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1. CIMCITY COMMISSION INFORMATION MEMORANDUM August 14, 2017 ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF from Jim Teutsch Public Works Department – General Services (GS) Sanitation Automation, Recycling and Yard Waste: The City of Salina has outgrown its current refuse collection and curb-sort subscription recycling programs and is having an increasingly difficult time staffing these manual labor-intensive positions. The separate yard waste collection program is increasingly abandoned during staffing shortages with yard waste being collected and landfilled with the regular refuse trucks. The city has already moved to single stream collection of recyclables (no sorting) for the paper, glass, plastics #1-5, and steel and aluminum cans it collects in its subscription service. Before staff recommends changes to our existing fleet, we want to ensure we develop a collection system that will meet the needs and expectations of our customers at an affordable price. There are several important issues to consider. Automated trucks are recommended, because they require less labor, improve worker safety, and speed up collection times. Use of automated trucks would require placement of carts curb-side for collection (no alley pick-up). Automated trucks also limit the collection of additional material outside the cart. Finally, current set-out locations may need to change due to conflicts with on-street parking and overhanging trees. With the receipt of the business plan for automated refuse collection and recycling, city staff is now focusing its attention on surveying our roughly 15,000-plus customers on their current practices and service preferences for the future. The ten-question survey mailed to all city sanitation customers is a result of city staff partnering with Fort Hays State University’s Docking Institute of Public Affairs to design and develop questions that will result in scientifically valid data to help us make the best decisions possible for solid waste (trash, recycling and yard waste) services that are affordable, safe, and efficient. The survey was mailed to 15,055 customers on July 7 with a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope. On July 28, the Docking Institute mailed a second identical survey to 2,500 random non-respondents to the first survey to help garner additional responses. More than 2,600 surveys (about 17%) have been returned. A report on the survey data is expected sometime /¤®¥³§¤¥´£ ¬¤³ « around August 20. The primary researcher on ¨²²´¤²³§ ³¥ ¢¤²³§¤ this project will provide City Commissioners ¬´¨¢¨¯ «²®«¨£¶ ²³¤ and staff with a study session briefing of the ¨£´²³±¸ £¢ ±±¨¤²¬ ©®± results on August 28. City staff also intends to ¨¬¯«¨¢ ³¨®²¥®±³§¤ also hold a public meeting to help answer ¨£´²³±¸Ȍ²¯±®¥¨³ ¡¨«¨³¸ £ questions, discuss concerns, and gather ¬ ¯®¶¤±¢§ ««¤¦¤²¨² additional data from our citizens. ³§¤¤·³¤³³®¶§¨¢§±¤¥´²¤ ¢®««¤¢³¨® £®¯¤± ³¨® « Sanitation Automation and Recycling Data from other Kansas £¥¨ ¢¨ «¨¥®±¬ ³¨® Communities:In conjunction with the survey and public meeting ±¤ ´³®¬ ³¤£¨¢®¬¨¦ efforts, city staff has begun contacting other Kansas communities ¸¤ ±²ȁȐ that have automated their sanitation fleet and implemented community-wide recycling to hopefully capture important information about the planning, implementation and management of their solid waste collection operations, especially with regard to issues involving: 1) set-out, 2) alleys, 3) overhead trees and branches and 4) materials outside of carts. Solid Waste Management Plan: City staff and Solid Waste Management Committee members are also in the process of updating and preparing for submission the five-year review of the Saline County Solid Waste Management Plan, which will be presented to City Commissioners, and ultimately submitted to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The plan, consisting of ten chapters, is required by Kansas statute and serves as the primary decision-making guide regarding the management of all solid waste within Saline County. Chapter One: Introduction to the Solid Waste Management Plan Chapter Two: Overview of the Plan Area Chapter Three: Existing Solid Waste Management Chapter Four: Program Goals and Objectives Chapter Five: Evaluation of the Current System Chapter Six: Plan Recommendations for 2017-2026 Chapter Seven: Financing Chapter Eight: Education and Outreach Chapter Nine: Action/Policy Plan Chapter Ten: Summary and Conclusions Included within the plan, are charts depicting 5-year solid waste data for refuse, e-waste, HHW, used tires, scrap metal, and yard waste. Additionally, brief discussions and recommendations are provided for waste collection staffing, employee and public safety, waste disposal and the recycling rate, residential recycling, yard waste restrictions, vehicle and equipment storage, illegal dumping, littering and the accumulation of waste, and landfill emissions monitoring. Finally, the plan looks ahead with specific steps that may be taken to further enhance the already robust solid waste services offered in Salina and Saline County. KDHE Bureau of Waste Management Old City Dump Program: City staff continues to make improvements to closed city dump sites located within Salina. These sites occasionally, over time, reveal loose refuse, tires, lumber, concrete and other miscellaneous debris that require city staff action to remain in compliance with KDHE regulations. One such site that staff focused its attention on this year is located east of North Ninth Street across from Thomas Park. After obtaining the necessary approvals with temporary construction easements from the two affected property owners, staff began its clean-up efforts. Over the past several months, streets crews using front-end loaders, a backhoe, dump trucks and various hand and power tools stockpiled and removed numerous loads of unwanted debris from this location. The debris was subsequently loaded on dump trucks and hauled to the landfill for disposal in accordance with our Facility Operations Plan. Staff then buried the steel-free “clean” concrete rubble remaining at the site, added top soil, seeded the ground and applied erosion matting to the restored area. Staff intends to continue these efforts in at least two other locations over the next several years. MONDAY’S MEETING Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has questions or cannot attend the meeting, please contact me. Jason A. Gage, City Manager