Agenda Item Wording:
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Presentation and request for authorization to implement a Solid Waste Environment Enhancement Program (SWEEP) and appropriate $25,350 from the Solid Waste Enterprise fund (441).
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Deadline for Action: 11/6/2023
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 a Solid Waste Environment Enhancement Program (SWEEP) pilot program by utilizing budgeted ARPA funding, and appropriate $25,350 from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund (441).
Background Discussion:
In recent years, the City of Visalia has experienced an increase in trash and recyclables in the public right of way throughout the community. In most cases, these items are illegally dumped material on the side of the road, trash that has been taken out of cans or dumpsters and left on the ground, or windblown debris that ends up in the public right of way. This waste material and some recyclables ends up in public view, parks, or City streets, and most of it should have been transported to the landfill or theCity’s contracted material recycling facilities.
Currently, staff from various departments assist with the issues or report them to a department that can help. However, this causes staff to be diverted from their primary job duties such as maintaining parks, trailways, streets, and code enforcement to address Solid Waste issues.
To address the City’s need, staff is proposing the creation of the Solid Waste Environment Enhancement Program (SWEEP). The SWEEP program will be designed to immediately address blight that is created on a daily basis around the City, along with other duties that make these staff members the custodians of the public right of way. This program will ensure that streets and public areas remain clean, and that dedicated staff are assigned to specific areas of the City. It will also ensure that the items being picked up, recyclable or not, are diverted to the correct waste stream.
Each employee assigned to an area of the City will be responsible for keeping that area clean. They will also look for evidence of who or where the items came from so that it can be provided to the Supervisor for illegal dumping citations to be issued when necessary. All citation and clean-up money collected will be returned to the SWEEP Division.
The proposed staff will be on the street daily, serving as the City’s eyes and ears with the ability to report non-solid waste issues to other departments. Even though not their primary duty, items such as graffiti, over-watering, broken pipes, streets, and landscape conditions can all be reported to the appropriate divisions promptly instead of waiting for the community to make a formal report. This type of proactive response would give the community the service they deserve and increase trust levels among the City population.
Fiscal Impact:
The SWEEP program estimated costs come from three major cost items: staffing, equipment, and operating costs. These three categories are further detailed in the following tables:
The proposed personnel are five FTE including one lead to oversee who will run the daily operation.
The proposed equipment consists of four ½ ton pickup trucks with dumping trailers equipped with ramps. One additional ½ ton pickup truck with no trailer for the lead oversightr employee.
Disposal costs are based on one 40-yard bin of trash per week. Other operating costs such as tools and safety equipment are estimated on a yearly replacement need.
Total annual operating costs include allocations from human resources, finance, administration, and fleet replacement set-aside to replace in the future.
Apart from the estimated annual costs, staff has also estimated the initial start-up costs. These initial capital outlays will be within the first year of operation:
Funding:
On December 20, 2021, Council approved 34 projects to be funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds which totaled $29 million. These projects all were to provide improvement for health and safety across the City while also making investments that improve resident’s quality of life.
The Sweep project is one of the approved projects that will be funded by ARPA Funds with a budget of $450,000. These funds are not on-going and will basically be utilized to fund the initial purchases and the first four months of the program. The following tables shows how the initial year of ARPA funding will be utilized:
Even though the initial FY23-24 cost exceeds the approved ARPA funding amount by $25,350, this includes all the equipment needed to run the operation and four months of the initial staffing cost assuming the project can begin on March 1, 2024. The additional amount will need to be appropriated from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund (441).
For future fiscal years, staff will be bringing possible funding solutions to Council that may include a charge per solid waste utility account to pay for the program or a combination of other funding source solutions that may offset the total cost to the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund.
In addition, it is important to note that ARPA funding is set to expire on December 31, 2024. Although there will be some savings realized from not using an illegal dumping contractor ($30K/year) and the utilization of the initial ARPA funding, future funding will need to come from the Solid Waste Enterprise fund (441) if another funding solution is not in place by July 2024.
Prior Council Action: 12/20/2021 - City Council appropriated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for various projects throughout the City.
Other: N/A
Alternatives: Alternative is to not authorize staff to implement a Solid Waste Environment Enhancement Program (SWEEP).
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize and direct staff to implement a Solid Waste Environment Enhancement Program (SWEEP) and approve the appropriation of $25,350 from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund (441).
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Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: SWEEP Presentation