HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-05-14 RESOLUTION 11 -05 -14
• A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF OAK PARK HEIGHT
REGARDING H. R. 850 AS PREPARED BY REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN —
MN. 6 DISTRICT
WHEREAS, it has come to the City Council's attention that the U.S. House of Representatives -
National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee will be holding a Legislative Hearing on
Wednesday, May 4 2011 at 10:00 am to discuss H.R. 850 to facilitate a proposed project in the
Lower St. Croix Wild and Scenic River, and;
WHEREAS, Mayor David Beaudet has been invited to testify at this hearing along with other local
representatives, (Mayor's invitation is affixed hereto as Exhibit A) and;
WHEREAS, fundamentally the City would like to support a project that would replace the current
bridge facility as this bridge is a regional need stemming from several elements such as interstate
traffic volumes, poorly maintained frontage roads and intersections on highways and approaches,
inadequacies of the Stillwater Lift Bridge and related issues. Regardless of the regional needs, the
City cannot support the funding mechanisms that shift the financial burden from this regional
project to the local government unit. The regional need precipitates the replacement of local
infrastructure but does not provide for all such expenses. The regional project also creates regional
storm water ponding, signalizations, trails and facilities and utility replacements, and future
maintenance burdens all of which are not fully funded and for which an unnecessary burden is
being forced upon the local government unit. The City cannot support the project unless and until
those burdens have been regionally funded and;
III WHEREAS, to date the City has not established a formal position on the proposed aspects of H.R.
850 or any other legislation relating to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council for the City of Oak Park
Heights with the passage of this Resolution, affirms that it has not established a specific position on
H.R. 850 or other aspects of the St. Croix Wild and Scenic River Designation as it relates to the St.
Croix River Crossing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council does re- affirm the Council Position
Statement regarding the St. Croix River Crossing as passed on Oct 15 2010, affixed hereto as
Exhibit B.
Passed by the City Council for the City of Oak Park Heights this . ' a ay of May, 2011
/ Mark Swenson, Deputy Mayor
Attest: i -'
Eric 4 • son, City Administrator
•
Exhibit A to:
• A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF OAK PARK
HEIGHT REGARDING H. it 850 AS PREPARED BY REPRESENTATIVE
MICHELE BACHMANN — MN. 6 DISTRICT.
Includes: April 28 2011 Invitation to Mayor David Beaudet to Subcommittee
III
•
DOC HASTINGS, WA EDWARD J. MARKEY, MA
CHAIRMAN RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER
DON YOUNG. AK DALE E. KILDEE, MI
JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., TN PETER A DEFAZIO, OR
LOUIE GOHMERT, TX ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, AS
ROB BISHOP, UT FRANK PALLONE, JR.. NJ
DOUG LAMBORN, CO GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, CA
ROBERT J. WITTMAN, VA U. *. ouJE of irprroeutattuto RAUL M. GRIJA NVA, AZ
PA UL C. BROUN, GA �
JOHN FLEMING. LA MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, GU
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GLENN THOMPSON, O f�11 L . 1 1 1,7 u A L D, O 7HOM, PA GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, CNMI
JEFF DENHAM. CA t Q fl 2U5 G
, tOU MARTIN HEINRICH, NM
DAN BE xfl 1 BEN RAY LUJAN, NM
DAVID RIVER IVERA, FL L !' i lQl 6 { 1t • ♦��I` ♦E llY ]IYy��Y. 11J 1 J DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, VI
JEFF DUNCAN, SC JOHN P. SARBANES, MD
SCOTT R. TIPTON, CO BETTY SUTTON, OH
PAUL A. GOSAR, AZ NIKI TSONGAS, MA
RAUL R. LABRADOR, ID PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, PR
KRISTI L. NOEM, SD April 28, 2O1 I JOHN GARAMENDI, CA
,
STEVE SOUTHERLAND II, FL COLLEEN W.HANABUSA, HI
BILL FLORES, TX
ANDY HARRIS. MD
JEFFREY M. LANDRY, LA JEFFREY DUNCAN
CHARLES J. "CHUCK" FLEISCHMANN, TN DEMOCRATIC STAFF DIRECTOR
JON RUNYAN, NJ
BILL JOHNSON. OH
TODD YOUNG
CHIEF OF STAFF
The Honorable David Beaudet
Mayor
City of Oak Park Heights
6400 Lookout Trail North
Oak Park Heights, Minnesota 55082
Dear Mayor Beaudet:
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands is scheduled to hold a
legislative hearing on H.R. 850, To facilitate a proposed project in the Lower St. Croix Wild and
Scenic River, and for other purposes, on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in room 1334
1110 Longworth House Office Building. I cordially invite you to testify at this hearing.
Enclosed with this letter are the parameters regarding written and oral testimony. Should
you have any questions or need additional information, please have your staff contact Jim
Streeter, Staff Director, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, at 202 -225-
2761 or Nancy Locke, Chief Legislative Clerk, Committee on Natural Resources at 202 -225-
7611.
Sincerely,
. 40 dip
Rob Bishop
Chairman
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands
Enclosures
•
littp://naturalresources.house.gov
• Exhibit B to:
A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF OAK PARK
HEIGHT REGARDING H. R. 850 AS PREPARED BY REPRESENTATIVE
MICHELE BACIJMANN — MN. 6 DISTRICT.
Includes: Oct 15 2010 — City Council Communication to City Businesses — STH 36 / St. Croix
River Crossing Project — Current Position of the City of Oak Park Heights
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) 41- s
City of Oak Park Heights
14168 Oak Park Blvd. N • Box 2007. Oak Park Heights, MN 55082 • Phone (651) 439 -4439 • Fax (651) 439 -0574
October 15 2010
TO: Oak Park Heights Business Community
FROM: The City Council of the City Oak Park Heights
RE: Communication to City Businesses - STH 361 St. Croix River
Crossing Project — Current Position of City of Oak Park
Heights.
• In recent weeks, there have been announcements from the Minnesota Department of
Transportation (MNDOT) that they intend to proceed with construction of the St. Croix
River Bridge Project possibly as early as 2013. Notwithstanding the current State
projected shortfalls in funding and the Sierra Club litigation in Federal Court on the
matter, it is an appropriate time for the City of Oak Park Heights' to communicate with its
business community, as well as others, regarding the City's position on the proposed St.
Croix River Crossing and STH 36 updates.
Fundamentally, the City is in agreement with many public and private agencies that the
current bridge facility should be replaced. This need stems from several elements, but is
mainly from traffic volumes, poorly maintained frontage roads and intersections on
highways and approaches, inadequacies of the Stillwater Lift Bridge and related issues.
Construction Impacts and Costs:
Despite these facts, the City of Oak Park Heights is being asked and expected to
withstand and bear the primary and consequential burdens associated with these
proposed improvements including the placement of the actual bridge within the City,
•
10 -15 -10 - SCRCP - OPH City Council Position Letter 1 of 4
• removal and relocation of significant City water, sanitary and storm -water infrastructure
as well as being expected to shoulder the maintenance of significant trail and right —of-
way improvements upon completion of the Project. These burdens are in addition to the
lost tax -base already incurred by the City stemming from the removal of over 65 homes
and several businesses as well as an anticipated 5 years of construction disruption and
lost tax base anticipated from the multi -year construction timeline.
Naturally, the City of Oak Park Heights, its business community and residents have a
vested interest to ensure that this Project is as minimally invasive as possible and does
not place unreasonable and unfair burdens on City businesses, residents and other local
taxpayers to support this Interstate, Regional improvement project. Unfortunately,
MNDOT will not commit to funding mechanisms to offset local losses for these
improvements which would avoid and alleviate significant financial consequences to the
City and its taxpayers.
As an example of this, MNDOT's 2006 engineering estimates place the needed local
Oak Park Heights utility relocations at $1.87 million dollars, (not including land
• acquisition), for which MNDOT has yet to provide a full financial commitment to the City
that covers such costs.
In addition to these utility costs, MNDOT also expects the City to pay for, maintain and
manage over 5,000 linear feet of public trail -ways, maintain several roadway plantings
and green spaces as well as pay for and maintain several traffic control lights. Again,
none of these costs can or should be borne by a City of Tess than five - thousand persons
for a Regional, Interstate project.
The most recently proposed layout could result in the creation of a number of non-
conforming lots along the City's commercial corridor east of Oakgreen Ave. Under this
proposal, the Project limits could create numerous building setback non - conformities
and /or could eliminate needed access and parking effectively causing impairment to the
affected businesses, thus adding another fiscal burden to the City due to lost tax base
and jobs.
•
10 -15 -10 - SCRCP - OPH City Council Position Letter 2 of 4
Other impacts yet to be addressed are related to the provision of adequate measures
from MNDOT to protect property owners from construction damages. Specifically, this
project which will be ongoing for years will require a massive movement of earth as well
as the placement of significant pilings and construction vibration as well as traffic
disruption to local area businesses and homes. MNDOT has even yet to provide a
proposal on how the City will provide adequate fire protection services to its residents
during such construction, as the Bayport Fire Department will no longer be able to
access portions of the City without significant delay.
Municipal Consent:
MNDOT has publicly stated that the City of Oak Park Heights has provided Municipal
Consent for the Project in 1995 and no further dealings are needed with the City. This is
an unfortunate position as MNDOT must construct the Project that was specifically tied
to that 1995 Municipal Consent. That 1995 plan did not include a bridge at Beach Road,
did include a north frontage road east of Osgood Ave and was a project in which
MNDOT committed to paying the City's utility relocation costs. In addition, much has
changed in the corridor since 1995 that causes difficulties with this plan, including
• placing the frontage roadways less than 25 feet from residences that were not in
existence in 1995. Moreover, MNDOT has not yet provided construction plans and
specifications.
The City has made repeated efforts to engage MNDOT over the years on these
issues. Unfortunately, meetings have been less than productive; hampered by a
parade of ever changing project managers, litigation over violations of written
commitments on Municipal Consent resulting in Court enforcement proceedings;
all of which has only served to dissipate the public trust in government as well as
tax dollars.
We would ask that our adjoining communities and common organizations take a step
away from the bridge debate and focus on how State government should be dealing with
local government on issues of this magnitude. Also take a moment to consider the
significant impacts to the businesses and residents in Oak Park Heights and understand
positions the City has been required to assume to prevent such burdens. The City of
Oak Park Heights does not expect that the construction of this Project will be without
10 -15 -10 - SCRCP - OPH City Council Position Letter 3 of 4
• some local cost contributions, but these contributions must be reasonable and
proportioned for a community of less than five- thousand persons as against those who
will actually and substantially benefit from the Project.
MNDOT has been dealing with projects of this magnitude long enough to know that
utilities need to be moved and replaced as a part of the Project and that they need to be
responsible for mitigating community impacts. In fairness, we do note that MNDOT has
found creative methods to fund other aspects of the Project including, private
improvements for Xcel Energy — removing 'mooring cells', resurrecting presumptively
"historic structures" and building out recreational elements to the Project. Unfortunately
MNDOT has been unwilling to be as helpful or creative in dealing with Oak Park Heights'
basic public infrastructure loss and disruption. The Minnesota Department of
Transportation must ensure that the City of Oak Park Heights does not bear an
unreasonable and untenable burden for this Project.
As we are apparently now entering into another stage of MNDOT plan submissions,
please know that Oak Park Heights is hopeful for a successful community conclusion to
• this Project and will continue to make reasoned efforts towards that goal. We again ask
that you understand these fundamental issues the City is facing with MNDOT. If you or
your organization is able to assist the City in any way in alleviating these unreasonable
expectations it would be appreciated. The City will conversely continue to work towards
solutions so the Project will also be a success for the Oak Park Heights Business
Community and City Taxpayers.
Finally, as many are aware, MNDOT and the Sierra Club are engaged in a lawsuit in the
Federal Court to again compel judicial review of the Bridge Project. Please know that the
City of Oak Park Heights is not involved with this lawsuit.
The City does thank you for your support and understanding.
This Communication Approved and Adopted By City Council, Oct 12 2010
Please contact City Administrator Eric Johnson if you have any questions - 651 - 439 -4439.
10 -15 -10 - SCRCP - OPH City Council Position Letter 4 of 4