Agenda Date: 8/6/2024
Subject:
Title
Resolution 87-2024: Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement with Mile High Flood District, regarding maintenance of drainage and flood control improvements for the High Line Canal
Body
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From: |
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager |
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Prepared by: |
Sarah White, Water Resources Manager |
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Presentations: |
N/A |
PURPOSE:
Does council support approving an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Mile High Flood District (MHFD), and the cities of Littleton, Greenwood Village and Denver, for MHFD to maintain select reaches of the High Line Canal (HLC) within each jurisdiction?
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Safe Community; High-Quality Governance; Sustainable Community with Natural Beauty
DISCUSSION:
Since 2021, the city has participated in a multi-jurisdictional agreement to maintain portions of the HLC. Under the agreement, MHFD performs maintenance on particular stretches of the HLC that lie within Littleton. Management by MHFD allows for cost savings by providing services in a larger quantity, and management by an agency with extensive experience in such work. The activities consist of debris and trash removal, noxious weed management, tree assessment and trimming/removals. If approved, 2024-2025 is intended to be the final year of this agreement, Denver Water transferred 45 miles of the HLC ownership to Arapahoe County in 2024 and Arapahoe County municipalities are expecting discussions with Arapahoe County about future maintenance arrangements to commence soon.
Moving forward, the new Collaborative will develop a natural resource management plan that will establish procedures and guidelines to for operations and maintenance. This plan will be essential for efforts to enhance the environmental health of the corridor, detail best management practices, guide research taking place along the Canal and further support the Canal’s transition to an ecological and recreational resource.
Prior Actions or Discussions
In 2019, the city entered into an IGA with Denver Water to build a stormwater discharge into the canal on the west side of Windermere Street. As part of this agreement, the city agreed to take on certain maintenance responsibilities in the canal, from this location downstream to Lee Gulch (1 mile).
In 2021 and 2022, the city entered into a joint maintenance agreement, managed by MHFD, to provide such maintenance activities in the city’s 1-mile reach.
In 2023, the City of Littleton acquired another city maintenance reach, from Broadway to Broadway (containing Euclid Avenue), approximately ½ mile via an IGA amendment with Denver Water.
Council approved a similar agreement for maintenance activities along the High Line Canal in previous years with Resolutions 21-2021, 27-2022 and 44-2023. The City of Littleton is responsible for certain maintenance activities in the 1-mile reach from Windermere Street to Lee Gulch and similar responsibilities for the new Broadway to Broadway reach once the IGA with Denver Water is amended.
BACKGROUND:
The High Line Canal (HLC) was constructed in 1883 to provide irrigation water for the South Platte River and Cherry Creek valleys. The canal is 71 miles long and begins in Waterton Canyon in Douglas County and ends in Green Valley Ranch in northeast Denver. Denver Water purchased the canal in 1924 but restricted recreation uses until the 1970s, when the maintenance road was repurposed to a recreational trail. Irrigation water usage has decreased significantly and caused most of the canal to become dry. The HLC has become a valuable recreational amenity for the Denver metro area.
In 2015, a Canal Collaborative was established to look into the feasibility to preserve, protect and enhance the HLC as a regional legacy for future generations. The Collaborative consists of thirteen partners: Arapahoe County, City of Aurora, City of Cherry Hills Village, City and County of Denver, Denver Water, Douglas County, City of Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch Metro District, High Line Canal Conservancy, City of Littleton, Mile High Flood District (MHFD), Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority and South Suburban Parks and Recreation District.
In June 2024, Denver Water transferred 45 miles of the HLC ownership to Arapahoe County, including the 11 miles within the City of Littleton. The ownership transfer included a conservation easement to permanently protect the HLC as a natural open space.
Responsibilities for operations and maintenance (O&M) had been delegated by Denver Water through written agreement. Multiple jurisdictions, including Littleton, have entered into a maintenance agreement with MHFD for maintenance of drainage and flood control improvements of the HLC, a centralized maintenance contract (CMC). During the ownership transfer of the HLC, it was determined MHFD would continue to manage a CMC for routine channel maintenance, on-call channel maintenance, on-call tree care and noxious weed treatment. The CMC is an annual contract.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Total project cost of the IGA is $137,600. The city of Littleton’s share of maintenance costs in 2024 is $15,000. This will be paid from the 2024 Storm Drainage Enterprise Fund budget.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the agreement.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should council not approve this agreement, the City of Littleton would have to provide maintenance services under separate contract managed by the city which does not take advantage of cost savings associated with a joint agreement managed by the MHFD.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve Resolution 87-2024 approving an Intergovernmental Agreement with Mile High Flood District, regarding maintenance of drainage and flood control improvements for the High Line Canal.