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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-17-15-WS ,-It -- IQEN�HILLS Approved: March 30, 2015 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 17,2015 IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE 5:00 PM SPECIAL CLOSED CITY COUNCIL MEETING ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the City Council work session at 5:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes (via telephone), Dave McClung, and Robert Woodburn Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; City Planner Ryan Streff; Associate Planner Matthew Bachler; and JDA Attorney Mike Norton 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Introduction of Republic Services City Planner Streff stated that the current residential recycling services contract with Eureka Recycling expires on May 3, 2015. As a result of the approaching contract conclusion, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for residential recycling services was released by the City. Five companies, including Eureka Recycling, Republic Services, Tennis Sanitation, Walters Recycling, and Waste Management, submitted proposals. City Planner Streff explained that each proposal was carefully evaluated by the review team based on the criteria outlined in the RFP. The final analysis indicated that Republic Services had the best price for the services requested, relative to the recycling needs of the City and its residents. After the team's review, it was found that in order to maintain the equivalent amount of current services to City residents a recommendation would be made to the Council that included a five(5) year contract with Republic Services with weekly service and City-owned carts. City Planner Streff commented that Republic Services has been providing recycling and solid waste services in the Twin Cities area since 1948. Formerly known as BFI Waste Services and Allied Waste, Republic Services is the largest trash and recycling services company in North ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 17, 2015 2 America. They are a Fortune 5000 organization and in 2006, 2007, and 2008 were named by Forbes Magazine as one of the "Most Trustworthy Companies" in the United States. Republic Services currently has approximately 150,000 residential customers and 12,000 commercial customers in the greater Twin Cities area. They provide contracted solid waste and recycling services for about 20 communities in the metro area, including the cities of New Brighton and Shoreview. City Planner Streff indicated that staff has negotiated the final draft of the contract with Republic Services for residential recycling services, and plans to have a contract prepared for the Council's consideration at the City Council meeting on February 23, 2015. A few highlights of the draft contract are provided below. • The Contractor shall be responsible and pay for all aspects of cart management and operations, including: receiving, assembly, distribution (aka new cart "roll out"), excess cart inventory, (i.e., provide "warehouse" services), cart switches/replacements, cart maintenance, repair or replacement of damaged carts, and manage all aspects of warranty repairs. • The Contractor shall provide recycling and solid waste collection services at the City owned and operated buildings and parks at no additional cost to the City. • The Contractor and the City shall work together in the preparation and distribution of educational materials to insure accurate information and program directions. The Contractor shall pay for the annual design, printing and mailing of a curbside program flyer • The Contractor shall conduct its own promotions and public education to increase participation. The publicity and promotion program may include articles for city newsletters, public appearances, provision of information for local environmental groups, or attendance at public events sponsored by the City. The Contractor shall at a minimum provide one (1) newsletter article per year. • Recyclables Collection shall be $3.03 per eligible residential dwelling unit per month for weekly recycling service with an annual CPI of up to three (3) percent. Eligible residential dwelling units with more than one (1) cart will be charged an additional fee of$2.00 per household per month per cart. • Recyclables Collection shall be $55.00 per eligible multi-dwelling unit per month for each four yard container serviced once per week or $4.25 per eligible multi-dwelling unit per month for each 65 gallon cart serviced once per week. • The processing fee for all recyclable material commodities shall be $66.00 per ton with an annual CPI of up to three (3)percent. • The Revenue Share on all commodities shall be split between the City and the Contractor at a rate of 80% for the City and 20%to the Contractor. City Planner Streff stated that staff has applied for a Public Entity Innovation Grant (PEIG) through Ramsey County for residential recycling carts. At this time, the County is still in the process of reviewing the City's grant application. PEIG grants are typically awarded up to $100,000 for the purchase of recycling carts. However, the City is applying for $125,000 to cover the entire cost for the transition to recycling carts. If the City receives a PEIG in the amount $100,000 for the purchase of recycling carts, the City would then need to use the reserves within ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 17, 2015 3 the recycling fund or raise the current rate for recycling services to cover this additional expense. The recycling fund currently has approximately$80,000 in reserves. Mayor Grant requested further information regarding the new rates for service and the revenue sharing with Republic Services. City Planner Streff reviewed the rate and revenue sharing information with the Council for years one through five. It was estimated that the City would receive an average of$14,000 in revenue sharing on an annual basis. Councilmember Holden questioned how many residents would be requesting a second cart. City Planner Streff anticipated that this would be a very small number given the fact that recycling pick up would be done on a weekly basis. Doug Link, Republic Services, discussed how recycling participation has increased over the past several years, in particular with single-sort recycling programs. Councilmember McClung wanted to be assured that residents would be encouraged to participate in the City's recycling program. He asked how Republic Services would be educating the public. Mr. Link stated that Republic Services will be sending a letter to all residents, and a hanger will be hung on the recycling carts. In addition, information will be available on the Republic Services website. He then reviewed the items that will be accepted. He explained that Republic Services has a residual rate of 7% of the 19,000 tons or recyclables processed each month. Mayor Grant asked if families could change their cart size, if their needs change. Mr. Link commented that this could be done to meet the needs of Arden Hills' residents. He looked forward to providing service in the community as Republic Services already serves Shoreview and New Brighton. Councilmember Holden questioned how Republic would handle fluctuating prices on the recycled goods. Mr. Link indicated that Republic Services has national contracts for the recycled goods. He believed that Republic Services would not be coming back to the City to renegotiate the revenue sharing on the recyclables. Mayor Grant inquired if there would be a movement towards organics pickup. Mr. Link discussed the options for organics that were being considered for yard and food waste materials. He commented that Ramsey County was discussing how to better manage organics disposal. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 17, 2015 4 Councilmember Woodburn asked if the City has considered every other week pickup for recycling. Mr. Link commented that this could be accommodated if the City was interested in providing its residents with larger carts for bi-weekly pickup. Mayor Grant indicated that the current proposal was to provide residents with weekly recycling collection. Mr. Link thanked the Council for their feedback and stated that he looked forward to providing service to Arden Hills. B. TCAAP City Administrator Klaers explained that the final draft of the TCAAP Redevelopment Code (TRC) was presented to the City Council at the workshop with Gateway Planning on February 2, 2015. Although the Community Development Director is not attending this work session, the City Planner and Associate Planner are available to respond to any questions or comments the Council may have on the final draft of the TRC. City Administrator Klaers indicated that special City Council work sessions have been scheduled for the evenings of February 24 and 25, 2015, for the Council to complete a comprehensive review of the TRC before considering tentative approval of the document. Staff is requesting that the Council provide direction on any topic areas where additional research is still needed prior to these upcoming meetings. Councilmember Holden expressed concern with the proposed setbacks within the Town Center and Neighborhood Transition Zoning Districts. She suggested that this be reevaluated in order for the City to provide a proper transition between commercial and residential properties. Associate Planner Bachler provided comment on the Residential Transition Standards in place for the Town Center Zoning District. He explained that any new development in the Town Center District would be required to maintain a 10 foot setback when adjacent to the Neighborhood Transition or Neighborhood District. Mayor Grant commented that he still wanted to see further language included that would address building materials. He wanted to better understand the price points for the homes within TCAAP. He was interested in mason, board and baton, and low maintenance homes that would hold their value. Councilmember Holden indicated that she would rather see stucco homes than numerous vinyl sided homes within TCAAP. She wanted to see housing built for first time homeowners and requested that staff investigate if there would be single-family homes on 50 foot lots, other than townhomes. City Administrator Klaers commented that staff could look into this matter. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 17, 2015 5 Councilmember Holden asked if a "Park Plan" would be included as an appendix to the TRC. She noted her concern with pocket parks within senior developments. Associate Planner Bachler stated that the TRC does reference a TCAAP Master Parks and Open Space Plan within Section 9. Councilmember Holden recommended that a vision statement for the water feature be considered within the TRC. She thought that there was a void with regard to the water feature. She suggested that staff consider adding language to address this concern. Councilmember Woodburn stated that he understood that it was quite expensive to maintain water features. Councilmember Holmes suggested that staff speak with the City of Edina staff to see how they maintain Centennial Lakes. Councilmember Holden stated that she wanted to make sure that future road access into AHATS could be provided. Mayor Grant expressed concern that there were several long roadways with buildings/homes along only one side of the street. He noted that this would become an issue when the streets needed to be improved and assessed. JDA Attorney Norton reported that this was a challenging issue that the City should address prior to any TCAAP land being sold. Councilmember Woodburn recommended that the shared parking language be addressed by staff. He requested further information on zero lot lines within the Neighborhood District. Associate Planner Bachler discussed when and where zero lot lines would be permitted in the Neighborhood District. Councilmember Holden asked if the fit and market study would cover both residential and commercial properties. She was in favor of the study including commercial properties. City Administrator Klaers reported that he has only had one conversation with the County regarding the fit and market study. He believed that from the initial conversation, the study would concentrate on residential development. Councilmember McClung anticipated that after the fit study was complete, there would be fewer residential units than the Council was anticipating. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Mayor Grant stated that he had discussed the potential of a dog park at Freeway Park with Public Works Director Maurer. He requested the Council consider this and provide staff with feedback. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 17, 2015 6 Councilmember Holden recommended that the PTRC discuss this matter and make a determination on how successful the current dog park (Hazelnut Park) was before the Council considered another dog park. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session at 6:45 p.m. Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor