Anoka County transportation and parks committee OKs grants, road and park agreements and seeks $7 million for Rice Creek trail segment

Anoka County's transportation and parks committee brought several consent and informational items to the full board, which approved them unanimously. Key actions included acceptance of a $25,000 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) grant for stormwater treatment design on a reconstruction project in Columbia Heights; approval of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city of Ramsey to temporarily place Flock Safety camera equipment in county right-of-way at no cost to the county; and approval to release a permanent drainage and utility easement to the city of Ramsey to allow redevelopment of a parcel as three commercial lots.

Commissioner Jepsen, reporting for the committee, said the MOU with Ramsey is "similar to all the requests that we've consistently done over the past year or so" with cities including Blaine, Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights and Anoka, and that "there is no cost to the county on this" for equipment placement. The board approved the transportation consent slate by roll call vote.

The committee also recommended approval of a quitclaim deed to grant a 40-foot opening in existing controlled access to an outlot in Waterfront Village in Ramsey, to allow a proposed development (Bunker Lake Crossings) with three commercial lots and one outlot. County and city staff confirmed the proposed access configuration meets respective requirements, and Jepsen said "there is no cost to the county associated with that."

On capital requests, Commissioner Reinert described a multi-decade effort to complete a marshy segment of the Rice Creek North Regional Trail called the "missing link." The county previously received $500,000 in 2021 and $200,000 in 2023 for design and engineering; the committee is now requesting $7,000,000 in capital funding to complete the last remaining segment near Golden Lake Elementary and Baldwin Park in Circle Pines.

Parks items included an annual resolution (2025 TR 18) to authorize archery deer hunting permits in designated areas of several regional parks to reduce deer density; Reinert cited examples of deer density per square mile at parks (Bunker Hills Regional Park 39, Rapids Dam 21, Rice Creek Chain of Lakes 22) and said hunting operations aim to reduce deer-auto collisions and other safety issues.

The committee recommended award of contract C0011630 to Vitumanus Roadways Inc. in the amount of $3,557,090 for the Bunker redevelopment project using legacy funds (Jepsen said about $4 million is available in that legacy fund). The board approved that contract by roll call vote.

Informational items the committee discussed and authorized included: directing the county engineer to negotiate contracts and enter into two agreements (C0011640 and C0011641) with MnDOT to allow direct access to awarded Trunk Highway 65 funds (the city of Blaine and Anoka County were awarded $9 million and $25 million for portions of the project); authorizing the county engineer to advertise for bids to replace a bridge on Rum River Boulevard over Seeley Brook in Oak Grove; and preparing an application to participate in the nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for monarch butterfly conservation on energy and transportation lands in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Why it matters: The actions move multiple local infrastructure and parks projects forward, including a high-cost trail segment, a multimillion-dollar park redevelopment contract, and agreements that enable the county and MnDOT to use awarded Trunk Highway 65 funds. Several items carry funding implications or rely on intergovernmental agreements; the Rice Creek segment request seeks $7 million in capital funding.

What to watch: The board approved the committee's consent items and the $3,557,090 contract; the county engineer was authorized to negotiate and advertise for subsequent contracts and bids for Trunk Highway 65 and bridge replacement. The Rice Creek capital funding request will proceed through Minnesota Management and Budget and future capital budgeting processes.