ITEM TITLE:
Approval to Purchase 340 Bear Resistant Carts from Rehrig Pacific Company Including Freight in the Amount of $96,169.00
SUBMITTED BY: Rob Comstock, Public Works Director
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: $96,169.00
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: 001-7300-43400
RECOMMENDATION:
Approval to purchase 340 Bear Resistant Carts from Rehrig Pacific Company Including Freight in the Amount of $96,169.00
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Due to a very positive and larger than anticipated community response to the roll-out of the new Wildlife Resistant Container (WRC) program the Solid Waste Department has distributed all of the 600 rental containers from their original purchase. To date we have received a total of 701 applications for the containers and as of the first week in June we have begun putting applicants on a waiting list.
The overwhelmingly positive response from the public for the WRC program has played a big part in helping us toward meeting the WRC program goals. One of the key goals of the WRC program is to get as many households as possible using the Wildlife Resistant Containers and to reduce the number of 6 yard dumpsters deployed throughout the community as they are costly and a wildlife attractant. There are about 300 dumpsters currently in use within the community and the goal is to reduce that number by about 100 over the next few years. Each 6 yard dumpster currently costs about $6200.00, so by reducing the number of dumpsters by 100 the City will be saving about $620,000.00 in dumpster purchases which will effectively pay for the WRC program over the next few years.
Due to the higher than anticipated demand for these containers the funding for this purchase was not originally added to the 2020 City of Valdez Solid Waste Budget and will need City Council approval to transfer funds in addition to the approval for the purchase.