2015.08.10 Council Agenda Item 01
Summary
Order to authorize a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $245,000 from the West Falmouth Crossing Tax Increment Financing District for Preliminary Engineering Services for the Route 100 Infrastructure Plan.
A public comment period will be included with this item (3 minutes).
ACTION: Council action is anticipated.
Description
On May 27, 2015 the Town Council accepted the Route 100 Vision Report that was prepared by the Route 100 Committee and authorized the Town Manager to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Preliminary Engineering Services.
In response to the RFP, which was advertised and sent to a list of potentially interested engineering firms, the Town received three proposals: Gorrill-Palmer, Wright-Pierce, and FST. All three proposal teams were interviewed on August 4, 2015. The Interview Team consisted of Councilor McBrady, Route 100 Committee Members Andrea Ferrante and Steve Melchiskey, Town Manager Nathan Poore and Director of Long-Range Planning Theo Holtwijk. The team's unanimous recommendation to the Town Manager was to issue a contract to FST for this project as its proposal provided the Town with the best value. The Town Manager has affirmed the recommendation to hire FST.
A this time, the Town Manager requests a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $245,000 for the Preliminary Engineering Phase of this project. The funding source for this expense is the West Falmouth Crossing Tax Increment Financing District, which as of June 30, 2015 had a balance in excess of $1,000,000.
It is anticipated that Preliminary Engineering will be complete by December 2015. The final Preliminary Plan will be brought back to the Town Council for review and acceptance. Regular consultations with the Route 100 Committee, Community Development Committee (CDC), and the public are envisioned at key moments during this process.
On August 3, 2015, Town staff met with MaineDOT Commissioner Bernhardt and received verbal commitment for State of Maine funding support for this project. It is expected that the MaineDOT funding support amount will be confirmed before the Preliminary Engineering phase is concluded.
The project is on schedule for a Voter Referendum in June 2016. If approved at that time, construction could start in spring 2017 and potentially be complete later that year.
