Mayor & Commission Meetings

LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE Thursday, October 3, 2024 City Hall Conference Room 301B Committee Members Present: Committee Members Absent: Commissioner Carol Myers, Chair Commissioner John Culpepper Commissioner Jesse Houle Commissioner Ovita Thornton1 Commissioner Allison Wright Staff: Niki Jones, Acting Manager Suki Janssen, Solid Waste Sherrie Hines, Deputy Chief Attorney Susan Lyon, Solid Waste Sarah George, Recorder Commissioner Myers called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. A. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Wright made a motion to approve the September 11, 2024 minutes. Commissioner Houle seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. B. Public Input: There was none. Commission Identified Items of Interest: C. Solid Waste Residential Collection Zone or Franchise Approach Acting Manager Jones introduced the discussion and provided an overview of past discussion on the topic. He shared that the Committee discussed some very specific points at the last meeting, and the consensus was incorporated into the presentation format in preparation for the work session on this topic. He explained that staff would be sharing the draft work session presentation for the Committee to provide feedback to ensure the right information is included when it is presented to the full Mayor and Commission. Susan Lyon shared an overview of the draft work session presentation with the Committee. Commissioner Myers inquired as to whether or not there would be a slide that explains why franchising would be beneficial for the community. She explained that she would like to make sure there is a big emphasis on “the why” behind it near the beginning of the presentation, as this will be most important when explaining it to constituents. She also noted that she believes there may be some pushback from residents on shifting to a 96-gallon roll cart for households that use one or two bags. She requested more information on the reasons behind shifting to 96-gallon roll carts for all customers. Commissioner Culpepper inquired if a franchise approach to hauling would create a deficit in Solid Waste’s budget, given rates would be lowered. Sarah George explained that franchising hauling would provide operational efficiencies in terms of the routes that are run and having a 1 Arrived at 1:22 p.m.  guaranteed customer base. Director Suki Janssen agreed and explained that they would gain some efficiencies from shoring up edges of the service area, and there are a lot of efficiencies to be gained if franchising is approved. Commissioner Culpepper shared that it would be important to include the operational efficiencies in the presentation. Commissioner Wright inquired as to whether or not customers would continue to be allowed to obtain more than one roll cart under a franchised model. Suki Janssen confirmed that it would be an available option. Acting Manager Jones inquired as to whether or not backyard service would be continued. Suki Janssen confirmed that Solid Waste would continue to offer backyard service, as would the private haulers. Commissioner Houle explained that the slide with opportunities and consequences provides many of the reasons for considering franchising, but they noted there were other reasons that could be added. They noted that one element that the Committee learned about in discussions was that the current structure for hauling is atypical. They also noted that they disagreed with the argument that it would not be an open market if franchising was approved. Commissioner Houle explained that all of the providers would be able to bid in a competitive process, and the open market is not all that open when considering the differences between homeowners’ associations and how much leverage individual customers have. They shared that they would prefer to not frame that as a negative, because it is not a fair characterization when it is further examined. Commissioner Wright requested clarification from Commissioner Houle on whether or not the second bullet on the slide that noted public perception of eliminating resident choice would be sufficient to capture the point. Commissioner Houle agreed. Commissioner Wright explained that, from her perspective, the individual would not have the choice, but the goal is to streamline the ability to address complaints that are currently only in the hands of the individual. Commissioner Houle shared that, while they understand the desire to show objectivity through each of the reasons listed to not pursue franchising under the “Why Not” section of the slide, they believe there is a stronger reason why to pursue it. They noted that the way it is presented makes it seem as though the things to be gained have to be weighed against the things that might be lost; however, there is stronger evidence for why we think we should proceed despite the arguments listed. Susan Lyon added that the bullet points listed under “Why Not” are concerns from residents that were shared previously in public meetings regarding franchising, and they were included as a form of transparency. Commissioner Houle suggested modifying it to say “Concerns We’ve Heard” rather than reasons for not proceeding. Commissioner Myers also noted it might be helpful to have it broken out into two separate slides. Commissioner Houle also recommended the slide with the concerns that have been heard previously also include the reason why we are doing it to ensure the concerns are addressed. Commissioner Culpepper noted that requiring franchised haulers to add more clean-fuel trucks would likely result in rates going up due to increased costs from our requirement. The Committee and staff did not recall that modification being discussed previously, so the Committee requested that phrase be removed. Commissioner Myers suggested that the environmental benefits listed in one bullet point could be separated into separate bullet points. Commissioner Houle noted that they did not see included on the slide the mention of fewer trips in neighborhoods from separate haulers. Commissioner Wright inquired about the number of customers in the General Service District. Susan Lyon shared that there are approximately 10,000 customers. Commissioner Myers inquired as to whether the estimated potential customer base in the basic cost analysis included the 10,000 existing customers in the General Service District. Susan Lyon confirmed that it did. Commissioner Houle also suggested to mention during the work session presentation that Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 100324  franchising is a way to reduce, if not eliminate, people or haulers coming to the landfill to dump garbage that is not from Athens-Clarke County. Acting Manager Jones inquired as to whether or not bulky waste was included in the basic cost analysis. Susan Lyon explained that the basic cost analysis does not include bulky waste. Sarah George shared that Suki Janssen had noted in the last meeting that bulky waste had not been included in the basic cost analysis given the Mayor and Commission had approved a bulky waste program in the FY25 budget that would serve all of Athens-Clarke County. Acting Manager Jones explained that the bulky waste cost should be incorporated into the basic cost analysis, as residents will need to understand the total estimated cost. Suki Janssen advised that she would reach out to Atlantic Coast Consulting to determine if the basic cost analysis could be updated prior to the work session to include bulky waste. Commissioner Myers explained that she just pulled up her most recent bill for trash and recycling collection, and it was $27 a month. She expressed concern that, with franchising, the bill would be increased with existing services at just an increased frequency for leaf and limb collection. Susan Lyon explained that Solid Waste has also spent a significant amount of money on illegal dumping, and franchising would reduce illegal dumping. Commissioner Myers requested staff provide information on illegal dumping and how much has been spent on enforcement. Commissioner Thornton explained that she represents the most rural area, and she does believe one of the biggest complaints she receives from Nowhere Road and outlying areas is regarding illegal dumping of bulky items like mattresses. She noted that, if she is going to support franchising, bulky waste would need to be emphasized. Commissioner Myers inquired as to whether staff had an idea of where the illegal dumping was originating. Suki Janssen advised that around 90% of what they have found with the illegal dumping cameras is coming from Athens-Clarke County residents. Commissioner Thornton inquired as to whether citations had been issued for illegal dumping. Suki Janssen advised that they have issued over 250 citations for illegal dumping. Commissioner Thornton requested staff provide some timelines for the legal issues and obtaining the contracts. Sarah George provided an overview of the timeline and next steps if franchising was approved by the Mayor and Commission, and she shared that staff could add the timeframe by which the contracts would be prepared and executed for franchising. Commissioner Myers recommended also adding a bullet point on the timeline to denote when the Mayor and Commission would vote on franchising. Acting Manager Jones explained that, once the Committee comes to consensus on the recommendation pertaining to franchising, the elements of the recommendation would be incorporated into either a resolution or an ordinance. Deputy Chief Attorney Hines advised that there is some concern about passing an ordinance that is intended to be comprehensive on a very quick timeline with it having an effective date essentially two years in the future. She recommended that, from a legal perspective, it might be best to wait and pass an ordinance after staff has been able to work with a consultant to better understand what will be included in the Request for Proposals (RFP). She shared an example from Lowndes County, which is twenty- three pages and, in many ways, reads like the contract for the franchisee. She explained that it would also be helpful to receive direction from the Mayor and Commission as to how they would like to proceed on this topic, as the whole process will likely costly, which is one of the reasons staff had discussed potentially having the Mayor and Commission consider a resolution to begin the process of preparing the RFP and have staff begin to prepare the ordinance. She also noted that it would be important to pass an ordinance with some sort of lead time from the effective Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 100324  date for the transition period. Commissioner Thornton expressed support for moving forward with a resolution to provide time to prepare the ordinance. Commissioner Houle made a motion to move the PowerPoint and franchising summary to the full Mayor and Commission for review at the work session and voting cycle. Commissioner Wright seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Schedule/Agenda Changes The next LRC meeting is scheduled for November 7, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Commissioner Houle made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Wright seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 2:12 p.m. Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 4 100324