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Recommendation to allocate American Rescue Plan Act contingency funds to construct the proposed bicycle pump track at the 116th Street Park
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Submitted by:
David Simpson & John Ruggini
Department
DPW & Finance
A. Issue
As part of the Common Council’s process for allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds $2M was provided for the partial construction of a new City park at the southeast corner of 116th Street and Gilbert Avenue. Since that time the City has successfully secured significant additional grant funding which has allowed for completion of the entire planned park except for the bicycle pump track. At a previous Financial Affairs Committee meeting a request was made to consider utilization of ARPA contingency funds to complete the park project.
B. Background/Options
All ARPA funds that have been granted to the City must be encumbered by the end of 2024. All ARPA funded infrastructure projects have been either constructed or have bids received which now allows for a discussion regarding use of the ARPA contingency fund. Based on current projections we will have sufficient funds to complete all infrastructure projects as planned without utilization of the contingency fund so reallocation of the remaining contingency fund is possible at this time.
At this time, we are recommending completing the final design of the pump track and publicly bidding the work prior to the end of 2024 so that the project can be constructed in 2025. The remaining contingency fund is approximately $230K, which will likely not fund the entire pump track construction as initial budgetary cost estimates show the project may likely cost somewhere between $300K-450K. This means that the proposed pump track would need additional funding from the Capital Budget or the project would need to be reduced in size to fit within the 230K remaining ARPA funds. There may also be additional funds available from the ARPA allocation for construction of the park but the construction is still in the early phase so it’s too soon to predict the amount of additional contingency funds that will be available beyond the $230K. These options could be examined during the design process and alternate bids could be accepted to allow flexibility in the bid award.
At the March 12, 2024, a decision policy framework was presented for allocating unspent ARPA funds. The first priority is addressing any shortfalls among infrastructure projects. This recommendation is consistent with that policy. It is possible there will be additional surplus in non-infrastructure projects; however, exact amounts and recommended options will not be available until later this Fall but likely prior to when the pump track bids are received.
C. Strategic Plan (Area of Focus)
Priority 5: Quality of Life
D. Fiscal Impact
Allocate the remaining ARPA contingency fund of approximately $230K to construct as much of the proposed pump track as possible.
E. Recommendation
Allocate the remaining ARPA contingency fund of $229,898.00 to construct all or part of the 116th Street park bicycle pump track.