Agenda Date: 04/16/2024
Subject:
Title
Resolution 56-2024: Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Littleton and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, regarding a financial contribution for constructing the Mineral Station West Multimodal Project
Body
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From: |
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager |
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Prepared by: |
Brent Soderlin, Deputy Director of Public Works and Utilities |
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Brent Thompson, City Engineer |
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Presentations: |
N/A |
PURPOSE:
Does city council support an IGA between the City of Littleton and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, regarding a financial contribution for constructing the Mineral Station West Multimodal Project?
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Safe Community; High Quality Governance
DISCUSSION:
The Mineral Station West Multimodal Project will provide critical missing multimodal connections between the regional trail and transit network adjacent to Santa Fe Drive, improving the access and mobility to and from the Mary Carter Greenway and South Platte River Trail, and other activity centers, such as the Carson Nature Center and Aspen Grove Mall.
This project is part of a larger multimodal program of projects around Mineral Station. All projects will make first and last mile connections to transit, provide high-comfort bike and pedestrian facilities between commercial and residential development (existing and planned), and create safer access to recreational assets.
On December 12, 2023, the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners approved $575,000 in funding to support this project. In their staff report on this item, it was stated that:
“Littleton is leading the way in the County for implementing Bike and Pedestrian infrastructure. This is the 2nd in a series of bicycle Cycle Tracks that the City is implementing. Cycle Tracks are the “Gold Standard” of bicycle infrastructure for safety and providing a bikeway for ALL AGES AND ABILITIES. Since over 50% of users tell us they are “Interested but concerned” about riding their bike in the street, Cycle Tracks can truly shift modes and get more people out of cars and onto bikes effectively reducing congestion.
This Mineral Station Bikeway connection is extremely important for its connectivity to light rail and its regional connectivity to the High Plains Trail, C-470 Trail and the Mary Carter Greenway Trail. This key connectivity factor is likely why it was the only project selected by DRCOG for TIP funding out of the five projects originally submitted. Additionally, bicyclists enjoying these upgrades and traveling to and from the east will benefit from the improvements to the Mineral Trail between Jackass Hill Road and the High Line Canal, which Open Spaces funded earlier this year.”
Staff and consultants have completed conceptual design, will continue with preliminary and final design preparation and conduct public engagement in 2024-2025. Construction of the project is anticipated in 2025-2026.
This IGA is a cost sharing agreement with Arapahoe County for their $575,000 financial contribution to the project.
BACKGROUND:
In 2022, Arapahoe County in partnership with other municipal agencies, applied for grant funding through the Denver Regional Council of Government’s (DRCOG) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for five multimodal projects across multiple jurisdictions along the Santa Fe Drive corridor. These projects were identified in the Santa Fe Drive Action Plan - A Planning and Environmental Linkage Study (2022) and the South Platte Connections Study (2019), and is one piece of a larger planned trail connection between C470 to the Aspen Grove Mall and Carson Nature Center, as well as to provide residents east of Santa Fe Drive a clear, safe route to the Mary Carter Greenway and other amenities on the west side of Santa Fe Drive. The Mineral Station West Multimodal Project is the only one of the five projects awarded TIP funding due to limitations in available funding. Since only the one Littleton project was awarded funding, the City of Littleton is taking the lead to advance this project, and Arapahoe County will be providing contributing funds equal to 50% of the local match and design cost.
Mineral Station West Multimodal Project was awarded $2,153,000 in grant funds for construction of trail improvements from the Mineral Light Rail Transit (LRT) Station bridge to the Mary Carter Greenway Trail. The project will improve multimodal safety and accessibility to the Mineral LRT Station, improve access to the Mary Carter Greenway Trail as an active transportation corridor, and reduce single-occupant vehicle travel by improving pedestrian and bicycle access to transit.
The proposed improvements include providing multimodal facilities from the Mineral Station platform to Mineral Avenue, Platte River Parkway and Carson Drive, a new intersection configuration for the Platte River Parkway/Carson Drive intersection, and a connection to the Mary Carter Greenway Trail at South Platte Park through the Carson Nature Center trailhead parking lot.
The Arapahoe County Open Space and Trails Advisory Board noted that this project provides an amazing opportunity to maximize and leverage Open Space funding with partner funding and TIP federal funding to build multimodal projects identified in the Arapahoe County Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan and improve connections to the Mineral LRT Station and to the Mary Carter Greenway.
Prior Actions or Discussions
An IGA with CDOT for construction of the Mineral Station West Multimodal Project was approved by city council as Resolution 85-2023 on August 15, 2023.
FISCAL IMPACTS
The cost for this project including design, construction, and construction management is $3,303,000. The TIP grant provided for a project construction cost of $2,394,000, funded 90% by the grant ($2,153,000) and 10% by local match ($242,000). The City has completed preliminary design and estimates the construction cost at $2,750,000, which is higher than when the grant application was submitted. The additional construction costs and design costs are being funded separately and shared equally by the City of Littleton and Arapahoe County.
Estimated Project Costs Project Revenues
Design = $ 553,000 CDOT = $2,153,000
Construction = $2,750,000 City of Littleton = $ 575,000
Total Costs = $3,303,000 Arapahoe County = $ 575,000
Total Revenue = $3,303,000
The $575,000 contribution from Arapahoe County as outlined in this IGA, will be deposited into the Capital Reserve Fund. The City’s portion of funding will be from the Multimodal Impact Fees Fund.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the resolution approving the IGA.
ALTERNATIVES
If Council does not approve this IGA, the City of Littleton will not receive contributing funds from Arapahoe County for this project. The city would not be able to fund this project on its own given the significant backlog of capital projects competing for limited funding. Leveraging grant funds and local agency partner funds for multimodal projects such as this is critical to complete projects the city would unlikely be able to afford on its own. Forgoing this opportunity would also put Littleton at a significant disadvantage in attaining community goals related to transportation, economic development, and quality of life.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve Resolution 56-2024 authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Littleton and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, regarding a financial contribution for constructing the Mineral Station West Multimodal Project.