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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD MINUTES 05-26-89 101 MINUTES OF THE AOO OURNED REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF THE DISTRICT BOARD OF THE CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT HELD ON MAY 26,1989 The District Board of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District convened i n an adj ourned regul ar meeti ng for a j oi nt workshop with the Lafayette City Council at 3:05 p.m. on May 26, 1989, at the Lafayette Community Center, 500 St. Mary's Road, Lafayette, California. Mayor Wilson, of the City of Lafayette, and President Rainey, of Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD), called the meeting to order and requested that the roll be called. I. ROLL CALL Mr. Robert F. D. Adams, Lafayette City Manager, called the roll. PRESENT: Council members: Holmes, Uilkema, Wilson ,AB SENT: Council members: Parti, Tatz in Councilmember Parti entered the meeting at 3:13 p.m. Tatzin entered the meeting at 3:30 p.m. Ms. Joyce E. McMillan, Secretary of the District, called the roll. Counci 1 member PRESENT: Members: Boneysteele, Carlson, Rainey ,ABSENT: Members: Dalton, Clausen Member Clausen entered the meeting at 3:43 p.m. There bei ng no addi ti ons or ch anges to th e agenda, Mayor W il son called for a motion to adopt the agenda. It was moved by Councilmember Uilkema and seconded by Council member Holmes, that the agenda be adopted. There being no objection, the motion was approved with Councl1members Parti and Tatzin being absent. Prior to proceeding with the order of business, Councilmember Holmes stated that upon his reti rement from Chevron over five years ago, he invested his retirement funds in the waste management industry to provide a pension for the future, in Waste Management, Inc. (WMI> and Browning Ferris Industries. When WMI purchased Valley Disposal Service, Council member. Holmes stated that he recorded his interest with the State and since that time has not participated in any discussions or decisions relating to solid waste. Councllmember Holmes stated that prior to the WMI purch ase of Va 11 ~ Di sposa 1 Serv ice, as a Councl1 member he became increasingly concerned that the disposal site owner would have an unregul ated monopoly; therefore, he approached the mayors i n Contra Costa County and urged that they secure a 51 percent ownersh i pin a landfill site to protect the interests of the citizens. The cities of Lafayette and Orinda endorsed that concept and resolutions were forwarded to CCCSD and the Board of Supervisors. Councilmember Holmes stated that he contacted the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) explaining his situation and previous position with regard to public ownership of a 1 andf ill si tee The FPPC adv i sed that Council member Hol mes coul d not participate in matters relating to solid waste as a public official but he was free as a private i ndiv idual to attend meeti ngs of boards or groups and to deal with the news media on solid waste matters in his role as a private individual but not as a Council member or Mayor. Councilmember Holmes stated that he has continued his interest in this subject but not as a Council member, only as a private citizen. Councilmember Holmes excused himself from participation in the meeting as a Councilmember and took a seat in the audience. Councilmember Parti entered the meeting at the hour of 3:13 p.m. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS None 05. 26:- 8'9:: 102 III. SOLID WASTE President Rainey introduced Mr. Roger J. Dolan, CCCSD General Manager-Chief Engineer, who stated briefly that CCCSD has been involved in the solid waste area for a number of years. Mr. Dolan suggested that rather than lengthy staff presentations, a dialogue on solid waste issues woul d be more productive. Councl1members and Board Members agreed. 1. REFUSE COLLECTION RATES Mr. Dolan stated that Mr. Walter N. Funasaki, CCCSD Finance Officer, is very knowledgeable in the area of refuse collection rate setting. Mr. Funasaki produced the format that is now being used by many franchisers throughout Contra Costa County. Councilmember Tatzin entered the meeting at the hour of 3:30 p.m. Mr. Dolan introduced Mr. Funasaki who distributed an outline of his presentation. Mr. Funasaki. reviewed the refuse collection rate increase request received from Valley Waste Management, the rate-setting process that will be followed, and anticipated complications including disposal fee uncertainty, curbside recycling increment, and management changes at Valley Waste Management. Member Clausen entered the meeting at the hour of 3:43 p.m. Discussion followed concerning intercompany charges, the issue of affiliated entities, bidding the curbside recycling program, and the unit cost per househol d. Councl1 member Uil kema expressed an i nterest i n a review of the unit cost per household. Member Boneysteele indicated hat he woul d support such a request if it were made duri ng the rate-rev iaw process. . Councl1 member Parti suggested that costs for curbsi de recycli ng, disposal, etc. be itemized on the billing mailed to the ratepayers. Furthermore, Councilmember Parti stated that collectors should be allowed to charge only di rect costs. No markup or profit shoul d be allowed on di sposa 1 costs. Councilmember Uilkema and Mayor Wilson discussed the need for public information and education with regard to recycling and the cost of recycling. Mr. Paul Morsen, CCCSD Deputy General Manager, reported that a survey was sent out at the start of the recycling pilot program. A 65 percent response was received. Many peopl e asked why they shoul d pay more for recycli ng. The Di str i ct responded to each of those comments. Now at the end of the recycli ng pilot program, another survey has been mailed. Many of the responses received to date indicate the public would be willing to pay more for recycling. Discussion followed concerning the cost of recycling; revenue generated by sale of recycled material,' reduction of the waste stream, and cost of disposal of the remaining material at the landfill. 2. SOL ID WASTE DISPOSAL AND TRANSFER Mr. Dolan summarized the history of CCCSD involvement in the solid waste area. Copies of the Executive Summary for the Solid Waste Management proj ect conducted i n 1984-1985 by CCCSD i n cooperation with Contra Costa County were di stri buted. Mr.. Dol an rev iewed th e concl usi ons of that 1 andfill siti ng study and the efforts of the public and private sectors to site a landfill and transfer station since that time. Mr. Dolan reported that early in 1988 major complications began to surface with the Acme transfer station option. The price had increased significantly and siting complications were being expressed with the i nterim transfer station. Our Board expressed an i nterest i n the rol e the District might play ina public transfer station option. A piece of property adjacent to the treatment plant was identified and work began in the summer of 1988. The District offered the site to a Solid Waste Joint Powers Authority (JPA) as a public transfer station. The Di strict requested that the County Solid Waste Management Plan (CoSWMP) be amended to incl ude the site as a public transfer station option. At that time both the County Solid Waste Commission and the Board' of .Supervisors refused to.amend the CoSWMP to permit this option. 05". 26' 891 103 Subsequently, the Board of Supervisors approved the Land Use Permit for the interim and permanent transfer stations at Acme. The Land Use Permit allowed pass through of the Acme Landfill closure costs at the Acme transfer station. The Board of Supervisors also passed an ordinance providing for County rate regulation of public and private facilities, but exempti ng the Acme i nterim transfer station. CCCSD protested both actions but was overruled. The District has been extremely frustrated by the actions of the County. The beneficiary of those actions is Acme Fill Corporation and the people who foot the bill are the ratepayers. However, the District did not anticipate the redistribution of the garbage making only Central County waste collected by Valley Waste Maryagement got ng to Acme Fill. In February 1989 Aane i ncreased the disposal fees from $25 to $47 a ton. This increase was somewhat unpalatable because it was assessed only to a limited number of customers, it passed liabilities of landfill owners for previously disposed of waste (including hazardous waste) on to residential customers, and the County expressed no interest in correcting the problem. As a result, the Cities of San Ramon and Walnut Creek and CCCSD reopened the public transfer station option. At a recent County Solid Waste Commissi on meeti ng, the Commissi on endorsed the concept. On June' 6, 1989, the Board of Supervisors will consider amending the CoSWMP to allow a public transfer station option. Mr. Dolan requested support for th at ch ange. Mayor Wilson stated that the County Solid Waste Commission has been very frustrated by County staff and Board of Supervisors' actions. Mayor Wilson indicated that she sent a letter to all Mayors, City Managers, Sanitary District Presidents, and General Managers requesting support for the Co5WMP amendment to allow a public transfer station option. Councilmember Parti stated that all rate setting has two componènts: collection and disposal. Since the Distr1ct has no authority over transfer station or landfill disposal costs, it would seem appropriate to separate the collection and disposal components on the customer billing. Transfer station and disposal costs should simply be passed through. The ratepayer will then see the breakdown of costs for transfer, di sposal, closure, etc. Councilmember Parti also expressed concern that markup or profit is allowed on costs that are not regulated. President Rainey stated that disposal is part of the collector's costs. The Di strict has not passed th rough the full charge to date; rather, the District has tried to force the Board of Supervisors to regul ate the Acme rates. The Board of Supervisors has the abil ity to regulate those rates but has not done so. Mr. Dolan stated that some movement has been achieved. When Walnut Creek, San Ramon, and CCCSD reopened the public transfer station option, Aane said they would open their books to rate review. Without that movement, the Touche Ross report commissioned by the County woul d not have happened. . Member Carl son stated that if there were two public or private 1 andf ill s and transfer stations operati ng, there woul d be competi ti on which would eliminate this problem. In the meantime, we must pay the price to dispose of our waste. Member Clausen encouraged everyone to participate in the rate-setting process to which the Board of Supervisors is now committed. Mayor Wilson and Member Clausen will continue to negotiate export of Contra Costa County waste to Alameda County. Mr. Dolan stated that with regard to the request by the City of Lafayette for 51 percent public ownership in a landfill, the District took the request under advisement. There was a consensus that a public landfill option was a good idea. The District volunteered to, design a public landfill for the County. The County declined. 3. SQID WASTE JOINT POWERS AU"THORITY At the end of the 1984-85 study, the District reached the conclusion that solid waste issues were County-wide and needed a County-wide consensus forming body. The District suggested a JPA to do planning, <~O,;5 :', ", ,'2/:6, '18(~ 104 regional programs like recycling, and potentially own and operate solid waste facilities. The County was strongly opposed to a JPA and initially Cities were disinterested. At that time, West County formed a regional JPA. ~n 1987, Tom Dunne stimulated a reanalysis of the JPA concept for the purposes of ownership and operation of a public landfill by the central co-franchisor. Support has developed among Cities and drafts of agreement have been produced and are being reviewed. JPA issues such as funding, membership, programs, and vote distribution must be resolved. Mayor Wilson reported that the Board of Supervisors has been opposed to the J PA concept i n the past. However, the 1 ast time the matter was discussed, the Board of Supervisors guardedly accepted it. Discussion followed concerning the proposed JPA. Member Clausen reminded the City Council that they have the right to assume the franchise. Oouncilmember Tatzin declined. 4. O"THER SOLID WASTE RELATED MATTERS None IV. ANNaJ NCEMENTS None v. ADJ OURNMENT President Rainey thanked the Lafayette City Councilmembers and staff for their interest, support, and participation in the rate-setting process. There being no further business, President Rainey and Mayor Wilson adjourned the joint workshop at the hour of 5:07 p.m. } / ... esident of the Board of Directors Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, County of Contra Costa, State of Californi a COUNTERSIGNED: S c e ary of the ntral Contra ta Sanitary District, County of Contra Costa, State of California .,: :'0:5 :2"'6 :8;.9