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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-03-16 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesA� 11 MAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 February 10, 1988 NOTICE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, March 16, 1988 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 5811 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The subject of this meeting is Recycling Information. PM/nr Patricia Marcurio Acting City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS 1 CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1988 TAPE 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Wednesday, March 16, 1988 in the Council Chambers. ii1-�UDDlike ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer Councilman Herman "Larry" Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr John P. Kelly, City Manager Richard Doody, City Attorney Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary Mayor Abramowitz asked everyone to wish V/M Stelzer a Happy Birthday and he then turned the meeting over to City Manager Kelly. City Manager Kelly said the idea of recycling was not new and was not promoted as effectively as it should be. He said C/M Hoffman and C/M Rohr attended a workshop for recycling in Miami and the City was very interested in the information that was brought back from that workshop. He said Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Works, assembled this workshop and he asked Mr. Couzzo to continue with the workshop. Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Works, introduced the City Council,, the Mayor, and the City Manager to Ana Gonzalez Engineer from Hazen & Sawyer. He said Ms. Gonzalez prepared the backup for this meeting. Mr. Couzzo said the purpose of this workshop was to review alternatives to solid waste disposal through the implementation of recycling programs. He said there were professionals from both the public and private sectors at this meeting who would be speaking about the issue. He introduced Patrick A. Davis, Engineer and Associate of Hazen and Sawyer. Patrick A. Davis, Engineer and Associate of Hazen and Sawyer, said the City knew Hazen and Sawyer from designing improvements to the City's Water and Wastewater facilities. He said Hazen and Sawyer has always been involved in Solid Waste and Management throughout the United States. Mr. Davis said the solid waste had been handled through the siting of landfills and designing the landfills for incinerators. He said this process started to change 11 to 15 years ago when people realized that landfills were not being designed adequately to protect the environment. He said with these concerns, the industry beqan to investigate resource and energy recovery by burning the garbage. Page 1 3/16/88 Mr. Davis said 8 years ago, Hazen and Sawyer and two other consulting firms designed a Solid Waste Management Plan for Broward County. He said the Plan recommended Resource Recovery Facilities that would handle all of the County's waste with ash or residual disposal at two new landfills located adjacent to those facilities. He said one facility was on Copans Road and the other facility was on State Road 84 and 441 (State Road 7). Mr. Davis said Hazen and Sawyer designed the last expansion of the Davie landfill, which was in 1982. He said that landfill was filled and closed. He said in the interim, the County was designing and building a new landfill on Route 27 which would only handle the solid waste until the Resource Recovery Facilities were ready. Mr. Davis said when the solid waste study was done for Broward County, recycling was investigated which did not seem feasible. He said since the tipping fees were being increased, many of the States in the United States implemented regulations requiring recycling. He said the DER (Department of Environmental Regulations) in the State of Florida would also be implementing recycling goals. Mr. Davis said up to 1/3 of the solid waste generated in each Municipality would need to be recycled. He said 1/3 of the solid waste would go to the waste to energy plants and 1/3 would go to the landfills. Mr. Davis said recycling would not be an imposition because there would be tangible benefits. He said some of the benefits would be reduced cost for solid waste processing, reduced landfill volume, energy and materials savings and reduced pollution. Mr. Davis said the energy recovery for aluminum could be 90% to 97%, paper 23% to 74%, steel 47% to 74% and glass 4% to 32%. He said if aluminum required 134,000 BTU of energy to create, almost 130,000 could be recovered by recycling the aluminum. Mr. Davis said some of the viable markets for the recovery of material in Municipal areas are newspaper, aluminum and glass. He said the viable market for the recovery of materials in Commercial areas is corrugated paper. Mr. Couzzo introduced Bert Luer, Waste Management, Inc. He said Mr. Luer came to the City regarding the recycling program and at that time, Mr. Luer was representing Durbin Paper Company. Bert Luer, Recycling Market Development Manager from Waste Management, Inc., said the solid waste problem was increasing and the State has been discussing how to solve this problem. He said the issue was timely and the tipping fees in the State were increasing rapidly. He said when the burn facilities begin, the tipping fees are expected to be $60.00 per ton. Mr. Luer said because the tipping fees were so expensive, recycling seemed to be the most feasible type of solid waste program. He said Waste Management was dedicated in participating in the programs and on a Nationwide basis, the curb side recycling programs are the most popular. He said the largest program was in San dose, California, which was a multi -material curb side program. He said Page 2 1 3/16/88 each household is given a set of recycling containers and each container was used for newspaper, cans and bottles. He said once a week a truck was sent to pick up the materials which were taken to a recycling facility for processing. He said this program was steadily increasing. C/M Bender asked who would distribute the containers and who would cover the program costs. Mr. Luer said the ultimate cost would be calculated in with the overall operational costs of the program which would be decided upon by the homeowner or the City through contractual obligations. He said the hauler would take the responsibility of distributing the containers. C/M Rohr asked if the tonnage was credited to the City and Mr. Luer said he understood that the City of Tamarac presently had that type of clause in their current hauling contract. Mr. Luer said when a separate man picks up the solid waste materials, the revenues from the materials would not cover the cost of the operation. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the history of the program could be given. He said he would like to get estimates and the progress of the program. Mr. Luer said the answer depended on several parameters such as, what the tipping fee would be and what the population and participation rate. Mayor Abramowitz said the City had that type of information available and he would like to see the citizens and the City benefit from this program. Mr. Luer said the City had a $30.00 per ton -. -= cost and a $30.00 per ton revenue. He said the City had a $60.00 per ton overall benefit. He said with that overall benefit, the recycling program should produce excess revenues which would be returned to the City. He said with the multi -material cost of the containers and cost of a truck at a $60.00 per ton cost for newspaper, etc., the City would break even or gain very little revenue, Mayor Abramowitz asked if one truck would pickup three different types of waste material and Mr. Luer replied, yes. C/M Hoffman said the County was building two recycling plants and said the plants would cost a lot of money. He said the bonds for those plants had to be paid and asked if the tipping fees would be increased to make up the lost revenue. He said he did not want to waste time on reviewing and considering a recycling program if the tipping fees would remain the same. Mr. Luer said cans and bottles were not organic and could not burn; however, newspapers could be burned creating value to the burn facility. He said a burn facility generated ash and lead residues creating a problem for the analysis of the ash. He said experience with other burn facilities in the State of Florida showed that the population was increasing and also the per capita generation of garbage. He said the burn facilities in Hillsboro County and the City of Tampa are already at Page 3 3/16/88 their capacity and were thinking about adding additional burners. He said no burn facility in the State of Florida had a problem like C/M Hoffman was concerned with. C/M Hoffman said as traffic increases on the Turnpike, tolls were raised to make up the difference. He said if this procedure could happen with recycling, he would like to know. Mr. Luer said he could not give C/M Hoffman an absolute answer regarding this matter. He said all he could do is present past experience to the City of Tamarac. C/M Rohr said he was not concerned about the lack of materials for the incinerators in the future. He said the population in the State of Florida would continue increasing and he was concerned with the increase of garbage and the environmental hazard to the people. He said the State has started to mandate that each County have a recycling program. He said the City should try to find a positive solution to meet the problems and get ahead of the problems before the City was mandated by the State to have a program. V/M Stelzer said in 1982 or 1983, Walter Falck asked him to work with Durbin Paper regarding a recycling program for newspapers. He said the citizens willingly kept their papers separate from the garbage which were picked up by volunteers. He said the City presently has two paper dumpsters behind Public Works and about 10 tons of paper were being picked up per week. He said to have the City trucks pickup this paper would cost the City money. He said the people of the City were willing to segregate their garbage; however, the problem would be how the garbage would be picked up. He said even if the City did not profit from the program, the land fills would not be as full and detrimental. Mayor Abramowitz said the garbage problem was becoming serious and if Waste Management was interested in the program they would create a program for the City which would show the benefits of the program to the City and the residents. Mr. Luer said Waste Management would work very closely with the City regarding the knowledge of the program. V/M Stelzer said New York had a vending machine for aluminum cans. He said the cans were inserted and a nickel popped out. He said these machines could be designed for glass and aluminum cans as well which would not involve Waste Management. Mr. Luer said there was legislation regarding this program; however, there were problems with the legislation. He said there were better ways of separating recycling materials and curb side separation was better. He said the vending machines were experimental and there may be machines of that type placed in South Florida. Mr. Couzzo said the City could proceed with the cost analysis and projections of recycling programs, if the City Council desired. Page 4 3/16/88 Mayor Abramowitz said he would like Waste Management to provide the information for the City. He said Waste Management was interested in the program and would benefit from the program, and they are in a better financial position than the City. Mr. Couzzo introduced Syron Friar, from Durbin Paper Stock Company, and he said Mr. Friar presently handled the paper recycling program in Tamarac. Byron Friar, Municipal Projects Director from the Durbin Paper Stock Company, said Durbin Paper Stock Company was 80 years old and the present owners have had the business for over 20 years. He said his company had a plant in Pompano and was servicing Broward County from a larger plant in Miami. Mr. Friar said his company and Waste Management wanted to provide a plan for recycling to the City at no cost. He said the recycling program behind the Public Works building was too successful for its type of location and operation. He said the thing that the program lacked was convenience. Mr. Friar said the curb side recycling program provided convenience to the homeowner. He said experience showed that the homeowners would separate their materials providing someone picked it up. Mr. Friar said the first thing that was reviewed when a recycling program was being established was what the market would be. He said the recyclable goods the City of Tamarac would be distributing had very strong markets and would continue being strong in the future. He said his company would guarantee that everything being produced by the City would be marketed. He said several Municipalities had problems finding a market because they were remote or fell on the line between districts of distribution and neither of these problems were going to hurt Tamarac. He said there were several solid waste programs surrounding Tamarac; therefore, there would be no problems with vendors bidding on the City's market. Mr. Friar said the City should seek a contract and he suggested the City get a one year contract with an automatic renewal clause. He said he would be meeting with the Lieutenant Governor regarding the recycling program. C/M Rohr said because the City of Tamarac was an Adult Community, the percentage in paper was higher than most Cities and Mr. Friar said the percentages of paper was based on the local distribution of newspaper which was very high in percentage. He said the figures given to the City regarding the paper percentage was very conservative because of the out -of --town people involved. Mayor Abramowitz asked how the program worked in the condominiums and Mr. Friar said the density of the condominiums was reviewed to see if the program would be feasible. He said if the program was feasible, a number of containers based on convenience to the residents were placed. He said the containers were serviced by a front end loader refuse truck. He said the containers were 6 cubic yard containers which held about 2 tons. Page 5 ,J` 3/16/88 TAPE 2 Mayor Abramowitz asked if the people have to take their materials to the loader and if other types of convenience were investigated. Mr. Friar said several processes were investigated and this type of process by experience seemed to be the most feasible for all involved. V/M Stelzer said Century Village in West Palm Beach and Deerfield Beach have a collection program and the money from the program was used to beautify and landscape the villages. He said if their program was so profitable, the City's Condominium Associations could find the program profitable. V/M Stelzer said if Waste Management told the people that there would be a 10% cut in their garbage costs, they would be more than willing to cooperate. Mayor Abramowitz said the condominiums had maintenance people and if the containers were placed outside the doors, maintenance could collect it. He said the citizens would have to participate in the program in order for it to work. C/M Rohr said the City was only getting half of the credit for the garbage collection and he asked why the City was not getting the same credit they were paying for. Bert Luer said the clause in the contract was placed in when the existing hauling contract was renewed. He said there was no way of determining that the participants in the recycling program were Tamarac residents. C/M Rohr asked if there were collection points in Margate and Sunrise and Mr. Luer replied, no. C/M Rohr said regardless of where the papers were coming from, the credit should not be cut 50%. City Manager Kelly suggested this matter be discussed with Ed Johnson after this presentation. Mr. Friar said the City needed a guaranteed market and a contract and the Durbin Paper Company provided those items for the participants. He said his company would assist in developing the program and promoting the program. C/M Rohr said the BIRP program had igloos that were placed in the large areas and asked if this type of program would benefit the City. Mr. Friar said Co-Trac, manufacturers of BIRP, would have to be contacted regarding their program. He said he would get the information on the Company if the City wanted to investigate the program; however, he would not recommend the City using this type of Program. C/M Rohr said this company was a non-profit organization and they supplied the igloos to the areas. Mr. Friar said in the past, he found BIRP very expensive; however, they may have changed their procedures. He said he would submit information on the Company to the City. Mr. Couzzo introduced Roland Rivero, Director of Public Works of Miami Springs. r" Page 6 / 3/16/88 Roland Rivero, Director of Public Works of Miami Springs, said the City of Miami Springs previously used the same type of paper recycling program as presently being used in the City of Tamarac; however, because of problems, the program was dropped for 5 to 6 years. Mr. Rivero said the Ecology Board of Miami Springs investigated the recycling program and his City tried the program as a pilot program. He said the residents would put the bundles of paper in the alleys. He said the program was becoming successful; however, the City realized the program would work better if the materials were placed on the curb side. He said this program did work and it was established City wide. He said the City was divided into half for pickup purposes. He said five months into the program, the City profited $2,500.00. He said he utilized his Parks Department with a three man crew, and this department collected the materials. Mr. Rivero said his City would be profiting more than $10,000.00 per year and the money would be used for landscaping. He submitted a letter to Mike Couzzo regarding how the City of Miami Springs started their recycling program. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Mr. Rivero's City had their own sanitation department and Mr. Rivero replied, yes. Mr. Couzzo introduced Peter E. Robinson, Vice President of Hazen and Sawyer. Peter E. Robinson, Vice President of Hazen and Sawyer, said two events would impact the City. He said in the next two years, the Resource Recovery facilities would be on line and tipping fees would be doubled. He said the State of Florida would be setting goals for Municipalities to follow in recycling; therefore, the City of Tamarac would be involved in recycling. Mr. Robinson said the City of Tamarac had the use and the recycling under their control and Broward County was responsible for processing the solid waste, burning the waste and providing the land fills. He said there were different groups of people in every community and there were different waste characteristics generated from each class of customer. Mr. Robinson said normally these programs were multi -programs and to determine what type of program to use in a community, the community had to be studied. He said the communities were started on a small scale program to see if the first steps would be successful. He said the City should look at the overall plan and take the program step by step to find out what was in the City's best interest. Mr. Robinson said Broward County controlled the Waste Energy plant and Energy Recovery for the land fills. He said the City collects their materials and at $60.00 to $70.00 per ton for tipping fees, the City could work out their own collection system. C/M Bender asked how the industrial and commercial areas would be addressed and Mr. Robinson said the commercial in the City of Tamarac was being collected separate. Page 7 3/16/88 V/M Stelzer said the industrial areas paid for their own garbage removal. C/M Bender what would happen to the industrial areas product and Mr. Robinson said the areas waste would depend on the market. C/M Rohr said recently, the fast food stores were switching from styrofoam to a degradable type of container. He said every supermarket had a compactor which compacts the boxes into squares. He said when the State becomes involved, the garbage problems would begin to be resolved. Mayor Abramowitz said he was pleased with this workshop and he would like to see the City in a pilot project for the recycling program. He asked the Waste Management and Durbin Paper Company to meet with the City's officials and staff and present a program that would be acceptable to the City and the residents. Vickie Beech, Resident, said this program would be good for the City and the residents would be willing to participate providing there was a program for them to follow. She said the program has worked in several States and with an effort by the City of Tamarac, the program could work in this State as well. Louis Silverman, Chairman of the Public Information Board, said the Tam -A -Gram had a circulation of 14,000 which was put out 10 times per year. He said the Tam -A -Gram was used as a vehicle to advertise the Durbin Waste Stock Paper. He said the Tam -A -Gram could be used to publicize the program if the City wished to use the recycling program. C/M Hoffman said he has been interested in the problem of waste for several years. He said it was one of the most serious problems facing Municipalities today. He said he would like the City to consider a newspaper recycling program. He said he would like Waste Management to present a program to the City regarding the pickup of the materials from the residents and how much the City would be profiting. C/M Rohr said he would like to have a program considered and if necessary, have a workshop meeting per month until a program was established. Mayor Abramowitz said City Manager Kelly was aware of the City Council's concern and he was confident that the City staff would assist in creating a program that would be acceptable to the City and the residents. City Manager Kelly said the City's staff would work in getting a pilot program for the City. He said Mike Couzzo would be the City's Liaison on the program and thanked all of the participants of this meeting. Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 11:25 A.M. CAROL E. BARBUTO, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $91.80 or $2.55 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." Page 8