5.5. SR 06-07-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Draft Policy on Adjustments to Street Improvement Assessments to account for Traffic Volumes (April 2010) (Revised June 2, 2010 with bid information) The City of Elk River has identified a need to modify the existing assessment policy to account for traffic volumes. Primarily, past assessable projects have been on local streets and not on through streets with higher traffic volumes. The proposed project on Main Street from Orono Road to Lowell Avenue has brought the issue to the forefront. The following is a draft policy dealing with the issue and suggests factors to apply to assessments to provide an adjustment to the assessment rate to account for through traffic. The Draft Policy presented provides a range for the adjustment factors. We suggest the City Council identify specific numbers they wish to apply for each range. The method described in this policy does not represent the only way to approach this issue. In discussing the matter with other City's there are a number of ways this topic is addressed. The City of Woodbury limits the assessment to not exceed the cost of an assessment on a comparable residential street. The City of Hasting cuts the assessment to 25% of the cost on all Municipal State Aid Streets. The City of Hopkins has a set cap dollar amount that can not be exceeded. Background The following is a summary of how the current City's assessment policy has been applied to projects in the past. This summary is presented to provide a historical perspective on what assessments have been in the past. Types of projects Assessable projects can involve street improvements in many different forms. These forms are considered categorized into the following three divisions Reconstruction, Reclamation and Overlay as it relates to assessable street projects. Reconstruction involves removal and replacement of the roadway surface, and aggregate base. It also generally includes the removal and replacement or addition of concrete curb. Reclamation involves grinding the existing bituminous surface and blending it with the existing aggregate base. The mixture of ground up asphalt and gravel is shaped and compacted and the bituminous surface is placed on top of this surface. Overlay involves adding bituminous on top of an existing surface. This process can include removal (mill) of a portion of the existing bituminous surface either along the edge or across the entire width.