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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.27.1998COUNCIL WORK SESSION April 27, 1998 4:45 p.m. Large Conference Room Members present: Getty, Murphy, Jordan, Anders, Collier, Krizek, Mollenhoff. Also present: Representatives from Corkery Recycling Services, Black Hawk Waste, City Carton, and Gary Wilcox from Solid Waste Commission. Moved by Jordan, seconded by Murphy that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. The process of proposal evaluations and recommendation on award of contracts to City Carton and Black Hawk Waste Disposal for the Recycling Program were reviewed. Dick Grimm, Superintendent of Sanitation & Recycling, stated that the process was an RFP and not bids. The RFPs were reviewed by the Sanitation Committee, which included Personnel Director Jim Rodemeyer, Councilperson Anders and sanitation staff. Mr. Grimm stated that he took the best proposal and negotiated with the company. A ceiling has been added that would not allow them to exceed $160,000 per year unless the company was able to justify the increase. The RFPs were reviewed by City Attorney Jim Walsh. Black Hawk Waste must maintain the sites, and if required, Sunday Service is included. Black Hawk Waste has an idea how to eliminate Sunday services. Councilperson Anders questioned how City Carton would handle a can that is contaminated. A representative from City Carton stated that they would not do it arbitrarily but would contact the city. There is a $30 fee if material is co -mingled to make the material marketable. Councilperson Anders questioned what would happen if the material is contaminated and can't be recycled. Mr. Grimm stated that the material would be hauled to the landfill and the city would have to pay landfill costs. In answer to a question, Mr. Grimm stated that he measured Corkery's large bins using only the depth to the bottom of the door openings of each type of container and eliminating the void area caused by the sloped bottom of the front part of Corkery's containers. Using the actual measurements from the manufacturer of the bins that Black Hawk Waste is going use, Black Hawk Waste's container is 26.9 percent larger than Corkery's container. Councilperson Anders asked if there will be an initial education program. Mr. Grimm stated that $3,000 has been budgeted to do a promotional campaign. Tom Cain, Corkery Recycling Service, stated that they have implemented daily site management, and there have been no complaints the past few weeks. Their proposal contains a site management fee of $31,200. Mr. Cain stated that there has not been any public education to decrease contamination, and he is disappointed that a better effort has not been made to lower the contamination cost. Mr. Cain feels that his company can save the city $30,000 to $60,000 over what Mr. Grimm has presented. He does not feel this is fair or appropriate. Corkery Recycling Service is a Waterloo company, and they have put $2 million into their system. Councilperson Getty stated that it was his understanding that Corkery Recycling has stated that they will not do the processing if they are not awarded the collection. Mr. Cain responded that was correct because they felt they would have a huge loss. Mr. Cain stated that he has a safety concern with the quoted large containers because of the traffic and potential for blind spots. Corkery's containers are low profile. Councilperson Getty questioned if Corkery Recycling were transporting material out of Black Hawk County. Mr. Cain stated that they have a state permit that allows them to transport it to another state. They haul waste to Illinois and bring back recyclables. The states of Minnesota, Illinois- and Wisconsin have more aluminum which generates more income for Corkery. Council Work Session Apri127, 1998 Page 2 A representative from Black Hawk Waste stated that they have been in business since 1978. They have 13 routes in Cedar Falls and Waterloo and will go past the recycling sites every day and will be able to monitor the sites for cleanup. He stated that he would contact Mr. Grimm for large items that would need to be hauled to the landfill. He stated that he has a contract with Evansdale and Waterloo needs to see what his company can do. Black Hawk Waste was not given an opportunity to bid on this contract two years ago. Black Hawk Waste is offering site clearance free of charge. They hope to get the cardboard problem cleaned up by taking care of it on Saturdays. A representative from City Carton Company stated that they have served the Waterloo area for twenty years. He respects that Corkery has invested money into their business. He feels that he can improve on the city's recycling program. He feels that education is very important and that it is a shared responsibility. City Carton will be putting signs on the cartons so people will known what material goes in which container. He stated that if the material is co -mingled it has to be separated to be marketable, and they will notify the city. Mr. Cain stated that the bottom line is there is no $100,000 savings. Councilperson Collier questioned how many employees each company has. Corkery has 120+, City Carton has 140, with 10 to 12 employed locally, and Black Hawk Waste has 24. Corkery Recycling employs 20 percent African -Americans and City Carton is owned by an African - American. Councilperson Mollenhoff stated that he has checked the references of all the companies and got great reports back that we are dealing with reputable companies. Councilperson Mollenhoff feels that the current arrangement meets the council's goal of cleaning up the city. He is disgusted with the lack of partnership. He urged the council not to move to enter into an agreement that no one can work with. Councilperson Anders stated that he wanted to clarify the figure of saving $100,000. Corkery billed the city for $237,000 last year. Combining the proposals from Black Hawk Waste and City Carton it would cost the city $136,000, for a difference of $100,000 from what Corkery billed the city last year. Corkery has proposed a lower fee which would result in a lower savings using Corkery's current proposal. Councilperson Mollenhoff stated that it should be the city's objective to educate the public on recycling. He is confused as to why we care if Corkery transports the material to Illinois. Councilperson Mollenhoff feels that as a citizen of Waterloo, he is better off if the material is dumped somewhere else. It is our goal to lower the amount being sent to the landfill. Gary Wilcox, representing the Black Hawk Solid Waste Commission, stated that the state does not count anything that is transported out of the state when calculating the generation reduction.. Councilperson Mollenhoff stated that not having garbage hauled to the landfill is a plus. With no further business before the council, it was moved by Getty, seconded by Mollenhoff that the meeting be adjourned at 5:50 p.m. Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. Nancy Eckert City Clerk