5 - Correspondence with Timothy Bray, Mn/DOT Project Manager

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The Honorable Cathy Malecha Mr. Tom Woog Mayor of Pequot Lakes Chairman, Pequot Lakes Planning Commission Page 2 March 9, 2007 It is our hope that after the study group's work is completed and a recommendation has been forwarded to the city council for consideration that another resolution stating its intentions may be adopted by the city council. The new document would ideally rescind the two previous resolutions and give Mn/DOT a clear indication on the City's alignment preference. After this is received, Mn/DOT will make a decision whether to officially change the preferred alternative. If a change is approved, Mn/DOT will then apply the appropriate funding and personnel resources needed to complete the rework of the EIS process. These environmental studies are typically very costly and Mn/DOT is concerned about the extra expenditure of funds that a change in the preferred alternative may cause. The process of doing so has the potential of being quite complex and costly. This depends largely on how far of a departure the new alignment is away from similar alternatives identified in the Draft EIS. Alternatives that have a large affect on the completed EIS process will be viewed as less favorable. One of the factors that initially led both the City and Mn/DOT to favor the through-town option over Alternative 4 during the EIS process was cost. Particularly of concern were the cost of the interchanges and overpasses associated with this option. Once the recent discussion of the alternate route was started, Mn/DOT revisited the need for these facilities in order to potentially reduce cost. The outcome of this evaluation revealed that not all of the interchanges are currently needed to achieve Mn/DOT's safety and capacity goals. The only interchange that was deemed necessary in the foreseeable future was at the intersection of County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 11 and Minnesota State Highway 371. At-grade crossings could be employed at the other locations. To further reduce the cost of this option, it was determined that only the right of way associated with this interchange would be purchased under this project. Construction of the actual interchange may be done some time in the future as the traffic levels warrant it. In a previous meeting, the city engineer and I discussed the concept of a Memorandum of Agreement or MOA and how it could be used to focus our efforts as we proceed. It is hoped that by initially agreeing to some basic terms the overall process of developing the alternative route will be reduced. I have created a draft of this document, which addresses the issue of access points, the spray irrigation field and other key items, that may serve as a good guideline. I will enclose a copy of this draft and understand that there may be a need for further discussion regarding the final language. Mn/DOT will approach the re-evaluation of an alternate route objectively; however, it will maintain the right to reject alternatives that are not financially feasible or are contrary to public safety. Mn/DOT will continue to support the study group process by drafting feasible alternatives, developing estimates based on Mn/DOT's cost participation policy and sharing information such as photos, maps and other helpful items.