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MEMORANDUM <br />Rice Creek Watershed District <br />OPTION 8: USE AREA FOR ADDITIONAL ONSITE SPOIL STORAGE <br />After reviewing options with City staff, an alternative option has been presented which would <br />seem to make sense for both parties involved. Imagine a scenario where RCWD absolves itself <br />of any responsibility to reconstruct the two baseball fields and, instead, uses the area to store <br />approximately an additional 19,500 cubic yards of uncontaminated dredge material onsite (on <br />top of the default 10,000 cubic yards discussed in Option A), further reducing the cost of offsite <br />disposal. Only about 7,500 cubic yards would be hauled offsite, at a cost of up to $90,000 <br />($12.00/yd). <br />Option B, as written above, would admittedly leave the City of New Brighton with a lack of <br />baseball fields and a significant impact on its youth sports programming. The City can replace <br />this programming long-term by completing construction of a modern baseball field at the New <br />Brighton Exchange development, complete with lighting to allow for evening adult games, and <br />converting the two existing adult fields in Hansen Park into youth fields. In order to expedite <br />this project, the City must raise additional funds. In exchange for NOT requiring reconstruction <br />of two ballfields and allowing the additional onsite spoil placement, City staff has proposed the <br />District pay a spoil disposal fee of $200,000 (cost of ballfields) plus $7.50/yd (beyond the default <br />10,000 yds) to the City which it will then put towards development of the aforementioned <br />modern, lighted baseball field at the New Brighton Exchange development. In this example, the <br />total spoil disposal fee paid to the City would be $346,250 (subject to change). <br />OPTION B TOTAL COST ESTIMATE = $436,250 <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />RCWD staff prefers Option B for the following reasons: <br />• The District saves approximately $90,000 on its project costs. Also, there is a chance we could <br />design the grading to accommodate more of the clean fill, further increasing the cost savings to <br />a maximum of up to $122,000 (And the City would receive an even larger spoil disposal fee...). <br />• The District will not incur costs for HEI to design plans and specifications for two baseball fields. <br />• The District will not be burdened by the long-term risks associated with reconstructing two City - <br />owned baseball fields. <br />• The project construction window will be shortened. <br />• The District will not need to restore the ballfields a second time should we need to complete <br />future maintenance (dredging) of the south end of Hansen Pond. <br />• The City obtains a reasonable amount of funding to help implement its Master Plan for the <br />Exchange development (building a lighted baseball field). <br />RCWD staff reviewed these alternatives with the Board of Managers during a workshop on October 12, <br />2015. Their discussion primarily favored Option B and staff was directed to continue pursuit of this <br />option with the City. This Option B scenario was considered and recommended by the PREC on <br />November 4, 2015. Option B was also promoted during the public open house on November 12, 2015. <br />Final arrangements would be built into a cooperative agreement(s) between the RCWD Board and City <br />Council with formal action by the governing bodies sometime in January. <br />Page 2 <br />