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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 02-27 City Council Workshop Packet*Times Listed Are Approximate AGENDA MAPLEWOOD CITY COUNCIL MANAGER WORKSHOP 5:15 P.M. Monday, February 27, 2012 Council Chambers, City Hall A. CALL TO ORDER B. ROLL CALL C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA D. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Maplewood Trash Plan a. Update on Implementation Process E. NEW BUSINESS 1. Discussion on Labor Negotiation Strategy a. Declaration of Intent to Close Meeting F. ADJOURNMENT THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Agenda Item D.1. MEMORANDUM TO: James Antonen, City Manager FROM: Shann Finwall, AICP, Environmental Planner SUBJECT: Maplewood Trash Plan - Update on Implementation Process DATE: February 22, 2012 for the February 27 City Council Meeting INTRODUCTION Service for the City’s new residential trash collection plan will begin October 1, 2012. The new plan was authorized by the City Council on November 28, 2011, when the Contract with Allied Waste Services was approved. The plan involves trash pick up for single family residential homes, with townhome and manufactured home developments able to opt into the plan. DISCUSSION Trash Carts Since the City Council’s authorization to purchase trash carts through a cooperative purchasing company on February 13, City staff has received quotes from four of the major cart manufacturers. Based on an analysis of all four quotes received, Otto Environmental Systems N.A., Inc., has submitted a quote which will offer Maplewood the best price and value. City staff will request authorization to purchase the trash carts during the February 27 City Council meeting. Springsted, the City’s financial advisors, recommend that the City purchase trash carts through the issuance of Equipment Certificates. Equipment Certificates can be issued for up to ten years in length. The City will pay down the certificates with the proposed trash cart fee. The trash cart fee was originally estimated at approximately 75 cents per month per household. The current estimate for this fee has been reduced due to actual cart prices coming in below the original amounts budgeted. The Finance Department will bring the Equipment Certificate issue before the City Council in March or April, with funds available in either May or June. This will allow the City to place the final cart order in by July 1, with cart delivery in September. Once the trash cart purchase is authorized, City staff will work with Allied and Otto on the creation of a mail and web-based survey to all eligible Maplewood residents to ask them to select a trash cart size. The survey will be mailed to all eligible single family households and displayed on the City’s website. It will describe the trash cart sizes and service levels available in the plan. It will request that residents chose a cart size and service level, and submit their preference via mail or the web-based survey. Prior to the survey, the City will display the trash carts and size options at City Hall, Community Center, Ramsey County Library, and other public buildings. The current schedule plans for this survey to take place starting in March or April. Residents who fail to complete the survey prior to the City’s final cart order will be supplied the default cart size of 95 gallons. A process will be put in place to allow for the exchange of the initial carts after a six-month period to accommodate residents who chose to switch cart sizes. After the initial cart exchange period, the contract with Allied allows residents to change out cart sizes once every year at no additional fee. Packet Page Number 1 of 5 2 Eligible manufactured and townhome developments will also be mailed information on the Maplewood Trash Plan. The mailing will include a process for allowing these developments to opt into the plan. Once the residents’ cart sizes have been established, the City will place the cart purchase order with Otto. Delivery of the carts will take place in stages over a three-week period in September starting approximately September 10. The City will work with Allied to help plan the storage, staging, and delivery of the new carts to the residents. The City will work with the existing haulers to ensure they pick up their existing old carts. A process will also be in place for the pick up of unclaimed old carts from the residents’ homes. This process will provide opportunities for the existing haulers to pick up unclaimed old carts. Solid Waste Management Ordinance The City’s solid waste management ordinance (Chapter 30) was adopted 1997. The ordinance provides for a subscription trash hauling system which allowed residents to hire any City- licensed trash hauler to collect and dispose of their trash. The City currently has nine residentially licensed trash haulers. The new Maplewood Trash Plan organizes residential trash collection such that one hauler is contracted for residential trash services. The City’s solid waste management ordinance needs to be amended to reflect the new trash plan and waste reduction goals. The Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR) Commission began their review of the ordinance amendments on February 16, 2012. The ENR Commission will continue their review in March and April. The first and second reading of the ordinance amendments are tentatively scheduled with the City Council in May. In addition to amending the ordinance to reflect a one hauler contracted system, the ENR Commission is reviewing other amendments as follows: • Trash cart rates – monthly fee to cover cost of City-owned carts. • Contractor rate changes – City Council review of yearly price adjustors. • Collection schedule – day-certain trash and recycling pick up. • Levels of trash service – new cart sizes and service levels. • Cart operations by residents – cart set out times, placement, and care. • Yard waste – procedures and instructions for yard waste collection. • Opt in – procedures for allowing townhome and manufactured home developments opt into the plan. • Shared trash pick up – allow residents with minimal trash to share trash carts and service. • Opt out – procedure for allowing residents who have an environmentally responsible alternative of disposing of trash to opt out of the plan (e.g.., own a business where they pay for trash service). • Bad debt/delinquent accounts – process for collecting past due trash hauling fees. • Future organics program – collection of food waste. • Future pay as you throw program – modified variable rate schedule to promote more recycling. • Other waste reduction goals. Packet Page Number 2 of 5 3 In drafting the new ordinance amendments, the authority to adopt some of the detailed operations and resident instructions will be delegated to the City Manager or his or her designee in the form of rules (e.g., how/where to place the trash cart at the curb line to provide for efficient automated collection operations). These detailed instructions will be brought before the City Council for approval, but do not need to be included in the ordinance itself. Consulting Assistance Ramsey County authorized up to 150 hours of professional consulting time for implementing the Trash Plan. This represents approximately $23,000 of consulting assistance through the County’s Public Entities Recycling/Solid Waste Technical Assistance Program. The County funded $10,000 of the City’s trash collection system analysis in 2011, and has authorized the additional funding as a way to help the City and the County meet its waste reduction and recycling goals. The City will continue to work with Dan Krivit of Foth Infrastructure and Environment, LLC on the implementation of the Maplewood Trash Plan. A majority of this work will be funded through with the County’s consulting assistance authorization. Every effort is being made to maximize the value of consultant services and keep costs as low as possible. Clean Up Events The Maplewood Spring Clean-Up event is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Aldrich Arena, 1850 White Bear Avenue. During the Spring Clean-Up event residents will be able to dispose of appliances, tires, construction debris, furniture, car parts, scrap metal, other assorted junk, and all electronic equipment such as televisions, computers, monitors and cell phones. Reuse and recycling of materials is a big component of the Spring Clean Up with several nonprofit and recycling companies accepting materials at no or minimal cost to the City including Bridging (furniture), Re-Cycle (bicycles), Project for Pride in Living (recycling mattresses that cannot be reused), and Bro-Tex (carpet). The City has held both spring and fall clean up events for several years. Fall clean up events are scheduled in September or October of each year. Due to the roll out of the Maplewood Trash Plan on October 1, 2012, staff is recommending that the 2012 Fall Clean-Up event be canceled. Clean up events take a considerable amount of staff time and effort to plan and carry out. With the complex implementation schedule required for the Trash Plan as described above, there is limited staff and time available for a fall clean up event this year. As an alternative, staff is recommending a Fall Recycling and Waste Recovery campaign. There are several companies that offer drop-off and pick-up recycling or reuse service. As an example, Best Buy and the Retrofit Company accept e-waste recycling drop-off at no or reduced cost; and Disabled American Veterans, Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota, and others pick up furniture and clothing for reuse. Additionally, the Maplewood Trash Plan includes pick up and recycling of several bulky items on a fee based scale ranging from $5 to $30. The Recycling and Waste Recovery campaign will include promotional materials spotlighting a month-long event to reduce waste in conjunction with the Trash Plan roll out in October. The campaign would be advertised in the City newsletter, website, and direct mailings. Packet Page Number 3 of 5 4 Pay as You Throw and Organics Programs The Allied Contract identifies opportunities for a more aggressive pay as you throw system and a future organics program. City staff will begin review of these programs in 2013, with possible implementation in 2014. These programs should be planned and implemented in these later years to allow the City to concentrate on the basics of the new organized trash collection program in 2012. Pay as you throw is a system of setting variable prices for the levels of trash collection service to provide an economic incentive for residents to improve recycling and waste reduction efforts. Pay as you throw price schedules intentionally increase the price increments between the levels to promote downsizing of cart sizes as ordered by the residents. The organics program includes separate collection of kitchen scraps. After a more complete organics recovery infrastructure is in place in Ramsey County, the City will initiate an organics collection pilot project. Allied will participate in the planning and design of the pilot collection project. RECOMMENDATION Review the Maplewood Trash Plan implementation scheduled and offer feedback and comment. Packet Page Number 4 of 5 Work Session Agenda Item E1 AGENDA REPORT TO: City Council FROM: Charles Ahl, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: Discussion on Labor Negotiations Strategy Declaration of Intent to Close Meeting DATE: February 22, 2012 INTRODUCTION The City Council will begin to discuss strategy for bargaining with the seven bargaining groups regarding contracts for 2013. All employee contracts expire at the end of 2012, so the Council will discuss parameters and strategy for the employee contracts. The seven groups are AFSCME, Police Officers, Police Sergeants, Fire Fighters, Fire Fighter Officers, Metro Supervisory Association; Metro Supervisory and Maplewood Supervisory and Confidential Association. Because of the confidential nature of these negotiations, the staff and Labor Attorney will be recommending that the City Council close this session as allowed by state statute. Recommended Action The City Council should discuss the negotiations. No action is recommended. Packet Page Number 5 of 5