Title
Charlotte Gateway Station Project Agreements
Action
Action:
A. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Construction Agreement between the City, Norfolk Southern Railroad (NSR) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for the Charlotte Gateway Station (CGS) Project,
B. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Maintenance Agreement between the City, Norfolk Southern Railroad (NSR) and NCDOT for the CGS Project, and
C. Adopt a budget ordinance appropriating $30,000,000 in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant funds and $1,750,000 from Municipal Debt Service Fund Balance.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
John Lewis, CATS
John Muth, CATS
Brian Nadolny, CATS
Explanation
§ The CGS Project which is part of the 2030 Transit System Plan is the future rail passenger and bus station embedded in a newly created mixed-use development district in Uptown Charlotte. The rail and bus components will include:
- Inter-city Passenger Rail (Amtrak/NCDOT),
- Inter-city Bus (Greyhound and other inter-city carriers),
- Future Commuter Rail Services (NCDOT or CATS),
- Modern Streetcar (CityLYNX Gold Line), and
- Regional Express and Local Bus (CATS).
§ In 2015, the FRA selected the City to receive $30 million in grant funding for Phases 1a and 1b of the CGS project. Total project costs for Phase 1 are estimated to be approximately $90 million.
§ On May 22, 2017, City Council adopted three resolutions authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute three agreements required by the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant:
- Grant agreement and supporting documents as recipient of Fiscal Year 2015 TIGER discretionary funding from the FRA in an amount up to $30 million for the CGS,
- Revised municipal agreement between the City and the NCDOT for the CGS, and
- Framework agreement between the City, NSR, and the NCDOT for the CGS project.
§ The 2015 TIGER Grant was executed on August 17, 2017 and is now ready to be appropriated.
§ The CGS will be completed in phases, using federal and state grant funding along with public private partnerships. Phases 1a and 1b are fully funded.
§ The current phases of the project include:
- Phase 1a: Track, structures and signals, and
- Phase 1b: Intercity passenger rail platform and supporting improvements.
§ Future phases of the project include:
- Phase 2a: Multi-modal passenger station in Uptown Charlotte and commencement of Amtrak passenger service at the new station,
- Phase 2b: Removal/decommissioning of the existing Amtrak Station on North Tryon Street, and
- Phase 3: Bus facilities and transit oriented development.
§ Agreements are required to be executed by the three parties (City, NCDOT, and NSR) for the bidding process for Phase 1a and 1b construction to begin.
Action A: Construction Agreement with NSR and NCDOT
§ Authorizes the City Manager to negotiate and execute a construction agreement between the City, NCDOT, and NSR as required in order to access and perform construction work within NSR’s right of way.
§ NCDOT will be responsible for most of the construction work, to include both the demolition of existing bridges and track and construction of the bridges, platform, canopy, station concourse, railroad roadbed, and related activities.
§ NSR will be responsible for the construction of the rail turnouts to their Main Line, station tracks, and track control signals for the project, as well as provide flagging and inspections for project work completed by both NCDOT and NSR.
§ The City will perform inspection and approval of the facilities constructed by NCDOT and NSR, fund all maintenance related to the CGS, and relocate affected private utilities.
Action B: Maintenance Agreement with NSR and NCDOT
§ Authorizes the City Manager to negotiate and execute a maintenance agreement between the City, NCDOT, and NSR as required in order to access and perform construction work within NSR’s right of way.
§ Norfolk Southern will assume operation and regular maintenance, inspection, and repair of existing infrastructure within the limits of the CGS tracks.
§ The City will compensate NSR annually for performance of routine maintenance and for any extraordinary maintenance per the terms of the agreement.
Action C: Budget Ordinance
§ Recognizes and appropriates $30,000,000 in Federal Railroad Administration grant funds from a 2015 TIGER award. The TIGER Discretionary Grant program provides a unique opportunity for the United States Department of Transportation to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives.
§ Recognizes and appropriates $1,750,000 in Municipal Debt Service Fund Balance as a short term loan until permanent financing can be arranged. Once debt financing is obtained the original loan amount will revert back to fund balance.
Fiscal Note
Funding: General Community Investment Plan, leveraging State and Federal grants
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Map of Project Area
Budget Ordinance