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Page 1 of 3 Sandy Peine � From: Tim Houle [Tim.M.Houle@wsn.us.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 3:16 PM To: Sandy Peine Cc: Mike Loven; Mike Rude Subject: Pequot Lakes - Wildlife Trail Preliminary Assessment Hearing & Council Mtg follow-up Sandy, please share copies of this with the Mayor and Council. Thank you for the discussion last night on the above topic (there was much more we could have covered). I know Sandy provided information in your packets. I hope all of you had a chance to review that as well as take in the comments from last night. This is how I understood the possible approach of moving forward: The citizens take the study to a contractor or contractors and get bids / quotes and this is incorporated into the special assessment process. A side note: As indicated in the study on this possible project, please remember that there has not been a field survey performed. There is no cohesive design yet. The quantities and items of work in the study are estimated. While the intent is not to change the widths or do any clearing, even the proposed road widths were based off only one or two measurements and are somewhat preliminary (how do you really measure the edge of an existing gravel road?). �-- Special assessments follow a State Statute process, so the City may need to consult their City Attorney on this (I do not have a contract with Mr. Sandelin, and I cannot nor am I suggesting he do any work on this topic at this point). Short of delving into the State Statutes themselves, we reviewed some guidance documents on special assessments put out by the League of MN Cities. Somewhat step-by-step, they provide for the following: + Study: While we are done with this step, as we have indicated in the past, the study can be prepared by the City Engineer or other person with similar skills. + Resolution Ordering Improvement and Preparation of Plans: The guidance / example documents indicate an Engineer is designated. I also see where Staff can prepare the bidding documents. It does not say anything, one way or the other, about private citizens using / preparing plans. + Advertising for Bids: There are more provisions in this category than will fit here. However, the gist is that there are various competitive bidding and advertising procedures that the City must follow. From the guidance documents, these seem to exclude private citizens from getting bids / quotes. So, from the above, and again, maybe a review by the City Attorney is in order, but it does not appear citizens can go out and get bids / quotes that can subsequently be �-- used in the special assessment process. 1 /26/2011