ITEM TITLE:
Approval to Suspend Phase II of the City of Valdez Solid Waste Management Plan
SUBMITTED BY: Bart Hinkle, Chief of Police
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: Click here to enter text.
Unencumbered Balance: Click here to enter text.
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RECOMMENDATION:
Approve suspension of Phase II of the City of Valdez Solid Waste Management Plan
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Staff maintains that Phase II, as originally presented in 2019 remains a viable and efficient manner to recover the costs associated with Phase I implementation.
That being said, Staff also recognizes that the Spring/Summer of 2022 may not be the most ideal time to implement Phase II considering external factors out of Staff’s control and key staff turnover.
A heavy snow year has accumulated amounts greater than in recent years. The dumpster pod locations require clearing and prep work prior to establishment of the pods. Implementation would not likely be possible by May 18th.
The recent tax assessments, coupled with a higher cost of living, has created an undercurrent of negative “City” sentiment that may be further increased by implementation of Phase II, which will result in removal of neighborhood public use dumpsters and may be viewed as a “reduction in services”.
A number of the original group of City Staff that designed, presented, and implemented the City of Valdez Solid Waste Management Plan have since resigned their positions, including: Assistant City Manager, PRCS Director, Solid Waste Manager, and PIO.
The City has filled the Solid Waste Manager and PIO/Communications positions and the respective employees have been brought up to speed on the originally designed City of Valdez Solid Waste Management Plan. However, neither employee has had sufficient time to evaluate options or assess alternatives that their predecessor initiated. Allowing more time for a situation that is not time sensitive may be the best option.
Staff suggests that Council approve suspension of Phase II of the City of Valdez Solid Waste Management Plan
Staff reached this recommendation after considering a handful of options and alternatives. Please refer to the Attachment labeled “Synopsis” for a summary of each option considered as well as the five areas of impact that were evaluated.
If Council approves the suspension of Phase II, Staff would utilize that time to continue to evaluate the merit and necessity for Phase II implementation. One component of that is the belief that dumpster pods would be easier to regulate and monitor for illegal dumping and abuse/misuse than the current dumpster deployment allows for.
Historically, documentation of illegal dumping or abuse/misuse has been an informal procedure primarily within the Solid Waste department. Operators knew of the issue, perhaps reported it to a supervisor, or spread the information word of mouth. Perhaps photos of the issue were disseminated internally amongst a few employees. While that procedure allows for operations to continue (issue reported, additional pickup truck and driver dispatched to respond and collect the offending items), it does not lend itself to statistical analysis or a comprehensive picture of the scope of the issue at hand.
In an attempt to rectify that, Staff has identified a plan to formalize the documentation of such incidents. Beginning 4.25.22 the following process is being utilized by City Staff:
• The observing Staff member (primarily a Solid Waste employee but may be an Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, or Animal Control Officer) will inform Police Dispatch of their observations
• Police Dispatch will create a “Dumpster Issues” case in their records management system, assigning it a unique case number and detailing time/date, location of the incident
• Photos and a brief narrative will be attached to the respective case
By documenting these instances in this manner, it will create a searchable and robust database in which problem areas/dumpsters may be identified and handled -operationally- as necessary. Those dumpsters found to be an issue or in frequent, consistent, or excessive violation may then be considered for removal.
Additionally, this will allow Staff to present Council with a comprehensive report, with photos, when it again becomes time to consider implementation of Phase II.