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2012 04 12 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN April 12, 2012 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Regular Work Session on Thursday, April 12, 2012, at 5:01 P.M., in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Brandon Capetillo Council Member Robert Hoskins Council Member David McCartney Council Member Terry Sain Council Member Scott Sheley Council Member Stephen DonCarlos Mayor Robert D. Leiper Ron Bottoms Kevin Troller Ignacio Ramirez Leticia Brysch Keith Dougherty City Manager Deputy City Manager Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Clerk Sergeant at Arms Mayor DonCarlos convened the April 12, 2012, City Council Regular Work Session with a quorum present at 5:01 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Members Scott Sheley who arrived at 5:02 P.M. and Mercedes Renteria who was absent. 1. DISCUSSIONS a. Discuss the Baytown Solid Waste and Recycling Program - Administration. Mayor DonCarlos stated that normally public comments are not allowed during work sessions, but there would be an allowance at this meeting. Council Member Sheley requested to speak in regards to this item before other speakers, so that he may leave due to circumstances. He stated that if the City goes to a one day a week garbage collection that the rates could be reduced by no less than 20 %. He recommended the following: that Council instruct administration to bring commercial recycling to Baytown and offer at the very least 96- gallon carts to any and all businesses in Baytown with options of having different size front loading dumpsters for businesses also; that there be consideration of a franchise fee in the commercial accounts and to charge the same rate for a 96- gallon cart as we do for residential accounts. He stated that it would make sense that the pickup be on the same route and the front end loaders could be handled differently on a weekly basis; that the earmark of all fees should go towards public improvement projects that deal with beautification recycling education programs City Council Regular Work Session Minutes April 12, 2012 Page 2 of 7 for both the City and GCCISD; that the City enter into negotiations with Wal -Mart for permission to put a recycling satellite antenna with one (1) or two (2) bins that would be picked up twice weekly. He stated that this location would be given to the community by our carrier which means this would be at no cost to the City and it would be their responsibility for the pick up. He recommended that there be a serious negotiation with GCCISD and Lee College to come up with a plan to recycle in all schools, stadiums, centers, and all public events. Additionally, he stated that these same recommendations are being done in other cities, and now is the time for Baytown to take the next steps and move forward. In closing, Council Member Sheley stated that a building remodeling ordinance requiring contractors to use a certain percentage of recycled materials on remodeling projects is an idea to look at in the future. City Manager Leiper presented the agenda item to discuss the Baytown Solid Waste and Recycling Program and stated that the City started the pilot program in August of 2011, with the goal of increasing the amount of recycled waste that is diverted from our landfills. He stated that for three (3) months the baseline data collection was done and that curbside service was already being done; however, in those three piloted areas, we had set aside and measured the solid waste tonnage and the recycling tonnage. City Manager Leiper stated that in Phase I of those areas, from July through October, we maintained the twice -a -week trash pick up and delivered the 96- gallon recycling carts. He stated that the switch to Phase 11 was actually done in mid - November, so tonnage for November is not in either phase. City Manager Leiper stated that Phase II (from December through March) changed the solid waste collection in these same three neighborhoods to once -a -week to see: 1) what was the impact of the 96 gallon cart and 2) what was the impact on top of the 96- gallon cart of having the once -a -week trash pick up. City Manager Leiper stated that the pilot areas of West Baytown, Wynnewood, and Whispering Pines were purposely chosen and have about 3,600 households. A graphic depiction of the success of the pilot program was presented. City Manager Leiper stated that the City was at a 50% success rate with the 18- gallon totes which has not been done in any other city, but felt like more could be done. He stated that in Phase I with the 96- gallon cart, the recycling tonnage increased by almost double and in Phase II going from twice -a -week to once -a -week, the tonnage also increased but not as dramatic. City Manager Leiper stated that because the solid waste tonnage was done over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, which typically increase due to the holidays, the solid waste did decrease. He stated that the overall goal of diverting solid waste from the landfill was met and the percentage of the waste did increase during the pilot program. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes April 12, 2012 Page 3 of 7 City Manager Leiper stated that input was received throughout the program and 36 responses came from resident's right after the implementation of Phase I and I1. The responses are as follows: • 5 calls were information only; • 5 residents were okay with the program; • 2 residents wanted the program to be city -wide; • 1 neighborhood association (West Baytown) was in favor of the program; • 3 residents just don't recycle; • 12 residents were concerned with once -a -week trash; and • 8 residents didn't like that they were picked for the Pilot program City Manager Leiper stated that a direct mail out of postcards went out in March to every resident in the pilot program encouraging them to provide their feedback. The city received 17 email responses, which are the following: • 2 responses from residents were against recycling; • 1 response from pilot area resident was concerned about once -a -week trash pickup; • 9 responses from pilot area residents support the effort of the pilot program; and • 5 responses from non -pilot area residents were in favor of the pilot program city- wide City Manager Leiper stated that looking into the data and leading into the citizen comment period, it was his opinion that the Council has three options to consider: 1) Go back to the 18 gallon bins and stay at twice a week in the pre -pilot areas; 2) Continue with the twice weekly trash collection and once weekly recycling with 96- gallon or 65- gallon carts; City Manager Leiper stated that there were concerns about the size of the cart, but because this was a limited area pilot the decision was made to use the 96- gallon cart and anything moving forward, the residents would have the option of using the 96 or 65 gallon cart. City Manager Leiper stated that the plan would be to deliver the 96- gallon cart with a sticker to instruct what to do for a different cart. He also stated that there is a smaller size cart about 35 or 36- gallon which is not being proposed for use because they are too small of a footprint and of it's instability during the weather 3) Implement Phase II city-wide of once -a -week trash collection and once -a -week recycling with a 96- gallon or 65- gallon cart. City Manager Leiper stated that his request to Council is to allow him, the city manager to negotiate a new contract with Waste Management, in order to merge the solid waste and recycling contracts into one. City Manager Leiper stated that he hopes to bring City Council Regular Work Session Minutes April 12, 2012 Page 4 of 7 Council a contract for their approval at their May I& or May 24`h 2012, meeting, depending on the circumstances. City Manager Leiper stated that the summer would be used to educate residents about the changes and ordering the carts with the plan that the new contract would become effective on October 1 st. Council Member Capetillo inquired what year the city was in as it relates to its contract with Waste Management. City Manager Leiper clarified that currently the city has two separate contracts with Waste Management, one for recycling and the other for solid waste pickup. City Manager Leiper stated that as it relates to the recycling contract, it is scheduled for approval at the next Council meeting, while the solid waste contract is set for reauthorization in October, but he clarified that it was his hope that both contracts will be replaced with one single contract. Judge Don Coffey and Curtis Wood both registered to speak before the Council in regards to this item. Judge Coffey stated that he was excited about the recycling program and would like to see it city -wide. Judge Coffey stated that the northeast side of Houston has a recycled bank program which provides bar codes to the 96- gallon carts and once they are picked up, the tonnage is weighed and the resident receives credit for the amount of tonnage. He stated that this program gives the residents credits of up to $1 for every 10 pounds of recycled material. He stated that the website to view the information is recycledbank.com and there is a list of companies that accepts the recycled bank dollars. City Manager Leiper stated that he is aware of the program and it in the future of Phase III. Council Member Capetillo inquired if Waste Management would provide the pick up with physical bodies or machines. City Manager Leiper stated that the plan is to use the staff trucks. He stated that the challenge for Baytown is that when looking into the automated side loaders (ASL), the City would incur costs because of some of the open ditches. Additionally, he stated that from other city experiences, that if you put the ASL in wrong, the companies would not pick them up. City Manager Leiper stated that the carts would be universal so that they could be picked up by staff or ASL. Council Member Sain stated that one of the negatives to using the ASL is that you could have spillage City Manager Leiper stated that initially the automated system was looked into first, but considering the ditches and street parking it was best to go with the manned first and then consider the automated in the future. Mayor DonCarlos recommended putting the bar codes on the carts now so that they are ready for implementing the incentive program. Mr. Thane Harrison, Waste Management Representative, stated that they have purchased the recycle bank program; however, he is not completely familiar with the ins and outs of the program. Mr. Harrison offered to bring an expert in this program to a follow -up meeting to give a presentation regarding the program and answer all of council's City Council Regular Work Session Minutes April 12, 2012 Page 5 of 7 questions. Additionally, he stated that the current plan is to bring it back and add it to the contract at a later date. Mr. Woods stated that he liked the larger bins option because the smaller ones had the trash blows away, which is not appealing. Also, he stated that the larger carts make the city look nicer, but that the council still wanted to consider giving citizens the option to choose which size they wanted. Additionally, he stated that his neighborhood has many alleys and is expressed concerned regarding their maintenance. He stated that pickups would mess up the alleys and he feels that they need a little bit of attention. Mr. Woods stated that he lives on a narrow busy street, and is concerned that someone could get hurt because some neighbors place their bins on the street. He recommended having something in place to address residents that are placing incorrect materials into bins, which leads to them not being picked up. He asked is there is something that can be sent to let someone know that they are placing incorrect items in the bins, so it can be corrected. Mr. Woods inquired if the school paper was connected to the City's recycling program and if the two could be combined. Mayor DonCarlos stated that the school has its own system. Mr. Woods also stated that in regards to the credits, if possible, he recommended taking a discount off of the charge for service, which could help those that are not making much money right now. Mayor DonCarlos inquired if this was a matter of education, and if there was something in place for this. City Manager Leiper stated that there is a process to notify citizens that have problems with what materials they can and cannot recycle and that this issue would be addressed. Mr. Zackary Scarborough stated that he appreciates the city's efforts to provide a recycling program, but had a concern of the misappropriation of the bins. He stated that there were a number of bins delivered to homes that were not being occupied at the time and were taken away by other people. He stated that he is also concerned about going from the twice a week trash pickup to once a week and having the accumulation of trash for days. Mayor DonCarlos stated that the comments he has received were related to wanting the option of having smaller bins since the big ones are too heavy for them. He also stated that the twice a week pickup is preferred because of the trash remaining around their house for more than one or two days. Mayor DonCarlos stated that no one has suggested to shut the program down, and is in favor of going city -wide with the choice of the bins with going to a twice a day pickup. Additionally, he stated that he's extremely proud of the citizens and the success of the program. City Manager Leiper stated that to furnish carts for the City is about $1 million dollars with a life anticipation of five (5) years. He stated that looking at amortizing these cost for five (5) years, the terms of the new program would be for five (5) years to allow time for the company to recover its cost. City Manager Leiper noted that Waste Management City Council Regular Work Session Minutes April 12, 2012 Page 6 of 7 has not increased its fees in the last 3 years due to the success of the recycling program and its impact to the solid waste, which has not increased. He also stated that there are some pressures in the last few months that will increase our cost such as the price doubling for diesel, which will impact the cost of the twice a week trash pickup. He stated that the cost increase would be at an estimated $250,000 a year or roughly $1 a month per user, with the city -wide twice a week option; however, the once a week option, including the cost of the bins, would result in a minimum of a $225 -250 thousand dollar reduction, due to the cost of the carts being offset from running the route once instead of twice a week, which is a reduction in staff, diesel and time. Mayor DonCarlos inquired if the rate would be locked in for five (5) years. City Manager Leiper stated that we would lock the rate in for five years, but there would be some sort of CPI or fuel rate included in the contract that will allow the rate to adjust as fuel cost go up or down. Council Member Capetillo inquired if the rate is adjusted once a year. Mr. Harrison stated that the fuel rate is locked at the Monday of each quarter and take place during the next quarter. Mayor DonCarlos stated that if we role in commercial, how does that affect the overall cost. City Manager Leiper stated that there was discussion about adding commercial recycling and pickups for apartments and small businesses, which would be somewhat based on residential fees. City Manager Leiper stated that once the contracts are merged, that there will be no separate recycling fees, as it will be tied into the program. Additionally, he stated that commercial was not looked at because the 18- gallon totes and the 96- gallon carts are the only sized available, which would not be large enough to accommodate the needs of a commercial property. Mayor DonCarlos stated that he wants the City Manager to look into adding some commercial aspects to the program. Council Member Capetillo stated that he supports option one, but would like to have some hard numbers for the council to review and consider before making a decision. Council Member McCartney inquired how big is the issue of having the once versus the twice a week trash pickup, and whether or not this is something that could be taken care of through education? City Manager Leiper stated that a part of the issue is based on what we are used to. He stated that in Phase I, most people didn't' want to continue with the twice a week pickup because they didn't want to lose the good garbage service for the sake of recycling. He also stated that if someone is recycling everything that they can, then there is hardly any trash to put out as it relates to solid waste. Council Member McCartney asked Mr. Harrison how many cities around the stated have one week pickup versus two. Mr. Harrison stated that the Woodlands and some cities in north Texas have once a week trash pickup, and it works. Additionally, he stated that this is a cultural change which takes people time to get used to. City Manager Leiper inquired if a resident who just arrived could speak in regards to this item. Mayor DonCarlos extended allowance for Mr. Chuck Russell to speak. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes April 12, 2012 Page 7 of 7 Mr. Russell provided documents to the Council and stated that he has residents at 423 West Pierce and discovered that the trash pickup was only once a week. He stated that in this area, the families are large and in some instances more than one family lives in the home, which results in large quantities of trash being set out and having trash bins all over the area. He presented pictures to Council illustrating his concerns. He commented that the pictures were taken on a Monday or Tuesday and that the trash pickup is not until Friday. He also stated that he lives right off of Texas Avenue and has due to the large amount of trash, picked up a number of critters, such as feral cats, raccoons and possums with a lot of help from the Health Department. Mr. Russell stated that in this area he did not believe that the once a week trash pickup was sufficient, but also stated that if the once a week is going to happen, then more needed to be done to police the current trash issue. Council Member Hoskins stated that when the city first started the program, he received many calls, mostly in favor of the recycling program, but not in favor of the once a week pickup. However, since the program has been in place for a number of months, that trend has changed and the calls are mostly in favor of the recycling. He stated that his concern is related to the once a week trash pickup because we could see more trash being thrown out and around in public areas that the city will then have to pick up. City Manager Leiper stated that he would like for Council to make a decision on the program not base on cost, but on what is the best option for the city. Council Member Sain stated that he received lots of calls in support of the recycling program and once a week pickup, but also received negative calls inquiring why their area was not chosen for the pilot program. Mayor DonCarlos asked City Manager Leiper to bring back cost proposals for the citywide recycling program with the twice a week solid waste pick up. 2. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor DonCarlos adjourned the April 12, 2012, City Council Regular Work Session at 6:02 P.M.