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CR 91-63 Remediation And Monitoring Agreement m ..y '" March 1, 1991 o \ ~ Council Report # 91-63 P K . REMEDIATION AND MONITORING AGREEMENT Proposed Action staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move to approve the Remediation and Monitorinq Agreement and authorize Mayor and Manaqer to sign the aqreement. Adoption of this motion will allow the City to proceed with a gas remediation project on the landfill site and on the townhome property. Overview The City has been studying and has proposed a gas remediation project along the border of the Westbrooke Townhome Association property and the Hopkins landfill. The purpose of this project is to provide a barrier to the movement of landfill gas from the landfill toward the Association Townhomes. A necessary component of this project involves obtaining approval from the Townhome Association to enter their . property and conduct the work as proposed. Staff is recommending that the City Council approve the attached agreement. By doing so, the Council will then have the opportunity to consider the appropriate times and procedures for proceeding with the project. Primary Issues to Consider 0 What is agreed to within the agreement? 0 What costs are associated with the agreement? 0 What options exist if the city and the association are unable to reach agreement? 0 What is the source of funding for the costs associated with the agreement? 0 What remaining issues must be resolved prior to the actual construction? supporting Documents 0 Analysis of primary issues 0 Remediation and monitoring agreement 0 Recommendation . ~~ steven C. Mielke, City Manager -..- 1 e Remediation and Monitoring Agreement Council Report 91-63 page 2 Staff Analvsis of Primary Issues 0 What is agreed to within the agreement? The basic principles of the agreement include the following: 1. The Association gives its consent to the City to carry out the project as approved by the MPCA and allows the City access to the Westbrooke common areas. 2. Westbrooke shall have the right to monitor the implementation of the project and have access to certain records associated with the work. 3. Hopkins agrees to payor reimburse Westbrooke for reasonable expenses incurred by Westbrooke for attorney, engineer, and consultant fees. The fees shall not exceed : . 0 $35,000 prior to the start of the project 0 $23,000 for fees during construction. 0 one half of the fees associated with the work following the construction of the project. Hopkins will not be responsible for fees associated with any litigation brought against Westbrooke by private third parties. 4. Hopkins will name Westbrooke as an additional insured on the project and will indemnify Westbrooke of any claims associated with this project. 5. Hopkins agrees to a relocation policy in which residents of the four units closest to the boundary will receive: 0 A base amount of $1250 per month to residents who relocate during the project. 0 A base amount of $500 per month to residents who choose to remain in their homes during the project. . 0 A food allowance of $10.00 per day per person living in the home, not to exceed $30.00 per day for any single living unit. 2 . 0 Tenants of rental units will be eligible for the same benefits as other residents. Owners of unoccupied units will be eligible for the $500 benefit. 0 The Association will receive a one-time payment of $12,500 to pay for the costs associated with the project, such as, security, insurance, etc. 6. The City agrees to perform a limited amount of grading and restoration to areas of Westbrooke. 0 What costs are associated with this agreement? The costs associated with this project are dependent upon a variety of factors, but an estimate of cost is as follows: Relocation Benefits - $50,000 - $75,000 Meal Allowance - $34,000 - 54,000 Payment to Assn. - $12,500 . Professional Fees - $50,000 - $55,000 Grading Expense - $10,000 $155,500 - $206,500 A straw poll was taken by the Association and it is estimated that 2/3 rds of the residents would leave the area. If that were to be the case, the $155,000 figure is closer to the actual cost. 0 What options exist if the city and Association are unable to reach agreement? without an agreement, the city would be unable to perform the project as it is currently planned. Failure to enter the Westbrooke property would result in leaving a certain amount of waste between the barrier and the association properties. Although this may be possible it may not be the best course of action, since landfill gas would continue to be generated by the refuse which is not excavated. A more likely scenario is that the city would choose not to do the project and to leave the current situation as it is. Upon taking this course of action the Minnesota Pollution e Control Agency would be forced to either order the City to do the project under which they would need to seek a court order or choose to do the work themselves. In which case, they would have access to the Westbrooke property without the need to negotiate as we have. Should this more likely 3 . course of action take place the current situation would probably exist for a number of months or years prior to any resolution to the existing problem. It would be best for an accommodation to be made for this project so that the welfare and security of the residents is assured on as a quick a timetable as possible. However, that must be weighed against the cost associated with proceeding with the work. 0 What is the source of funding for the cost associated with this agreement? The Council has approved a transfer of monies from the general fund to a construction fund established for this project. This funding is a temporary source of funds and is not in the best interest of the city. Two other sources of funding are being pursued which include insurance claims and monies from the state of Minnesota. Both of these sources may take additional time in which to be secured, but are ultimately the best sources of revenue for this project. It would be nice if we were able to specifically state a source of financing for this project . but the only known source at this time is the general fund. 0 What remaining issues must be resolved prior to the actual construction? Assuming the City Council approves this agreement and the project moves forward, two remaining issues must be addressed. First of all, timing of the project will be necessary to resolve. It has been staff's desire to conduct this project during winter conditions due to the odor and discomfort by opening the landfill during warm weather conditions. Staff has requested that the Association poll its members to determine whether or not the Association would prefer that we wait with this project until next winter or begin immediately due to the nature of this problem. The second issue which will need to be resolved concerns the contract with Ames Construction. This contract has expired and would need to be renegotiated with Ames. It is possible that the costs would exceed a reasonable amount due to the renegotiations, at which time i~ would be necessary to rebid the project. Due to time constraints associated with this e issue, a summer construction would be the earliest time at which we could begin. Ames has shown a desire to continue this project but no negotiations have taken place with regard to the contract. , 4 . Recommendation Based upon all of the data known to' date, staff is of the opinion that the City and the residents would be best served by proceeding with this project. The toughest issue associated with this project and agreement is the relocation policy. Although the relocation benefits are expensive to the City, the amounts are not unreasonable should someone need or desire to re-locate away from the site. It is our hope that by increasing the amount we would pay for people to stay on the site, that we would lower our costs for the relocation policy. The option of waiting for the Pollution Control Agency to receive access to the property would perhaps be a logical choice from a business perspective, however, the needs of the Westbrooke area call for quick action to be taken and for a resolution to the problems associated with this landfill. . .