Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

 

CC:

Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager

 

Date:

 

April 15, 2009

RE:

BNSF Depot Update

 

The City has recently received a response from the BNSF regarding its letter requesting transfer of the BNSF depot to the City.  The letter specifies several steps that the City will need to take in order to secure acquisition of the depot.  Based upon the letter, it appears that the following would be appropriate next steps, many of which may proceed concurrently, for the City regarding acquisition of the depot:

 

1.     Secure an appraisal for the building.  An MAI certified appraisal is required.  I have received quotes from the two MAI appraisers in Lawrence.  I would recommend proceeding with Ron Aul at a cost of $1500 and a timeframe of three weeks. 

2.     Clarify with Amtrak the scope of its ADA and signage improvements.  Recently, Amtrak announced that the BNSF depot would receive $600,000 in ADA improvements and over $50,000 in signage improvements.  The scope of these improvements should be identified to see what Amtrak intends to fund since the $600,000 for ADA improvements exceeds Amtrak’s original ADA improvement estimates. 

3.     Letter to BNSF donation committee.  A letter needs to be submitted to the BNSF donation committee that outlines the reasons for the donation and the benefit to BNSF. I will draft this letter and plan to include that the City wishes to work with Depot Redux in order to secure grants and other funding to restore the depot.  The City has an interest in having a clean, attractive facility for Amtrak passengers and also wants to be prepared for any passenger rail expansion opportunities that may occur in the future that would benefit Lawrence.  The key benefit to BNSF is that they would not be required to address costly deferred maintenance items at the depot and also that their staff would have an improved structure in which to work.

4.     Begin review of draft documents.  Secure draft bill of sale, standard BNSF real estate donation agreement, and other applicable documents from BNSF to review.  Get clarification from BNSF on environmental liability indemnification.

5.     Begin discussions on Lease with BNSF and Amtrak.  Begin process of clarifying terms with BNSF and Amtrak regarding the lease back of the facility once it is owned by the City.  Begin a draft lease document.  It would be the intention of the City to have BNSF and Amtrak pay their appropriate share of utilities, maintenance, etc. in order to make the lease as cost-neutral to the City as possible.

6.     Pay the document preparation fee.  BNSF requires $2000 paid to Jones Lang LaSalle for document preparation.

7.     Survey of ground lease area.  Identify area for the ground lease and provide survey to BNSF.

8.     Secure architectural services to evaluate the structure, prepare costs and develop a project that can be submitted to grant agencies.  A comprehensive structural analysis has not been performed.  The City should proceed with procuring the assistance of an architectural professional familiar with historic structures and renovation to evaluate the structure and develop cost estimates for an improvement project that can be submitted to grant agencies for possible funding. The more detailed this estimate and information is, the higher a grant application will be weighted.  However, construction drawings would not be necessary until after the City would be notified of a grant award.  Also, depending upon the amount of work involved, any project could be broken down into phases in order to prioritize any necessary work with the first phase and highest priority being elements that preserve the integrity of the structure, such as the roof replacement.

 

Summary of Estimated City Costs:

          MAI Appraisal                            $1500

          Document Prep Fee                     $2000

          Survey                                                would attempt to complete in-house

          Architectural expense                  need to get cost estimates

 

$3500 known plus possible survey and architectural expense

 

Transportation Enhancement (TE) Funds:

As you know, the depot roof project was not funded through the special American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding round earlier this year.  However, I have received notification from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) that another round of TE funding may be available for federal fiscal years 2011 and 2012.  This funding is dependent upon passage of a new highway bill.  KDOT is planning a grant workshop in Topeka on August 11 and I plan to attend.  I understand that project applications for TE funding would be due in November for potential awards in May 2010.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.