City Council

Special Meeting of Steelton Borough Council Agenda June 6, 2019 Call Meeting to Order: President Proctor Pledge of Allegiance: President Proctor Moment of Silence: Approval of minutes from previous meeting: None The minutes of the June 3, 2019 minutes will be available at the June 17, 2019 regular meeting of Steelton Borough Council. Goal of the Meeting – To provide residents, customers, and Council with information regarding the proposed trash services beginning July 1, 2019. Special Presentation: Mr. Segina, Chair, Vice-President Waste Hauling/Recycling Service Proposals Public Input: Unfinished Business: Mr. Brown Decision Regarding Waste Hauling/Recycling Services Proposal Other Business: Public Comments: Adjournment:  Special Meeting of Steelton Borough Council Meeting June 6, 2019 Present: Michael Segina, Vice President David Wion, Solicitor Dennis Heefner Douglas Brown, Borough Manager William Krovic Aaron Curry, Codes Officer Natashia Woods Keith Miller, Foreman, P.W. Department Michael Whittaker, Property Maintenance Terry Carroll, Accounts Payable, Admin. Thommie Leggett-Robinson, Exec. Asst. Absent with cause: Brian Proctor, Kelly Kratzer, Keontay Hodge, Maria Marcinko, Olivia Palermo, Chief Minium, and Chief Vance. The meeting was called to order by Vice President Michael Segina at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Segina led the body in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Woods led the body in a Moment of Silent Reflection. The minutes of the June 3, 2019 minutes will be available for review and approval at the June 17, 2019, regular meeting of Steelton Borough Council. Mr. Segina explained that the goal of this Special Steelton Borough Council Meeting is to provide residents, customers, and Council with information regarding the proposed trash services beginning July 1, 2019, and to receive public response/questions regarding the information presented. Mr. Brown presented an overview of the bid process and reviewed the bid of the only bidder for the Trash Service Contract, which was Republic Waste Company. He also presented a contrasting overview of the Inter-governmental Agreement proposed by the City of Harrisburg. (See attached slides). Mr. Andy Warntz, Manager- Municipal Sales from Republic Waste Services made the following comments: a) He acknowledged that Republic Waste has made some mistakes during the 15 years that it has handled the Public Waste and Recycling in Steelton Borough, but the company is trying to improve its services. b) Of the 12,000 trash touches made in the month of May, there were14 missed touches, which is better than a 99% missed rate. c) The company responds to telephone calls received from Ms. Carroll or Mr. Brown and tries to remedy problems reported. d) The company submitted a full bid with two options to the Borough, one including the provision of trash/recycling receptacles and one without trash/recycling receptacles. e) He questioned the presence of Harrisburg City at the bid opening and their subsequent submission of a request for an Intergovernmental Agreement, after seeing the prices from the Republic Waste bid. He stated that it does not feel like a fair bidding process. Steelton Borough Council Special Meeting Minutes -June 6, 2019 1 Council Members made the following comments: Mr. Heefner reported getting a lot of complaints from constituents regarding the collection of trash/recycling. He stated that some groups of trash haulers are doing a good job in the Borough. He further stated that there are some trash haulers who are not doing well. He observed trash haulers overlooking trash that was on the ground. He reported that in the past month, constituents reported seeing a fist fight among the haulers. He stated that the fight and other negative behaviors do not present a good image of the company. Mr. Warntz responded that the company responds to telephone calls, however, they have not received direct calls from the customers, therefore they have no specific information about what is going on so cannot correct the problems. Some persons who have been fired because of their actions on the job. He acknowledged some problems occurred because a newly hired supervisor was following the contract. He further acknowledged that there had been little of any communication between the supervisor and the company to discuss the current interpretation and implementation of the contract. He stated that the company contacted the Borough about the pending ending of the contract and supplied the previous contract for revision so that it could be placed out for competitive bid. He believes that if the service was poor the Borough would not have entertained them submitting a bid for a new contract. Mr. Heefner stated that the Borough owns some of the responsibility because oflack of communication. He recommended that if Republic Waste receives the contract, they should meet with Borough staff to ensure that there is agreement regarding the implementation of the contract. Ms. Woods shared some of her personal experiences with the Waste Company stated that at her previous address the condition of trash is often worse after trash collection than it was before trash collection. However, things are better at her current address. She stated that she, too, has been getting complaint calls from constituents trash cans missing, lids missing, trash is thrown around, etc. She suggests those persons call the company with their concerns. She applauded the customer service staff for their responsiveness and the web-pay system. She also stated that some of the street staff was not very good. Mr. Heefner stated that it appeared that the haulers were in a hurry to get the job done, so did not take the time to replace trash cans or do other things in a proper manner. Mr. Warntz responded that the staff is paid an hourly wage, therefore is not in a hurry to complete their job. He also stated that if the staff mess up, they should clean up. He intends to provide this information to the administrative staff so that they can be aware of the issues and include the information in staff training. Mr. Segina stated that he has received complaints regarding damaged trash cans, however, now there is a problem with recycling. He stated that sometimes the same truck picks up trash and recycling. Mr. Warntz acknowledged that there is a problem with recycling, which could be clarified by educating the public on what should be included in recycling. He stated that the public thinks the recycling trucks are side loading and the trash trucks are back loading. The company uses both types of trucks for recycling and trash so it may appear that the same truck is being used for both. Also, the cost of discarding trash and recycling is different so it would not behoove the co- mingling of the two. Steelton Borough Council Special Meeting Minutes -June 6, 2019 2  Mr. Segina stated that the calls he has received specifically stated that persons have seen the trash collectors put both recycling and trash into the same truck. Mr. Warntz stated that there are times when trash and recycling cross-contaminated so there may be times when both are placed in the trash truck. People place things in recycling their can that are not recyclables. Members of the Public addressed their comments to Mr. Warntz: Mr. & Mrs. Venturo, 2330 S. Fifth Street - Mrs. Venturo reported that she has called Republic Waste several times and has not received any information regarding her issues. She stated that she has a video of the trash haulers emptying her trash into the trash truck and emptying the neighbors' trash into her trash can. She has shared the video with the Borough and wanted to send it for review to the Trash Company. She also reported that trash haulers damaged her 96- gallon trash can and she was told that it would be replaced with a 36-gallon trash can, in accordance with the contract. She would like the replacement to be the same size as the receptacle she lost. She stated that the staff does not appear to be trained and that the persons she has talked to on the telephone have been rude and talked down to her. She also requested a list of acceptable recyclables. Mr. Venturo asked why that was a limit on the size of the trash can. He also mentioned those trash haulers with things on the side of the hauler that makes it difficult for them to get through the narrow alleyways. It was suggested that they get rear lift trucks, which would be better able to fit in the alleyways. Mr. Segina responded that there Council just approved an addendum to the Ordinance on can size to change the acceptable trash total to 128 gallons total, versus the previous four, 35-gallon cans weighing no more than 50 pounds. Mr. Warntz apologized for the rudeness of staff and asked for a copy of the Venturo video. Mr. Powell, 321 Lebanon Street asked if Republic Waste was affiliated with Waste Management. Mr. Warntz stated that they are not affiliated, however, they did purchase some trucks from them but painted the Republic Waste emblem on the trucks. Mr. Powell then asked what items are recyclable. Mr. Warntz stated that cardboard, metal and aluminum, glass, newspaper, and plastics labeled 1, 2 and 5 can be recycled. Ms. Ryan Maxwell, 422 Cameron Street stated that she works from home on Wednesdays and monitors the trash pick-up. She stated that usually, the recycling truck comes first, then the trash truck. She stated that she has observed one truck picking up both recycling and trash. She suggested that Republic Waste include information in their bill regarding recycling and a calendar of pickup dates at least twice a year. She also stated that it was an insult for the company to begin enforcing the contract at the end of the contract year and she felt that Republic services did not value the Borough of Steelton as a customer. Her example was that she placed a 96-gallon container plus two tagged trash bags out for service and they were not collected. She stated that she called Republic Services and has not received a return telephone call. She called again and left a message and still has not received a return telephone call. She asked that her Steelton Borough Council Special Meeting Minutes - Jwie 6, 2019 3 trash can be placed in the same place that she placed it. She requested that there be consistency in the enforcement of the contract. Finally, she stated that not just one area, but everyone in the Borough should have a positive experience with the trash company. Mr. Warntz responded that he does stop in the Borough periodically to check to see how things are going. Mr. Aaron Curry, 529 North Front Street stated that he experienced problems with trash removal when there was controversy over contract issues. He stated that the problem was not immediately remedied, instead, it was three weeks before all the trash behind his house was removed. He also stated that something should be done about trash collection during bad weather. In some cases, trash has not been collected in about three weeks and this causes him to give out tickets for codes violations. During bad weather, Highspire's trash was removed Saturday and Steelton's was not removed until the next week, causing a two-week pileup of trash and recyclables. Ms. Woods moved that a decision regarding the awarding of the Waste Matter and Recycling Contract be tabled until the June 17, 2019, regular Council Meeting. Mr. Krovic seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous vote of the Council. There were no public comments on other Borough issues. Mr. Krovic moved and Ms. Woods seconded that the Special Steelton Borough Council Meeting adjourns at 7:27 p.m. The motion passed by a unanimous vote ofthe Council. ~bmitted, Douglas Brown, Secretary Steelton Borough Council Special Meeting Minutes -June 6, 2019 4