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Oakdale council authorizes signing of Gold Line ownership and maintenance agreement
Summary
The City of Oakdale authorized the mayor and city administrator to sign an ownership and maintenance agreement covering infrastructure built for the Gold Line BRT; staff said Met Council will operate the BRT while the city will accept responsibility for right-of-way infrastructure, and the motion passed 4–1.
Oakdale — The Oakdale City Council on Feb. 24 authorized the mayor and city administrator to sign an ownership and maintenance agreement covering infrastructure constructed as part of the Gold Line bus rapid transit (BRT) project, approving the measure by voice vote 4–1.
Community Development Director Andy Goff told council the agreement is the last of three with Met Council covering BRT-related improvements and that it delineates which assets Met Council will own and which the city will maintain. "This agreement ... includes storm water, underground utilities, trails and sidewalks that were constructed, roadway pavement, curbing, guardrails, fences, retaining walls, lighting, signage, striping, snow removal, and landscaping," Goff said, summarizing the range of elements the city and Met Council addressed in negotiations.
Goff said staff applied a "but for" test to decide responsibilities: work the city would have done under routine maintenance or capital plans remains the city's responsibility, while elements constructed only for the BRT would fall to Met Council. He said station improvements and the BRT system itself will be owned and operated by Met Council, while infrastructure inside the city right-of-way (water, sanitary, storm, sidewalks, trails, lighting, fencing and certain retaining walls) will be the city's to own and maintain.
According to Goff, staff began negotiations in April 2024 and legal counsel has reviewed the final language. He said the city engineer's financial analysis shows potential initial cost savings from replacing aging infrastructure, with maintenance costs projected to be roughly equal over the long term, though the city will take on some additional responsibilities — for example, more trails and sidewalks that will require snow removal and other upkeep.
Council members moved, seconded and voted to authorize execution of the agreement; the motion carried by a 4–1 voice vote after one council member registered opposition. No amendment or specific dollar figure for ongoing maintenance was adopted at the meeting; council directed execution of the agreement as presented.
Next steps: staff will finalize execution steps so the mayor and city administrator can sign the agreement as authorized; the council did not set separate reporting or budget-authorization requirements at the meeting.
