DEPARTMENT: Parks, Facilities, and Fleet Management
FILE TYPE: Consent Action
TITLE
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Authorization To Expend Funds To Acquire And Accept Deeds For Greenway Easements From City Of Burnsville And Amend 2023 Capital Improvement Program Budgets
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RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, by Resolution No.13- 441( August 20, 2013), the Dakota County Board of Commissioners (Board) approved the Lake Marion Greenway (Greenway) Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, by Resolution No.19-036 (January 22, 2019), the Board approved a cost share Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the City of Burnsville (City) to complete the final design and acquire four Greenway trail easements (easements) for eventual conveyance to the County; and
WHEREAS, by Resolution No.19-872 (December 17, 2019), the Board approved an amendment to the JPA due to unanticipated project changes and higher-than-expected appraisal values; and
WHEREAS, the amendment included language that the County was responsible for total Greenway acquisition costs and that anticipated funding would be from the Metropolitan Council’s (MC) Acquisition Opportunity Fund (AOF) and County AOF match; and
WHEREAS, the original December 31, 2021, JPA expiration date was not changed; and
WHEREAS, challenging landowner negotiations delayed the acquisitions; and
WHEREAS, the City did acquire the four Easements in 2021 and expended a total of $615,097.50 for the Easements and related consultant costs; and
WHEREAS, there were significant delays in submitting an Acquisition Opportunity Fund (AOF) grant request to the Metropolitan Council (MC) due to MC policy concerns associated with paying for easements or fee title when owned by a separate public entity, as well as the eligibility of contractor costs associated with the acquisition process; and
WHEREAS, eventually, MC policy concerns were resolved, but it required new appraisals since the one-year effective date had lapsed and the term of the original JPA had ended; and
WHEREAS, a new Greenway-related JPA and amendment related to the construction and management portion of this project was approved in 2020 and 2023, and neither agreement included language regarding the acquisition or jurisdictional transfer of the Easements from the City to the County whereby there is no County Board authorization to pay the City or to receive the Easements from the City; and
WHEREAS, submission of an AOF grant request for acquiring these Easements would require a new JPA authorizing acquisition and conveyance; and
WHEREAS, by the time a new JPA would be approved by the City and the County, the appraisals would have to be updated again prior to an AOF grant submission to the MC submission, which would not occur until early 2024 and would then take an additional two months for MC approval; and
WHEREAS, payment of the Greenway acquisition costs to the City of Burnsville prior to submission of an AOF grant request would make the four Greenway Easements ineligible for AOF funding; and
WHEREAS, the County has available Sales and Use Tax revenue and Environmental Legacy funds available in the 2023 Parks Capital Improvement Program budget, and there is an expedited option to pay the City for their completed Greenway Easement acquisition services in 2024; and
WHEREAS, authorization to accept quit claim deeds for the four Greenway Easements from the City is required.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Dakota County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the payment of $615,097.50 to the City of Burnsville for acquiring four Lake Marion Greenway trail easements and associated acquisition costs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Dakota County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes an amendment to the 2023 Sales and Use Tax Capital Improvement Program budget as follows:
Expense
Acquisition of the Lake Marion Greenway Easements $522,833
Total Expense $522,833
Revenue
Use of Sales and Use Tax $522,833
Total Revenue $522,833
; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Dakota County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes an amendment to the 2023 Environmental Legacy budget as follows:
Expense
Acquisition of the Lake Marion Greenway Easements $92,265
Total Expense $92,265
Revenue
Use of Environmental Legacy Fund $92,265
Total Revenue $92,265
; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That that the Dakota County Board of Commissioners hereby accept quit claim deeds from the City of Burnsville for the four Lake Marion Greenway trail easements following payment of $615,097.50 to the City of Burnsville.
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