RECOMMENDATION:
That the November 8, 2005 report entitled “Bur Oak Avenue/Highway 7 Underground Crossing Agreement
with the Ministry of Transportation in the Cornell Community and Agreement with the Cornell Developers Group” be
received;
And that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to
execute an agreement to allow for the construction of the storm and sanitary sewers
and watermain across the Ministry of Transportation Hwy # 7 right-of-way at Bur
Oak Avenue in the Cornell Community subject to the conditions being
satisfactory to the C.A.O., the Director of Engineering and the Town
Solicitor;
And that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to
execute an agreement with the Cornell Developers Group to secure all costs and
permit requirements imposed by MTO to facilitate the construction and
maintenance of the storm and sanitary sewers and watermain across the Ministry
of Transportation Hwy # 7 right-of-way at Bur Oak Avenue subject to the satisfaction
of the C.A.O., the Director of Engineering and the Town Solicitor.
And that the Minister of Transportation be requested to expedite the approval of the permit for the storm,
sanitary and watermain crossings under Hwy #7 at Bur Oak Avenue.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s
approval to enter into two agreements.
Firstly, an agreement with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
(MTO) to satisfy the Ministry’s requirements to permit the construction of the
storm sewer, sanitary sewer and watermain crossings under Hwy #7 at Bur Oak
Avenue in the Cornell Community. The second
agreement is with the Cornell Developers Group to secure all financial,
insurance, legal and other guarantees and conditions required under the
agreement with the MTO.
In addition, this report advises Council of the
Town’s obligations with respect to the future ownership and long-term
maintenance of the storm, sanitary and watermain crossings under Hwy # 7.
BACKGROUND:
The following underground crossings are
required to be constructed under Hwy # 7 at the future intersection with Bur Oak Avenue. This portion of Hwy # 7 is still under the
jurisdiction of the MTO. The proposed
crossings are illustrated on Figure 1:
Storm Sewer Crossing
A stormwater management pond (Pond “B”) which
drains the lands north of Hwy # 7 along the future Bur Oak Avenue is
located on the south side of Highway 7.
This pond has been constructed and has been conveyed to the Town. A large diameter storm sewer will be
constructed with the Bur
Oak Avenue
roadway that will drain the proposed developments along Bur Oak Avenue, north of Hwy #7. This storm sewer
requires the construction of a large box culvert under Hwy #7 to provide an
outlet to the drainage channel existing on the south side of Hwy #7 with drains
to Pond “B”.
Sanitary Sewer Crossing
The sanitary sewer crossing at Hwy # 7 will allow
the development north of Hwy # 7 to be drained to the 9th Line Regional
Sanitary Trunk Sewer (YDSS) via H&R Development lands south of Highway 7.
Watermain Crossing
The Hwy # 7 watermain crossing is required to connect
development proposed on the south side of Hwy # 7 to the new watermain to be
constructed along with Bur
Oak Avenue.
DISCUSSION:
On June 21, 2005,
Council adopted the report entitled, “Cornell Community – Bur Oak Avenue
Extension to Highway 7” in which Council granted the Cornell Developers Group
an extension to the completion deadline for the Bur Oak Avenue
roadway from Highway 7 to Church
Street. The new deadline as approved by Council is July 31, 2006. This road project is needed to
provide an additional access to the Cornell Community. Included with the roadway construction works
is the installation of the underground municipal services under the Bur Oak Avenue
right-of-way and the crossings under Hwy # 7.
Council also authorized the execution of an agreement to facilitate the
construction and dedication of the roadway to the Town and to ensure that all
financial and legal issues are in place to protect the Town and to ensure
compliance with Town requirements.
Staff and the engineering consultant for the
Cornell Developers Group (Marshall Macklin Monaghan) have been working over the
last ten months to obtain a permit from the MTO to permit the construction and
operation of the municipal crossings. The MTO staff have advised that they are in
agreement in principle with issuing a permit subject to the Town agreeing to taking
ownership of the crossing infrastructure and entering into an encroachment
agreement. MTO has forwarded to the
Town a draft crossing agreement which is attached for reference as Schedule
“A”. Legal and Engineering staff are in the
process of reviewing the draft crossing agreement to ensure the terms and
conditions are satisfactory to the Town.
The draft agreement (Attachment ‘A’) with the
MTO outlines the Town’s ownership and long-term maintenance obligations for the
underground crossings. All costs associated with the construction and execution
of the agreement with MTO will be paid for by the Cornell Developers’
Group. The agreement between the Town
and MTO contains conditions and obligations relating to the following:
- The Town will own and be responsible for the maintenance and repair
of the crossings in perpetuity;
- The MTO will not be responsible for any costs related to the
construction or maintenance of the crossings;
- Payment of administrative and inspection costs to the MTO;
- Requirements for traffic control;
- Financial guarantees
- Indemnification, liability and insurance requirements.
To protect the interests of the Town and to
ensure that all costs and construction requirements imposed on the Town by the
MTO are guaranteed by the Cornell Developers Group, it is necessary to enter
into an agreement with the Cornell Developers Group. This agreement will ensure that all costs, permit requirements, short-term maintenance,
financial, insurance, legal and indemnity obligations are transferred to the
Cornell Developers Group.
In order to meet the project deadline of July 31, 2006, staff are seeking approval from Council for
authority to enter into the noted agreements prior to the completion of the
agreements. The terms of the agreements shall be subject to the approval of the
C.A.O., the Director of Engineering and the Town Solicitor. The
consultant engineers have advised that the length of time to receive a permit
from MTO has been much longer than originally estimated. It is imperative that a permit be received in
November 2005 or the project completion date will be in jeopardy and may be
delayed to August or September 2006.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no immediate financial implications
however there will be long-term maintenance costs that will be borne by the
Town for the municipal infrastructure.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Operations and Asset Management and Legal
Departments have reviewed the report.
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 – Location Map
Attachment ‘A’ Draft Crossing Agreement
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Alan Brown, C.E.T.
Director of Engineering
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
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Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2005\Oct\Bur oak
Avenue Highway 7 Underground Agreement with the Ministry of Transportation
101805.doc
