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Richfield presses ahead on Nicollet Avenue after $1 million reduction in city share; seeks $10M bonding
Summary
City engineers told council Hennepin County reanalyzed line items and cut the city's cost by about $1 million; staff recommended affirming the current $8.7 million city estimate and moving forward while continuing to press the county for clearer engineering cost breakdowns. The city also listed a $10 million bonding request for Nicollet in its legislative package.
City Engineer Joe Powers told the Richfield City Council at a Nov. 25 work session that Hennepin County's reanalysis of specific project items has reduced the city's share of the Nicollet Avenue project by about $1,000,000, bringing the city's estimated total project cost to just under $8,700,000. Powers said approximately $8,800,000 of the project cost will be paid under the county's cost-share policy and roughly $700,000 covers city-specific costs such as staff time, legal fees and construction inspection.
The reduction followed multiple meetings with county staff over recent weeks; county staff reexamined facilities, storm sewer, sidewalk costs and raised crosswalk items and adjusted how costs were allocated. Powers recommended the council give verbal affirmation to proceed with the current cost estimate so the county can let the project early next year, warning that delaying the project to wait for a revised county policy could push construction back at least a year and potentially offset any policy gains through higher construction prices.
Council members questioned whether postponing the project to await a forthcoming county policy revision could produce net savings. Powers said the county has signaled it will update its policy early next month but has been firm that Nicollet will follow the county's current policy as written; staff said they would continue to pursue any renegotiation opportunities but did not expect the county to apply revised policy retroactively without explicit agreement.
Transportation engineer Matt Hartiger told the council he found a county board authorization for up to $2,500,000 toward the county's engineering share, and explained that engineering costs are typically allocated proportionally to construction cost shares (if the city pays 30% of construction, it pays 30% of engineering). Councilors and staff said the county exhibits did not clearly show the county's engineering portion and urged staff to press the county for a clearer breakout.
The Nicollet request also appears in the city's state bonding package: staff identified a $10,000,000 bonding request for Nicollet Avenue and a separate $2,500,000 federal/state ask for an emergency water interconnect. City staff said both bonding efforts fared well in recent legislative tours and will continue through the legislative session.
Next steps: staff will (1) continue to ask the county for a clearer engineering-cost breakout, (2) pursue additional line-item reviews that could lower the city share further, and (3) provide the county verbal affirmation needed to advance the project into early next year's letting schedule unless the council directs a delay.
