Agenda Item Wording:
title
Presentation and authorization for Solid Waste Dump On Us program changes. The City’s Solid Waste Department is seeking input and authorization from Council on proposed changes to the frequency and alternatives to Dump On Us event dates.
body
Deadline for Action: 10/21/2024
Submitting Department: Public Works
Contact Name and Phone Number: Jason Serpa, Public Works Manager, jason.serpa@visalia.city, 559-713-4533; Nick Bartsch, Public Works Director, nick.bartsch@visalia.city, 559-713-4052
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that Council direct staff to implement the new Dump On Us event schedule and utilize landfill vouchers to supplement the program.
Background Discussion:
Since the early 1990’s, the Public Works Solid Waste Department has offered the public a Dump On Us event that allows citizens to bring any type of material to a centralized location where City staff coordinate and separate these items into commodities that can be properly disposed of or recycled. Throughout the years, these events have become more and more recycle minded, where even though a lot of the material is trash and not reusable, there are now multiple opportunities for recycling or proper disposal at the events. These items include:
Metal (Ferrous)
Shredded Paper
E-Waste
Tires
Mattresses
Appliances
Hazardous Waste
Green Waste (All types)
Cardboard
Plastic and other comingled recycle
Currently, City staff operates six (6) events per year. These events are scheduled every other month and are very popular. Even with the event’s popularity, there are some events that are utilized by the public more than others. These events tend to be around warmer weather, where both Spring and Fall events are the most utilized.
Staff is proposing that the event schedule be amended as below from six (6) events to four (4) events, once per quarter, and also shifted away from the holidays where they were least utilized in the past. The City’s Christmas Tree Drop-Off will not be affected and is still offered on the last week of the year and first week of the new year.
To supplement the future proposed Dump On Us event schedule, staff is proposing that landfill vouchers be supplied to the public to allow citizens to use at any time during the same calendar year. To minimize and reduce impacts to the landfill on historically popular days, the County has identified several blackout dates on which the landfill is open to the public but will be unavailable for the voucher program:
Holidays in which the Landfill is open to the public, but unavailable for vouchers:
January 20, 2025 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 17, 2025 - President’s Day
November 11, 2025 - Veteran’s Day
November 26, 2025 - Day after Thanksgiving
December 24, 2025 - Christmas Eve
December 31, 2025 - New Year’s Eve
County Half Price Weeks (3 per year), unavailable for vouchers*:
Last 2 weeks in March
First 2 weeks in July
First week in October
*Exact dates not scheduled by Tulare County yet.
The landfill vouchers will be limited to two (2) per household (residential account) per calendar year and will provide more flexibility for citizens that cannot be present on any given Saturday that a normally scheduled event is held. Residents participating with vouchers may take their items to the County landfill on any day that the landfill is open and that is not identified as a blackout date above. In addition, the same restrictions as a City Dump On Us event will be instilled on what types of vehicles will be accepted, as commercial vehicles or box trucks/moving vans will not be allowed. This proposed voucher program has been reviewed and approved by County staff.
Fiscal Impact:
Annually, Council approves a CIP Project (CP9459) to fund Dump On Us Operations from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. In recent years, the approved budget was supplemented by a grant from the Beautify California Initiative through Caltrans. This funding has since ended as of June 30, 2024 and Council once again approved the budget amount of $250,000 for FY24/25. The cost of each event ranges from $35,000 - $40,000.
Tulare County Solid Waste is willing to extend the gate rate of $20.00 per voucher for truckloads of material, and the City’s contracted rate of $28.00 per ton for trailers 8-feet long and larger. These vouchers would be charged and billed on a separate account to the City’s Solid Waste Department. It is difficult to estimate the number of citizens that will utilize the voucher system, but estimates can be extrapolated from the amount of traffic that the City has averaged at past events. A high-end estimate per event is approximately 800 units, including trucks and trailers, combined. At this volume, the Department can expect the annual cost to be as follows:
800 vouchers x 2 cancelled events = 1,600 vouchers per year
Assuming 50% trucks versus trailers:
800 vouchers @ $20 flat gate rate = $16,000
800 vouchers @ $28 per ton rate = $22,400
With this assumption, there is a possible savings of $15,800 to $20,800 per event, giving the enterprise fund a substantial safety net in case the demand is higher than anticipated. The potential savings do not require any additional budget.
Prior Council Action: Council has historically annually approved the CIP Project for Dump On Us events (CP9459).
Other: The Citizens Advisory Committee has been presented with and reviewed these proposed changes.
Alternatives: Alternative #1: To not approve staff proposed changes to the Dump On Us Event schedule and program and continue with the historically approved schedule. Alternative#2: Approve proposed staff changes to the Dump On Us Program with Council modifications.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move and direct staff to implement the proposed Solid Waste Dump On Us event changes.
end
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: Dump On Us Presentation