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City Council Communication:
03-132
Agenda:
March 24, 2003
Subject:
Principal Riverwalk
Type:
ResolutionOrdinance Receive/File
Submitted by:
Richard Clark Deputy City Manager
City Council Communication 03-132 March 24, 2003 Page Two
City Council Communication 03-132 March 24, 2003 Page Three
City Council Communication 03-132 March 24, 2003 Page Four
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Item ____ Office of the City Manager City of Des Moines, Iowa
Synopsis —
On February 10, 2003, The Principal Financial Group presented the Principal Riverwalk Phase I Concept Plan for the downtown riverfront. Council referred the Phase I Concept Plan to Boards and Commissions for their review. All of the Boards and Commissions have reviewed the Phase I Concept Plan, and Council is now asked to approve the Phase I together with a series of related items including a strategy for addressing operating and maintenance cost.
Fiscal Impact —
The Principal Financial Group has estimated the total cost of the Phase I Riverwalk improvements to be about $25.5 million of which $10 million would be provided by The Principal, $7 million to $10 million would be provided by federal match, and $800,000 would be provided by the City for the Riverpoint trail connection to Gray’s Lake. The remaining $4.7 million to $7.7 million would come from private or other sources.
The City’s $800,000 is identified in the adopted Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The funding sources include a combination of federal and state grants, and tax increment dollars.
Annual operating and maintenance costs for the Phase I Riverwalk improvements have been preliminarily estimated to be about $320,000 beginning in the first (partial) year, and increasing to about $450,000 in the fourth year, and about $500,000 in the sixth year.
Recommendation —
The following Boards and Commissions unanimously recommended approval of the Phase I Concept Plan for the Principal Riverwalk: a) Access Advisory Board; b) Park and Recreation Board; c) Urban Design Review Board; d) Plan and Zoning Commission; e) Historic District Commission; and f) Public Art Commission. Letters from each Board or Commission are included in the Council agenda. Several Boards asked to be included in the review of the detailed plans prior to final approval. The Park and Recreation Board identified operating and maintenance cost, funding, parking, and accessibility as issues that will need to be addressed as the project goes forward. Also, the Plan and Zoning Commission identified ongoing operating and maintenance cost as an issue that needs to be addressed, and the Urban Design Review Board asked to review the final funding plan for the project. We appreciate the input of the Boards and Commissions.
Staff recommends that Council approve the Phase I Concept Plan for the Principal Riverwalk, and authorize staff to:
1. Continue to work with The Principal Financial Group, the Des Moines Recreation and River Greenbelt Committee, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Natural Resources, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other interested parties in developing the detailed design for the Phase I improvements.
2. Continue to work with The Principal Financial Group in obtaining federal and state dollars to fund Phase I improvements.
3. Work with the Army Corps of Engineers, Greenbelt Advisory Committee, and the Congressional delegation to accomplish the many tasks that will be necessary to obtain federal approval of funding for the project.
4. In conjunction with The Principal Financial Group, develop a formal plan for operations and maintenance for the Riverwalk before construction of the Phase I improvements. The “Operating and Maintenance Plan” will be consistent with the Guiding Principles identified below. (See discussion below on the proposed strategy for addressing ongoing operating and maintenance expenses for Riverwalk as well as other downtown projects such as Gateway.)
5. Review the entire Riverwalk Master Plan (beyond Phase I), including the various development concepts identified by the proposed Master Plan for adoption by Council as part of the 2020 Community Character Plan. The goal is to ask Council to consider such an amendment by August 25, 2003. This work would be conducted in conjunction with Principal and would seek the input of interested parties.
6. Coordinate the design and construction of the proposed Combined Sewer System (CSS), Des Moines River Outlet project with Phase I of the Principal Riverwalk.
7. Continue to work on the design of the Riverpoint trail connection from Gray’s Lake to the downtown with the goal of expediting this project as quickly as possible. Note that the City funding for this trail connection ($800,000) is sufficient to construct a basic trail without enhancements such as lighting, security, and benches. This estimate also assumes that the right-of-way for the project can be obtained without significant cost. The Gray’s Lake Advisors have expressed a desire to explore these trail enhancements. Staff is in agreement that such enhancements would be desirable, and therefore our intention is to work closely with the Gray’s Lake Advisors and Principal to determine if these improvements can be added to the proposed trail. Council will be asked to approve the detailed design contract for this trail later this year. In addition, staff is working to obtain the right to use abandoned railroad right-of-way that will expedite construction of the trail should that alignment be selected.
Background —
The major elements of the proposed Phase I Riverwalk improvements are as follows:
1. The Principal Riverwalk Loop · Promenade – Upper Levee Area · Multipurpose Trail – Lower Levee Area · New Center Street Pedestrian Bridge · Railroad Bridge Renovation (just south of Court Avenue)
2. Plazas · Court Avenue Plaza East and West · Fountain and Skating Plaza (Pete Crivaro Park) · Civic Gardens (Riverside of Municipal Building) · Balustrade Repair and Rework
3. The Riverpoint Trail segment of the American Discovery Trail connecting the Principal Riverwalk to the Grays’ Lake trail.
The Principal Financial Group, the City Manager, the Downtown Community Alliance, the Executive Steering Committee of the Principal Riverwalk Project together with City staff and Principal’s consulting team have made significant progress toward developing an “Operating and Maintenance Plan” for the Riverwalk. However, this discussion has also focused on the operating and maintenance cost that will result from several other projects that are either under construction or on the drawing board including the Western Gateway, East Locust Streetscape, and Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Parkway, as well as Riverwalk. City staff, working with Principal’s consultants, has estimated on a preliminary basis that the annual operating and maintenance cost for all four projects would be about $1.2 million by Fiscal Year (FY) 2007. (Phase I of The Principal Riverwalk accounts for about $450,000 of this amount, or roughly 38% of the total.) This preliminary cost estimate includes services provided by Park and Recreation, Engineering, Police, and Public Works. Although based on the best information available at this time, this estimate may change based on detailed project design and on the desired level of service.
Initial discussions have resulted in preliminary agreement on several principles that should guide the “Operating and Maintenance Plan.” These principles are as follows:
Guiding Principles for Operation and Maintenance
· It is recognized that the overall cost of providing operating and maintenance services for the various downtown projects including Riverwalk, Western and Eastern Gateway, MLK Parkway, etc. will be minimized if service delivery is managed as a single, consolidated effort as opposed to multiple and independent service providers. Therefore, it is recommended that operating and maintenance be approached as unified effort that can address all of the projects.
· It is anticipated that there will be a variety of public and private funding sources for operating and maintenance of all of the projects. Therefore, a public/private entity should have the responsibility to “govern” the operating and maintenance effort. The governing body should have representation from the various entities that are providing the funding.
· The level of service provided for projects such as Riverwalk and Gateway may very well be different than what is currently provided for similar public facilities. Further, it is recognized that the level of service provided will have a profound effect on the cost of the service. Therefore, it is essential that the level of service be clearly defined and agreed upon by all the funding entities in advance of implementation.
· Baseline services currently provided by the City must be identified and costed; these services and expenses must continue to be provided by the City.
· The cost of providing the desired level of service should be determined through a public bid process. Both the City and private service providers should be invited to submit a bid for providing operating and maintenance services. Further, the review and selection of the winning bid should be handled by the public/private entity established to govern the overall operating and maintenance program.
· As noted above, it is anticipated that the total operating and maintenance cost (less the cost of existing City baseline services) will be funded from a variety of public and private sources including:
If Council approves the guiding principles, it is our intention to formulate a formal Operating and Maintenance Plan as envisioned above, and to seek Council approval prior to construction start of the Principal Riverwalk or Western Gateway.
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