City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 7, 2015
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Authorize an Amendment to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Reimbursable Project Agreement to Reflect the Next Phase of the Scope and Budget for the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Project. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a resolution to authorize an amendment to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Reimbursable Project Agreement to reflect the next phase of the scope and budget for the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station project.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) to approve an increase to the current WMATA funding agreement for the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station from $5.2 million to $11 million.
BACKGROUND: In 2009, as part of the planning process for North Potomac Yard, the City and WMATA began to study the feasibility of constructing a Metrorail station at Potomac Yard. These preliminary studies resulted in the 2010 North Potomac Yard Small Area Plan which included plans for a Metrorail station. The project is currently undergoing environmental evaluation as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, with the Federal Transit Agency as the lead federal agency, and the National Park Service and WMATA as cooperating agencies. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) was released for public review and comment in the spring of 2015. The City Council selected Alternative B as the preferred alternative on May 20, 2015.
The initial study starting in 2009 and the subsequent EIS study were budgeted at $5.2 million. The reimbursable agreement with WMATA initially included only tasks associated with the environmental process but was structured to allow amendments to add tasks and budget as the project advanced to its next phases.
DISCUSSION: As the project now moves into implementation, it is necessary to amend the WMATA reimbursable project agreement to fund activities required to develop and advertise the package for the design-build contract. The activities include preliminary engineering and conceptual design of the station, identification and commencement of any real estate transaction (i.e., land transfers among the City of Alexandria, WMATA and the National Park Service), and additional investigations to determine construction conditions, including geotechnical surveys. As noted above, it was always anticipated that these tasks would be added to the agreement through amendment as each phase of this project was advanced, and these tasks have been budgeted in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The amendment to the reimbursable agreement will increase WMATA’s budget from $5.2 million to $10.25 million to cover these anticipated expenses. This amendment also authorizes revisions to sections of the agreement to update definitions and add language related to roles and responsibilities between the City and WMATA, including WMATA’s scope of work as noted above.
FISCAL IMPACT: To date, City Council has authorized $5.2 million for the initial feasibility study and EIS study, funded by state-provided federal funds, 70 percent funds from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), and City funds. The City funds are comprised of developer contributions, special tax district revenues, and incremental tax base growth real property tax revenues. The additional $5.05 million requested would be funded through existing cash balances in the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Fund and from NVTA 70 percent funds already allocated to the City, as provided for in the CIP.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Resolution
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, AICP, Director, T&ES
Karl W. Moritz, Director, P&Z
Mitchell Bernstein, P.E., Acting Director, DPI
Christopher Spera, Deputy City Attorney, Office of City Attorney
Christopher Bever, Assistant Budget Director, OMB