DATE: 11/20/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
2024-138
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
APPROVE THE ACCEPTANCE OF ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION UNIFORM
MITIGATION FEES ADMINISTERED BY WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNCIL OF
GOVERNMENTS FOR THE MCKINLEY STREET GRADE SEPARATION, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. ST-2012-01.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve the acceptance and appropriation of additional Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees funds administered by the Western Riverside Council of Governments in the amount of $11,223,000, for the McKinley Street Grade Separation Project. In addition, the report asks the City Council to approve a Reimbursement Agreement between the Western Riverside Council of Governments and the City of Corona.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Authorize the acceptance of Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees funds from Western Riverside Council of Governments in the amount of $11,223,000 for the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01. b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Third Amendment to the Funding Agreement between the City and Western Riverside Council of Governments that allocates an additional $11,223,000 from available Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees funds to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Project.
c. Authorize a revenue increase in the amount of $11,223,000 in the TUMF – WRCOG Fund 479 and appropriate the same amount to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona is nearing completion of the McKinley Street Grade Separation Project (Project). The Project includes the construction of a 4-lane overhead grade separation with pre-cast panel/mechanically stabilized earth retaining wall systems over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) railroad crossing and Arlington Channel south of Sampson Avenue. Additional improvements include loop on-ramp, slip on-ramp, new loop road, and modifications to the State Route 91 eastbound off-ramp. The Project has been primarily funded by State Senate Bill 132, along with several other state and local funding sources.
During the course of construction, the City encountered structural steel shortages and unforeseen delays in the fabrication process of the bridge and moving of the bridge into place over the railroad tracks and adjacent channel. As a result of the delays and other circumstances, the City’s Project team reassessed the cost of completion of the Project and determined that additional funding was required to offset the estimated increase in the overall Project cost. Staff approached the Riverside County Transportation Commission which contributed $10 million toward the Project’s shortfall that was accepted by the City Council at its regular meeting in October 2, 2024 and also recommended the city reach out to the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) to pursue additional funding sources to balance the deficit.
ANALYSIS:
For the past twenty-five (25) years, WRCOG has administered the Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF) Program to make improvements to the regional transportation network within Riverside County. In August 2005, the City entered into a funding agreement with (WRCOG) that provided $1,630,600 to supplement the design and environmental phases of the Project. At its regular executive committee meeting on October 7, 2024, WRCOG approved an allocation of an additional $11,223,000 from the TUMF program to supplement construction and various program expenditures for the Project. The Third Amendment to the Funding Agreement is being amended for a total of $12,853,600 to be contributed for the Project.
This funding will provide the remaining amount necessary to complete the Project.
Approval of the recommended actions will provide revised available funding as follows:
Project Funding
Funding Source Amount
State Senate Bill 132 $84,450,000
Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) $10,300,000
Measure A Western County Regional Arterial (MARA) $9,889,692 City of Corona Measure X Funds $5,001,956
Section 190 Grade Separation Program $5,000,000
Local Measure A $4,025,000
Burlington North Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) Contributions $3,810,000 Highway Railroad Crossing Safety Crossing Account (HRCSA) $2,876,960 Transportation Development Act (TDA) $2,000,000
Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF) $12,853,600 Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) Cooperative Agreement $1,439,143 Development Impact Fees (DIF) – Drainage $1,000,000
Development Impact Fees (DIF) – Streets/Signals $1,000,000 Gas Tax $729,724
Road Maintenance Rehabilitation Accountability (RMRA) $500,000 SB 125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) $10,000,000 Total $154,876,075
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended action will result in an appropriation and estimated revenue increase in the amount of $11,223,00 million from the TUMF – WRCOG Fund 479 to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Public Resources Code Section 21080.13, all railroad grade separation projects that eliminate an existing at-grade crossing are exempt from the laws for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a grade separation project, the McKinley Street Grade Separation is statutorily exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Furthermore, the recommended actions are accepting a new funding source and appropriating the funding to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Project No. 2012-12, and there is no possibility that accepting the funding will have a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: ALAN ZHANG, SENIOR ENGINEER
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Third Amendment to the Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee Program Agreement
2. Exhibit 2 – WRCOG Executive Committee Staff Report for October 7, 2024