Sponsor: Parks & Recreation
Title
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Operations & Maintenance Agreement for Primer Tracer Area Access Road
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Recommendation
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1. Approve an operation & maintenance agreement with SPQR Arden Hills, LLC, 1128 Harmon Place, Suite 320, Minneapolis MN 55403, for construction, operation, and maintenance of a roadway, utilities and stormwater facilities on a portion of county property in the Rice Creek North Regional Trail corridor to be encumbered upon the property record.
2. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the agreement.
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Background and Rationale
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On August 6, 2019, the United States of America through the Secretary of the Army (“Army”) and assistance from the General Service Administration (“GSA”) conveyed an easement (Easement No. DACA45-2-19-6017) to Ramsey County for Parcel C on former Twin City Army Ammunition Plant (“TCAAP”) property within the city of Arden Hills (the “Parcel C Easement”). The Parcel C Easement was for the construction, installation, operation, maintenance, repair, removal, upgrade, and replacement of a public access road, trails, and utilities, such as but not to be limited to natural gas, water, electric power, and communications to support the development of the Rice Creek North Trail Long-range Plan and the future development of the property known as the Primer Tracer Area (“PTA”) then owned by the Army, and related facilities. In addition, the Parcel C Easement identified development components such as a roadway extension and utilities to service the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS), PTA, and county park improvements identified with the Rice Creek Regional Park Long-range plan. The Parcel C Easement included the unnamed future owner of the PTA as the “sub-grantee” thereunder.
On May 28, 2024, the Board approved Supplemental Amendment No. 1 to the Parcel C Easement (the “Supplemental Amendment”). The Supplemental Amendment identified the sub-grantee (a/k/a PTA-Grantee) under the Parcel C Easement as SPQR Arden Hills, LLC (the “Developer”). The Developer closed on its purchase of the PTA from the Army in early 2026 and Supplemental Amendment No. 1 was recorded in the Ramsey County real property records on March 17, 2026. In addition to identifying the sub-grantee, the Supplemental Amendment expressly limited the width of the easement, granted pursuant to the Parcel C Easement, that provided for a future north-south roadway corridor connecting the PTA to County Road I. Specifically, the Supplemental Amendment limited the width of this easement to approximately 66 feet running along the eastern boundary of Parcel C, including necessary utilities such as water, sanitary sewer, and electric to service the PTA. Additionally, a 30-foot wide utility corridor was identified on the northern edge of Parcel C along County Road I to extend utilities to the roadway corridor.
The Parcel C Easement required Ramsey County and the future owner of the PTA to enter into an Operation & Maintenance Agreement providing for long-term maintenance responsibilities for the proposed shared access road within the identified corridor (the “O & M Agreement”). The O & M Agreement provides that the Developer will (i) construct the roadway, utilities and stormwater maintenance facilities at its sole cost; and (ii) maintain the roadway, utilities and stormwater maintenance at its sole cost until such time as the County develops Parcel C for public recreational purposes. Once the County develops Parcel C for public recreational purposes, the County and the owner of the PTA will share maintenance and long-term capital costs for the roadway, utilities, and stormwater facilities, as more particularly described in the O & M Agreement. Neither the Supplemental Amendment nor the O & M Agreement grant the Developer any permanent easement rights with respect to Parcel C that were not already owned by the Developer under the Parcel C Easement.
The O & M Agreement also provides for interim access routes and a construction staging area on Parcel C for use by the Developer during construction, and provides the Developer with temporary construction access across County Parcel B, immediately south of Parcel C.
Parks & Recreation has coordinated with the County Attorney's Office, Public Works department, and Community & Economic Development department for preparation of Operations & Maintenance Agreement to make sure all county interests are met.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
This project will have a regional impact in addition to supporting an area that has a racial and ethnic makeup of approximately 33.6 % within the city of Arden Hills and surrounding areas. Development of the PTA will expand business opportunities within the city of Arden Hills, supports investments in the infrastructure of regional park systems, and supports county development interest for such as Rice Creek Commons. This investment in a quickly diversifying area will support the long-term wellbeing of communities of color and contribute to greater racial equity goals.
Community Participation Level and Impact
There was no community engagement conducted as part of this agreement. This is the final part of the easement amendment 1 agreement the county approved previously in 2024. There was no county related community participation related to the Parcel C Easement Amendment 1 Agreement. This project easement agreement was originally a project led by the United States of America through the GSA and Secretary of Army for the sale of the PTA. However, a robust public engagement process for the development of a design concept and long-range plan document was conducted during summer 2018 - 2019, which included the central section of the Rice Creek Regional Trail corridor adjacent to the PTA. The Parks department worked with the public to develop the graphic plan and draft long-range plan throughout this process. These documents were also available for a period of 30 days to gather additional input and feedback. Public engagement for the development of the Rice Creek North Regional Trail Long-range Plan including five public meetings, two online surveys, engagement with other local agencies and user groups, and other comments received.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
There are no county costs for approval of the Operation & Maintenance Agreement. Ramsey County and Developer will continue to work together on the implementation of the access road to serve the PTA property to ensure successful development of the PTA and future park property access is preserved. The Developer is solely responsible for the construction of the access road, utilities installation, and maintenance until Ramsey County Parks & Recreation develops the proposed future trailhead and connects to the access road and utilities. At that time, the daily maintenance will be the responsibility of Parks and long-term capital improvements costs to the access road will be shared and split 50/50 with SPQR Arden Hills LLC.
Last Previous Action
On May 28, 2024, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved Parcel C Easement Amendment (Resolution B2024-180).
On June 23, 2015, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved a recreational access easement for park access use on Parcel C (Resolution B2015-214).
Attachments
1. Operation & Maintenance Agreement