Council approves up to $5 million in bonds for Nicollet Avenue reconstruction

The Richfield City Council on July 28 approved a resolution authorizing the sale of up to $5,000,000 in street reconstruction bonds to finance the city’s portion of the Nicollet Avenue reconstruction project.

City Engineer Joe Powers told the council the project will fully reconstruct Nicollet Avenue from 66th Street to 77th Street in two phases, replace the water main, rehabilitate sanitary sewer and install storm sewer work. He said the overall project estimate is $19,600,000 and that Hennepin County — the project lead — has roughly $12,500,000 in costs. "We're proposing to sell up to $5,000,000 in street reconstruction bonds to cover the city's portion of the street and storm sewer costs on the project," Powers said.

Powers described funding sources, including a $2,000,000 state bond award staff obtained for utility costs and a possible $150,000 utility bond. He also noted a tax-impact example shown in staff materials: "So if you see for a $300,000 home, it's an annual tax impact of $4.53" per $1,000,000 in bonds, which scales to roughly $22.65 per year for a $300,000 home if the city issues $5,000,000 in bonds.

Council held a public hearing and heard residents’ questions about why the current county-led project stops at 66th Street rather than extending north to the freeway. Powers said Hennepin County set the extents for this project as the county is the roadway owner and program manager; the city will continue to lobby the county for additional work north of 66th.

After council discussion about project extents, cost sharing and timing, Council member Hayford O'Leary moved to adopt the resolution. The council voted by voice and the mayor recorded the ayes; the motion passed. The bond sale is currently programmed for spring 2027, and a 30-day period following the hearing allows the public to file a reverse referendum petition if a threshold of signatures is met.