ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and Public Works Director with Supplemental Information to the Request to Approve the Following:
A. MASTER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT with TERRA ENGINEERING, LTD., to Provide LAND ACQUISITION SERVICES to the City of Peoria on Various Projects; and
B. RESOLUTION Authorizing the CITY MANAGER to Execute the CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the Use of MOTOR FUEL TAX FUNDS.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The initial Council Item #14-113 was deferred until April 22, 2014 to address a Council request of additional information pertaining to the ROW Acquisition Services on the University Street Project.
City staff recommends establishing a Master Services Agreement with Terra Engineering, Ltd. as the City's preferred vendor for delivering Right-of-Way Acquisition services for multiple projects over a three-year period. The individual Work Orders, on a per-project basis, will be funded from the projects, e.g., University Street ROW acquisition will be accounted for under the funding sources involved with the University Street project. With respect to ROW acquisition services being required, several other projects are unknown at this time. It is for the unknown Right-of-Way acquisition projects that staff recommends a Master Services Agreement with a preferred vendor.
Staff went through a selection process on March 5th, 2014 to review proposals by four firms to provide ROW Acquisition Services for the City. The selection process was fully comprehensive by examining ROW Acquisition Services from single parcels to many parcels per project, complexity of parcel appraisal, and general hourly rates for potential Court visits.
Negotiators and Appraisers for Public projects must be IDOT-certified per State Statute 225 ILCS 458/ Sec.5-51. This statute mandates that a State Certified Appraiser is needed on a project involving ROW appraisal. Furthermore, Chapters 3 & 4 of the IDOT Land Acquisition Manual2 cover the necessity of State certified Appraisers and Negotiators being required when ROW Acquisition is needed. Neither the City of Peoria nor any other jurisdiction other than IDOT or a County Department may perform Appraisals on a waiver basis. Hence, the higher level of valuations for ROW Appraisal and Negotiation apply to all jurisdictions other than IDOT or a county. The University Street project has City jurisdiction and, therefore, IDOT has confirmed that neither they nor the County can initiate waivers on the City's behalf.
On the Appraisal side of the Acquisition Services, there are very few IDOT-certified Appraisers and Review Appraisers in the Peoria area. Terra Engineering has agreements with most of the local certified appraisers. All appraisers are licensed and must meet required IDOT criteria for appraisals and reviews or risk losing their license and IDOT approval.
City Council approved the five-lane configuration of the University Street improvement under Item #14-057. With that configuration comes the necessity to acquire 4 feet of right-of-way from 53 parcels on the west side of University Street between Nebraska and Forrest Hill Avenues.
Right-of-Way Service Consultants must follow State-required methodology when acquiring Deeds or Easements to property. The process is similar for each individual property, with negotiation complexity being unknown until a negotiation is complete. For projects that exceed ROW Acquisition on over 30 parcels, Terra Engineering has offered a $950 flat fee, per parcel rate for Negotiation. This is a $100 per parcel discount from the less than 30-parcel rate when considering University Street's 53 parcels.
Terra Engineering, Ltd's rates to perform the ROW acquisition services on the University Street Project (Nebraska Avenue to Forrest Hill Avenue) will follow their proposal, below.
Item |
# of Parcels |
Price Per Parcel |
Total Fee |
|
|
|
|
1. Negotiation |
53 |
$950.00 |
$50,350.00 |
2. Valuation Finding, Appraisal* |
45 |
$1,300.00 |
$58,500.00 |
3. Valuation Finding, Review |
45 |
$650.00 |
$29,250.00 |
4. Non-complex Appraisal** |
8 |
$2,000.00 |
$16,000.00 |
5. Non-complex Review |
8 |
$900.00 |
$7,200.00 |
6. Permanent Easement Negotiation-only*** |
2 |
$700.00 |
$1,400.00 |
|
|
|
|
TOTAL: |
|
|
$162,700.00 |
*Valuation Finding is the least costly procedure available for Land Acquisition to the City of Peoria
**Eight of the 53 parcels will require higher level of appraisals due to complexity and location of structures.
***Two permanent easements are being considered on the project in specific locations where circumstances will require infrastructure beyond the limits of the proposed right-of-way.
The rates submitted by Terra Engineering for Negotiation, Appraisal, and Review Appraisal are 25% lower than rates that are given to Illinois Department of Transportation.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for Land Acquisition Services will be funded through the individual projects' Council-approved budgets.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: Staff and the Consultant will work directly with, and keep open channels of communication with property owners who could be affected by the easement or right-of-way acquisition process.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: Staff will move forward with issuing Land Acquisition Service work orders to implement the Community Investment Plan.
IMPACT IF DENIED: Implementation of the Community Investment Plan will be delayed.
ALTERNATIVES: N/A
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: Terra Engineering, Ltd. has current EOO Cert. #02347-140630.
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL'S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Financially Sound City Government, Effective City Organization
2. Attractive Neighborhoods with Character: Safe and Livable
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Invest in our infrastructure and transportation.
2. Have an efficient government.
DEPARTMENT: Public Works