Title
Resolution No. 1 - Prepare Plans and Specifications for the Stone School Road - Special Assessment (District #64)
Memorandum
Approval of the attached resolution directs staff to prepare plans, specifications, and cost estimates to fill sidewalk gaps along the east side of Stone School Road from Packard to Eisenhower as a special assessment project. This sidewalk gap scores in the “Highest” category in the City’s sidewalk gap prioritization system, and staff has also received multiple requests from residents to have this gap in the network filled. Accordingly, this project was placed in the Capital Improvements Plan (TR-AT-22-15).
Recent changes to City Code allow for the construction of new sidewalks without special assessment, however this excludes non-taxable parcels. This segment of Stone School Road includes seven township island parcels, thus creating the need for the special assessment district.
The project is intended to be designed and constructed as part of the 2024 Sidewalk Gap Project, with construction occurring in 2024. It is anticipated that the project will require some temporary and possibly permanent easements, as well as the construction of some retaining walls.
The attached resolution directs staff to provide and share detailed cost estimates for this work and establish the composition of the special assessment district. If authorized to undertake this work, staff will reach out to affected residents and stakeholders to conduct a thorough public engagement effort. Following those meetings and further development of the engineering design, staff will return to Council with Resolutions 2 and 3, which define the individual costs to each parcel and establish a Public Hearing Date, respectively.
Below is a tentative schedule for the project:
September 18, 2023: Council Meeting - Resolution 1
October/November 2023: Public Meeting / Administrative Hearing
January 2024: Council Meeting - Resolution 2
January 2024: Resolution 3
February 2024: Public Hearing & Resolution 4
Summer 2024: Begin construction
Budget/Fiscal Impact: The Stone School Road (Eisenhower to Packard) Sidewalk Project is included in the Capital Improvements Plan (Project Number TR-AT-22-15). While the portions of the sidewalk adjacent to township parcels will ultimately be paid partially through special assessment, the City will fund the cost of designing and constructing the project with the New Sidewalk Millage. The assessed amounts would then be recovered at the time that the parcels annex into the City. Parcels that are already in the City of Ann Arbor will be excluded from the Special Assessment District and that work will be fully funded by the New Sidewalk Millage.
Staff
Prepared by: Nicholas S. Hutchinson, P.E., City Engineer
Reviewed by: Brian Steglitz, Public Services Area Administrator
Approved by: Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Body
Whereas, Council deems it appropriate to construct the Stone School Road (Eisenhower to Packard) Sidewalk Project, which will consist of:
The installation of new sidewalk in places where it does not currently exist on the east
side of Stone School Road between Eisenhower and Packard;
RESOLVED, The City Administrator be directed to prepare plans and specifications for said improvement project, and an estimate of the cost thereof;
RESOLVED, The City Administrator be directed to file a report of same with the City Clerk, including a recommendation as to what proportion of the cost should be paid by special assessment and what part, if any, should be a general obligation of the City, the number of installments in which the assessments may be paid, and the land which should be included in the special assessment district; and
RESOLVED, The City Clerk shall present said report to the Council and make it available for public examination.