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Highway 25 Coalition Agenda Packet 07-26-2016Tentative Agenda Highway 25 Coalition July 29 2016 7:30 AM Monticello City Hall Call to order 2. Introductions 3. Consideration of approval of meeting minutes of meeting held June 24, 2016 4. Introduction of Kodiak Hill from David Turch and Associates and discussion of future lobbying efforts, goals and activities. At the previous meeting the group established that it would conduct a traffic study in 2017 at an estimated cost of $150,000. Setting specific goals in the work plan relating to lobbying was held off pending a visit from Kodiak Hill -Davis who is an associate at the consulting firm David Turch and Associates. It is my understanding that Turch and Associates is a firm that provides assistance to Sherburne County on various initiatives. Kodiak is flying in from Washington to introduce herself and assist the group in preparing for lobbying efforts ahead. At the culmination of the discussion the organization should determine if specific language and a budget number pertaining to lobbying needs to be incorporated into the work plan for 2017. 5. Update on development of the Traffic Study Request for Proposal At the previous meeting, the job of preparing a draft scope of services was assigned to the two County Engineers. Virgil Hawkins, Wright County Engineer reported that he will be working on the scope of the traffic study RFP with the new Sherburne County engineer once the new hire has had a chance to get his feet wet. Review of the scope of the draft scope of the study as prepared will occur at an upcoming meeting accordingly. 6. Monticello/Wright County - update on upcoming improvements to Highway 25/ 7th Street in Monticello. 7. Sherburne County Transportation topics of interest. 8. I-94 Coalition information and update — other legislative updates Draft Meeting Minutes Highway 25 Coalition June 24 2016 Members Present - Big Lake Township - Bob Hofer, Larry Alfords, Sherburne County - Dan Webber, Steve Taylor, Ewald Petersen, John Bogart, Wright County — Mike Potter, City of Big Lake — Clay Wilfahrt, RaeAnne Danielowski, City of Monticello — Brian Stumpf, Jeff O'Neill, Jennifer Schreiber 1. Address organization/operation topics Jeff O'Neill initiated the meeting by opening nominations for Chairman. Brian Stumpf volunteered to serve as Chair. There being no further nominations Mike Potter moved to name Brian Stumpf as chair. Motion seconded by RaeAnne Danielowski. Motion passed unanimously Mike Potter noted that Wright County has signed on to be part of the group but a representative from Wright County has not yet been named. O'Neill noted that under the bylaws a quorum is present and a 4/5 super majority is need for a vote to pass, therefore the group can conduct business without a formal representative from Wright County, however for any vote to pass today with only four members available to vote, a unanimous vote will be needed. Brian Stumpf asked for nominations for the position of Secretary. Motion by RaeAnne Danielowski and seconded by Brian Stumpf to appoint Jeff O'Neill to serve administratively as secretary. Motion carried unanimously. RaeAnne Danielowski volunteered to serve as Vice Chair. Brian Stumpf made a motion to appoint RaeAnne Danielowski as Vice Chair, motion seconded by Mike Potter. Motion carried unanimously. Brian Stumpf requested a volunteer to serve as fiscal agent for the organization. Larry Alfords stepped forward saying the Big Lake Township would be happy to serve as fiscal agent for the organization. It was determined that the regular meeting for the group will remain at 7:30 on the last Friday of the month at the Monticello Community Center. Liability Insurance. The group briefly discussed the need for liability insurance. A final recommendation on whether or not to purchase insurance will be provided at an upcoming meeting. 2. Discuss work plan and budget for 2016-2017 The group discussed approaches for selecting a traffic engineer to provide ongoing service. After discussion it was determined that identification of the engineer to be utilized on an ongoing basis will likely stem from the selection process associated with finding an engineer to conduct the initial traffic study. The group went on to discuss development of a request for proposal process for selecting a traffic engineer to conduct a traffic study. Material on this subject provided by Claudia Dumont was presented to the group. After discussion it was determined that the County Engineers should meet to develop a refined scope and bring it back to the group for review and incorporation into the request for proposal documentation. The goal for the next meeting is to have a request for proposal process format ready for review by the Coalition with distribution to Engineering firms to occur soon thereafter. For the purpose of establishing a work plan and budget for 2017, the group then discussed the scope of the study in general terms and reviewed a cost estimate provided by Claudia Dumont: Primary elements of the study to likely include: • Establishment of base line traffic data • Preparation of traffic model utilizing base traffic data and land use information • Identification of trends and congestion projections • Formulation of strategies and identification of improvements needed over time as the area develops O'Neill forwarded thoughts from Claudia Dumont on the cost to complete a comprehensive traffic study. In her email to O'Neill, Claudia Dumont mentioned that the last two traffic modeling contracts she administered came in at $82,000 and $94,000. She went on to note "These contracts were for freeway traffic modeling. Depending on how large a network gets modeled for TH 25 — I would expect the cost to be higher, especially since there are a number of local roads that would be key components of the model. I would budget for $150,000 and hope the estimates come in for less." Mike Potter noted that conducting a complete and comprehensive study is a critical factor in developing credibility. The group will be listened to when lobbying for funding if we have reliable traffic planning data and information. RaeAnne Danielowski stated that people are dismayed by the traffic situation and expect us to act to solve problems. Development of this information will help us in that regard. It was also noted that perhaps MNDOT will be interested in shouldering the expense. Brian Stumpf asked for a motion. Mike Potter made a motion to approve a work plan as follows: In 2016, conduct a request for proposals process and select an engineer to complete a comprehensive traffic study. In 2017, complete a comprehensive traffic study at an estimated cost of $150,000. Motion seconded by RaeAnne Danielowski. Motion carried unanimously. It was the consensus that lobbying activities will be identified as the need arises and specific goals were not included in the work plan. Dan Webber said that a representative from David Turch and Assoicates has been invited to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss providing lobbying services to the Coalition. 3. Monticello/Wright County - update on improvements to Highway 25 Intersections at CSAH 75 and 7th Street. Brief discussion. It was noted that the worst is over on the Highway 25/75 project with major portions of the project now complete. 4. Sherburne County Transportation topics of interest Clay Wilfahrt indicated that a meeting with the developer and MNDOT regarding the intermodal hub development will be held in the next few weeks. Members from the Highway 25 Coalition will be invited to attend. 5. I-94 Coalition information and update — other legislative updates Mike Potter provided an update noting that it is not likely that a special session will be called with light rail funding being the sticking point. There being no further discussion meeting adjourned at 8:25.