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TO: |
Board of Trustees |
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THROUGH: |
Jay Fox, Executive Director |
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FROM: |
David Hancock, Chief Capital Services Officer |
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PRESENTER(S): |
Paul Drake, Director of Real Estate & TOC |
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Spencer Burgoyne, Manager of Property Administration |
TITLE:
title
Contract: Stipulation for Final Judgment - OGX Parcels 155-158 (Lex Rex Investments, LLC)
end
AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Non-Procurement Agreement
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute disbursement for a stipulation for final judgment for the partial acquisition of the Lex Rex Investments, LLC property for the Ogden-Weber State Bus Rapid Transit Project (OGX).
BACKGROUND:
UTA is finalizing the purchase of a 5.3-mile corridor for the OGX BRT Project, connecting the Ogden FrontRunner station to Weber State University and McKay Dee Hospital. The project required a strip of land, a perpetual utility easement, and a temporary construction easement from a property at 3151 South Harrison Boulevard, Ogden. The property, owned by Lex Rex Investments, LLC, includes a multi-tenant retail center built between 1960-1968, with acquisitions impacting its frontage on Harrison Boulevard.
UTA initially offered $251,600 for the necessary acquisitions based on a May 2021 appraisal. The owner disputed the valuation, citing severance damages due to reduced parking and loss of rentable space. UTA proposed a cost-to-cure solution to maintain parking capacity, but negotiations failed. In September 2021, the UTA Board approved petitioning UDOT to exercise eminent domain.
In February 2022, Lex Rex signed a Right of Entry and Occupancy Agreement, allowing the project to proceed while negotiations continued, with the initial offer placed in escrow. Subsequent appraisals commissioned by the owner valued the property at $315,000, $989,000, and later $1,397,600, while UTA’s court appraisal concluded a value of $485,000.
A court-ordered mediation in December 2024 led to a settlement at $839,000, avoiding trial. After four years of negotiations, the UDOT Assistant Attorney General and Lex Rex have drafted a Stipulation for Final Judgment, pending UTA Board approval and FTA concurrence. The UTA Assistant Attorney General has authored a legal opinion to the FTA Regional Administrator supporting the administrative settlement amount of $587,400.00 which is the difference between the total just compensation amount of $839,000 and the original appraisal amount of $251,600.00. The FTA concurrence has been received and is attached to this memo.
DISCUSSION:
Project construction is complete. However, UTA needs to settle this acquisition to close out the FTA grant.
CONTRACT SUMMARY:
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Contractor Name: |
Lex Rex Investments, LLC |
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Contract Number: |
25-P00454 |
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Base Contract Effective Dates: |
N/A |
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Extended Contract Dates: |
N/A |
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Existing Contract Value: |
N/A |
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Amendment Amount: |
N/A |
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New/Total Contract Value: |
$839,000 |
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Procurement Method: |
N/A |
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Budget Authority: |
Approved 2025 Capital Budget |
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ALTERNATIVES:
The consequences of not moving forward with this purchase include litigation costs and the possibility that the courts may approve a higher award and relocation benefits to the owner.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The OGX BRT project budget for 2025 is $6 million. This project is included in the UTA 2025 Capital Budget and the approved UTA 5-year Capital Plan. The cost of this property agreement, $839,000, is within the project budget.
ATTACHMENTS:
1) Stipulation for Final Judgment
2) FTA Concurrence