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Highway 25 Coalition Meeting Minutes 02-23-2017Highway 25 Coalition Meeting Minutes — February 23, 2017 7:30 AM Monticello Community Center — North Mississippi Room Members Present - Big Lake Township - Bob Hofer, and Larry Alfords; Sherburne County — Tim Dolan, Steve Taylor, Ewald Petersen, and Andrew Witter; Wright County — Mike Potter and Virgil Hawkins; City of Becker — Tracy Bertram, Rick Hendrickson, and Greg Pruszinske; Becker Township — Brian Kolbinger; City of Big Lake — Clay Wilfahrt, Raeanne Danielowski, and Layne Otteson; and City of Monticello — Brian Stumpf, Jeff O'Neill, and Jennifer Schreiber Others Present — MnDOT — Claudia Dumont; BNSF — Justin Pearson; Tom Emmer's Office — Stacy Morse 1. Call to order. 2. Consideration of approval of meeting minutes from meeting held January 26, 2017. Motion made by Bob Hofer and seconded by Tim Dolan to approve the minutes from the meeting held January 26, 2017. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Update on Highway 25 Corridor Study Request for Proposals Andrew Witter gave a brief overview of the request for proposals and provided a summary sheet of the three proposals that were received for the Highway 25 Corridor Study. The three entities were SRF, HDR, and WSB/Bolton & Menk. The summary sheet provided listed each proposal's strengths and weaknesses by evaluating the following items: schedule; overall proposal; project management; data collection; developed purpose and need; develop public communication plan; develop issues map; identify environmental issues; traffic modeling; research addition river crossings; roadibridge concepts; open houses; refine preferred option; phasing plan; and final report. The committee which consisted of Andrew Witter, Claudia Dumont, and Virgil Hawkins were all in agreement that SRF provided the best all-around proposal. HDR had some good points but lacked in areas such as social media — where they would charge extra for the service. They were all in agreement that the WSB/Bolton & Menk proposal fell short of expectation and was disappointing. They all expressed concern that it appeared rushed and lacked content. There was discussion amongst the group on how to proceed with the selection. Andrew Witter, Claudia Dumont, and Virgil Hawkins, all felt comfortable choosing SRF. Jeff O'Neill commented that he thinks the group, or a committee, should interview the top two out of responsibility. Many in the group felt that interviewing wasn't necessary because they trust the selection committee's choice. Mike Potter added that SRF has done studies on the I-94 Corridor in the past and is knowledgeable on the area and project. Tim Dolan and Raeanne Danielowski added that they didn't see a value in interviewing the consultants. Motion made my Mike Potter and seconded by Raeanne Danielowski to accept and approve the SRF proposal for the Highway 25 Corridor Study. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Tracy Bertram and seconded by Tim Dolan to authorize the execution of a contract between the Highway 25 Coalition and SRF. Motion carried unanimously. The contract should be sent to Big Lake Township for processing and will be provided at the next meeting. Andrew Witter added that any questions about or to the consultant should be forwarded to him. 4. Update on Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Program. Steve Taylor stated that the next CEDS meeting is February 27 in Becker from 2:30 — 4 p.m. There will be an update at the next meeting. 5. Transportation and related Economic Development or Land Use Updates • Becker Township — Natural Gas Power Plant Legislation has been approved in both the House and the Senate. • Becker Township — None. • Big Lake — Continued discussion has taken place with developer who has interest in the potential rail yard site. Big Lake introduces their new City Engineer Layne Otteson. Clay Wilfahrt commented on how single family homes are increasing in the City. • Big Lake Township — None. • Monticello — Brian Stumpf noted that Monticello secured $2.1 Million grant for the Fallon Avenue Overpass project. • Sherburne County — Andrew Witter commented on the $1 Million grant Sherburne County received. Steve Taylor noted that the County is seeing a growth in housing. • Wright County — Mike Potter relayed that the County hired BKE as their Engineer for the County's new court system that is being built. Mr. Potter also commented that the County is proceeding with a sales tax proposal to help fund road projects. 6. I-94 Coalition — Corridors for Commerce Update Mike Potter noted that there wasn't any new information for this update. 7. Status of Membership approval of recent modification to JPA enabling addition of Becker Township and City of Becker Members were encouraged to submit their signature page if they have not done so. Big Lake Township will be sending out invoices for membership. & Other. • Brian Stumpf noted that the Monticello Orderly Annexation Area Board voted to not allow solar in the orderly annexation area. • Claudia Dumont stated that the bridge on Highway 10 over Lake Orono in Elk River is being replaced. This is scheduled to begin this summer. • Tracy Morse, Emmer's Office, recommended that cities look into grants that are available to fund transportation issues. She also mentioned that there is a `Pancakes with Emmer' event on February 24 at the Friendly Buffalo in Big Lake. 9. Adjourn. By consensus meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m.