Title
153rd Street Bike Path Ashburn Church Easement
History
In May 2011 the Village hired CBBEL to engineer a bike path extension from 108th Avenue and 153rd Street to Wolf Road and 151st Street. This missing section of the Village’s bike path system will connect the subdivisions on the west side of town to Centennial Park and the center of town. CBBEL has developed a conceptual path alignment within the public road right of way; however CBBEL has noted that in some locations engineering costs will be higher due to grading, utility, and sub grade constraints. An alternative is to locate portions of the bike path in easements outside of the right of way when it is cost effective and where abutting land owners are agreeable. One such portion is a 932’ segment with a wet vegetated swale that runs along the Ashburn Baptist church frontage on 153rd Street. The easement would include an approximately 40’ X 800’ area for a total area of 32,000 square feet. The right of way location option requires special sub grade preparation and a guard rail along a path that would be very close to the road bed. The proposed easement location is easier to construct, requires no guard rail, and preserves most of the vegetated swale.
Village staff met with Ashburn Baptist Church and sent a letter requesting the easement be granted for the bike path. The church has agreed to the easement subject to four conditions.
1. “That the inspection fee for the platform elevator would be waived by the Village.”
Response: According to the church, at the time of the church building construction, they were required to construct a platform elevator that they say has never been used, but still requires two inspections per year. Ashburn originally requested that the inspections be discontinued, but is agreeable to waiver of fees instead. The platform elevator inspections must continue as a safety precaution per State Statute. The Village will agree to waive the inspections for a period of ten years. This totals $1,100 in savings for the church, as well as an $1,100 reduction in Village elevator inspection fees collected.
2. “That the pond would be restored to its original condition, and that upon signing that there would be a notarized agreement from George Eck for a storm sewer that would cross his property to the north of 153rd Street, the Village being responsible to secure this authorization and provide the cost of installation.”
Response: According to the Village’s engineering analysis, the pond level is too high due to a collapsed farm field tile on the north side of 153rd Street which runs through George Eck’s property that abuts to the north. The pipe has been a continual problem, and when 153rd St. was redone in 2008, the road project installed a new storm sewer and manhole structure that allowed the pond to effectively drain underneath the road to Eck’s property, and cut a ditch through his property to allow the pond to drain. However, over time the ditch washed in which then caused the flow of water to back up. A more permanent solution is to install a small storm sewer thru Eck’s property.
The estimated the cost of this is $21,965. All proposed work will be on George Eck’s property rather than on the church’s property. George Eck was informally contacted by staff, and he is agreeable to the Village investigating & designing a sewer installation on his property for the church pond. The work will improve an ongoing drainage problem in this location that is not the result of the bike path construction. Typically the Village would wait for this type of problem to be resolved when the land develops.
3. “That the Ashburn Baptist Church would be relieved of any responsibility for any injury or death on its property due to the use of the bike path.”
Response: This issue will be addressed by legal counsel when drafting the formal agreement.
4. “That the Village would refund to the church $4,189.13, which is the proportion of the annexation fee represented by the easement (See Annexation Agreement March 28, 1977).”
Response: The Ashburn Church property was annexed in 1977, and according to the annexation agreement was to include not only the church but also a school, a recreation center, and a proposed 480 dwelling unit retirement home. The project was never constructed, and the church itself was not constructed until 1987. However, the agreement reflects a payment requirement of more than $183,225. Ashburn Church’s records show that payment was made, but Village records can not confirm or refute this payment made 34 years ago. The church requested $4,189.13 payment is the pro-rated amount based on the acreage of the easement.
Summary: Locating the path in the Ashburn Easement is advantageous to the Village for the following reasons:
1. SAFETY: The separation between the road and bike path is increased. The slope abutting the path will be reduced, eliminating the need for a railing.
2. MAINTENANCE: There will be less chance of path differential settlement due to sub-grade problems, fewer retaining walls, and less conflict with utility maintenance. The drainage problem in the area will be improved.
3. FUTURE CONFLICTS: There is less chance of bikeway impact due to future 153rd Street improvements, since the bike path will be outside of the right of way. However, it is noted that improvements on 153rd Street were completed in 2008 and no widening is expected in the near future.
4. APPEARANCE: Most of the trees and vegetation on the site will not be disturbed and the bike path will not require a railing.
5. COST: Attached is a detailed CBBEL estimate that compares the cost of path construction with easement ($525,662) verses without easements ($652,827). Earlier discussions in the planning process had identified two locations for potential easements, with cost saving totaling $127,165. It was later determined that the easement located just east of 109th Street was not needed because the land had already been dedicated as County right of way. The $61,561 in construction costs for that easement will still be realized in the final construction costs with no Board action required. The Ashburn Church easement, summarized below, is estimated to save $65,604 in construction costs, however there will be Village costs reducing the benefit of that full amount:
+$65,604 Village savings in construction path costs. (CBBEL estimate)
-$21,965 Village cost to repair pond. (Staff estimate)
-$7,246 Increased engineering and platting fees for the alternative alignment of the path. (CBBEL supplement to Scope)
-$4,189.13: Annexation fee refund to Ashburn Baptist Church.
-$1,000: Legal cost to draft formal agreement
-$1110 ($110 X 10 years): Annual inspection fee waiver. (Repeating annual loss)
+$30,093.87 TOTAL VILLAGE SAVINGS for utilizing Ashburn Church bike path easement
The additional CBBEL fee ($7,246) is to cover work not anticipated and not included in the bike path's original scope of services. This includes the analysis of the alternative alignments and the completion of land acquisition documents including a Plat of Dedication Exhibit and a legal description of the Ashburn easement.
Financial Impact:
The additional costs associated with the construction of the bike path due to the church easement location total $35,510.13. This includes the sewer pipe to repair the pond, the increased engineering fees, the annexation refund fee, legal costs to draft the agreement, and the elevator inspection fee waiver. These costs should come out of the bike path construction budget since they were spurred by the bike path. Covering these costs will save the Village money by reducing the total cost of construction.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to recommend to the Village Board to authorize the Village to enter in an agreement with Ashburn Baptist Church granting the following conditions in exchange for a bike path easement on the Ashburn Baptist Church property as shown conceptually on the plan entitled “153rd Street Bike Path Concept Alternative Alignments”, by Christopher B. Burke Engineering and dated 5/27/11:
1. Once the permanent easement agreement has been executed, the inspection fees for the Ashburn platform elevator will be waived for a period not to exceed ten years.
2. The Village will construct a small storm sewer through George Eck’s property to the north, at a cost of approximately $21,965. The Village agrees to install this pipe in conjunction with the bike path construction subject to the agreement of the northern property owner.
3. Ashburn Baptist Church will be relieved of liability for injury or death on the bike path subject to Village Attorney advice and approval.
4. Ashburn Baptist Church will be paid a sum of $4,189.13 in consideration for use of the property.
And
I move to recommend to the Village Board to approve a supplemental payment to Christopher B Burke Engineering in the amount of $7,246 for additional work to analyze alternative alignments for the 153rd Street Bike Path and to complete land acquisition documents including a Plat of Dedication Exhibit and a legal description of the Ashburn easement.