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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-07-12 - AGENDA REPORTS - RFP TEMPORARY TRASH BIN (2)Agenda Item: AZ CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT NEW BUSINESS City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by: Travis Lange DATE: July 12, 2005 SUBJECT: PROPOSED CONTENT FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR A FRANCHISE PROGRAM FOR TEMPORARY TRASH BIN AND ROLL -OFF BIN PROVIDERS DEPARTMENT: Field Services City Council provide comments on the proposed RFP and direct staff to proceed with the franchise process. BACKGROUND Pursuant to the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB 939), the City of Santa Clarita is required to divert 50 percent of the waste generated or accumulated within the City. If it fails to do so, the City could be fined up to $10,000 per day for non-compliance. Currently, the City is not in compliance with the 50 percent diversion requirement. The most recent (2003) diversion rate was 40 percent. The City has been approved for an additional time extension until the end of 2005 to achieve a diversion rate of 50 percent. As part of its AB 939 compliance efforts, the City is implementing new and innovative programs to reach the 50 percent diversion goal. One of the programs is a Construction and Demolition materials (C&D) recycling ordinance that includes the recycling of waste materials coming from construction and demolition projects, such as wood, cement, bricks, etc. Staff is also proposing a franchise system for temporary bin and roll -off bin providers. The proposed franchise would work to complement the C&D ordinance requiring the temporary bin and roll -off bin providers to divert a minimum amount of materials. Based on a study of the waste generation activities that occur in the City, approximately 25 percent of all the waste that goes to landfills from sources within the City, comes from non -franchised activities. Although the majority of that waste comes from roll -off bins located at construction and demolition projects, the C&D ordinance addresses only a portion of the waste stream since several large businesses located around the City subscribe to roll -off services and several small construction and renovation projects fall under the threshold of the C&D ordinance. It is important to note that rock, soil, ceramics, cured asphalt, concrete, brick and sand which some roll -off haulers collect, are within the definition of "inert waste," as found in PRC § 41821.3.(b). The subtraction of "inert wastes" therefore can have a significant effect on a city's AB 939 diversion rate. The franchise program for roll -off haulers would encourage roll -off haulers to divert these materials from landfilling. The proposed franchise system would work in conjunction with the C&D ordinance to maximize diversion. By implementing both the C&D ordinance and the franchise system together, the City will be able to maximize its diversion from this waste stream. The franchise program enables the City to ensure the waste coming from the waste generators, which otherwise would fall outside the thresholds of the C&D ordinance still gets diverted. With the C&D ordinance, the City will be able to ensure that several of the large waste generating construction and demolition projects are required to divert whether they use roll -off hauler services or not. Several cities in California divert waste through either permitting or franchising roll -off and temporary bin services. Out of approximately 120 cities, staff identified at least 18 cities that either permit or franchise the said services. The cities are: Chino, Chula Vista, Lancaster, Maywood, Montebello, Monterey Park, Palmdale, Paramount, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Compton, El Monte, Mountain View, Fairfield, Pasadena, Upland, and San Gabriel. Other cities try other approaches based on what works best for their demographics, such as relying exclusively on C&D ordinances, conditioning recycling requirements during development review, or even not doing anything. Staff verbally notified 18 haulers whom are currently operating in the City of the proposed franchise system. Staff also conducted a public meeting on June 17, 2005, to discuss the proposed franchise system. Seven firms attended the meetings to provide feedback to the City. Staff will take their comments into consideration when drafting the RFP. Among the concerns of the stakeholders were the enforcement of the franchise, and whether the qualifications for receiving a franchise would exclude smaller companies. Based on the comments made by the stakeholders and recommendations made by the City Attorney, staff proposes that the RFP contain the following: • As part of their proposal for the franchise, the haulers must provide proof that they will be able to divert 50 percent of their waste when providing services in the City. • An evenly divided administrative fee to offset the cost to the City for the preparation of the RFP. For example, if the RFP costs the City a total of $36,000 and 18 haulers qualify for the franchise, each hauler would pay $2,000 for the administrative fee. • A franchise fee that would offset the City's ongoing cost of implementing the program. Staff recommends placing the fee at 5% of gross revenue. Each franchise will have to meet the following requirements: • 50 percent minimum diversion while under the franchise. • Minimum insurance requirements ($1,000,000.00 for Business Automobile Liability; $1,000,000.00 for Commercial General Liability, and the statutory limits for Workers Compensation). • Monthly activity updates showing the amount of waste that was diverted and how much was landfilled. • All containers used in the City must contain company name, phone number, identifier, and must be clear of graffiti. A franchise would be given to each hauler which meets the minimum qualifications and would be for a period of five years. The City will require the haulers to provide proof that they will be able to divert 50 percent of the waste they haul. Historic evidence that the hauler has been diverting 50 percent of the waste they haul off would be the most effective way to prove they can comply with the diversion requirement in the franchise. Once a franchise is awarded, a hauler's failure to achieve the 50 percent diversion rate, after an opportunity to cure, would be a basis for terminating that hauler's franchise. If a hauling firm refuses to become a part of the franchise and continues to provide services in the City, the City will then need to take enforcement actions. The enforcement actions can include fines or even impounding the said hauler's containers. By doing so, all haulers will have sufficient motivation to comply with the franchise. Staff estimates, upon Council direction to proceed, the implementation of the franchises will go as follows: 1. July 13, 2005 - Staff will send a letter to the haulers stating what the proposed franchise will require and that they must have historic proof of diversion to obtain a franchise. The letter will encourage the haulers to start submitting monthly reports to the City to demonstrate they can reach 50 percent diversion. Staff advertises the forthcoming franchise program in the solid waste trade press. 2. August - Staff will formalize the RFP and parallel franchise agreement during the Council break and will send it out to firms. Staff will also conduct two mandatory pre-proposalworkshops for the haulers (both workshops will be in the same week). 3. September - Deadline for receiving proposals. Staff will immediately review the proposals and will determine which haulers meet the minimum requirements. 4. October - Staff will present the proposals to the Council for consideration of approval. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Other action as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT None by this action.