Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers September 21, 2020 The Committee of the Whole met at City Hall via teleconference at 6:00 p.m. on September 21, 2020, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Robert M. Green, Frank Darrah, Susan deBuhr, Kelly Dunn, Simon Harding, Daryl Kruse, Mark Miller, and Dave Sires. Staff members attended from all City Departments, as well as members of the community teleconferenced in. Andrew Wind with the Waterloo Courier, as well as members of the community teleconferenced in. The Mayor introduced the first item on the agenda Refuse Rate Study. Brian Heath Public Works & Park Manager gave a PowerPoint presentation. He stated the Refuse fund is an Enterprise fund. He reviewed the current rates for various garbage and refuse items. He reviewed some history of the refuse services due to a few new council members. He explained that the last major increase to refuse rates happened in 2008. Mr. Heath stated staff recommends rate increases for residential refuse carts of 2.5% for the next two years. He stated we suggest going to one solid waste/demolition material rate at the transfer station, increasing the rate to $65/ton. Currently we have a household solid waste rate of $57.50/ton and commercial demolition solid waste of $59.15/ton, Mr. Heath said. The University of Northern Iowa currently has a reduced rate for their solid waste, Mr. Heath stated we haven’t kept up with increasing this rate and it is now the same as the landfill rate, he said the recommendation is to increase the rate to the landfill rate plus $9/ton, the new rate would be $51.25/ton ($42.25 + $9.00). The recommended increase for shingles is $40.00/ton for clean shingles and $75/ton for contaminated shingles. Mr. Heath reviewed the Yard Waste collection and drop off processes and stated there will be no increases at this time. He explained the compost site is managed by a private contractor, which expedites the composting process and the need for the City to buy expensive equipment. Residents may drop of their own yard waste at the compost site for free. Mr. Heath reviewed the recycling drop off sites and the tonnage that is dropped at each site. This is a free refuse service the City provides, he said. He stated the recycling program does divert a significant amount of materials from the landfill. He explained a new fee is recommended for bulk-drop off by commercial customer of $50/load. He continued on to review bulk pick up items. He stated the current rate is $5/stop, plus additional fee for appliances, CRT monitors/TV, and tires. He stated it is recommended to increase this to $10/10 items, plus the additional fee for appliances, CRT monitors/TV and tires. Mr. Heath also said it is recommended for a solid waste fee will be applied to those who are dropping off bulk-items at the transfer station, along with the additional fee for appliances, CRT monitors/TV and tires. He said the staff recommendation is to increase appliances to $10/item from $7.50/item and CRT monitors/TV’s to increase to $7.50/item from $5.00/item. He said there is no rate increase recommended for tires and tires with rims. Mr. Heath stated the 3-yard containers at the City are the cheapest around; these are used by commercial and apartment complexes as well as residents. The proposed increase is $18/year a year for five years; from the current rate of $35/dump to $125/dump by January 1, 2025. Mr. Heath reviewed the commercial cardboard containers and the fee for them is $10/month. It has been suggested to charge $10/time emptied, as some accounts are picked up two to four times a month. Mr. Heath summarized the items that are being recommended for price increase. He stated the residential user fees are used to support other services, such as recycling operations, bulk-pick up, street cleaning and flood clean up. He stated staff is seeking a motion to proceed with drafting the changes to the refuse rate ordinance to implement the recommended rate increases. Mayor Green opened it up for discussion. Councilmember Kruse asked how they are counting the bulk pick up items at the curb and well as handling the large number of items that are left at the curb during the month of May. He asked if staff looked at other college towns, such as Ames and Iowa City on what they do. Mr. Heath stated spring move out is tricky and they try to pick up items as fast as they can. Simon Harding motioned to have staff draft the recommended refuse rate increases in the Refuse & Garbage ordinance. Frank Darrah seconded the motion. Ron Gaines City Administrator stated staff hopes to have this in ordinance form for the next Council meeting, in order to have the new rates effective January 1, 2021. Mr. Heath stated they have to sort through the items as they are picked up for actual garbage which is thrown in the compactor truck and the 1-ton truck to being back to transfer station for recycling. Mr. Heath stated the City no longer has a free pick up day in May, that was quite some time ago he added. Councilmember Kruse asked what the fee would be for having over 10 items at the curb for pick up. Jennifer Rodenbeck Director of Finance and Business Operations suggested that the City could charge $10 for the first 10 items and then the next 10 items would be an additional $10. Motion passed 6-1 (aye- Darrah, deBuhr, Dunn, Harding, Miller, and Sires; nay –Kruse). Mayor Green introduced the second item on the agenda, Snow Removal on Trails. Mr. Heath reviewed the current clearing schedule and stated the streets noted in red were added in 2019-2020. He stated we clear 12.5 miles of trails, but it actual twice this due to making two passed on the trail. He explained with the new high school on W. 27th Street, we would add two miles of trails to the trail clearing schedule. Mr. Heath stated it takes on average 8-9 hours to clear the 12.5 miles. He explained black ice is a challenge and snow storage can be an issue if we get significant snow events. He stated they will continue with the current policy and add the new segments with the opening of the high school. Mayor Green opened it for questions from the Council. Chase Schrage Director of Public Works said the pedestrian trail will be located in front of the new high school on the north side of the W. 27th Street. There being no further discussion Mayor Green adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Minutes by Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer