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, TRANSFERRING $19,600 FROM THE NEW SIDEWALKS AND TRAILS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ACCOUNT TO BE USED TO PAY FOR THE DESIGN OF SIDEWALKS ON CLASSEN BOULEVARD AND FLOOD AVENUE.
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BACKGROUND: The 2015 - Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) Federal transportation funding bill allocates approximately $21 Million in Federal funds per year for the implementation of eligible transportation improvements in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Ten percent of this appropriation is used to fund safety projects at 100% of their construction cost.
Every year, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) coordinates a regional evaluation process that identifies transportation improvements eligible for federal funding. Individual projects are rated and compared to one another using pre-established criteria. The process ends with the formulation of the region’s transportation improvement program and the decision to use federal funds to pay for a significant portion of the cost of the higher priority projects.
On November 26, 2013, City Council adopted Resolution R-1314-68 requesting the programming of federal funds to pay for 80% of the construction cost of new sidewalks along Classen Boulevard. The project addresses two sidewalk gaps along Classen Boulevard. The first location is along the west side of the road between Shawnee Street and Enid Street. The second location is a 350-foot long segment of sidewalks along the west side of Classen Boulevard immediately west of 12th Avenue SE. The estimated cost of the project is $200,000, with Federal funds covering $160,000 of this cost (80%).
On November 10, 2015, City Council adopted Resolution R-1516-34 requesting the programming of federal funds to pay for 80% of the construction cost of new sidewalks along both sides of Flood Avenue, between Gray Street and Dakota Street. The project addresses a significant sidewalk gap in the vicinity of Norman High School. The estimated cost of the project is $250,000, with federal funds covering $200,000 of this cost (80%).
In each of the resolutions, the City acknowledged the terms and conditions of a federally funded project by stating its willingness to assume the responsibility for the preparation of engineering plans, the purchase of any additional right-of-way, the relocation of public utilities and funding of the 20% local share of the construction cost.
On August 18, 2009, City Council approved contract K-0910-62 with Cardinal Engineering Company, LLC and K-0910-55 with Lemke Land Surveying for On-Call Engineering and Land Surveying Services. These contracts were developed to streamline and expedite the design process of small scale projects.
DISCUSSION: On December 15, 2017, staff will submit funding applications for both sidewalk projects and request that they be included in ACOG’s Three-Year Transportation Improvement Plan Update. The project scores assigned for project ranking and final selection are greatly influenced by the state of “readiness” of individual projects. It is critical for the design process to be underway for the two sidewalk projects to be competitive in the selection process, which is part of the reason why staff is proposing to use the on-call engineering and land surveying services contracts with Cardinal Engineering Company, LLC and Lemke Land Surveying. Staff has negotiated the fees and scope for each project under the terms of the contract. A large portion of the design fees are budgeted in the fiscal year 2017-2018 (FYE 2018) Capital Improvement Budget but additional funds will be required to fully fund the work. The budgeted amounts, agreed upon fees and the shortfalls in funding are as follows:
Classen Boulevard Sidewalks
Current Budget - $15,000
Project Name: Classen Sidewalks - Boyd to 12th SE, Design
Account Number: (050-9712-431.62-01; project TR0110)
Negotiated Fee - $22,800
Shortfall - $7,800
Flood Avenue Sidewalks
Current Budget - $20,000
Project Name: Flood Sidewalks, Design
Account Number: (050-9712-431.62-01; project TR0113)
Negotiated Fee - $31,800 (Cardinal Engineering - $18,300 and Lemke Land Surveying - $13,500)
Shortfall - $11,800
Staff has identified left-over funds from a recently bid project that could be transferred to the Classen Boulevard and Flood Avenue Sidewalk project to fund the shortfalls. The project in question is the Sidewalk and Trail Project (account 050-9179-431.61-01; project TC0262) for the construction of new sidewalks on Main Street next to the new Interstate 35 interchange. The original project budget was $120,000 and the low bid for the work is only half of that amount, leaving $60,000 available for other projects. Staff proposes to use $19,600 from the unused balance to supplement the budgeted funds in the design accounts for the Classen Boulevard and Flood Avenue sidewalk projects.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that $19,600 be transferred Citywide Sidewalk and Trails, Construction (account 050-9179-431.61-01; project TC0262) designating $7,800 to Classen Sidewalks - Boyd to 12th SE, Design (account 050-9712-431.62-01; project TR0110) and $11,800 to Flood Sidewalks, Design (account 050-9712-431.62-01; project TR0113).