Form revised December 4, 2006

FISCAL NOTE FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS ONLY

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	DOF Analyst/Phone:
Seattle Department of Transportation	Larry Huggins  684-5001	Stephen Barham 733-9084

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE relating to the Mercer Corridor Project; authorizing the Director of  Transportation to acquire all of the property rights necessary for reconstructing the existing Mercer Street/Valley Street couplet with a widened two-way Mercer Street and a reduction of lanes on Valley Street between Interstate 5 (I-5) and Dexter Avenue; and authorizing acquisition of real property rights within the area bounded by Aloha Street on the north and Republican Street on the south through negotiation and use of eminent domain (condemnation); and authorizing payment of all other costs associated with the acquisition.

Summary and background of the Legislation:

This proposed legislation authorizes the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to acquire real property necessary for completion of the Mercer Corridor Project as envisioned below.

The Seattle City Council adopted Resolution 30610 in 2003 setting forth priorities to support redevelopment of the South Lake Union area including making transportation improvements to reconnect the South Lake Union street grid and promote connections with downtown and the Seattle Center, and promoting pedestrian-oriented improvements.  Furthermore, the Council adopted Resolution 30714 in 2004, recommending a two-way Mercer Boulevard and narrowed Valley Street be developed, subject to a Full NEPA Environmental Assessment.

Replacing the existing Mercer Street/Valley Street couplet with a widened two-way Mercer Street would provide more direct access to and from Interstate 5 (I-5). Mercer Street would be widened primarily to the north, and Valley Street would be narrowed to a two-lane street with parking and bicycle lanes in each direction. Pedestrian and bicycle circulation would be improved by widening sidewalks and removing barriers caused by the existing couplet, providing additional crossings of Mercer and Valley Streets.

Project Name:	Project I.D.	Project Location:	Start Date:	End Date
Mercer Corridor	TC365500	south end of Lake Union	1^st Qtr 1999	4^th Qtr 2010

· Please check any of the following that apply:

____ This legislation creates, funds, or anticipates a new CIP Project. (Please note whether the current CIP is being amended through this ordinance, or provide the Ordinance or Council Bill number of the separate legislation that has amended/is amending the CIP.)

____ This legislation does not have any financial implications. (Stop here and delete the remainder of this document prior to saving and printing.)

___X_ This legislation has financial implications. (Please complete all relevant sections that follow.) 

Appropriations:  This table should reflect appropriations that are a direct result of this legislation.  In the event that the projects associated with this ordinance have appropriations that were, or will be, received because of previous or future legislation or budget actions, please provide details in the Notes section below.  Finally, if this legislation does not directly change an appropriation, but results in budget authority being moved within a Budget Control Level, or to a Budget Control Level (up to 10%), please explain in the Notes section below.

Fund Name and Number	Department	Budget Control Level*	2007 Appropriation	2008 Anticipated Appropriation
TOTAL

*See budget book to obtain the appropriate Budget Control Level for your department.

Notes:  Appropriations to support this legislation were made in the Adopted 2007 Budget as modified by Ordinance 122417.  Any additional appropriation will be made as part of the adoption of the 2008 Budget.

Spending Plan and Future Appropriations for Capital Projects:  Please list the timing of anticipated appropriation authority requests and expected spending plan.  In addition, please identify your cost estimate methodology including inflation assumptions, the projected costs of meeting applicable LEED standards, and the percent for art and design as appropriate.

Spending Plan and Budget	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Total
Spending Plan
Current Year Appropriation
Future Appropriations

Notes: The spending plan and future anticipated appropriations are in the Adopted 2007 Budget as modified by Ordinance 122417.  Any future additions or changes will be made as part of the adoption of the 2008 Budget.

Funding source: Identify funding sources including revenue generated from the project and the expected level of funding from each source.

Funding Source (Fund Name and Number, if applicable)	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Total
Transportation Funding Package – Parking Tax
Interfund Loan
Regional Transportation Investment District Funds
Transportation Funding Package – Bonds
To Be Determined
TOTAL

Notes:  Funding sources to support this legislation are in the Adopted 2007 Budget and in Ordinance 122417.  Any future additions or changes will be made as part of the adoption of the 2008 Budget.

Bond Financing Required: If the project or program requires financing, please list type of financing, amount, interest rate, term and annual debt service or payment amount.  Please include issuance costs of 3% in listed amount.

Type	Amount	Assumed Interest Rate	Term	Timing	Expected Annual Debt Service/Payment
TOTAL

Bond financing sources to support this legislation will be accomplished as part of the adoption of the 2008 Budget. 

Uses and Sources for Operation and Maintenance Costs for the Project: Estimate cost of one-time startup, operating and maintaining the project over a six year period and identify each fund source available.  Estimate the annual savings of implementing the LEED Silver standard.  Identify key assumptions such as staffing required, assumed utility usage and rates and other potential drivers of the facility’s cost.

O&M	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Total
Uses
Start Up
On-going
Sources (itemize)

Notes:  Not applicable.

Periodic Major Maintenance costs for the project: Estimate capital cost of performing periodic maintenance over life of facility.  Please identify major work items, frequency.

Major Maintenance Item	Frequency	Cost	Likely Funding Source
TBD
TOTAL

Funding sources for replacement of project:  Identify possible and/or recommended method of financing the project replacement costs.

Not applicable.

Total Regular Positions Created Or Abrogated Through This Legislation, Including FTE Impact:  This table should only reflect the actual number of positions created by this legislation  In the event that positions have been, or will be, created as a result of previous or future legislation or budget actions, please provide details in the Notes section below the table.

Position Title and Department*		Fund Name	Fund Number	Part-Time/ Full Time	2007 Positions	2007 FTE	2008 Positions**	2008 FTE**
	N/A
	TOTAL

*   List each position separately

** 2008 positions and FTE are total 2008 position changes resulting from this legislation, not incremental changes. Therefore, under 2008, please be sure to include any continuing positions from 2007.

Notes:

· Do positions sunset in the future?  (If yes, identify sunset date): N/A

· What is the financial cost of not implementing the legislation: (Estimate the costs to the City of not implementing the legislation, including estimated costs to maintain or expand an existing facility or the cost avoidance due to replacement of an existing facility, potential conflicts with regulatory requirements, or other potential costs if the legislation is not implemented):

If the legislation is not implemented, significant modifications to the Mercer Corridor Project would be required, which would increase the scope, schedule and budget beyond current levels of funding.

Delay in the ability to acquire right-of-way may ultimately increase costs due to inflation and an increasingly competitive bidding climate driven, in part, by a large volume of regional construction work anticipated in the next few years.

Property acquisition is critical to timely completion of the Project.  The current schedule and cost estimates are based upon completion of the design and right-of-way acquisition work by the end of 2008 in order to begin construction during the 1^st Quarter of 2009.

· What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives (Include any potential alternatives to the proposed legislation, including using an existing facility to fulfill the uses envisioned by the proposed project, adding components to or subtracting components from the total proposed project, contracting with an outside organization to provide the services the proposed project would fill, or other alternatives):

None.

· Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements: (If yes, what public hearings have been held to date, and/or what plans are in place to hold a public hearing(s) in the future?)

A CLEAN Hearing was held in 2004.  No further hearings are anticipated.

· Other Issues (including long-term implications of the legislation):

Please list attachments to the fiscal note below: