Creek Knoll A & B Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction

Good question.  Discussions regarding fiber optic installation in the City are ongoing.  Plans and permit applications s to install fiber optic with Creek Knoll project have not occurred.  However, fiber optic conduit can be installed in the future by trenchless horizontal directional drill method with minimal disruption to the street pavement, turf boulevards, or other infrastructure in the right of way.   

Thank you, 

Aaron

Thanks for your question.  The City Council will  consider awarding the construction contract on May 4.   CenterPoint Energy will be replacing the gas main and gas services throughout the project area this spring and early summer. Their contractor, Michels, anticipates starting around May 10.  The City’s contractor may start in mid-May or decide to wait until June when the gas main and service work is complete.  Look for a hard copy mailing for the estimated start date.  

The final assessment amount will be mailed to property owners one year after project completion, scheduled for fall 2022.  Options include:

1. Pay entire amount within 30 days upon receiving the bill to avoid future interest charges.
2. Pay minimum 25% of the amount and the balance rolls to property taxes spread over 15 years, with interest.
3. Roll entire amount to property taxes spread over 15 years, with interest.

Payments may be deferred if 65 years of age or older and meet specific income requirements. 

Good question.  The sanitary sewer services are not scheduled to be replaced by the project.  Depending on the budget, the City may or may not be replacing water services up to the shut off valve in the City right of way. If construction were to conflict with sewer and water services, the services would be replaced by the City at the conflict location at no additional cost to property owners.   

Thank you, 

Aaron

Thank you for your question. Local Streets with sidewalk have a street width of 24’, 5’ sidewalk, and a preferred 5’ grass boulevard between the curb and sidewalk.  The grass boulevard width can be narrowed when infrastructure constraints are present.  North of Fuller Street the current Beard Avenue street width averages around 33’, south of Fuller Street the current Beard Avenue street width averages around 28’.

This winter Engineering staff will develop design options and analyze their associated impacts to adjacent properties.  If there are impacts to trees, landscaping, fences, or new retaining walls needed we will meet with affected residents prior to construction.  

Sidewalks and their related cost are paid for 100% from the PACS fund and not assessed to residents. More information about sidewalk funding and the PACS fund can be found at, https://youtu.be/3-IgTnpQVqw?t=32.

Roadway reconstruction is a very lengthy process.  There were some initial delays on W. 58^th St due to private utility work separate from the roadway and utility reconstruction.   It’s possible this could occur in Creek Knoll as well, but unlikely to the extent of W. 58^th St.  There’s also less storm sewer, sidewalk, soil work, etc. scheduled for Creek Knoll when compared to W. 58^th St.

When we give the contractor 5-6 months to complete a project, the lower the project costs.  If we reduced the project duration, we may not receive any bids to do the work.  Or the costs would be much higher than usual and those cost increases would be reflected in all the funding sources, including assessments.  

Selecting specific contractors isn’t feasible for projects as expensive as roadway reconstructions are.  Minnesota Statutes require that the City selects the contractor with the lowest price.  

Thank you.

Properties are assessed based on Residential Equivalent Units (REUs). One single-family residential lot is generally equal to 1 REU, regardless of lot size or street frontage.   Corner lots with two side streets in the project area will be assessed 1 REU. Corner lots with one side street in the project area will be assessed 0.5 REUs.

Church properties are assessed at 0.2 REUs per 1000 SF of Gross Floor Area.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room on the video slide to include this additional detail.  

Under the City’s Special Assessment Policy, local roadway projects are assessed 100% of the roadway costs.  We then divide the roadway costs by the total number of REUs in the project area to determine the estimated assessment amount per REU for the entire project.  

Thank you.

Eliminating the sidewalk on Beard Avenue would increase the project costs and assessment amount to the residents.  

Sidewalks are paid for by the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) Fund and are not assessed to residents.  The standard roadway width for a local street with a sidewalk is 24 feet.  The standard roadway width for a local street without a sidewalk is 27 feet.  Roadway project costs are assessed to residents and cost more to build than sidewalks.  It's estimated that widening the roadway 3 feet would increase the assessments for each property $200-300.  

Thank you, 

Aaron

The following traffic data was observed during the week of 7/10/20.

Average daily traffic volumes:

• Beard Avenue – 164
• Fuller Street – 200

85^th percentile speeds (mph):

• Beard Avenue – 21.3 
• Fuller Street – 27.4

Thank you, 

Aaron

Thanks for the input.   We have noted Fuller Street and Beard Avenue as prime candidates for storm sewer pipe installation in our draft Engineering Study.  Final storm sewer locations will be determined this winter after the project transitions from the Engineering Study phase into the final design phase.  

Thank you,

Aaron