Sponsor: Public Works
Title
title
Second Amendment to the Capital Grant Agreement with the Metropolitan Council and Ramsey County for the Project Development Phase of the METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project
end
Recommendation
recommendation
1. Approve the Second Amendment to the Capital Grant Agreement (#21I040) for the Project Development Phase by and among the Metropolitan Council, Ramsey County, and Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority for the METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project.
2. Approve and authorize expenditures to a maximum of $3,640,000 for the second grant activity period commencing on December 9, 2024, and concluding on December 31, 2025.
3. Approve and authorize the carryover of any unexpended funds from the first grant activity period into the second grant activity period, subject to expenditure in accordance with all applicable eligibility requirements and within the established expenditure cap.
4. Approve and authorize expenditures during the period the METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project is outside the Capital Investment Grant Program notwithstanding that such expenditures will not be eligible for reimbursement or federal match thereunder.
5. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the second amendment.
6. Authorize the County Manager to enter into agreements and execute amendments to agreements and contracts in accordance with procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of funding.
end
Background and Rationale
body
The METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project is currently in the Project Development (PD) phase of Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program (the “CIG Program”). This phase will end on December 8, 2024, when FTA’s current extension expires. To remain in the CIG Program, the METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project (Project) would need to complete all the requirements of the PD phase allowing it to apply for entry into the next phase of the CIG Program, Engineering. However, because the Project is currently evaluating the route alignment on White Bear Avenue, it will be unable to meet all PD phase requirements by December 8, 2024, which will result in the temporary withdrawal of the Project from the CIG Program on December 9, 2024. During the time that the Project is out of the CIG Program, its expenditures will not be eligible for federal reimbursement. Eligibility for federal reimbursement is a requirement for the continued funding of the Project through the existing Capital Grant Agreement (CGA) between the Metropolitan Council, Ramsey County, and the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority. For work to continue on the Project and be paid for through the CGA, the CGA must be amended to allow for the funding activities outside of the CIG Program. The Second Amendment to the CGA will facilitate the Project’s temporary withdrawal from the CIG Program by providing continued funding for the Route Modification Study (RMS) Phase II activities, which will define project alignment and roadway configuration allowing for the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative and completion of the environmental review which are required to reenter the CIG Program at the Engineering phase. Such continued funding during the period the Project is outside the CIG Program will not be eligible for reimbursement or federal match under the CIG Program.
The Project entered the two-year PD phase of the CIG Program on December 9, 2021, as a dedicated 15-mile route connecting Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul to White Bear Lake. On March 8, 2022, White Bear Lake passed a resolution preventing the BRT from entering its jurisdiction. In response, the Project initiated its Route Modification Study (RMS) Phase I to identify a new northern terminus. As RMS Phase I concluded, the city of Maplewood passed a resolution on October 24, 2022, to expand the study and create an engagement plan for future transit options requiring an alignment evaluation to seek community-supported options. The Purple Line Corridor Management Committee endorsed further stakeholder engagement leading to the RMS Phase II analysis beginning in March 2023, which compared the Bruce Vento Trail route with a reevaluation of the Maryland and White Bear Avenue route.
Metropolitan Council, as the federal project sponsor, requested and received a one-year extension from the FTA to complete the PD requirements. Subsequently, the Metropolitan Council requested an amendment to the CGA to extend the PD completion date to December 8, 2024, ensuring continued eligibility for federal matching funds during route evaluations. The Project was originally scheduled to complete RMS Phase II by December 2024 but faced delays after the city of Maplewood passed a resolution to withdraw its support for BRT on the Bruce Vento Trail and White Bear Avenue routes on September 23, 2024. That resolution along with continued analysis needed to complete the RMS Phase II has resulted in the inability to complete the analysis necessary to complete PD requirements by December 8, 2024, and the FTA has declined to grant additional extensions to complete PD which has led to uncertainty in how to best advance the Project.
Consequently, Project partners are working to identify a clear path forward and will bring this path to funding partners in Spring, 2025. Until this time, the Second Amendment to the Capital Grant Agreement (#21I040) for the PD Phase by and among the Metropolitan Council, Ramsey County, and the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority for the METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project will reduce the amount of funding available for Project activities.
In addition to reducing the amount of funding available for Project activities while it is out of the CIG Program for 2025, the Second Amendment does the following:
• Amends the Initial Grant Activity Period to extend it through the Project’s current CIG Program eligibility date of December 8, 2024.
• Establishes a Second Grant Activity Period that begins on December 9, 2024, and continues through December 31, 2025. This period will focus on defining the Project alignment and roadway configuration while the Project is not participating in the federal program.
• Provides that the Project will be removed from the CIG Program during the Second Grant Activity Period, and that all Project costs incurred while the Project is out of the CIG Program will be ineligible for reimbursement by the FTA.
• Establishes a Project Decisions Board (PDB) to perform duties as assigned by the Second Amendment as follows:
o Approve or authorize negotiation and execution of Project agreements, contracts, amendments, and change orders.
o Authorize the issuance of Invitations for Bids for the following contracts.
§ Civil Construction.
§ Systems.
§ Contracts paid pursuant to Pre-award Authority for a Letter of No Prejudice.
o Approve scope, schedule, and budget of the Project.
o Approval submittals of a request for a Letter of No Prejudice.
o Approval use of Project Funds pursuant to Pre-award Authority.
o Approve the submittal of an application for a Full Funding Grant Agreement.
The PDB shall be composed of two members from the Metropolitan Council appointed by the Council, two Ramsey County Commissioners appointed by the county, and one Ramsey County Regional Railroad (RCRRA) Commissioner appointed by the RCRRA. The PDB will be formed prior to or upon completion of 15% Design Capital Cost Estimate for the Project.
The Second Amendment does not change the total funding commitment between RCRRA and Ramsey County for PD. It remains at $39,900,000 and will continue to fund the following tasks:
• Project Management.
• Advanced Engineering/Design.
• Environmental Reevaluated and Peer Review.
• Public Engagement.
Funding for PD will be provided in accordance with the funding commitment resolutions approved by Ramsey County and RCRRA through separate board actions. Funding commitments are consistent with financial projections made for the Ramsey County Transit Portfolio Status and Financial Projection workshop held on November 3, 2020.
Once the Project partners have agreed upon a new path, a third amendment will be brought to them for approval. Amendment three will address funding needs to complete design and environmental requirements for reapplication to the CIG Program. Upon approval from the FTA for reentry into the CIG Program at the Engineering phase, local funds expended while the project is in the CIG Program will be eligible for federal reimbursement.
end
County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☐ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
The Project will serve a racially diverse area. The Project provides transportation connections to areas of concentrated poverty where more than 50% of the residents are racially and ethnically diverse and Indigenous people. In these areas, auto ownership rates are low, and people depend on public transit for access to jobs, health care, shopping, and other trips. Other neighborhoods along the route, while not considered areas of concentrated poverty, are becoming more racially and economically diverse and are home to a significant number of households that do not own a car. The Project will improve access to opportunities by providing more frequent, reliable, and comfortable service that is better connected to job centers, neighborhoods, parks and recreation, and other parts of the regional transit system.
Community Participation Level and Impact
The METRO Purple Line BRT has established a Communication and Public Involvement Plan. The Communication and Public Involvement Plan addresses the need to communicate and engage with multiple audiences within the corridor and across the region. A well-informed and engaged public strengthens the project and helps create a more useful transit system for all. The Metropolitan Council, Metro Transit, and the Project’s local funding partner, Ramsey County, understand the need to engage corridor stakeholders in the development of Project details and in fostering broad support for the Project as a necessary investment to improve access and mobility to employment, educational and economic opportunities within the corridor and beyond.
Project staff has sought to engage corridor residents, businesses, organizations, and transit riders in the project planning process to solicit their input and address their needs and concerns. Concerted effort has been given to communities that have been traditionally underrepresented in transit planning processes: people of color, low-income communities, people with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), people with disabilities, and other historically marginalized groups.
A framework has been established for how public engagement activities will be conducted for Route Modification Study Phase II between the months of July 2023 and December 2025. Engagement and public feedback will inform the evaluation of the White Bear Ave Corridor and the identification of the preferred White Bear Ave design concept. The White Bear Ave Corridor runs from the BRT guideway near Johnson Parkway, along Maryland, White Bear, and Beam Avenues, to an endpoint near the Maplewood Mall and St. John’s Hospital.
Project updates and the Project factsheet can be found here:
<https://www.metrotransit.org/purple-line-project>
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
The $39,900,000 committed to fund the Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project’s Project Development Phase on October 4, 2021, remains available in the Public Works Multimodal Capital Projects budget. No changes to the funding commitment will result from this amendment. It is important to note that federal reimbursement or federal match under the Capital Investment Grant Program will only be available upon the execution of a Full Funding Grant Agreement, which typically occurs near the final design stage and approved by the Federal Transit Administration.
Additionally, funding expended while the Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project is outside the Capital Investment Grant Program will not be eligible for federal reimbursement or match under the program. This ensures the use of allocated funds aligns with both the financial projections and federal requirements.
Last Previous Action
On August 13, 2024, a workshop was held with the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners to discuss the proposed Capital Investment Grant Program Policy Guidance and whether the Project should be re-designated as a Small Starts project or continue as a New Starts project.
On November 21, 2023, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved the First Amendment to the Capital Grant Agreement for the Project Development Phase by and among the Metropolitan Council, Ramsey County, and Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority for the METRO Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit Project (Resolution B2023-205).
Attachments
1. Second Amendment