BE IT RESOLVED, that the County Administrator be authorized to negotiate Agreement A2211282 with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) for conveyance of the necessary rights for a segment of County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 48 (Minnehaha Avenue) from 54th Street to the Trunk Highway (TH) 55 south terminus in the unorganized territory of Fort Snelling; that following the review and approval by the County Attorney's Office, the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the County; and that following review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office and the County Surveyor’s Office, county staff be authorized to record any real estate documents related to this action; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the road generally described as follows, to-wit: beginning at the junction of Minnehaha Avenue and 54th Street, thence continuing along the centerline of Minnehaha Avenue southeasterly approximately a distance of 0.44 miles to the point of intersection of the centerline of Minnehaha Avenue and the southern junction of TH 55 and there terminating, be and hereby is, designated as a Hennepin County State Aid Highway No. 48 subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Transportation of the State of Minnesota. 

With the construction of the new TH 55 alignment in 2002, the old TH 55 segment (Minnehaha Avenue) between the north and south junctions of the new TH 55 was removed from the state highway system.

Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, and MnDOT discussed transferring jurisdiction of the roadway from MnDOT to the county and the city as the result of the Hiawatha Avenue Corridor Light Rail Transit construction (see Exhibit A).

The City of Minneapolis agreed to accept the jurisdiction of Minnehaha Avenue from the north junction of new TH 55 to 54th Street. Jurisdiction from 54th Street to the south junction of new TH 55 was intended to become Hennepin County’s.

Staff is working with MnDOT State Aid to designate this section of Minnehaha Avenue as a county state aid highway, which would be eligible to collect regular state aid funds in accordance with state aid rules.

It was recently discovered that MnDOT currently does not have recorded rights for the entire roadway and that additional rights will be needed from the VA; therefore, the transfer has not occurred to date. This year, Hennepin County, MnDOT, Minneapolis and the VA (representing the Fort Snelling site) resumed transfer discussions.

Current Request: This request seeks to negotiate Agreement A2211282 with MnDOT and the VA and record any real estate documents needed for Hennepin County to obtain the necessary rights for jurisdiction of this section of Minnehaha Avenue.

Impacts/Outcomes: Authorization to execute Agreement A2211282 and record any related real estate documents will result in Hennepin County receiving the necessary rights for this section of Minnehaha Avenue (new CSAH 48).