8.2. SR 05-21-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REQUEST FOR ACTION TO ITEM NUMBER -Mayor and City Council 8.2 AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY General Business May 21, 2012 Jeremy Barnhart, Planning Manager ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Orono Parkway Boulevard Design Cal Portner, City Administrator REVIEWED BY ACTION REQUESTED Staff recommends improving Orono Parkway in a manner consistent with Option 2 using the following process: 1. Mow the visibility sections when visibility is affected (late June/ July). The following steps would take place as budget allows: 2. Plant trees in the prescribed pattern in the non - visibility areas late summer /fall. 3. Add boulders and lower planting options in the visibility sections late summer /fall. BACKGROUND /DISCUSSION On March 12, staff presented preliminary designs of the Orono Parkway for the Council's review. With Council direction, staff has been working with HKGI on the refinement of the plans and the cost estimates. Based on these discussions, staff has prepared five options for Council discussion. While these options were prepared with Orono Parkway in mind, the improvement of the other boulevards (Twin Lakes Road and 193'` can be independent of the decisions made for Orono Parkway. In fact, it is recommended that they would be, as Orono Parkway provides some unique challenges. In the development of these plans, staff's primary goal has been to improve the streetscape appearance of this section of Elk River, address intersection visibility concerns raised by the Police Department and other parties, and introduce maximum improvement with as little costs as possible, all without imposing a great deal of additional work on Parks and Street Department staff. Some of the main issues driving staff's recommendation: Irrigation. Understanding the Council's aesthetic concern with the prairie type plantings, it is apparent that the introduction of turf grass will require an irrigation system. While staff understands there was irrigation in the median in the past, all connections to this system were removed when the berms were removed. Of the $40,000 irrigation estimate, $35,000 is the landscape architects estimate of the system and $5,000 for the water access charge (WAC) and other incidental plumbing costs associated with creating a new service near the Fresno Street alignment. Recall that there is over 2,000 linear feet of P0ME8E0 8i N: \Public Bodies \City Council \Council RCA \Agenda Packet \05 -21- 2012 \SR to CC boulevards 5- 21- 12.docx INATUNNIf El