History: Resolution 17-0207 on June 13, 2017 approved the assumption of certain unpaid funding commitments for the METRO Green Line project (CP #1005876), the assumption of the 2017 Capital Grant Agreement (CTIB #01-2017-01/Met Council #17I007) with the Metropolitan Council for the METRO Green Line Extension, and the imposition of the 0.5% sales and use tax and $20 motor vehicle excise tax (the “Transportation Tax”) that will be the primary source of funds for Hennepin County contributions to the project. Through these and other actions, Hennepin County agreed to take responsibility for the 30% share of project funding formerly committed by the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) and the 10% share formerly anticipated from the State of Minnesota.

Resolution 17-0436 on October 24, 2017 approved Amendment 2 to the 2017 CTIB Capital Grant Agreement, and Resolution 18-0091 on March 13, 2018 approved Amendment 3 to the same agreement. These two amendments erroneously referred to the 2017 Capital Grant Agreement as Agreement A177881. That agreement number was assigned to the Agreement for the Assignment and Assumption of the 2017 CTIB Capital Grant Agreement. The 2017 CTIB Capital Grant Agreement has since been assigned agreement number A177882A. This Board Action Request would accordingly correct the Board Action Request for Amendment 3 by substituting the correct agreement number (A177881A).

Extending the contract date from May 31, 2018 to August 31, 2018 will require increasing the contract not to exceed amount by $4,431,427 and increasing the amount of identified matching funds from Hennepin County by $4,219,863. The HCRRA will consider a companion amendment to its cooperative funding agreement to increase the contract amount by $4,219,863. In total, these amendments will add $12,871,153 in contract authority to the two agreements. During the time period of June 1, 2018 through August 31, 2018, the proposed disbursement schedule would allow cash disbursements from CTIB, Hennepin County, and HCRRA in an amount up to $49,165,460. These disbursements will be subject to certain review and approval procedures provided for in the agreements. This amount includes approximately $27.5 million for the purchase of the Bass Lake Spur rail corridor from Canadian Pacific Railway, the closing on which will not move forward except subject to certain conditions, including a favorable decision at the federal Surface Transportation Board.

Approximately $42 million of CTIB grant funding remains available. Until these funds are exhausted, they will be used to pay a 60% share of project costs under the 2017 CTIB Capital Grant Agreement (A177881A). Hennepin County is currently providing a 20% share of project costs, with HCRRA providing the remaining 20%. CTIB grant funding is currently anticipated to last into September 2018. When CTIB funding is exhausted, Hennepin County will be responsible for the former CTIB share of project costs.

Current Request: Amendment 4 to Agreement A177881A with the Metropolitan Council for METRO Green Line Extension (CP #1005876), extending the contract term to August 31, 2018, increasing the maximum grant amount by $4,431,427 to a new total of $184,266,258, with certain conditions, and increasing the amount of Hennepin County matching funds by $4,219,863 to $50,960,328.

Impact/Outcomes: Amendment 4 to Agreement A177881A will support ongoing METRO Green Line Extension engineering work in preparation for the Metropolitan Council's application for a full funding grant agreement.