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County Administrator's Report 15. 24.
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| BCC Regular Meeting |
Budget & Finance Consent |
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| RECOMMENDATION: |
Recommendation Concerning the Approval of a Locally Funded Agreement Between the State of Florida Department of Transportation and Escambia County, Florida, for the Navy Boulevard Access Management and Beautification Project - Joy D. Blackmon, P.E., Public Works Department Director
That the Board take the following action:
A. Adopt and authorize the Chairman to sign the Resolution supporting the execution of the Locally Funded Agreement (LFA) for design on State Road (SR) 30 (US 98) West of Navy Boulevard, from SR 295 (New Warrington) to Bayou Chico Bridge, Financial Project ID #218630-2-32-01);
B. Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign the Locally Funded Agreement (LFA) between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Escambia County, Florida, for the design on SR 30 (US 98) West of Navy Boulevard, from SR 295 (New Warrington) to Bayou Chico Bridge (Project ID #218630-2-32-01); and
C. Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign the Three Party Escrow Account Agreement.
[Funding Source: Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) III, Fund 352, Cost Center 220102, Project #12NE1992, $1,456,608; Fund 151, "Community Redevelopment," Cost Center 370114, "CRA Warrington," $193,492] |
| BACKGROUND: |
The Navy Boulevard Access Management and Beautification Project dates back to 2010, when the Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) solicited the services of then VHB-Miller Sellen, Inc., and embarked on the Navy Boulevard Corridor Vision Plan and Design Guidelines Manual, approved in 2011. Following the Corridor Vision Plan and Design Guidelines Manual Phase, the county, with its consultants, then generated the Navy Boulevard Corridor Management Plan. Further following the Corridor Management Plan Phase, the County solicited the services of EPR, Inc. to produce the Navy Boulevard Public Involvement Plan - an additional phase requested by FDOT. All three "planning level" phases entailed numerous public workshops, town hall meetings, one-on-one business and/or stakeholder meetings, etc., to eventually generate a "preferred concept" for the segment of Navy Boulevard from Bayou Chico Bridge to New Warrington Road. CRA funded these phases with Warrington Redevelopment District Tax Increment Funding (TIF) funds totaling $250,000.
The preferred concept was then submitted to FDOT for inclusion in the ongoing State Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), which is being conducted by DRMP, Inc.
The project has always been a local project, in which no federal and/or state funds were or have been utilized to offset costs, mainly to help expedite delivery of the construction rather than navigating the oftentimes arduous Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) process.
Meeting in regular session on September 3, 2015, the Board entered into a Locally Funded Agreement (LFA) with FDOT for the full funding with local dollars for the SEIR and 30% funding of the construction plans. FDOT expects this phase to be completed Summer 2018, and to proceed with the completion of the construction plans (30% to 100%) immediately thereafter. The proposed LFA requires the county to fund the remaining design phase, but also adds the county as a participant with FDOT for County Incentive Grant Program (CIGP) dollars for 50%, or up to $825,000, of the actual costs of the remaining design phase.
In 2015, county staff submitted a grant application for CIGP funds to be used towards the design phase (original estimate for design phase - $1,650,000), and were subsequently awarded by FDOT up to $825,000 for use in Fiscal Year 2018. The intent is to then re-allocate the CIGP funds provided by FDOT to the construction phase. No construction funds have been allocated towards the project at this point.
County Transportation & Traffic Operations and County Attorney's office staff proposed edits to the LFA to allow for some additional time to respond for increased funds (if needed), request of additional information from FDOT, request to delay or cancel the project if the consultant costs exceed 25% of the estimate, etc.; however, FDOT denied any of the county's requested modifications. Transportation and Traffic Operations (TTO) and County Attorney's office staff have reservations with the LFA, but the County Attorney's office has signed off for Legal Sufficiency. See email correspondence attached. |
| BUDGETARY IMPACT: |
| Funding is available for this project in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) III, Fund 352, Cost Center 220101, Project #12NE1992, $1,456,608; Fund 151 "Community Redevelopment", Cost Center 370114 "CRA Warrington", $193,492. |
| LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF: |
| The Resolution, LFA, and Three Party Escrow Account Agreement have been reviewed and approved for legal sufficiency by Kristin Hual, Senior Assistant County Attorney. However, County Attorney's office staff has reservations with the LFA as drafted (as does TTO staff), since FDOT denied incorporating any of the county staff's suggested modifications. |
| PERSONNEL: |
| N/A |
| POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION: |
| N/A |
| IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION: |
| Upon approval, Public Works staff will coordinate with FDOT for agreement execution, and deposit of the $1,650,000. |
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