Title
Intergovernmental Agreement with Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for the Rio Salado Oeste Project
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to complete work on a segment of the Rio Salado Oeste Habitat Restoration Project (Rio Salado Oeste). The City would not incur any expenditures to enter into the IGA with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, as Salt River Materials Group (SRMG) proposes to pay for all expenses associated with the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the proposed channel.
Report
Summary
Rio Salado Oeste is a habitat restoration project located along the Salt River from 19th Avenue to 83rd Avenue. In 2001, the City applied to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) lease to improve and manage the BLM property Rio Salado Oeste project area. In May of 2004, the R&PP lease was granted, and the City entered into a 25-year lease with the BLM for the 159.32 acres of BLM property within the overall Rio Salado Oeste project area.
Salt River Materials Group (SRMG) is owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and is a regional supplier of Portland cement, gypsum and fly ash products that is based in Phoenix. In 2016, SRMG approached the City with a proposal to advance development of a segment of Rio Salado Oeste near 67th Avenue by conducting preliminary grading activities as a foundation for a segment of the habitat restoration project envisioned in the City's R&PP Plan of Development.
In a Sept. 26, 2016 letter to the City, SRMG indicated plans to construct two trapezoidal channels to accommodate low flows, terraces, and infrastructure that are consistent with current plans for Rio Salado Oeste. Subsequent to SRMG’s preliminary letter, SRMG’s design team developed a single channel concept. This concept would be achieved via the integration of the south braid and the north braid of the River into a combined channel. The channel would be consistent with the engineering design of the sections of the Salt River to the east where the Rio Salado Phoenix project has already been constructed. Once grading is complete, SRMG would maintain the channel pursuant to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit and guidelines. Completion of infrastructure design and construction could be completed by the City at a later date, and in conformance with Rio Salado Oeste plans. This is a complex project that would require SRMG to work with the City, BLM and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to obtain appropriate permits and advance the project. The proposed project enables the City to advance a portion of the Rio Salado Oeste plan without additional funding. Many properties to the south of the project, which include an SRMG facility as well as other residential properties, would likely no longer fall within a designated floodplain area.
Financial Impact
The City would not incur any expenditures to enter into the IGA with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, as SRMG proposes to pay for all expenses associated with the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the proposed channel.
In 2006, the Corps completed a feasibility study for Rio Salado Oeste. This study estimated the cost for construction of the recreational amenities, access points and support facilities to be $12.3 million with an estimated $1.9 million annual operation and maintenance cost. The recently-updated Plan of Development prepared for BLM, which also included planning, engineering, design and other costs not included in the feasibility study conducted by the Corps, estimated the project cost at $81.8 million.
The City continues to anticipate a cost-sharing agreement with the Corps for the development of the full project when funding is available, resulting in the Corps paying 65 percent and the City paying 35 percent of the habitat and flood-control improvements. To date, the needed federal funding to advance the project has not been appropriated and the City has no plans or available funding for any portion of the project.
Benefits
With no certainty that federal funding will be forthcoming in the foreseeable future, SRMG’s proposal enables a positive step for the project to move forward with a portion of the long-term goal that habitat restoration eventually be realized. SRMG’s proposal indicates that maintenance of the habitat and the flood control facilities within this segment will be SRMG’s responsibility. The Parks and Recreation Department will have approval authority over all plans that involve habitat restoration, recreational amenities and public environmental facilities.
Next Steps
City staff will continue to work with SRMG on the proposal. The next step is for SRMG to work with the Corps to obtain appropriate permitting under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. SRMG will also need to work with the Bureau of Land Management to ensure they are in compliance with BLM requirements, as BLM is the lessor of the Rio Salado Oeste project area.
The City will to enter into an IGA with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to establish the standards of performance for the project in relation to:
1. The stipulation of the City’s lease with BLM;
2. The design and engineering specifications of successfully-completed segments of the Rio Salado Phoenix project upriver of 67th Avenue;
3. The substantive general and specific conditions of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act;
4. City of Phoenix Ordinance Chapter 32B regarding floodplains;
5. City of Phoenix Storm Water Policies and Standards Manual, 3rd Edition (December 2013);
6. Any stipulated maintenance requirements; and
7. Any related or other applicable requirements.
The City will support this effort through its Parks and Recreation, Streets Transportation, Planning and Development and Law departments, the Office of Environmental Programs and other City functions that may be needed to review plans, evaluate proposals and interface with other agencies.
Location
Rio Salado Oeste is a habitat restoration project located along the Salt River from 19th Avenue to 83rd Avenue.
Council District: 7
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval at the Parks, Arts, Education and Equality Subcommittee meeting on Sept. 27, 2017 by a vote of 3-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Deanna Jonovich and Mario Paniagua, and the Parks and Recreation and Street Transportation departments.