City Council Minutes 2021 02 02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 2021 Page 5 of 7 Director Kowar reviewed last year's idea for artwork for medians. There was not a huge interest in artwork for the medians so at this point staff has filled in these areas with crusher fines. Staff needs direction on if these areas should be maintained as crusher fines or hardscape. Council directed staff to replace the soft surface with hardscape. Public Comments — None. DISCUSSION/DIRECTION — UTILITY LINE UNDERGROUNDING PRIORITIES & USE OF XCEL 1% FUND Assistant City Manager Hogan stated the City's franchise agreement with Xcel requires that the company budget and allocate 1 % of the preceding year's electric gross revenues for Louisville to bury existing overhead facilities underground. As of June 30, 2020, the 1 % fund has a balance of $2,355,073. To use the 1 % fund, the City must select projects with distribution or feeder utility lines (low or medium power) that are located in the right- of-way and are at least 750 feet in length. In 2017, staff developed a map of overhead utility lines throughout the city to identify potential projects for use of the Xcel 1 % undergrounding fund. At that time the Utility Committee recommended the City use the 1 % fund for projects that would improve service reliability. Xcel then identified top priorities to improve service reliability and the State Highway 42/Griffith undergrounding was chosen to move forward in 2019. However, the project was placed on hold due to costs of including Comcast's lines in the project. Currently Xcel is recommending a different set of projects as current priorities as some of issues from 2019 have now been addressed and the SH42/Griffith project is no longer a top priority for service reliability for Xcel. 809 Main Street is a new potential priority in 2020. It is for the alley right-of-way between Main and Lafarge for the 700 and 800 blocks. It is one of the only locations in downtown with a significant number of commercial properties being serviced by overhead lines and the alley has a number of non -conforming elements within the right-of-way. Completing this project will bring this area into further compliance with the Downtown Design Guidelines. Staff recommends continuing to look into the project at 809 Main as there are potential benefits related to economic development, service reliability, and aesthetics. There may also be an opportunity for partial funding from the Revitalization Commission. Staff suggests that Council consider an undergrounding policy to help determine the use of the 1 % fund for future projects. If a policy is adopted, staff could prioritize projects as they are identified and bring forward construction contracts with Xcel to City Council for approval. Hogan reviewed potential criteria for prioritization.