[Call to Order]
[00:00:07]
JONATHAN BROMAN, MELISSA ROTHROCK.
YOU HAVE A WHITE, OH YEAH, I'M STILL TIRED.
WAS THAT, WHO WAS, THAT? WAS THAT TO KIAMA.
UH, LET'S SEE, LISA BOARD AND YOU'RE ON A VIDEO ONLINE, IS THAT CORRECT? YES.
SO WE DO HAVE A QUORUM OFF THE DAYAS AT THIS MOMENT ARE JOHN RONA AND JOHN STIERS AS WELL AS JANICE BOOKOUT.
I'M LOOKING AT THE EMAIL INVITATION AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT DID NOT GO TO JANICE BOOKOUT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S BEEN A MISCOMMUNICATION, UM, BUT SHE DID NOT RECEIVE THE WEBEX LINK AT LEAST AT A P AT A BOARD AND COMMISSION THAT ADDRESS THAT I CAN SEE FROM THE ONE THAT WE WERE COPIED ON.
UM, SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE AN ISSUE BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE LAST MEETING, UH, SHE WASN'T HERE AS WELL.
OR WONDERING IF SOMETHING'S HAPPENED WITH THE CONTACTS THAT ARE, UM, BEING COMMUNICATED FOR THE MEETING.
YEAH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT, AMANDA.
CAN WE LOOK INTO THEM PLEASE, JAMIE? OR IS THAT UM, YES, SIR.
SHE IS IN PENDING STATUS AS OF RIGHT NOW.
SHE STILL HAS TO GO THROUGH THE TRAINING, SO THAT'S WHY.
ALL RIGHT, SO WE DO HAVE A FULL, A SLATE THIS EVENING.
WE, THE QUORUM LOVE TO GET STARTED.
UH, FIRST ITEM CITIZENS COMMUNICATE THAT I DON'T SEE ANYONE WHO HAD SIGNED UP OR AT LEAST HAS TO SPEAK TO THE COMMISSION.
ALL RIGHT, THEN MOVING ALONG TO THE NEXT, UH, NEXT ITEM ITEM
[1. Approval of November 18, 2020, Regular Meeting Minutes]
ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 18TH, 2020 MEETING MINUTES.YARN WAS AT YOU AND THEN BETTER.
YEAH, IT WAS ME FIRST, I GUESS.
YON MOVES APPROVAL AND SECONDED BY VENDOR.
ALL RIGHT, GUYS, WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE, THE, UH, MINUTES, ANY DISCUSSION ON THOSE? VERY NOTICE.
JUST, UH, I GUESS RAISE YOUR HAND AND LISA, I'M GONNA ASSUME YOU'RE FORWARD SINCE, SO YOU'RE RIGHT.
SO UNANIMOUS WITH, UH, WITH, UH, I GUESS JANICE OFF THE DIET.
ALL RIGHT GUYS, MOVING ALONG, WE DID HAVE SOME OLD CARS THAT WE COME BACK TO.
IT'S A COUPLE OF RCAS THAT HOPEFULLY STAFF OR I'M SORRY, HOPEFULLY COMMISSIONERS.
YOU HAD A CHANCE TO AT LEAST REVIEW THE RCAS.
AND IF SUCH A, WE CAN TAKE THESE ONE AT A TIME, TWO
[2A. Discussion and Action: Truck Rental Ratification RCA--Ron Romero]
WAYS, A RCA FOR THE TRUCK RENTAL REP, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS BEEN, RON ROMERO IS HERE TO ANSWER FOR US.I AM A GOOD BEING A CHAIR MEAN COMMISSIONERS.
UM, RON BARROW, UH, ALSO RESOURCE RECOVERY DIVISION MANAGER, THE COLLECTION.
UH, WE COME TO YOU THIS EVENING, A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE A RATIFICATION COOPERATIVE CONTRACT WITH BIG TRUCK RENTAL TO PROVIDE COLLECT CONSTRUCT RENTAL IN THE AMOUNT OF $560,880.
[00:05:04]
A LITTLE BIT OF BACKUP, UH, FOR THIS, UH, REQUEST.UM, IN MAY OF 2020, THE CITY ENTERED INTO A RENTAL AGREEMENT FOR EVENT FOR COLLECTION VEHICLES FOR TWO MONTHS IN ORDER TO GIVE THE MANUFACTURER OF A, OF SOME OF OUR TRUCKS, UH, SOME TIME TO, UH, TO BE ABLE TO FIX SOME DEFICIENCIES IN OUR 2019, UH, ORDER DELIVERY OF COLLECTION VEHICLES.
ADDITIONALLY, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT SPENT ON THE ADDITIONAL FLAW IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM AND SOME OF THE DELIVERIES OF OUR 2020, UH, MODEL TRUCKS, UH, THAT HAD BEEN DELIVERED A COUPLE OF MONTHS EARLIER.
UM, WE NEEDED THE, UH, ADDITIONAL FOUR UNIT TO CONTINUE COLLECTION THAT WE WERE ON FOR BOTH, UH, GARBAGE RECYCLING AND ORGANICS, AND TO NOT INTERPRET THE SERVICES.
UH, WE COME TO YOU GUYS, UH, ASKING FOR ASKING THE COMMISSION FOR A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION THIS EVENING.
I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE COMMISSIONER WHITE THAT EVENING.
I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH US.
UM, SO CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THE NEED.
I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO THE TAPE OF VEHICLES BEING RENTED AND IF THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, TO SELECT AMONGST ANY, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WAS A SELECTION OR IF IT WAS KIND OF A, THIS, THE ONE OPTION AND, UH, IF THERE WAS A SELECTION CRITERIA, UM, AS THEY RELATE TO SUSTAINABILITY, WHAT THOSE MIGHT'VE BEEN ANY INFORMATION THERE? CERTAINLY.
SO, UH, WE BEGAN HAVING ISSUES.
WE BEGAN LOOKING AROUND, OF COURSE, EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE PANDEMIC BEGAN IN MARCH.
SO, UM, THERE WERE STORAGE OF VEHICLES ALREADY.
THERE WAS A LOT OF THE, UH, MANUFACTURERS, UH, SHUT DOWN PRODUCTION, UH, UH, IN COORDINATE SOME OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT.
WE DID SOME INQUIRIES TO, UH, TO OTHER VENDORS TO SEE WHAT WAS AVAILABLE, UM, AS TIME BECAME SENSITIVE FOR US BECAUSE OF THE FACT OF, UH, UH, SORT ON, ON RESOURCES, MEANING EQUIPMENT.
UH, WE WENT AHEAD AND WENT WITH THIS COMPANY.
IT WAS RECOMMENDED TO IF WE ALREADY HAD A CONTRACT IN PLACE, UH, WITH THIS COMPANY.
THANK YOU, RON COMMISSION, THESE ARE THESE AREN'T HEAVY.
LIKE THESE ARE TRASH TRUCKS, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, MA'AM, THAT'S CORRECT.
WE HAD, UH, TWO AUTOMATED COLLECTION VEHICLES AND TWO REAR MOTORS.
THE REAR LOADERS OF FORCE CAN PICK UP ANY OF OUR SERVICES.
UH, THEY HAVE THE TEMPER ON THE BACK, UM, AND, UH, TO OF THE AUTOMATED COLLECTION VEHICLE.
I JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT KIND OF WHAT THE PLAN IS WITH ARR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT IN THE SAME SITUATION KIND OF SIX MONTHS DOWN THE LINE.
I KNOW THAT THE ORIGINAL KIND OF RENTAL REQUEST HAPPENED IN MAKING, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THE PANDEMIC, BUT JUST KIND OF WHAT ARE THE PROACTIVE STEPS THAT AR IS DOING TO, TO PREVENT THIS IN THE FUTURE? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO PREVENT THIS IN THE SCREEN SHIRT IS, UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT.
OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT WAS, WAS HIT VERY HARD BY COVID.
UM, THERE, OUR MANPOWER, THEY MUCH KIND OF SHUT DOWN, BUT WE NOW HAVE BACKED UP A CONTRACT WITH, UH, VARIOUS DENTISTS HERE IN THE AREA THAT CAN WORK ON OUR VEHICLES NEEDED.
UH, SO WE'VE KIND OF INTERESTING.
UH, THE FLEET DEPARTMENT HAS WORKED WITH US ON THAT.
UM, BUT, UH, WE SHOULD, WE ARE HOPING THAT WE WON'T GET INTO THIS SITUATION AGAIN.
SO, RON, JUST TO, JUST TO REITERATE, IT'S A FOUR TRUCKS THAT ARRIVE FOR SIX MONTHS, THAT'S CORRECT? YES.
AND THEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THE CONTRACT UTILIZING OUR OWN VEHICLES.
WE'VE TURNED TO THE, UH, THEY'RE NO LONGER IN SERVICE.
WE'RE NO LONGER RENT FROM THEM.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
I'LL MOVE TO PROVIDE A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION COMMISSIONER.
BARONA MOVES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER.
UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ON THE ITEM, HEARING NONE I'LL EVER RAISE YOUR HAND WAVE AND DO
[00:10:01]
IT.[2B. Discussion and Action: Non-Curbside Recycling Contract RCA--Andy Dawson]
NEXT ITEM IS THE A, WHAT IS IT? UH, I GUESS THE RCA.WHAT WERE THE BALCONIES RECYCLING? UH, WHAT IS IT? THE RECYCLING PROCESSING CONTRACT? UH, YES.
THIS IS ANDY DAWSON, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY OFTEN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS REQUESTING A FABRIC EQUITABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE RECYCLING AND PROCESSING FOR NON CURBSIDE COLLECTIONS CONTRACT ABOUT CONAN'S RESOURCES.
THIS CONTRACT WILL COMBINE THE IN-HOUSE.
IN FACT, LIKE A SERVICES CONTRACT WITH THE SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING SERVICES CONTRACT AT THE RECYCLING USE DROP OFF CENTER AND ITS CONTRACTORS FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS AND NOT TO DICTATE $530,000 FOR JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT IN FY 19, PROBABLY THE BEST CARE WE CAN DRAW FROM.
UH, WE RECYCLED ABOUT 688 TONS OF MATERIALS THAT THE RDS NO CURBSIDE COLLECTION, CORRECT.
THERE WOULD ONLY BE FOR AN HOUR, UH, FACILITY, ERIK CITY FACILITIES AND, UH, AT THE DROP-OFF CENTER.
THANK YOU, ANDY COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THE EXTENSION TERMS OF THIS CONTRACT.
WHAT IS SOME OF THE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE BETWEEN THE TWO EXTENSIONS? SO, UH, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RCA AFTER THE INITIAL TERM OF THREE YEARS, UH, THAT WAS JUST TO TRY TO ACCOUNT FOR, UM, INCREASES IN VOLUMES THAT WE WERE, THAT WE WERE TAKING IN AND MAYBE, UH, UH, KIND OF A DOWNMARKET THAT, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE SPENDING AUTHORITY, NOT, UH, YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE W W WE WANT TO PLAN TO BASICALLY BUDGET.
THIS WILL START NEXT YEAR AND THEN POTENTIALLY GO 20, 26.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT, BECAUSE IT RESETS THE PERIOD OF THE EXISTING.
SO THE ONE THAT FEBRUARY GETS A RESET.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A VOTE ON THIS SIDE.
DO I HEAR A SECOND COMMISSIONER CHECK THAT ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE HEARING? NONE.
COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER, MOVING ON HERE.
THIS, UH, I GUESS THIS IS NOW GOING TO SHOW FROM HERE ON, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SOME, SOME WONDERFUL POWERPOINTS THAT ARE SCHEDULED ON THE, ON THE NEXT ITEMS. HERE WE HAVE VITAMIN
[3A. Discussion and Action: ARR Pandemic Response— Richard McHale and Meme Cardenas]
A THREE A, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM ON ARR IS PANDEMIC RESPONSE.AND I THINK RICH KALE AND MIMI CARDENAS WERE GONNA LEAD THAT PRESENTATION.
OR GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
I'M
ARE YOU GUYS GETTING A LOT OF FEEDBACK? YES, WE ARE.
LET ME TRY UNPLUGGING THESE, I THINK AT THE CITY HALL, IF WE CAN MEET THE CITY HALL, THAT'S WHERE ALL THE FEEDBACK IS.
I THINK IT MIGHT BE TWO, BUT IS THIS BETTER ON MY END? W ALL RIGHT.
WELL, I THINK I CAN GET STARTED.
UM, SO I'LL BE PRESENTING ALONG WITH RICHARD KIND OF OUR ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN, UH, IN RESPONSE TO THE PENDING MC AND MOVING FORWARD AS WE NAVIGATE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
SO I GUESS IT STARTED, UM, WHEN DID THE FIRST SLIDE, A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THIS? UM, ON MARCH 13TH, UH, ALL CITY NON-SEXUAL STAFF WAS INSTRUCTED TO TELE-WORK INDEFINITELY AS THE FIRST CASES OF COVID-19 WEAVED INTO THE AUSTIN
[00:15:01]
AREA.UM, ALONG WITH ALL OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS STAFF FOR THE CITY WAS ASKED TO HOLD ANY COMMUNICATION THAT WASN'T, UH, GOING, COMING OUT OF CPIO HOMELAND SECURITY OR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, WITH THAT WE DID HAVE TO EVALUATE OUR PROGRAMS AND THINGS THAT WE HAD BEEN WORKING ON AND PREPARING FOR TO SEE IF WE WANTED TO RECOMMEND CANCELING OR POSTPONING.
I STILL HAVE A LOT OF FEEDBACK.
EVERYBODY HAS BEEN MUTED EXCEPT FOR A MINUTE.
AND THIS IS BETTER, CORRECT? YES.
SO IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE FIRST LIGHT, PLEASE.
SO I'LL START OVER A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON MARCH 13TH, ALL 90 CENTRAL CITY STAFF WAS INSTRUCTED TO TELEWORK INDEFINITELY AS THOSE FIRST CASES OF COVID MOVED INTO THE AUSTIN AREA.
ALONG WITH THAT, WITH THE ACTIVATION OF THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER AND, UH, HOMELAND SECURITY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND THOUGHTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO CEASE ANY COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY THAT WASN'T GOING ANY EMERGENCY RESPONSE RELATED, UM, CONTENT THROUGH OUR CHANNELS.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT SOME COMMUNICATION WAS APPROVED, BUT IT WILL HAVE TO BE FUNNELED THROUGH, THROUGH THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER AND HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
IS IT ME? AM I CAUSING ALL THE NOISE, THE CITY HALL, AVI HOOKS THAT AUDIO CAN BE MUTED.
DO YOU WANT TO TRY AGAIN? I'LL TRY AGAIN.
IS THAT BETTER? NO, WE CAN'T TELL UNTIL YOU TALK FOR A FEW.
UM, I DO THINK THAT THIS THIRD TIME IS GOING TO BE MY BEST ONE.
IS IT NOW? UM, ALL THE FEEDBACK SEEMS TO BE COMING FROM THE CITY, HOLLY AND E I DON'T KNOW, LIKE THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY OPTION IS TO MUTE THAT AUDIO.
CAN WE TRY THAT? I THINK THEY JUST MUTE IT, SO LET'S TRY IT AGAIN.
IS THIS MUCH BETTER? CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? OH, GOD.
I DO THINK MY FIRST TAKE WAS THE BEST, BUT I'LL TRY TO REPLICATE IT IN THE THIRD ONE.
SO I'M GOING TO DO MY BEST IF, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE BACKGROUND SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO ON MARCH 13TH, 2020, UH, ALL CITY NONESSENTIAL STAFF WAS INSTRUCTED TO WORK FROM HOME INDEFINITELY IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AS THE FIRST CASES OF AUSTIN, AS THE FIRST CASES OF THE VIRUS MOVED INTO AUSTIN.
UM, AS COMMUNICATION STAFF, WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO CEASE ALL DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION AND SUDDENLY SERVE AS AN ECHO AND AN APPLICANT AMPLIFICATION OF ALL EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER, WHICH INCLUDED HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, REALLY ANYTHING THAT WE WERE PUTTING OUT WAS PANDEMIC RELATED, UH, STAY AT HOME WORKSAFE ORDERS.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, WE WERE ALLOWED TO START OUR OWN MESSAGING, BUT IT ALL
[00:20:01]
HAD TO GO THROUGH THOSE PROPER CHANNELS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INFORMATION WAS FED IN AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH, WITH THE MESSAGING WE WANTED TO GET OUT TO OUR CITIZENS.UM, MOSTLY JUST CONCERNING, UH, SAFETY, LIKE SAFETY OF AUSTIN, AND THEN HOW TO NAVIGATE DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, ALSO SO SORRY, MOVING FORWARD IN THE SUMMER OF 2020, WE WERE ALLOWED TO RESUME SOME OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS, OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING AS I CALL IT, BUT ALWAYS BEING MINDFUL THAT THE PANDEMIC WAS STILL AROUND AND THAT IT WAS STILL AN ISSUE THAT WAS FACING OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, LOOKING BACK, WE DID TAKE INVENTORY OF OUR EXISTING, UH, CONTENT THAT WAS ALREADY OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE PUT IT OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, IT LIVES FOREVER.
SO WE MADE SURE THAT WE PUT NOTES ON THINGS THAT, UH, THAT MAYBE DIDN'T SHOW PROPER SOCIAL DISTANCING TO DATE THAT IT WAS PRE PANDEMIC.
UM, WE DID MAKE SURE THAT OUR MESSAGING TOOK A LESS PLAYFUL TONE FOR AWHILE.
UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE STILL KIND OF THAT AUTHORITY FIGURE AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE KNEW THAT WE WERE STILL THE CITY AND WORKING FOR THEM TO KEEP THEM SAFE.
UM, AND WE INCREASED MESSAGING SIGNIFICANTLY WITH REGARDS TO A SANITATION WORKER, TO OUR OPERATORS SAFETY AND TO KEEPING EVERYBODY SAFE DURING THE PANDEMIC.
WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO DURING THAT, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ONSET OF THE PANDEMIC, UM, THE, WE DID DECIDE, YOU KNOW, WITH APPROVAL TO WAIVE EXTRA TRASH FEES AND IN-DEPTH, I MEAN, FOR TEMPORARILY WAIVE THOSE EXTRA TRASH FEES, UM, WITH THE ONSET OF THE STAY HOME WORK, SAFE ORDERS, THE EXTRA TRASH FEES WERE REINSTATED ON SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2020.
UM, THE CUSTOMERS WERE NOTIFIED VIA PRESS RELEASE THAT WE COORDINATED WITH THE EOC, UH, THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND THROUGH OUR ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTERS.
ALONG WITH THAT MESSAGING, WE ALSO DISSEMINATED INFORMATION ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, UH, ALL OF THE GARBAGE BAGS WERE TIED, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR OPERATORS WERE SAFE.
WE DIDN'T WANT, YOU KNOW, TRASH GETTING OUT OF THE BAGS AND LITTERING THE STREETS AND THEN EXPOSING POSSIBLY OUR OPERATORS TO, TO THAT.
SO WE MADE SURE THAT THAT WAS CONSISTENT MESSAGING TO MAKE SURE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR OPERATORS, MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE PAINTED IN THE SAME LIGHT AS OTHER ESSENTIAL WORKERS ARE.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OUT THERE KEEPING US SAFE, MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN STAY HOME AND WORK SAFE.
SO THAT WAS A LARGE PART OF OUR MESSAGING FOR THAT MESSAGING.
IT WAS VERY QUICK THAT WE HAD TO TURN AROUND.
WE OBVIOUSLY DISSEMINATED THROUGH A PRESS RELEASE THAT INCLUDED NUMEROUS NOTIFICATIONS FROM CITY, FROM CITY OFFICIALS FROM THE EOC.
UM, WE REACHED OUT TO LOCAL AREA INFLUENCERS AND ASK THEM, HEY, CAN YOU HELP US KEEP OUR OPERATORS SAFE? IT WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED.
UH, WE SENT OUT A PRESS RELEASE LIKE I'M AND MR. SNIPES WENT ON KX AND TO DO AN INTERVIEW AND A LIFESTYLE SEGMENT THAT WE WERE THEN ABLE TO SHARE AGAIN ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, OH, NOT ONLY THAT, UH, WE WERE ASKED TO, OH, SORRY.
SO WE ALSO HAD TO COMMUNICATE SEVERAL SERVICE, SUSPENSIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS AS THEY'VE COME AND GONE.
UH, THE RDRC THAT DROP OFF CENTER TEMPORARILY CLOSED, UM, AS THE STAGES CHANGED AND THERE WAS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SERVICE.
UH, AT ONE MOMENT WE WERE ONLY DOING IN-HOME COLLECTION OF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE.
SO WITH THAT, EVERY TIME THERE'S A CHANGE IN SERVICES, THERE HAS TO BE A CHANGE IN COMMUNICATION.
SO WE WOULD REALLY ASK OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO HELP US AMPLIFY IT.
WE WOULD PUSH OUT, PRESS RELEASES, DO SOCIAL MEDIA WORK ON IT LIKE THAT.
UM, AND THERE WAS ALSO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF FRESH AND BULK AND STREET SWEEPING.
AND WE RECEIVED A LOT OF CALLS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUSPENSION OF THOSE SERVICES.
AND WE JUST WORKED WITH, WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AND WITH THE PUBLIC TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHY THOSE SERVICES HAD BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WHEN WE RESUMED THE SERVICES, UH, WE WOULD AMPLIFY THOSE MESSAGES AGAIN.
AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THAT IS PROVEN TO BE AN AMAZING TOOL DURING THE PANDEMIC IS THE AUSTIN RECYCLES MOBILE APP.
THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD BEEN WORKING ON PREVIOUS TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND ONCE WE WERE ASKED TO CEASE ALL COMMUNICATIONS, WE ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TOOL AS IT WAS A DIRECT, AS IT IS A DIRECT WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND MORE ABOUT THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE AUSTIN RECYCLES APP.
AND I'LL START TALKING ABOUT, SO IT IS AN ENHANCEMENT OF OUR MOBILE TOOL.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN ON OUR WEBSITE ON AUSTIN, RECYCLES.COM, THERE IS A TOOL THERE THAT PEOPLE THAT CUSTOMERS CAN SEARCH THEIR ADDRESSES, THEY CAN SEARCH THE, WHAT DO I DO WITH TOOL TO LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF UNWANTED ITEMS. THEY CAN LOOK UP THEIR SCHEDULE, THEY CAN DOWNLOAD REMINDERS.
THIS IS THE MOBILE VERSION OF THAT.
AND WE WERE ALLOWED TO LAUNCH THAT BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES IT HELP KEEP, UH, AUSTIN CITIZENS AND OUR CUSTOMERS IN TOUCH WITH US, AND WE CAN SEND THEM DIRECT MESSAGES ABOUT ANY SERVICES, PENSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, THE WAVE TRASH, UH, FEE, EXTRA TRASH TREAT FOR THE MOMENT.
[00:25:01]
HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL IN THE WAY THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CITIZENS.AND WE'VE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CREATORS OF THIS, WHICH IS, UH, RECOLLECT.
THEY HELP ASKED US IF WE WANTED TO DO A SUCCESS STORY WITH THEM.
UH, WE'VE HAD ALMOST 10,000 DOWNLOADS SINCE MARCH, 2020, WHICH IS ABOVE ANY OTHER BENCHMARK CITY OF OUR SIZE WITH THIS APP ALMOST 85% OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES HAVE BEEN SEARCHED.
SO THAT IS 85% OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
AT LEAST ONCE 55,000 REMINDERS WERE CREATED, WHICH IS PEOPLE GET THAT DIRECT MESSAGE ABOUT THEIR COLLECTION SCHEDULE.
AND THE, WHAT DO I DO WITH TOOL IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN EVOLVING DURING THE PANDEMIC.
WE NEVER REALLY THOUGHT THAT WE'D HAVE TO PUT IN THERE, UH, RUBBER GLOVES AND FACE SMITHS AND HOW TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF THESE ITEMS, BUT AS THE NEEDS OF OUR CITIZENS AND THE NEEDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS CHANGE, WE'RE ADAPTING WITH THEM UPDATING THOSE TOOLS AS WELL.
CAN WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? SO AS YOU GUYS ARE, WE'RE EXPERIENCING, NOW WE'VE HAD HAVE TO GONE.
WE HAVE HAD TO GO VIRTUAL FOR NUMEROUS THINGS, AND WE HAVE TRANSITIONED INTO THE VIRTUAL WORLD, UH, QUITE WELL, PRE BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE OUR RESOURCES ON A DIGITAL PLATFORM.
NOW, INSTEAD OF IN PERSON WITH A LOT OF THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WE DO, UM, ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, WE MOVED ONLINE WITH CHICKEN KEEPING CLASSES.
WE HAD FIRST THOUGHT THAT WE COULD JUST DO A VIDEO, BUT OUR STAFF IDENTIFIED THAT FOR CHICKEN KEEPING, WE WANTED TO MAKE IT AN INTERACTIVE, UH, TYPE PRESENTATION LIKE THIS, WHERE PEOPLE COULD ASK QUESTIONS, WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO USE ANIMALS IN THE USE OF THEIR COMPOST.
SO IT WAS A LITTLE MORE SENSITIVE.
SO WE REALIZED QUICKLY THAT JUST A VIDEO WASN'T GOING TO WORK.
THE FIRST ONE WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL AND WE'RE PLANNING MORE, UH, IN THE UPCOMING YEAR, THE FIX-IT CLINIC ALSO MOVED ONLINE WITH A SERIES CALLED FIX IT AT HOME.
UM, WE HOSTED OVER 15 CLASSES IN THE SUMMER AND THERE WERE MORE THAN 250 ATTENDEES FOR THE FIXED AT HOME CLASSES, ZERO WASTE ORIENTED, THE ZERO WASTE BLOCKLAYER PROGRAM KICKED OFF AGAIN.
WE HAD, UH, NUMEROUS, UH, PEOPLE WANTING TO TAKE THE ORIENTATION.
WE WERE ABLE TO DO ONLINE, A VIRTUAL ZERO WASTE BLOCK LEADER ORIENTATIONS.
WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO DO A CONTACT LIST DRIVE THROUGH FOR THOSE NEW BLOCK LEADERS TO PICK UP MATERIALS THAT THEY MAY WANT TO SHARE WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS.
AND WE'VE CREATED NUMEROUS SOCIAL MEDIA TOOL KITS FOR THEM TO HELP DISSEMINATE OUR, OUR GOAL AND, UH, OUR MESSAGE WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS.
UM, ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY ON THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
WE WORKED WITH THE CONTRACTORS ON THE SURVEY ITSELF AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT WAS AN ONLINE PLATFORM, UH, THAT, UH, THOSE THAT WANTED TO TAKE THE SURVEY COULD EASILY ACCESS.
AND WE WORKED ON, UM, PROMOTING IT SO THAT EVERYBODY HAD A CHANCE TO GET TO TAKE IT REVERSE PITCH IS MOVING ONLINE.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IT AND IT WILL BE HOSTED IN MAY WITH OVER A HUNDRED ATTENDEES AND IT'S PLANNING, I'M SORRY.
IT WAS HOSTED LAST YEAR IN MAY, AND WE HOPE WE'RE PLANNING A VIRTUAL EVENT FOR 2021.
WE HELD OUR FIRST BROWNFIELDS COMMUNITY MEETING, WHICH WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME FORTH AND SPEAK ABOUT CERTAIN, UM, PROJECTS IN THEIR AREAS.
WE HOSTED A RECYCLING AT MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES WEBINAR, ALONG WITH THE AUSTIN APARTMENT ASSOCIATION, WHERE WE INVITED MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTY OWNERS AND MANAGERS TO ATTEND, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO INCREASE RECYCLING AT THEIR PROPERTIES.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ON THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY MEETUP.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE SHIFTED OUR GAIT OR ENGAGEMENT A LOT VIRTUALLY TO BE ABLE TO STILL MEET THE NEED, BUT ALSO, UH, WITH REGARDS TO MAINTAINING ALL PROPER SAFETY PROTOCOLS GIVEN THE PANDEMIC.
SO MOVING FORWARD, IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU KNOW, THE CURBSIDE COMPOSTING IS COMING UP OUR FINAL, OUR FOURTH AND FINAL EXPANSION WHERE ALL OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE THIS SERVICE IN THEIR HOME.
A LARGE PART OF OUR ENGAGEMENT FOR CURBSIDE COMPOSTING WAS DOOR TO DOOR ENGAGEMENT AND THESE TOWN, UH, THESE, UH, OPEN HOUSES WHERE ANYBODY COULD COME, THEY WOULD GET A KITCHEN COLLECTOR AND THEY COULD TALK TO US ABOUT ALL THINGS COMPOSTING.
UM, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE WON'T BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT SAME LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT MOVING FORWARD INTO, UH, THIS FOURTH AND FINAL EXPANSION, BUT WE HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION TO THAT.
WE'RE WORKING ON A VIRTUAL TOWN HALL, WHICH WE WILL HAVE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION IN SPANISH AND VIETNAMESE.
IT WILL BE AIRED ON ATX N ALSO IN ATEX AND THREE IN SPANISH.
WE'RE GOING TO DO A FACEBOOK LIVE AND ANOTHER GREAT THING.
I MEAN, LOOKING AT THE POSITIVE SIDES OF THIS IS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO RECORD IT AND REPLAY IT FOR ANYBODY THAT NEEDS INFORMATION.
UH, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE A SPEAK-UP PAGE THAT WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH AUSTINITES THAT WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COMPOSTING AND HAS
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A QUESTION AND ANSWER SECTION WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW VIDEOS THERE ON HOW TO COMPOST AS WELL.UM, AND THEN AT THE END OF IT, YOU KNOW, ONCE EVERYBODY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE SERVICE FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS, AT LEAST WE WILL HAVE HOST A REDDIT, ASK ME ANYTHING, AN AMA WHERE PEOPLE THAT MAY STILL HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SERVICE CAN COME TO US AND WE CAN HELP THEM BE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR COMPOSTING JOURNEY.
I SAT A LOT, AND THAT WAS ME, MR. RICHARD, UH, GOOD EVENING TO MIKAEL DEPUTY DIRECTOR.
UH, I'LL UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ADD, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE AS FAR AS SAFETY FOR OUR STAFF AND THE IMPACT OF THE OPERATION, AND, AND JUST KIND OF ADD ON TO THE GREAT WORK THAT FOCUS ABOUT AS FAR AS OUR COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION PLANS.
SO I'LL TELL YOU, THEY ARE, WAS VERY PREPARED FOR, UH, THIS EVENT JUST BY CHANCE, BACK IN FEBRUARY OF 2020, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES FROM THOSE ORGANIZATIONS WERE AT THE PARTY, BEEN INVITED TO EMMITSBURG, MARYLAND TO AT FEMA TRAINING FACILITY THREE WEEK LONG, A MOCK DISASTER DESKTOP EXERCISE.
UM, AND SO WE HAPPENED TO BE UP IN, UH, IN THE MARYLAND AREA, UH, BACK IN FEBRUARY, PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, REALLY HITTING THE UNITED STATES.
AND, UM, THIS, ALTHOUGH THIS EXERCISE WASN'T A, UH, PANDEMIC, UH, SCENARIO, UH, IT DID ALLOW, UH, CITY AND COUNTY STAFF TO REALLY KIND OF WORK ON THE PROCESSES OF HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER DURING THESE EVENTS, TRACK EXPENSES AND, AND ACTUALLY HAVE SOME GOOD ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND OTHER GROUPS, UM, WHICH KIND OF STRENGTHENED OUR, OUR SECURITY POSTURE DURING THIS EVENT.
SO, UM, ARR HAD, UH, ALREADY HAD AN EXISTING PANDEMIC PLAN.
UH, THE CITY HAS A PLAN IN GENERAL FOR THE WHOLE CITY, UH, THAT ARR HAS A DEPARTMENTAL PLAN THAT WE HAD DEVELOPED BACK IN 2009.
AND ONCE WE STARTED HEARING ABOUT THE NEWS, UH, IN CHINA AND WHAT WAS UNFOLDING, UM, WE WENT AHEAD AND TOOK THAT PLAN OUT AND KIND OF READ THROUGH IT AND STARTED DISCUSSING HOW WE WOULD IMPLEMENT IT.
OBVIOUSLY THIS WOULD HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON OUR OPERATION, WHERE THEY'RE DEALING WITH NATURAL DISASTERS, UH, BUT PRIMARILY FLOODS, WIND STORMS HURRICANE.
SO THIS, UH, THIS WOULDN'T BE OUR FIRST PANDEMIC, HOPEFULLY OUR LAST, UM, THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
SO, UM, WE TOOK OUR CUES FROM THAT PLAN AND WE MADE ADJUSTMENTS AND WE CONTINUE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, UH, AS WE WORK THROUGH IT, CAUSE WE WERE TENDING TO LEARNING NEW THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY ANTICIPATE.
UH, ON THE OPERATION SIDE, WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, UH, MADE OUR EMPLOYEES FEEL SAFE ABOUT COMING TO WORK.
UM, AND WE MADE SOME MODIFICATIONS ON HOW WE DO THINGS.
UM, TYPICALLY OUR EMPLOYEES WOULD COME IN THE BUILDING, UM, MEET TALK, THEY GATHERED THEIR ASSIGNMENTS.
SO BECAUSE OF THE SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS, WE CHANGED THAT UP.
SO OUR EMPLOYEES NOW, UH, THAT WHEN THEY GET TO WORK, THEY GO STRAIGHT OUTSIDE.
UH, THEY GET THEIR ASSIGNMENTS, UH, OUTDOORS, UH, AND THEN THEY GET IN THEIR TRUCKS AND THEY GO AND THEY GO, UH, TO THE ROUTES.
SO WE AVOIDED, UH, CLOSE CONTACT, AT LEAST MINIMIZE IT MOST OF THE WEEKEND.
UM, ONE THING WE ALSO DO, UM, IN CASES, CERTAIN ROUTES, UH, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT'S A HEAVY SEASON, SUCH AS IN ORGANICS.
UH, IF WE HAVE STAFF AVAILABLE, WE'LL TRY TO HAVE THREE PERSONS TO A TRUCK, UM, WITH THE SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS.
UH, WHAT WE HAD TO DO IS WE WOULD PUT TWO PEOPLE IN A TRUCK THAT THIRD PERSON WOULD ACTUALLY BE BROUGHT OUT TO THE ROUTE BY A SUPERVISOR.
UH, AND THEN THAT PERSON WOULD BE ABLE TO WORK, UH, ON THE BACK OF THE TRUCK DURING THAT ROUTE, JUST TO HELP OUT, UH, ONCE THAT ROUTE WAS COMPLETED, THEN THE SUPERVISOR WOULD THEN GO BACK OUT TO THAT TRUCK AND PICK THAT EMPLOYEE UP.
SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE MORE THAN TWO PEOPLE IN THAT VEHICLE AT ANY ONE TIME.
UH, SO THAT WAS A BIG CHANGE FOR US.
UM, EMPLOYEES CAME TO US DURING THE EVENT TOO.
AND A LOT OF AT THIS TIME IN THE BEGINNING, A LOT OF STORES WERE CLOSED.
A LOT OF RESTAURANTS HAD SHUT DOWN AND OUR EMPLOYEES DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, TO RESTROOMS, TO AREAS WHERE THEY COULD WASH THEIR HANDS.
SO, UH, THE DEPARTMENT PURCHASED ADDITIONAL WATER COOLERS THAT WE INSTALLED ON THE TRUCKS, UH, WITH A, UH, WATER COOLER, THEN SOAP, UH, AND THOSE COOLERS, UH, WERE MEANT JUST FOR WASHING HANDS.
THEY HAD A SEPARATE COOLER FOR ANY DRINKING WATER.
UH, SO THAT'S THE ONE THING WE DID TO TRY TO ACCOMMODATE THE LACK OF SERVICES THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GET.
TYPICALLY, WE ALSO RENTED SOME PORTABLE RESTROOMS AND PUT THOSE AT CITY FACILITIES AROUND THE CITY.
UH, SO THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE SOME FACILITIES YOU, SO WHEN THEY WERE OUT AND ABOUT, UM, WE RENTED SOME ICE MACHINES AND PURCHASE BAGGED ICE, INSTEAD OF USING OUR STANDARDIZED MACHINES, THAT ONE WOULD TYPICALLY RUN THAT WOULD HAVE LIKE A METAL DEVICE
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OUT.SO IN ORDER TO AVOID ANY TYPE OF CROSS CONTAMINATION, UH, WE GAVE OUR EMPLOYEES BAG GUYS, UH, TO HELP THEM OUT IN THAT SITUATION, UH, CORE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF, UM, THE AR ARR AND THE REST OF THE CITY PUT IN PLACE PROCESSES TO ALLOW THEM TO TELEWORK.
AND YOU TOUCHED ON THAT EARLIER.
UM, IT'S ALSO OBVIOUSLY HAD THE EXTRA BENEFIT OF REDUCING THE CITY'S CARBON FOOTPRINT AND THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC ON THE ROADS.
UH, IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN THERE HAS BEEN TO MEET WE'VE INSTALLED PLEXIGLASS TO REDUCE ANY POTENTIAL TRANSMISSION OF THE VIRUS.
UM, WE ALSO ANY NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
UH, THE DEPARTMENT ALSO REQUIRES ALL, ANY EMPLOYEES, UH, COMING TO WORK TO HAVE THEIR TEMPERATURE SCREEN BEFORE WORK.
SO FOR OUR OPERATIONAL STAFF AT THE TENANT PARTNER SERVICE CENTER, UH, WE HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT COME TO WORK AT FOUR 30 IN THE MORNING AND THEY SET UP A TESTING AREA.
IT'S A DRIVE THROUGH TEMPERATURE SCREENING, AND WE DO THAT EVERY MORNING.
UH, SO ALL EMPLOYEES, TEMPERATURES ARE SCANNED PRIOR TO THEM, UH, BEGINNING WORK.
UH, THIS ALSO GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, GET THEM ANY CRITICAL INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO DELIVER TO THEM AND TO GIVE THEM ANY EXTRA SUPPLIES THAT THEY NEED.
UM, IN REGARDS TO PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, WE, UH, WE WERE VERY PROACTIVE ABOUT THIS SINCE, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE WERE AWARE OF A SITUATION AND STARTED PLANNING PRIOR TO ANY CASE, UH, STARTING IN THE UNITED STATES.
UM, SO WE, UH, WENT AHEAD AND MADE SOME BULK PURCHASES AT THAT TIME.
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN JANUARY, FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME.
SO WE IT'S A BULK PURCHASES OF MASS SANITIZER, DISINFECTANT CLUBS.
UM, SO WE NEVER REALLY HAD AN ISSUE OF NOT HAVING EQUIPMENT FOR OUR STAFF.
IN FACT, UH, AS THE VIRUS HAS PROGRESSED, UH, THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT ACTUALLY, UH, WEREN'T WERE UNABLE TO GET EQUIPMENT AND WE WERE ABLE TO SUPPLY THEM WITH, TO GET THEM THROUGH.
SO, UM, NEVER REALLY HAD ANY ISSUES THERE, EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE MANY SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AND SHORTAGES EARLY IN THE YEAR.
UM, WE DO REQUIRE ANY EMPLOYEES AS WELL TO WEAR MASKS INSIDE THE BUILDING AND INSIDE THE TRUCKS.
UM, KIND OF A NO BRAINER FOR US, UM, IN CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, WHERE WE DO HAVE EMPLOYEES WHO CORTEZ.
THE CITY HAS POLICIES THAT REQUIRE THE EMPLOYEE TO QUARANTINE THEMSELVES AT HOME AND REMAIN THERE FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS.
AND, UH, UPON RECEIVING A NEGATIVE TEST RESULT FROM THERE, UH, FROM A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL ONLY AT THAT TIME, ARE THEY ABLE TO RETURN BACK TO WORK, UM, BEFORE THE CONTACT TRACING, WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW, UH, WE ALSO HAVE TO, WHEN WE FIND OUT THE SITUATIONS, WE HAVE TO KIND OF DO A LITTLE BACKTRACK TRACKING AND SEEING WHO THAT EMPLOYEE WORKED WITH AND MAKE SURE WE NOTIFY AND HIS COWORKERS AND ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH, UH, THE DEPARTMENT, UH, THOSE FOLKS CAN ALSO ISOLATE AND, UH, GET TESTED BEFORE THEY CAN RETURN TO WORK.
UH, W WE, UH, WE HAVE HAD SOME CASES AND I'LL TOUCH ON THAT IN A SECOND.
UM, BUT, UH, WHEN WE DO, WE'VE HAD TO DECONTAMINATE THOSE AREAS, UH, WHERE THE EMPLOYEE MAY HAVE BEEN MISSING AS CONCLUDED.
WE USE THE FOGGERS TO DISINFECT TRUCKS, OFFICES, AND SOME OF THE COMMON AREAS, THE CUSTODIAL STAFF, UH, THAT WORK IN THE BUILDING HERE AT THE KIND OF PARTNER SERVICE CENTER, AND ALSO ON A REGULAR BASIS AS PART OF THEIR NORMAL CLEANING, UH, ROTATION.
UH, YOU WIPE DOWN ALL THE DOOR KNOBS, RAILINGS, AND THE COMMON AREA, UH, JUST AS A MATTER OF PRACTICE.
UM, WE'D GO TO THE NEXT FIVE, AS FAR AS THE IMPACTS OF THE SERVICE.
UH, WE DEFINITELY HAVE HAD SOME MEMBERS.
YOU TOUCHED ON SOME OF THOSE EARLIER.
UM, DURING THE, UH, THE BEGINNING OF THE INCIDENT, WE HAD A LOT OF STAFF THAT, UH, WOULD REPORT TO THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER THAT STAFF, UH, DEALT WITH, UH, UH, LOGISTICAL ISSUES, ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES.
AND WE HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC, UH, INFORMATION, UH, STAFF AT THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER THERE, UH, AS THE INTERIM, UH, THE INCIDENT PROGRESSED, UM, EOC DIDN'T WANT AS MANY FOLKS DOWN THERE.
SO A LOT OF FOLKS WERE ABLE TO COME BACK TO THE, TO THEIR OFFICES AND JUST WORK REMOTELY, CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
UH, WE DO HAVE SOME EMPLOYEES THAT ARE STILL WORKING FULL TIME FOR THE EDO STATE, UM, IN, UH, HELPING THE EOC ASSIST THEM IN THEIR MISSION.
SO, UH, WE ARE STILL A LITTLE BIT SHORTHANDED AS FAR AS THAT GOES.
UM, AS FAR AS CLOSURES, AGAIN, MAMI TALKED ON PHONE, TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF THE RECYCLING DROP-OFF CENTER, UH, AND THE ADJUSTMENTS WE HAD TO MAKE TO HAVE FOLKS, UH, SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS.
AND WE WOULD GO TO THEIR HOMES AND DO COLLECTIONS.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO REOPEN, UM, ON A PERMANENT BASIS AND WE'RE DOING A PREP 200 CUSTOMERS A DAY, UH, STILL ACCEPTED MATERIALS.
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UM, IT'S LOOKING LIKE, UH, THE CITY MAY GO BACK INTO STAGE FIVE, AND IF THAT HAPPENED, WE WOULD GO BACK TO THE, UH, AT HOME COLLECTIONS TO EXTEND MATERIAL, UM, AS FAR AS STAFFING LEVELS, UM, DEFINITELY A BIG IMPACT YEAH.YOU KNOW, IF ONE EMPLOYEE GETS THE VIRUS, IT'S NOT JUST THAT ONE EMPLOYEE THAT'S OPPORTUNITY, BUT EVERYONE ELSE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH BEEN EMPLOYED.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, THE PAST THAT W EMERGENCY FAMILY THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS PUT THROUGH, UM, SO EMPLOYEES COULD, UH, TAKE CARE OF ANY CHILDREN THAT THEY MAY HAVE, WHO WEREN'T ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL, UH, THAT GAVE SOME FOLKS CAN LEAD TO LEAD, UH, THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO NOT, UH, UH, REPORT TO WORK.
UM, IN ADDITION, THE CITY GAVE, UM, EMPLOYEES, UH, A TWO WEEK TIMEFRAME, UH, FOR, UM, EMERGENCY SICK LEAVE IF THEY CARE FOR ANY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT, UH, THAT MAY HAVE HAD COVID.
SO, UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYEES TO YOU'D BE ABLE TO STAY AT HOME AND TAKE CARE OF THEIR, THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES.
UM, ON ANY GIVEN DAY WE HAD HAD ABOUT 70 EMPLOYEES OUT, UM, AND THAT'S BETWEEN THE FMLA, UH, SICK TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE CASE.
AND THAT INCLUDES SOME VACATION TIME.
WE DECIDED EARLY IN THE PROCESS NOT TO, UH, CUT PEOPLE'S VACATION TIME OR NOT ALLOW THEM TO TAKE IT BECAUSE WE REALIZED THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A LONG PROCESS.
AND, UH, WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
SO WE STILL DO HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE TAKEN VACATION, BUT, UH, THAT'S BEEN REALLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF THE FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN OUT, UM, BECAUSE OF THIS THOUGH, UH, OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE HAD TO WORK A LOT OF HOURS.
UM, MOST OF THE IMPORTANT WORK IN EXCESS OF 40 HOURS A WEEK, A LOT OF EMPLOYEES THAT BEEN WORKING ON THE WEEKENDS, CAUSE WE WE'RE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DELIVER THE SERVICES THAT WE, UH, THAT WE SET OUT TO DO.
UM, THIS PROBLEM, IT WAS A LITTLE BIT EXASPERATED BY THE, THE ISSUE OF IT'S.
IT'S BEEN VERY HARD FOR US TO HIRE FOLKS EVEN YET IN THE NORMAL TIMEFRAME.
UM, WE WE'D HAVE TO COMPETE WITH E-COMMERCE AND OTHER WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES.
UH, SO WE TEND TO HAVE A LOT EMPLOYEES THAT, UH, CAN FIND JOBS ELSEWHERE, UH, JOBS THAT ARE LESS TAXING ON THE BODY AND EASIER TO DO.
UM, EVEN IN THE BEST OF TIMES, IT'S HARD TO GET EMPLOYEES.
UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN HARDER TO DO SO.
UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY'S HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO SEE WHAT STRATEGIES WE CAN DO TO HELP EMPLOY EXISTING EMPLOYEES THAT ARE HERE TO, TO HELP THEM OUT, UM, URGE THEM TO STAY AS WELL AS TO HIRE NEW EMPLOYEES IN THE FUTURE.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE SAME ISSUES THAT WE'RE FACING.
UH, RON TALKED ABOUT THIS, OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT AND OUR EQUIPMENT VENDORS HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEMS, UH, AND THAT HAS LED TO SOME ISSUES WITH WORK TRUCKS BEING DOWN, UH, NOT ONLY THAT, BUT IT'S BEEN FIVE CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AND HAVE CAUSED SOME ISSUES, GETTING SPARE PARTS FOR TRUCKS THAT WE DO TO KEEP THEM RUNNING.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, UH, YOU ALL JUST VOTED ON THE APPROVAL OF THAT RENTAL AGREEMENT.
THAT WAS PART OF THE IMPACT THAT WE HAD TO DO.
WE JUST RECEIVED OUR LATEST ORDER OF TRUCKS THAT Y'ALL HAD APPROVED AND, UH, PRETTY MUCH ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
UM, SO THOSE TRUCKS HAVE, ARE NOW ARRIVING AND, UH, SO THAT HAS HELPED OUR SITUATION NOW AS WELL.
SO WE'RE IN A MUCH BETTER SITUATION NOW.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE AT ONE POINT WHERE YOU, THE TRUCKS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE PEOPLE.
AND THEN OTHER TIMES WE, WE, WE HAVE THE PEOPLE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TRUCKS THOUGH.
WE'RE WAITING FOR THAT PERFECT BALANCE TO COME, AND WE THINK IT'S COMING HERE SHORTLY.
SO, UH, WE DID, UH, BECAUSE OF STAFFING ISSUE TEMPORARILY SUSPEND OUR BRUSHING BULK COLLECTION, UM, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD STAFF, YOU'D BE ABLE TO COLLECT TRASH RECYCLING IN OUR ORGANICS, UH, FOR THE SAME REASONS WE HAD TO REDUCE OUR SERVICE LEVELS AND OUR STREET STREETS AND OPERATION, YOU STILL NEED EMPLOYEES TO, TO HELP OUT AND TRASH RECYCLING AND ORGANIC.
SO WE HAVE SKELETON CREWS THAT ARE RUNNING, UH, STREET SWEEPING FOR THE, UH, UH, THE BOULEVARD.
THE RESIDENTIAL AREAS HAVE BIKE LANES DOWNTOWN.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL ABLE TO, UH, IF WE GO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE'RE STILL ABLE TO, UH, COLLECT TRASH RECYCLING AND ORGANICS.
I MEAN, THOSE ARE OUR CORE RESPONSIBILITIES, UM, AS WELL AS MAINTAIN OUR SERVICES TO THE HOMELESS POPULATION HERE IN THE CITY.
THERE'S BEEN MANY CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE BEEN ABLE, AND HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS, UH, THE MOST RECENT AND PROBABLY THE CLOSEST ONE THAT I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW IS EL PASO REGION, UH, ABOUT, I GUESS ON DECEMBER 1ST, EARLIER THIS MONTH, I DID DISCONTINUE MADE THAT
[00:45:01]
PIVOTAL DECISION TO DISCONTINUE THEIR RECYCLING COLLECTION BECAUSE THEY WERE VERY HARD HIT WITH THE VIRUS AND STAFF, AND IT'S VERY MUCH AN ISSUE OUT THERE.SO, UM, REALLY WE'RE FORTUNATE THAT WE, WHILE WE ARE, UH, STRETCHED IN THAT WE STILL ABLE TO COMPLETE OUR SERVICES.
SO, UH, AT THE SAME TIME WE'VE BEEN, UH, THE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING ON A RE-INTEGRATION PLAN FOR WHEN WE DO GET EVERYONE BACK IN THE OFFICE AND, UH, SEE WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS, UH, HOW WE OPERATE AT THAT POINT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I FLEW IN THIS SLIDE BY THE NUMBER, JUST, JUST TO LET YOU SEE WHAT, WHAT THE INCREASE IN THE BAND, AND THIS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT THE IMPACT HAS BEEN AS FAR AS VOLUMES TRASH, 8% RECYCLING, 50%, OUR ORGANICS, UH, YOU KNOW, 22% PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HOME AND DOING THEIR BOARD.
THEY WANT TO DO A LOT OF YARD WORK AND BELIEVE ME THEY'RE DOING IT.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S BEEN A STRESS ON US, I GUESS THE ONE SILVER LINING ABOUT ALL THIS IS, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR, AT THE DIRECTOR OF REPORT AT THE, THE NUMBERS IN THAT REPORT, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ACTUALLY SURPASSED A 40% DIVERSION RATE FOR THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR.
SO, UH, IF, IF THERE IS A SILVER LINING, I THINK I WOULD POINT TO THAT.
UM, UH, MORE CONCERNING THOUGH REALLY IS THE NUMBER OF POSITIVE CASES THAT WE HAVE HAD.
WE HAVE HAD 33 POUNDS OF CASES AS OF, AS OF WHEN I CREATED THIS SLIDE.
AND ACTUALLY I FOUND OUT THIS MORNING THAT WE HAD, UH, ANOTHER CASE, UH, THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THAT ONE CASE, AGAIN, WE, MORE THAN ONE PERSON BEING OUT FOR A TWO WEEK PERIOD.
I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT EVERYONE THAT HAS TESTED POSITIVE HAS AS, UH, RECOVERED AND GETTING BETTER.
UM, SO THAT, UH, THAT IS A POSITIVE NOTE.
UM, AND NOT ALL THOSE CASES HAVE OCCURRED AT WORK.
I MEAN, SOME OF THESE CASES FOR FOLKS THAT WERE TELEWORKING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WERE EXPOSED PERHAPS AT THE GROCERY STORE OR JUST, UH, JUST IN PUBLIC IN GENERAL.
SO, UM, IT'S, UH, IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THAT I'VE COVERED THIS POINT, UM, HAS JUST KIND OF ADDED TO THE COST THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARD AND, AND FOR OUR DEPARTMENT OR OUR BURN RATE, OR WHAT WE SPENT AS A RESULT OF THIS PANDEMIC HAS BEEN ABOUT 1.3, 1.1, $3 MILLION.
AND THAT'S THROUGH THE END OF NOVEMBER.
AND MAJORITY OF THAT IS FOR LABOR WHEN WE'VE HAD A LOT OF OVERTIME, UH, WE DID PURCHASE A LOT OF SUPPLIES.
UM, SO IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A BIG HIT ON US.
UH, BUT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, UM, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CITY HAS SPENT, UH, THE CITY AS A WHOLE HAS SPENT ABOUT $194 MILLION ON THE PANDEMIC.
SO IT HAD BEEN A BIG IMPACT TO THE CITY AND A BIG IMPACT TO, UH, TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND THIS REALLY DOESN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE EXTRA TRASH FEEDS THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, WHERE I WAS WAVING THOSE THAT WAS ABOUT, WE ESTIMATE ABOUT $200,000 HIT THE REVENUE THAT WE WOULD HAVE NORMALLY EXPECTED, UH, THIS YEAR.
UM, IT DOESN'T REALLY ACCOUNT FOR THE ADDITIONAL COST OF DISPOSAL OR THAT EXTRA, THAT 8% OF TRASH, THAT EXTRA 15% THE RECYCLING.
UH, SO THOSE NUMBERS REALLY AREN'T ACCOUNTED FOR THAT AS WELL.
UH, IT DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE ADDITIONAL FUEL WE'VE HAD TO USE TO, UH, OR THE EXTRA LOADS OF MATERIAL.
SO, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF COSTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, AND YOU KNOW, ANOTHER NUMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T YET SEEN, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY, UM, UH, DREADING IS THE NUMBER THAT RECEIVED FOR OUR BAD DEBT AND WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE HERE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, MANY OF THE RATE PAYERS HERE IN AUSTIN ARE UNABLE TO PAY THEIR UTILITY BILLS, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THAT GONNA LOOK LIKE? SO, UM, THERE'S, UH, THIS STORY'S NOT OVER, THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER COMING UP, SO WE'LL WAIT TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, WE'LL ALSO MENTION THAT THE TEXAS CHAPTER OF THE SALT WASTE ASSOCIATE IN NORTH AMERICA, UH, WORKED WITH, UH, SWANA, WHICH IS THE NATIONAL AFFILIATE, UH, TO PETITION THIS, UH, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL TO PRIORITIZE, UH, SANITATION WORKERS, UH, TO GET THE VACCINE, UH, IN AN EXPEDITED MANNER, UM, BECAUSE OUR EMPLOYEES ARE HIGH RISK THEY'RE OUT THERE.
AND, UH, OUR EMPLOYEES ARE, UM, GENERALLY IN THAT HIGHER RISK GROUP.
SO, UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE FOLKS HAVE MOVED TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE AND GET THE, UH, THE VACCINE THAT THEY DESERVE.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY THAT'LL, THAT WILL BE HAPPENING SOON.
UM, NOW THAT THE VACCINES ARE BEING ROLLED OUT ON TO WRAP UP, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF OUR EMPLOYEES CONTINUE TO SHOW UP FOR WORK AND GO ABOVE AND BEYOND,
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UH, BOTH THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL EMPLOYMENT.UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING THROUGH THIS DIFFICULT TIME.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, MAYBE I WILL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
DID YOU GUYS HEAR, UH, WHAT HAPPENED TO LATE THIS AFTERNOON? THE EEO C AS A MODIFIED SECTION K AND SECTION BASICALLY IS THE, UH, HEALTH AND SAFETY PORTION OF THE E E O C REGULATION.
AND LATE THIS AFTERNOON, THEY DECIDED THAT, UH, SHOULD AN EMPLOYER ASK THE EMPLOYEE TO RECEIVE A VACCINE THAT THAT WOULD BE, AND COULD BE A MANDATED REQUIREMENT FOR FURTHER FUTURE OR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.
ANYWAY, I ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO LOOK INTO THAT THAT WAS A LAKE.
THIS HAPPENED IN THAT THAT WENT THROUGH.
UM, BUT CITI WILL NOT MAKE, NOT MAKING A REQUIREMENT.
AND THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS THE CITY GOING TO ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE VACCINE FOR ITS EMPLOYEES, AS YOU STATED.
IN OTHER WORDS, THERE, THERE IS, THERE IS A COST THERE'S HEALTH INSURANCE THAT THE CITY PROVIDES.
I MEAN, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY WOULD JUST ROLL INTO THIS HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE, WHEREAS THE EMPLOYEE IS NOT HAVING TO GO OUT THERE AND, UH, PAY THIS RICH, SORRY THAT I DON'T FIND SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T NEED TO BE THERE.
UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S GOING TO BE ANY COST TO THE EMPLOYEES OR THE VACCINE.
UM, I'M NOT SURE HOW IT'S GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE CITY WILL DO AND MAYBE CAN SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE CHARGED TO ON POLICE FOR THAT.
SO CHAIRMAN, THIS IS KEN KNIVES, DIRECTOR, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
TO THIS POINT, WE KNOW THERE WILL BE THREE MORE THAN 300 OUTLETS THAT WILL BE DISTRIBUTING THE VACCINE.
SO IT WILL BE PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, INSTALLED IN THE OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYEES TO GET THE VACCINE.
UM, AS, UH, AS RICHARD SAID EARLIER, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE MANDATORY.
UH, THE CITY HAS SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE THE CASE, BUT WE WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO GET IT.
UM, BUT THE SAME RULES WOULD APPLY HERE THAT APPLY TO THE FLU VACCINE.
NOT EVERYONE GETS THE FLU VACCINE.
WE WOULD HOPE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE WITH SIGN UP TO DO IT, BUT, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL STAY INFORMED AND KEEP EVERYONE ABREAST OF WHAT THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE FOR GETTING THE VACCINE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
THE QUESTIONS COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS KATIE.
UM, I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, COMMEND Y'ALL ON A JOB WELL DONE.
UH, SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU DID EVERYTHING THAT YOU COULD TO PREPARE.
OBVIOUSLY IT HASN'T BEEN, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT ITS HARDSHIP, BUT IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT WORSE IF YOU HADN'T DONE THAT PREPARATION.
AND, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, ONE THING THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT A FEW TIMES, UH, WAS THE EMPLOYEE FOOTAGE.
SO I'M WONDERING IF, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE HAS BEEN ANY HAZARD PAY OFFERED OR JUST, YOU KNOW, SALARY INCREASES IN GENERAL.
I KNOW THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM Y'ALL BEFORE ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY IN HIRING.
AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE SALARY BEING OFFERED IS NOT SUFFICIENT, IS THAT BEEN EXAMINED? UM, YOU KNOW, EARLIER IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY MANAGER AND I THINK IT AS WELL, UM, THERE WAS SOME, UH, PAIN ENHANCEMENT OF A THOUSAND DOLLARS PAID TO EMPLOYEES ON THE FRONT LINE EITHER.
I DON'T THINK THAT WAS DEDICATED STRICTLY TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, BUT THAT, YES, THERE WAS ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR EMPLOYEES AND COMMISSIONER.
UM, AGAIN, KEN SNIPES, UM, GOING FORWARD, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, RIGHT NOW WORKING WITH HRD TO LOOK AT THE PAY THAT WE'RE OFFERING OUR CDL HOLDERS RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE, UH, AS RICHARD TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, WE'RE LOSING THEM TO THE VARIOUS, YOU KNOW, UH, LOGISTICS, UH, SUPPORT AGENCIES RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF YOU CAN DRIVE A BOX TRUCK THEY'RE HIRING AND THEY'RE PAYING MORE THAN WE PAID, AND THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT HAS CAUSED US TO LOSE FOLKS AS THEY POINT TO THE ADDITIONAL PAY.
AND, UM, SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.
[00:55:01]
UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE SUBMITTED SOME DOCUMENTATION FOR APPROVALS ON, UH, INCREASING THE PAY RATE, UH, THAT OUR DRIVERS ARE RECEIVING.YOU KNOW, I CAN ECHO THAT FROM THE PRIVATE SIDE.
THERE'S OBVIOUSLY INCREDIBLE COMPETITION POACHING.
EVERY INDUSTRY IS FACING THE SAME DILEMMA AND THE WINNERS SEEM AT THIS POINT IS GOING TO BE THE, UH, THE AMAZONS ARE UPS.
IT'S A MUCH EASIER, OR I SHOULD SAY THAT THE PAY IS LITERALLY EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE.
AND FOR US TO, UH, TO ADDRESS THAT, WHICH WE DID COVER THIS A COUPLE OF THREE MONTHS AGO IN ONE OF OUR SESSIONS.
AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, TO KEEP AND COMPENSATE GOOD EMPLOYEES.
AND I THINK THAT THE STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF, OF REVIEW AND ADD INTO CONSIDERING THAT OPPORTUNITY.
SO I I'D LOOK, I'D BE VERY INTERESTED TO SEE HOW WE ARE OR LOOKING AT, UH, APPROACHING THIS AND WHAT TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, BENEFIT PLAN WE CAN, UH, INCLUDE TO KEEP SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES FROM JUMPING SHIP, BUT, UH, MAYBE MY 2 CENTS.
UP QUESTION ABOUT THAT, UM, THAT THOUSAND DOLLAR HAZARD PAY OR WHATEVER IT WAS CALLED.
WAS THAT A ONE-TIME THING? YEAH.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT LIKE HOW, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE IN THAT POSITION AND HOW TO KIND OF STRUCTURE AND, UM, CALCULATE WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO KEEP PEOPLE THERE.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY I REALIZED, LIKE YOU ALSO GET TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS, UH, ON YOUR OWN, BUT I WOULD SUGGEST THAT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT STRUCTURED SO THAT YOU, YOU KNOW, THOSE WORKERS HAVE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO EVERY QUARTER OR SOMETHING.
UM, SO THERE'S A REASON TO STAY ON.
UM, AND YEAH, I MEAN, IF IT WAS ME DRIVING A DELIVERY TRUCK SOUNDS A LOT EASIER, SO I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY IF YOU'RE GETTING EVEN THE SAME PAY, WHY YOU MIGHT BE DEPARTING FOR THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT WAGE IS.
UH, THEY SHOULD BE GETTING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE TO MAKE IT WORTH THEIR WHILE TO STAY.
Y'ALL ARE DOING ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, MELISSA.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT WHAT STRUCK ME A LOT FROM YOUR PRESENTATION WAS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT EL PASO AND HOW THEY HAD TO STOP THEIR RECYCLING PICKUP.
AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL SO FORTUNATE TO BE IN A CITY TO WHERE WE HAVE THE RESOURCES IN ORDER TO CONTINUE OUR ZERO WASTE EFFORTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S UNFORTUNATE FOR EL PASO TO BE PUT IN THAT POSITION, BUT THAT REALLY STRUCK ME IN REGARDING TO KEEPING EMPLOYEES PICKING UP THE ROOTS.
THIS MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE BIT OF AN ODD QUESTION, BUT, UM, GOODWILL LOCALLY IS VERY, UM, KNOWN AND PROMINENT FOR HIRING FELONS.
AND IT'S PEOPLE THAT HAVE SERVED THEIR TIME.
THEY'VE GOTTEN OUT, CAN REBUILD THEIR LIVES.
AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE LIKE THAT THAT HAVE FELONIES TO GET BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE AGAIN, AND GOODWILL HAS TAKEN UP THAT CRUTCH FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.
AND THERE'S ALSO THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY A CAREER.
AND I DON'T KNOW THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR HIRING IF IT ALLOWS THAT.
BUT, UM, I DON'T, AND IT'S JUST THE THOUGHT, AND I KNOW THAT GOODWILL MARKETS, UM, THEMSELVES AS BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR HIRING FELONS AND HELPING PEOPLE CREATE CAREERS FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR FUTURES AND THEIR FUTURE FAMILIES.
SO JUST AN IDEA, JUST AN IDEA IN THOUGHT.
UM, WE W WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, WORKED WITH GOODWILL AND WE'VE HAD EMPLOYEES THAT ACTUALLY CAME FROM GOODWILL OR THAT WE'VE EMPLOYED.
AND, UH, THE CITY IS A SECOND CHANCE EMPLOYER.
WE DON'T ASK, UH, ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS.
SO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, WE DON'T WANT TO HOLD SOMEONE IF THEY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE IN THE PAST, WE DON'T WANT TO CUT THEM OFF.
UM, SO THIS GIVES EVERYONE A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A MENTOR THING AND, AND SHOW THAT THEY WERE, UH, THAT'S, THAT THEY DON'T NEED TO BE DEFINED LIKE THAT.
[01:00:01]
UNDERSTAND.AND I'LL ECHO RICHARD'S COMMENTS THERE.
WE HAVE, THE CITY HAS BEEN VERY GOOD AT, UH, REACHING OUT TO TWO SECOND OPPORTUNITIES WITH EMPLOYEES AT, UH, I THINK WE'VE PROBABLY BEEN DOING THAT FOR WELL OVER 20 YEARS NOW, AS FAR AS REACHING OUT AND GIVING, GIVING FOLKS A SECOND CHANCE, ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, BUT NONETHELESS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS, HEARING, NO OTHER QUESTIONS.
RICHARD CAN MAYBE THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH WONDERFUL UPDATE.
AND, UH, GOD LET'S STAY TUNED.
UH, LET'S SEE, MOVING ALONG HERE, OUR NEXT ITEM
[3B. Discussion and Action: Citywide Diversion Rate—Gena McKinley]
OF BUSINESS IS ITEM THREE B, WHICH IS THE CITYWIDE DIVERSION.AND WELL, LET ME, LET ME BACK UP HERE.
I APOLOGIZE COMMISSIONERS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM, THE, UH, PREVIOUS ITEM, THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE ITEM, AND WE CAN CHOOSE JUST TO, AGAIN, JUST VOICE SUPPORT FOR STAFF AND THE EFFORTS THAT, UH, THEY HAVE DONE AND, AND HOPE THAT, UH, WE CAN CONTINUE MAKING POSITIVE STRIDES WHERE WE CAN JUST LET THIS, YOU KNOW, MOVE ON AND SAY GUYS, GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU FOR THE HARD WORK, BUT, UH, IT'S UP TO THE WILL OF THIS COMMISSIONER.
AND I GUESS WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM A, TO TWO B I MEAN, I'M SORRY, THREE B ITEM THREE B, WHICH IS A CITYWIDE DIVERSION RATE.
AND I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER, UH, PRESENTATION POWERPOINT.
THIS IS TINA MCKINLEY, AND I APOLOGIZE.
IT'S I DON'T KNOW IF IT SHOWS IT BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH FOR YOU GUYS.
SO I'M GOING TO STOP THE VIDEO AND YOU WILL JUST HEAR MY VOICE, BUT I'M GINA MCKINLEY.
I'M THE STRATEGIC INITIATIVES DIVISION MANAGER AT AUSTIN PUFFERY.
AND WE HAVE RECENTLY HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT AUSTIN'S DIVERSION RATES.
SO I WANTED TO WALK YOU THROUGH A QUICK PRESENTATION TO TALK ABOUT THE NUMBERS THAT WE REPORT AND HOW AND HOW THOSE ARE, WHERE THEY COME FROM.
IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AS A CITY WITH A ZERO WASTE GOAL TO DIVERT 90% OF OUR MATERIAL FROM THE LANDFILL, BY THE YEAR 2040, THE DIVERSION RATE, AS ONE OF THE MAIN METRICS WE USE TO MEASURE OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS MEETING THAT GOAL.
SO HOW IS IT CALCULATED WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIVERSION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MATERIALS THAT ARE GOING SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN THE LANDFILL.
SO THAT INCLUDES RECYCLING, COMPOSTING, REUSE, ANY WASTE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION, AND THE NUMBER THAT YOU HEAR MOST FREQUENTLY QUOTED AS AUSTIN'S DIVERSION RATE IS 42%.
AND THAT NUMBER IS BASED ON A 2015 COMMUNITY DIVERSION RATE STUDY THAT LOOKED AT RAW DATA FROM AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY COLLECTION POINTS, AS WELL AS SAMPLING OF MATERIALS GENERATED AND MANAGED BY OTHER PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY MANAGED BY PRIVATE HAULERS AND SELF HOLLERS.
UM, SO THAT'S WHERE THAT 42% COMES FROM.
YOU'LL HEAR ANOTHER NUMBER, WHICH YOU'VE HEARD RICHARD REFERENCE IN THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION.
THAT IS THE DIVERSION RATE PERFORMANCE PER REPORTED, AS ONE OF AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS REGULAR PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
AND IT'S THE MATERIAL LIKE HE SAID, IT'S INCLUDED IN THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR THESE COMMISSION MEETINGS AND YOU CAN TRACK IT MONTH TO MONTH.
UM, AND THAT IS BASED ON THE MATERIAL THAT WE CONTROL DIRECTLY.
AND I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL ON THOSE TWO POINTS, SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE 15 COMMUNITY DIVERSION RATE STUDY WAS REALLY DESIGNED TO GET A BETTER, A BETTER MEASURE OF AUSTIN'S PROGRESS TOWARDS ZERO WASTE.
WE ESTABLISHED OUR ZERO WASTE PLAN IN 2011, WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL.
UM, AND WE REALLY NEEDED TO LOOK AT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST THE PORTION OF MATERIAL THAT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS COLLECTING.
AND THAT TOOK A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ASSESSING DIVERSION BASED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS.
WE LOOKED AT DATA FROM ESTABLISHED RECORDING METHODS THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAD ACCESS TO.
WE LOOKED AT QUANTITIES THAT WERE COLLECTED THROUGH OUTREACH AND SURVEYING DONE THROUGHOUT THE STUDY.
WE ALSO HAD FIELD STUDIES DONE IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND DID WASTE AND RECYCLING SORTS FOR BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL STREAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
I'M GONNA GO THERE'S, UH, A LOT OF DETAIL IN THAT STUDY.
I'M NOT GOING TO DIVE SUPER DEEP, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE KEY FINDINGS FROM THAT STUDY.
AND IT DID ESTIMATE THAT OUR DIVERSION RATE FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY FOR AUSTIN RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES WAS 42%
[01:05:01]
AND ALSO FOUND THAT ROUGHLY 85% OF THE MATERIAL THAT'S GENERATED IN THE COMMUNITY IS MANAGED BY PRIVATE HAULERS.SO NOT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, THAT IS ROUGHLY 15%.
IT ALSO NOTED THAT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF MATERIAL WE'RE GOING TO THE LANDFILL WE'RE EITHER RECYCLABLE OR COMPOSTABLE.
SO WHAT THAT TOLD US IS THAT ACHIEVING ZERO WASTE AS A CITY IS, IS DOABLE.
IF ALL OF THOSE MATERIALS COULD BE GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE, WE COULD HIT THAT 90% DIVERSION RATE TARGET.
SO THIS SHOWS A ROUGH BREAKDOWN OF THE DATA SOURCES THAT WERE USED DURING THE 2015 STUDY.
WE HAD SEVERAL EXISTING DATA SOURCES LIKE THE LICENSED HOLLER TON OF REPORTS, THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING COORDINATES OUR AUSTIN MATERIALS, MARKETPLACE STUDY FACILITY CONTRACTS, UM, AND OTHER MATERIAL, OTHER DIRECT SERVICES THAT THE DEPARTMENT, RIGHT, IT'S LIKE OUR RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE SERVICES, BUT TO CAPTURE THAT OTHER GENERATION DATA FROM THAT 85%, WE HAD TO WORK WITH LARGE EMPLOYERS AND UNIVERSITIES, DONATION CENTERS, FOOD BANKS, AND OTHERS, TO GATHER THAT DATA AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THE COMPOSITION OF THOSE STREAMS AND THE DISPOSAL METHODS THAT WERE AT PLAY.
AND I WAS LIKE, THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE BREAKDOWN.
AS I MENTIONED, THE STUDY FOUND THAT ROUGHLY 15% OF THE TOTAL MATERIAL GENERATED IN AUSTIN WAS MANAGED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS LARGELY OUR RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE COLLECTION.
AND THAT REMAINING 85% MANAGED BY PRIVATE HAULERS.
SO DATA ANALYSIS, DATA COLLECTION, AND ANALYSIS TO TRACK WHERE WE ARE AS AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UM, ON OUR WAY TOWARDS REACHING ZERO WASTE IS MORE COMPLEX.
WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE MATERIAL IS MANAGED BY MULTIPLE SERVICE PROVIDERS, UM, WHERE THE CITY DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THOSE DATA POINTS.
SO AS A RESULT, ACHIEVING ZERO WASTE AND INCREASING DIVERSION REALLY REQUIRES A BALANCE BETWEEN PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY RUNS DIRECTLY.
AND THOSE THAT WE INFLUENCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
NEXT SLIDE TO DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER INTO THE DATA SOURCES FOR THAT 85%.
YOU'LL SEE THAT SOME DATA IS SELF-REPORTED OTHER DATA.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE WEIGHT TICKETS AND THEN SOME RELIES UPON THIRD-PARTY STUDIES LIKE THE UNIVERSITY AND RATES STUDY THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, NEXT SITE.
AND WHILE WE, WE HAVE HAD ADDITIONAL DATA SOURCES, UM, OVER THE YEARS AS THE UNIVERSITY VERSATILE RECYCLING ORDINANCE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS FULLY IMPLEMENTED NOW.
UM, BUT WE STILL HAVE LIMITATIONS TO THAT DATA.
THE URL ANNUAL RECORDING, UM, GIVES US THE INFORMATION ABOUT ACCESS TO DIVERSION AT COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES, BUT IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY INCLUDE MATERIAL VOLUMES.
SO WE ONLY KNOW THE POTENTIAL CAPACITY THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR DIVERSION.
THE C AND D ORDINANCE DOES REQUIRE WEIGHT TICKETS.
SO WE DO HAVE SOME BETTER DATA THERE, WHEREAS THE SPECIAL EVENTS ORDINANCE REQUIRES PROOF OF SERVICE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE QUANTITY OF MATERIALS DIVERTED.
AND THEN THE LICENSED HOLLER ORDINANCE IS SELF-REPORTED DATA.
AND IT OFTEN INCLUDES MATERIALS FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS AS MANY HOLLERS DON'T ISOLATE, UM, THE VOLUME OF MATERIALS SENT JUST TO AUSTIN ALONE.
UM, SO THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES WITH THAT DATA IN TERMS OF REALLY LOOKING AT IT AS A METRIC TOWARDS, UM, DIVERSION AND YOUR WAIST.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THE 15%, SO THIS IS THE SECOND NUMBER THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, THAT 40.38%, UM, THAT'S THE 15%, AND THIS IS THE MATERIAL THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR CITY MANAGED CONTRACTORS, UM, CONTROL DIRECTLY.
AND THIS INCLUDES RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE COLLECTIONS, ANY OF THE MATERIALS THAT WE'RE COLLECTING AND RECYCLING THESE DROP-OFF CENTER AND A HANDFUL OF OTHER THINGS, UM, LIKE THE CARTS THAT WE COLLECT DAMAGED CARTS THAT GET RECYCLED LITTER COLLECTION, ET CETERA.
AND THIS ONE, 15% IS PUBLIC IS REPORTED PUBLICLY.
WE INCLUDE IT IN YOUR DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR THE COMMISSION MEETINGS.
THIS IS A SNAPSHOT FROM THE CITY'S WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN LOOK AT PERFORMANCE MEASURES ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
UM, BUT THIS HIGHLIGHTS, THE MEASURE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
IT TELLS YOU, UM, ALL THE DATA POINTS THAT ARE USED IN THAT CALCULATION.
AND YOU CAN TRACK THE DIVERSION RATE YEAR OVER YEAR, UM, FROM FISCAL YEAR TO FISCAL YEAR.
AND YOU'LL SEE CIRCLED IN RED, THE 40.38%.
AND LIKE RICHARD SAID, WE WERE REALLY PLEASED, UM, TO HIT OVER THAT 40% MARK BECAUSE FOR SEVERAL YEARS TO SEE WE'VE BEEN HOVERING AROUND THAT 37%.
SO TO HIT THAT AS A REALLY GREAT MILESTONE FOR THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO THAT WAS, IT'S A VERY QUICK, I REALIZED WE ARE RUNNING SHORT ON TIME, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIVERSION.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS
[01:10:01]
OF UPDATING AS YOU ALWAYS PLAN, AND AS PART OF THAT PLAN, IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO EVALUATE ADDITIONAL MEASUREMENTS.SOME OF THE ONES WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR CAPTURE RATES FOR A SPECIFIC MATERIALS OR DISPOSAL RATE PER CAPITA AS AN EXAMPLE.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE REALLY FACE IS HAVING ACCESS TO DATA.
SO TO PROVIDE FREQUENT TRACKING OF WHERE WE ARE AS A CITY FOR ZERO WASTE, WE'RE RELIANT REALLY UPON THIRD PARTY STUDIES TO EVALUATE THAT DIVERSION ACROSS THE SCHOOL FULL SPECTRUM OF WASTE GENERATION.
AND IT COMES AT A COST BECAUSE WE DO HAVE TO PAY CONSULTANTS TO DO THE WORK.
SO, UM, THE MORE THAT WE CAN CREATE MECHANISMS TO HAVE ACCESS TO RELIABLE DATA, UM, TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY, THE ABILITY TO EVALUATE OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS YOUR WASTE ON A MORE FREQUENT AND REGULAR BASIS, UM, WILL HELP US REALLY SEE HOW WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE PERFORMING AS A COMMUNITY WHEN IT COMES TO WASTE GENERATION AND DIVERSION.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS ALL I HAVE.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTION COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR GINA? HI.
UM, HI, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
SO THANK YOU FOR WALKING US THROUGH IT IN SUCH DETAIL.
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD FROM EITHER THE 2015 STUDY OR FROM SOME OTHER WORK, ANY WAY TO COMPARE WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE 15% COMPARED TO THE REST.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS ARE THERE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE CAN MAKE IF THE 15% THAT ARR IS HANDLING DIRECTLY IS AT 40% DIVERSION.
AND BACK IN 2015, WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT, UM, THE 85% WAS ONLY AT 20%, CAN WE MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT USING THE ARR RATE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT 85% THAT WE DON'T HAVE DIRECT DATA FOR YOU? DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? LIKE THERE MIGHT BE WAYS THAT THE NUMBERS ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE DIFFERENT DATA SETS IN DIFFERENT INVOLVED PARTIES.
IF WE'RE AT 40 FOR THIS SEGMENT OF THE PIE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE 85% SEGMENT OF THE PIE? I THINK I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
AND I THINK THERE, I DON'T HAVE ALL THAT DATA ANALYSIS DONE AND IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME WAYS THAT YOU COULD SLICE AND DICE THE DATA TO DRAW SOME CONCLUSIONS.
I MEAN, ON THE KIND OF BIG PICTURE, WHAT THAT TELLS US IS THAT WHAT WE CAN SEE HAPPEN, LIKE WHAT WE SEE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW WITH OUR CURBSIDE SERVICES AND WHAT WE SAW IN 2015 AT THE CON AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL IS ABOUT THE SAME.
SO IT'S PERFORMING ABOUT THE SAME.
UM, WE CAN ATTEMPT TO BREAK DOWN BY DIFFERENT SEGMENTS SO WE CAN LOOK AT COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEN WE COULD LOOK AT MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES.
SO WE COULD BEGIN TO SEGMENT THAT 85% AND LOOK AT THE ACTUAL WASTE CHARACTERIZATION.
PART OF THE 2015 STUDY DID INCLUDE WASTE CHARACTERIZATION STUDY.
SO WE BROKE DOWN THAT STREAM A LITTLE BIT.
THAT'S WHERE WE COULD TELL THE PERCENTAGE OF RECYCLABLE, THE PERCENTAGE OF COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL THAT WAS BEING LANDFILLED.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S SOME, THERE ARE SOME SIMILARITIES YOU COULD PULL OUT FROM IT.
UM, AND I CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT.
AND I'D BE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE COMMISSION.
UM, I COULD EMAIL YOU GUYS SOME MORE DETAILED BREAKDOWNS OF THAT 2015 STUDY, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF SUMMARY DOCUMENTS THAT WERE CREATED AT THAT TIME.
AND I THINK EVEN A VIDEO, A VIDEO SUMMARY, IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU'RE TIRED OF READING THINGS, SO I CAN SEND YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION.
SO TO DIVE DEEP, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
I'D LOVE TO SEE THE CONTINUED DETAIL, BECAUSE AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'VE GOTTA BE THINKING ABOUT THE METRICS GOING FORWARD WITH THE NEW PLAN.
AND SO IT WOULD BE INTERESTING JUST TO REVISIT THAT AND SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER CONNECTIONS BETWEEN YEAH.
THE, THE CITY CONTROL, THE ARR CONTROLLED PART AND THE REST OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER WALKER.
UH, THANK YOU, AMANDA, FOR THAT GOOD QUESTION.
UM, MY INTEREST IS ALSO IN THAT, UM, DATA OR LACK THEREOF.
UM, I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO REVISIT THOSE NUMBERS FROM THE 2015 STUDY THAT BREAKOUT.
IT DOES JUST SEEM THOUGH THAT LIKE OUR CURRENT SYSTEM OF REPORTING, UH, IS JUST INADEQUATE.
AND I KNOW WE'VE, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME THAT HAS COME UP IN CONVERSATION AT THIS COMMISSION, AND IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT HEAVY OF A LIFT TO REQUIRE THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE CITY,
[01:15:01]
UM, AND TOGETHER, AND IF THEY'RE NOT GATHERING IT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I'M JUST, I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY, IF I'M, IF I AM MISSING SOMETHING THAT MAKES THAT, UM, MORE OF A BIG DEAL, YOU KNOW, LET ME, LET ME, CAN I COMMENT REAL QUICK, UM, PIGGYBACKING OFF, UH, CAIAPHAS CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS.I, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
I MEAN, RICHARD, YOU WERE, YOU WERE THERE, BUT IN THE OLD DAYS WE ACTUALLY HAD, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, MORE FREQUENT REPORTING BY THE PRIVATE GUYS, THE PRIVATE HAULERS.
AND I THINK AT THAT TIME IT WAS EVERY SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTING AND IT WAS BASICALLY, IT STARTED WITH THE MULTI-FAMILY RECYCLING ORDINANCE, WENT INTO EFFECT, OH MY GOD, A LONG TIME AGO WHEN I HAD HAIR.
BUT, UH, AFTER THAT, IT WAS WONDERFUL.
AND WE REPORTED ON A, AT LEAST A SEMI-ANNUAL BASIS AND WERE ABLE TO KEEP BETTER, BETTER ACCOUNT OF, OF HOW THE PRIVATE SECTOR WAS, WAS PROGRESSING WHEN IT COMES, WHEN IT COMES TO OFFICE BUILDINGS, THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING, BUT WE'VE PROGRESSED A HECK OF A LOT WITH THE URL.
AND I CAN SEE THAT THAT MORE FREQUENT REPORTING MIGHT, MIGHT HELP AND KIND OF CLEARING UP SOME OF THESE, UH, SOME OF THESE NUMBERS AND, OR AT LEAST MAKING THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCURATE.
NOT THAT THEY'RE NOT ACCURATE NOW, BUT AT LEAST GIVING US A BETTER IDEA WHICH DIRECTION WE'RE HEADING IN.
AND I, I'M SORRY, I JUST WANTED TO TACK ON MY 2 CENTS ON YOUR THOUGHTS THERE.
BASICALLY GETTING DATA MORE THAN ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS OR WHATEVER.
THANK YOU GINA, TO GET THE DATA FROM THAT 85%.
GOOD TO, SO I THINK, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ASK IS HOW DO WE GET THAT DATA FROM THE 85%? UH, NO, I'M WONDERING HOW OTHER CITIES GET THIS DATA OR DO THEY HAVE, UH, A HIGHER PERCENTAGE? UM, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET, SORRY IT WAS SOMEBODY SPEAKING AND DIFFERENT CITIES, OR THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT CITIES ARE SET UP.
UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS A CITY WITH, AS YOU WERE ALWAYS SKULL, BUT ALSO A CITY WITH AN OPEN MARKET.
AND SO THAT, THAT IS THE CHALLENGE THAT I DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF DATA COLLECTION.
UM, OTHER CITIES DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
I DON'T KNOW IF DIRECTORS SNIPES MIGHT WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE WAY THAT THEY MANAGE THAT IN SEATTLE.
UM, BUT WE'VE LOOKED AT OTHER CITIES AND AS PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE OURS, YOU'RE ALWAYS PLAN.
THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS TO BE ASKING GREAT INPUT TO PROVIDE IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING DIFFERENT WAYS FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DATA.
THE LICENSED TALLER ORDINANCE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, I DON'T KNOW, CHAIR IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO, BUT THAT IS STILL IN PLACE.
IT DOES STILL REQUIRE TWICE A YEAR THAT, UM, HOLLERS ARE REPORTING DATA TO THE CITY.
UM, THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, UM, DOES REQUIRE ANNUAL REPORTING FROM A GOOD PORTION OF THE COMMUNITY.
UH, BUT THAT, THAT DATA IS JUST LIMITED BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO ACTUALLY, ONCE THEY PUT THE ACCESS TO THE SERVICES IN PLACE, WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW.
UM, WHAT'S HA LIKE HOW MUCH RECYCLING IS BEING GENERATED, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AND TO, TO PUT THE, THE LICENSED COLOR ORDINANCE DATA, AND THEN THE URL DATA TOGETHER.
IT'S NOT A, A ONE-TO-ONE MATCH.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY REALLY QUICKLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN A QUESTION THAT I'VE ASKED SINCE COMING HERE AND THE, UM, OPEN MARKET AS GINA POINTED TO DOES MAKE IT REALLY HARD TO GET THAT DATA BECAUSE IT'S PRIVATE.
AND SO IT'S A MORE INSULAR SYSTEM, UM, COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER STYLES THAT YOU MIGHT SEE WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE A FULL CONTROL MODEL WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ACCESS OR CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING, OR SOME TYPE OF FRANCHISEE ARRANGEMENT WHERE WE COME BACK TO THE DATA.
SO IT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED IN THIS SYSTEM.
UM, WE'LL KEEP WORKING ON IT TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO CONTRACTUALLY OR OTHERWISE TO TRY TO GET AT THAT DATA.
[01:20:01]
SO I GUESS I'LL JUST MAYBE BE A LITTLE MORE BLUNT.UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, UH, WE HAVE A SYSTEM THAT IS NOT IDEAL TO ACHIEVE OUR ZERO WASTE GOALS IN THAT WE HAVE ALL THESE PRIVATE HAULERS, UH, THAT ARE DOING THEIR OWN THING AND THEY WANT THAT SYSTEM TO CONTINUE SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE THEIR BUSINESS UNDER THEIR CURRENT MODEL.
I MAY NOT, THAT MIGHT NOT BE MY PRIORITY, BUT, UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT MOTIVATION.
IT SEEMS LIKE A SMALL PRICE FOR THEM TO PAY, TO BE REQUIRED, TO COLLECT AND SHARE THIS DATA, TO CONTINUE WITH THIS MODEL THAT IS PERHAPS NOT IN THE PUBLIC'S BEST INTEREST HERE.
SO I GUESS I'M SUGGESTING THAT MAYBE A AMENDMENT SHOULD BE MADE TO THE EURO JUST SIMPLY REQUIRE THIS DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.
AND I DUNNO, IT JUST, THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT OPEN LANDERS SHOULD THINK TO ASK FOR OR DEMAND, I GUESS, COMMISSIONER KATUSA YOU'RE ON MUTE KAT, WOULD IT BE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL OR FOR THE, WELL WE WOULD NEED, I THINK WHAT COMMISSIONER WHITE IS SUGGESTING IS AMENDING THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.
SO THAT WOULD BE JUST LIKE THE AMENDMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE TO THAT ORDINANCE.
IT WOULD REQUIRE CONVERSATIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND THEN WE WOULD MOVE AN AMENDMENT UP TO CITY COUNCIL AND CITY COUNCIL WOULD HAVE TO VOTE AND APPROVE THAT CHANGE.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET UP TO OUR ZERO WASTE GOALS UNLESS WE DO THEM.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, YOU KNOW, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
WE ARE, WE'RE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH A REVISION OF THE MASTER PLAN.
AND I THINK PART OF THE, A REVISION INCLUDES A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF OUR DIVERSION PLAN OR DIVERSION GOALS AND WHERE WE CURRENTLY SIT ALONG WITH SOME SUGGESTIONS FROM THE CONSULTANTS ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE OUR DIVERSION GOALS.
IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, ERIN, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT, UH, CORRECT CHAIR.
AND AS I MENTIONED AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, THERE'S AN OPERA WE'RE AT, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW, UM, AS WE ARE EVALUATING THAT PLAN, EVALUATING THE INDUSTRY AND EVERYTHING THAT'S CHANGED SINCE 2011, WHEN THAT INITIAL PLAN WAS ADOPTED TO SEE WHAT KIND OF CHANGES MIGHT BE NEEDED TO HELP US BETTER TRACK OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS ZERO WASTE TO HELP US REACH THAT GOAL MORE EFFICIENTLY, MORE EFFECTIVELY.
UM, SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE ON THE TABLE, UM, AS PART OF THAT PROCESS.
UM, SO THERE'LL BE SEVERAL, SEVERAL MORE MEETINGS WITH THIS COMMISSION AND OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC INPUT AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
WE'RE PLANNING THAT FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR.
UM, SO THESE ARE, THIS IS GREAT AND PUT, THAT CAN BE A PART OF THAT PROCESS AS WE SHAPE WHAT THAT PLAN LOOKS LIKE GOING FORWARD.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR GINA OR STAFF? GINA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND, UM, YEAH, SORRY, ONE, ONE, ONE MORE, ONE MORE COMMENT.
UM, I GUESS, UH, I HOPE THAT THE CONSULTANTS THAT ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, BEING PAID TO GIVE THEIR ADVICE ON HOW TO MEET THE GOAL ARE ENCOURAGED TO THINK OF SIDE OF, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER WE CURRENTLY ARE IN HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND, AND TO GIVE US THE FULL RANGE OF WHAT THEY THINK WOULD, WOULD GET US TO THE END GOAL.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW IT CAN BE, UH, MAYBE TEMPTING TO JUST TRY TO, UM, NIBBLE AROUND THE EDGES OF A SYSTEM THAT I DON'T WANT TO SAY ISN'T WORKING, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT WORKING TO THE EXTENT THAT WE WANT IT TO WORK.
AND SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, LET'S GET OUR MONEY'S WORTH OUT OF THOSE CONSULTANTS AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WHITE.
IT'S ONE THING TO TELL US HOW TO GET IT DONE.
IT'S ANOTHER FOR US TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THIS AND NOT STAFF OR NOT THE DEPARTMENT, BUT JUST HUMAN BEINGS.
YOU AND ME, WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND ACTUALLY DO IT
[01:25:01]
OURSELVES.I MEAN, AS CITIZENS, I MEAN, IT'S UP TO US TO, TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE AND GET IT DONE, BUT, UH, NONETHELESS GINA AND THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS COMMISSIONERS, GINA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS HERE, AND I'M SORRY GUYS THERE TOO.
THAT WAS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM.
AND UH, IF, UH, THE COMMISSION WANTS TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO.
[3C. Discussion and Action: Green Fleet—Ken Snipes]
LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM THREE C, WHICH IS THE GREEN FLEET ITEM.THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MITCHELL IS BELIEVING AGAIN.
THIS IS KENT SNIPES DIRECTOR FOR REFLUX RECOVERY.
I'LL BE BRIEF ON THIS BECAUSE WE ARE SOMEWHAT PRESSED FOR TIME NOW.
UM, IF WE COULD CUE UP THE PRESENTATION, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
DO WE HAVE THE GREEN FLEETS PRESENTATION? LET ME TELL HIM.
ONE SECOND PRESENTATION IS UP NOW, SIR.
THE PRESENTATION IS READY NOW.
SO COMMISSION, UM, BASED ON THE INTEREST THAT WE RECEIVED ABOUT BREEDING FELICIA GREEN FLEET INITIATIVE IN GENERAL, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT AND GET YOUR SUPPORT FOR IS OUR DESIRE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CREATING OUR OWN GREENFIELD INITIATIVE.
UH, WE WILL LOOK TO START THAT NEXT YEAR EARLY NEXT YEAR.
WE'VE ALL ALREADY DONE SOME PRELIMINARY WORK.
UM, BUT WE WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, WHAT WE SEEN AND WHAT WE'VE DONE AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, IN THE FUTURE.
SO WHY DO WE WANT TO DO THIS? WELL, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF REASONS TO, UH, MOVE TOWARDS A GREEN FLEET.
THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, BENEFITS TO INCLUDE THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS, UM, CLEAN AIR FOR, UH, OUR, OUR CITIZENS.
AND ALSO THERE'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR SAVINGS, UH, IN TERMS OF REDUCING OUR FUEL COSTS, REDUCING WEAR, AND TEAR ON OUR FLEET.
UH, AND A COUPLE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A, IN A COUPLE OF OTHER SLIDES THAT ARE COMING UP.
SO WHAT THIS IS, THIS IS A CALCULATOR THAT I BORROWED, UH, IT IS FROM, UH, CALIFORNIA.
IT IS NOT DIRECTLY RELATABLE, UH, TO OUR SYSTEM HERE IN AUSTIN, BUT IT'S CLOSE ENOUGH TO GIVE A FOUNDATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO IN OUR SYSTEM IF WE WERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, UH, SOME OF THE GLOWING GREEN FLEET OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, UM, WHAT THIS MODEL DEMONSTRATES HERE IS, UH, A, UH, REFUGE TRUCK, UM, AND BASED ON, UH, SOME INPUT, BUT THAT INCLUDES THE, UH, COST OF ELECTRICITY FOR CHARGING THE TRUCKS AND ALSO, UH, COMPARE IT TO THE COST OF FUEL.
UH, IN THIS APPLICATION, YOU'D HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE ABOUT $8,000 FOR A YEAR IN FUEL AND REDUCE YOUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY 53 TONS.
AND THAT'S BASED ON A CHARGING RATE FOR A TRUCK OF THIS SIZE THAT WOULD CHARGE OVERNIGHT.
AND THESE ARE THE TYPES OF NUMBERS THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO REALIZE.
SO PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL IF YOU'D FIGURE THAT WE'RE REDUCING OUR FUEL COSTS BY 8,000 PER YEAR FOR EACH ONE OF THESE TYPES OF TRUCKS THAT ARE IN OUR FLEET.
SO THIS IS, UH, A LIGHT, A MEDIUM DUTY LIGHT DUTY PICKUP TRUCK.
UM, IT WENT QUITE A BIT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE.
WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS AS WELL, BUT THIS IS THE TYPE OF SAVINGS THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO REALIZE FROM AN ELECTRIC PICKUP TRUCK.
SO ABOUT $1,000 PER YEAR SAVINGS AND FUEL, UH, SEVEN TONS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THAT WE WOULD REDUCE HERE.
THIS NUMBER REPRESENTS WHAT WE'D BE ABLE TO REALIZE IN OUR LIGHT FLEET.
IF WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES IN OUR LIGHT FLEET THAT ARE ALL ELECTRIC, SO ABOUT $223 PER YEAR IN SAVINGS IN FUEL AND FOUR TONS IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, NEXT SLIDE.
SO WHERE WOULD WE START? SO WE WANT TO START WORKING ON OUR BUSINESS CASE.
WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO PULL TOGETHER A DATA FOR THAT AND INFORMATION FOR THAT.
WE'LL CONTINUE WHAT WE'VE STARTED, MEANING WE'VE ALREADY STARTED TO PURCHASE SOME GREEN AND SOME, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OUR FLEET ALREADY.
[01:30:01]
THAT WHILE THIS WORK WAS TAKING PLACE.AND WE WOULD ALSO PERFORM PERIODIC MARKET, UH, UH, REVIEWS BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH RIGHT NOW IS THAT, UH, IN CERTAIN SEGMENTS OF THE MARKET, THE VEHICLES AREN'T AVAILABLE, UH, FOR WHATEVER REASON OVER TIME, UM, THE GREEN FLEET, UH, ELECTRIC FLEET VEHICLES, I STARTED OUT ON THE VERY LIGHT, UH, IN THEM, UH, VEHICLES AND NOW HAS MOVED OVER AND SKIPPED OVER THAT MIDDLE RANGE AND IS HEAVILY FOCUSED ON THE VERY LARGE OF VEHICLES.
SO, UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE MARKET.
SO TOTAL, UH, ACROSS OUR DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE ABOUT 420 FLEET ITEMS. NEXT SLIDE, UH, OF THOSE, WE HAVE 239 HEAVY FLEET ASSETS, AND THOSE CONSISTS OF OUR COLLECTION UNITS IN TRACTOR TRAILERS, CRANES, ROLLOUT, TRUCKS, AND SWEEPERS.
NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE A 105, UH, LIGHT FEED ASSETS.
THOSE ARE THE CARS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
NEXT SLIDE, WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR SYSTEM RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF FIVE, ALL ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND 10 HYBRIDS.
NEXT SLIDE, AND THE HEAVY FLEET SIDE.
UH, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 13 YELLOW FLEET, AND WE DO HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS SPACE.
UM, THE MARKET HAS MATURED ENOUGH HERE THAT THERE ARE SOME ASSETS, AND SO WE'LL WATCH THIS MARKET AS WELL.
AND AS WE REPLACE OUR VEHICLES, WE'LL EVALUATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR REPLACING SOME OF THE, UH, DIESEL BURNERS AND, UH, MAYBE EVEN A HYBRID TO REPLACE THE DIESEL BURNER OR AN ALL ELECTRIC NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, SOME SPECIAL VEHICLES IN OUR, IN OUR FOOD AS WELL.
THEY'RE ALSO, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO GO WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THIS CLASS.
THESE ARE PRIMARILY USED FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, REVIEW THE MARKET AGAIN IN THIS SPACE.
SO OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES.
SO THIS IS A BIG ISSUE FOR US.
I'M CURRENTLY ON THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, MOVE TOWARDS ELECTRIFYING.
OUR FLEET IS IN THE LIGHT SECTOR.
UM, THE MAJOR FACTOR PROHIBITING THE PART, THE DEPARTMENT FROM MOVING FORWARD WITH PROCUREMENT OF HEAVY FLEET IS THE FACT THAT WE DO NOT HAVE A TRANSFER STATION IN OUR SYSTEM.
I'M A TRANSFER CYST, A TRANSFER FACILITY WOULD BENEFIT US IN A NUMBER OF WAYS.
UM, WE WOULD IMPROVE OUR EFFICIENCIES.
SO OBVIOUSLY OUR TRUCKS AREN'T HAVING TO DRIVE AS FAR TO TIP THEIR LOADS ON THE FAR END RIGHT NOW.
UM, OUR TRUCKS TIP OR EXCUSE ME, DRIVE IS, UM, OVER 30 MILES ROUND TRIP OR ONE WAY, UM, TO, UH, TO OFFLOAD, UM, WE WOULD HAVE A CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION BECAUSE THE VEHICLES DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE AS FAR, UH, TO DO THAT WORK.
AND THEN ALSO THERE'S LESS WEAR AND TEAR ON THE VEHICLES.
WE DON'T SPEND AS MUCH TIME ON THE ROAD DRIVING TO, AND FROM THE LANDFILL, WE'RE ACTUALLY DRIVING TO THE TRANSFER FACILITY, TIPPING THAT MATERIAL, AND THEN BACK ON THE ROUTES.
SO WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS.
SO FOR THE, UH, PICKUP TRUCK MARKET, UM, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S NOT A LOT OF AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND IN FACT, UH, NOTHING'S GOING TO BE AVAILABLE UNTIL PROBABLY MID TO LATE NEXT YEAR.
UH, FORD AND TESLA ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST TWO TO COME TO THE MARKET WITH PICKUP TRUCKS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, BASED ON WHAT I'VE SEEN, IF THE TESLA MODEL IS UTILITARIAN ENOUGH FOR WHAT WE WOULD NEED.
UH, SO THAT REALLY LEAVES US, UH, WITH THE FORD, UM, ITEM ON THE MARKET THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS A ALL ELECTRIC FORD F-150.
SO AGAIN, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS MARKET AS WELL AS WE START TO PURCHASE.
AND THE NEXT FEW BUDGET CYCLES, UH, WE'LL START TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, THESE ARE, UH, UH, PROJECTED PURCHASES FOR THE, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 22.
SO WE WERE SCHEDULED TO PURCHASE TWO TOYOTA PRIUS'S.
UM, IT IS POSSIBLE TO SPEC TO THOSE FOR ALL ELECTRIC, UH, EBY SEDANS.
WE ALSO ARE SCHEDULED TO PURCHASE A FORD ESCAPE HYBRID.
AND THEN ALSO WE MENTIONED THAT WE'LL BE PURCHASING THE, UM, PICKUP TRUCKS, UM, AND SO WE CAN EXPLORE THE OPTION TO PURCHASE, UH, ED PICKUP TRUCKS, ONCE THOSE ARE AVAILABLE TO US TO PURCHASE NEXT SLIDE.
ANY QUESTIONS ON, UM, OUR DESIRE TO MOVE TOWARDS A GREEN FLEET?
[01:35:01]
THANK YOU, KEN COMMISSIONERS, ANY COMMENTS? THOUGHTS? I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.I KNOW I'VE ASKED ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST, SO I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, KEN KIND OF A SILLY QUESTION HERE.
AND IF WE LOOKED AT THIS ONE GROUP, I THINK THAT YOU'RE AT A CEDAR PARK AND THEY RETROFIT VEHICLES TO EITHER HYBRID OR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND IT'S IN OUR BACKYARD AND I'VE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'VE MADE, UH, MANY NEWS REPORTS AND, UH, TECHNOLOGY REPORTS.
AND I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE RETROFIT WOULD COST, BUT, YOU KNOW, SINCE THEY'RE IN OUR BACKYARD, WOULD IT DO US ANY GOOD TO TALK TO SOMEBODY? I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY IF WE REACHED OUT TO THEM, BUT WE HAVE LOOKED AT SOME, ALL ELECTRIC, UH, HEAVY FLEET TRUCKS RECENTLY, THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH THOSE TRUCKS RIGHT NOW IS A LIMITATION IN THE MILEAGE.
THE MOST MILEAGE, THE MOST YOU'LL GET OUT OF THEM RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT 70 TO 80 MILES RANGE, MAYBE NINE.
AND BECAUSE WE SPENT 30 MILES OF THAT DRIVE IN TWO AND THEN 30 MILES BACK FROM THE LANDFILL, THEY JUST WON'T WORK IN OUR SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS, UH, THE, THE OUTFIT IN CEDAR PARK, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE RICHARD, YOU YOU'VE REACHED OUT TO THEM.
YEAH, ACTUALLY, UH, I DID, UM, ABOUT A MONTH AGO I EMAILED THEM AND SO I WANTED TO GET A CONVERSATION GOING WITH THEM.
I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK FROM THEM AT THIS POINT, BUT, UH, YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT, JERRY.
I MEAN, THEY ARE RIGHT IN OUR BACKYARD AND I THINK IT'D BE A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY IF WE COULD WORK WITH THEM.
BUT, UH, SO FAR I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK.
SO, UH, WE'LL DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH THEM AGAIN NOW.
YOU KNOW, IF NOTHING ELSE, I GUESS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO INVEST IN WHAT ELECTRIC TOW TRUCKS, WHEN OUR BIG GUYS BREAK DOWN, WE CAN PULL THEM IN CHARGE THEM, BUT NONETHELESS BEING SILLY GUYS, I'M SORRY, IT'S LATE.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? AND RICHARD, GO AHEAD.
I KNEW THERE WAS SOME PLAN TO PURCHASE.
I'M SORRY TO PURCHASE, UM, UM, PICKUP TRUCKS IN 2021.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE EXACT TIMING OF THAT IS.
UM, DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS POSSIBLE OR THAT TO HAPPEN IN A TIMEFRAME THAT WOULD ALLOW POSSIBLY FOR THOSE TO BE FULFILLED BY THE ELECTRIC F-150? YEAH.
W WE'RE HOPING THAT WE COULD BE ONE OF THE FIRST OUTFITS TO GET OUR HANDS ON SOME OF THOSE TRUCKS.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL WATCH THAT VERY CLOSELY.
AND IF THEY'RE AVAILABLE, WE'LL TRY TO PURCHASE A COUPLE OF THEM, COMMISSIONER WHITE.
UH, I'LL JUST MENTION THAT WE DID CHECK INTO THAT AND THE PRICING ISN'T AVAILABLE AT THE TIME.
SO, UH, WE CAN'T MOVE FORWARD UNTIL WE GET PRICING FROM THE MANUFACTURER.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE WHOLE, OKAY.
I GUESS MY QUESTION IS MORE SO THAT, LIKE, YOU'RE NOT GONNA MOVE FORWARD, LIKE IMMEDIATELY WITH PURCHASING, YOU KNOW, A GAS AND INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VERSION, YOU KNOW, IN Q1, BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THE PRICING IS ON THE MOVIE, WE ACTUALLY ARE, OUR ORDER DOES GO IN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
YOU REMEMBER, DURING MY PRESENTATION EARLIER, I JUST TOLD YOU THE TRUCKS WE JUST GOT NOW, YOU ALL HAD APPROVED A YEAR AGO.
SO THAT ORDER GOES INTO CITYWIDE WHERE YOU DON'T ORDER THIS SPECIFICALLY BY OURSELVES, WE'RE IN A GREATER ORDER WITH OTHER VEHICLES.
SO WE'RE PROBABLY WE'LL GO IN, UH, BEFORE PRICING IS AVAILABLE, BUT, UH, WE OFTEN DO ALSO HAVE THE OPTION DURING THE YEAR, UH, IF WE NEED THAT WE CAN PURCHASE VEHICLES.
SO, UM, MEAN THERE'S NO GUARANTEE ON THE TIMING YET OF WHEN THAT PRICING WILL BE AVAILABLE.
SO, UH, WE, WE DO NEED TO GET THAT ORDER IN, BUT LIKE I SAID, IF WE'RE, IF WE ARE ABLE DURING THE YEAR, SO YEAH.
I MEAN, I HEAR THAT AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
I GUESS I'M, THAT'S ALL, NOT THAT IT'S YOUR FAULT.
IT'S JUST A LITTLE FRUSTRATING THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE EVEN IF YOU WERE TO PURCHASE ANY VIEW LATER IN THE YEAR, IT WOULDN'T REALLY OFFSET THE PURCHASE OF THE OTHER VEHICLE BECAUSE YOU ALREADY WELL-PLACED THE ORDER.
WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE SIX, SIX TRUCKS AND, AND TO BE HONEST, UH, YOU KNOW, IN MY PERSONAL LIFE, I'VE BOUGHT A BRAND NEW CAR FIRST YEAR, AND THOSE FIRST MODELS THAT COME OUT ARE USUALLY THE ONES THAT HAVE THE BUGS.
SO I'M, I'M, I'M NOT AGAINST THE WAITING A LITTLE BIT AND LET THEM WORK SOME OF THOSE BUGS OUT.
YEAH, IT WAS MENTIONED THAT VERSUS THE
[01:40:01]
TESLA CYBER TRUCK VERSUS THE FOUR THAT THE CYBER STRIPE, WASN'T YOU UTILITARIAN ENOUGH FOR WHAT YOU GUYS WERE WANTING? UM, IS THAT JUST BECAUSE OF THE LOOKS OR THE FUNCTION? BECAUSE THE LOOKING ONLINE, THE FORD ELECTRIC VEHICLE SAYS THE HASN'T RELEASED THE PRICING OFFICIALLY, BUT THEY'RE EXPECTING THE COST TO START AROUND 55,000.SO I WOULD REALLY LOOK AT THE RANGE, CAUSE I WOULD THINK THE MOST UTILITARIAN FUEL YOU COULD GET WOULD BE GETTING THE BEST PRICE FOR THE BEST RANGE, FOR THE BEST USE OF THE VEHICLE.
AND THE TESLA CYBER TRUCKS WILL HAVE OVER THE AIR UPDATES TO THEIR SOFTWARE.
SO IF THE FIRST MODELS ARE BUGGY, THEN THEY WOULD BE FIXED OVER THE YEAR UPDATE, WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE FORD IS ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND THE FIRST VERSION OF THE CYBER TRUCK IS GOING TO CLOSER TO THE 40,000 RANGE AND THOSE PRICES ARE CONFIRMED AND THOSE TRUCKS ARE GOING TO BE RELEASED IN LATE 20, 21.
SO I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, DO A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE CYBER TRUCK AND IT'S GOING TO BE IN OUR CITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, AND BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? CAN'T THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
AND THIS TOO IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT, UH, JUST A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION THAT YOU GUYS GAVE US IS ACTUALLY ENOUGH.
[4. STAFF BRIEFINGS]
ON GUYS, I GUESS THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE, OUR STAFF BRIEFINGS.ACTUALLY WE HAVE A COUPLE OF BRIEFINGS HERE.
RIGO IS GOING TO COME UP AND TALK ABOUT THE CIRCLE OF MEETUPS.
SO PROGRAM THAT'S HAPPENING WITHIN OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROGRAM.
CAN, CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE.
I'M A NEW MEMBER OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY TEAM WITHIN A STRATEGIC INITIATIVES DIVISION OF ARR.
AND MY ROLE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSES ON GROWING THE CAPACITY FOR BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT WITHIN OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT, WHAT I SPECIFICALLY WORK ON IS FOCUSING ON DOING ONE-ON-ONE BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT BUSINESS WITH OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESSES.
UM, WE SUPPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AN EQUITY LENS, UM, IN ORDER TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE ON OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY, BUSINESSES AND IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS GROWTH FOR EXPANSION, AND OF COURSE, CONNECTING THEM TO RESOURCES AND INCENTIVES HERE AS WELL.
AND PART OF THAT IS OF COURSE, WE'RE COMMITTED TO GROWING OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, ENSURING THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN AUSTIN, UM, AND INCREASING JOB OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS WELL.
BUT MAINLY WHAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON IS ENSURING THAT WE'RE MAINTAINING OPEN COMMUNICATION AND FOSTERING LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
AND ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE DO THAT IS THROUGH ONE OF OUR NEW BUSINESS NETWORKING EVENTS.
SO CIRCULAR MEETUPS IS A NEW BUSINESS AND VIRTUAL NETWORKING SERIES THAT WE CREATED.
OUR FIRST ONE WAS ACTUALLY HOSTED ON DECEMBER 1ST AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH.
UM, AND WHAT IT DOES IS THIS PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR LOCAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY, BUSINESS OWNERS, STARTUPS, SUSTAINABILITY PROFESSIONALS, ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES TO COME TOGETHER AND CONNECT AND LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AND HAPPENING WITHIN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO BEST PRACTICES, THINGS THAT THEY CAN SHARE AND CONNECT ON ARE WAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO COLLABORATE TOGETHER.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO START HOSTING THEM BY MONTHLY.
OUR FIRST ONE WAS THIS MONTH, OUR NEXT ONE WILL BE FEBRUARY 2ND.
SO THEY'RE FAST, THEY'RE FUN, THEY'RE INFORMATIONAL AND THEY HAPPEN OVER LUNCH.
AND SO BASICALLY OUR FORMAT IS WE GET A COUPLE OF OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESSES TO COME IN.
THEY TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING, HOW THEY'RE COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY SEE WITHIN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY INDUSTRY IN AUSTIN, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
SO WE HAD THREE BUSINESSES THIS PAST MEETUP ON THE FIRST, UM, WE HAD SAMANTHA FROM RE 3D AND, UH, YOGASH FROM TRASH LIST AND THEN LAUREN CHAVEZ FROM JUNKLUGGERS.
UM, AND IN BETWEEN THOSE PRESENTATIONS, WE HAVE REALLY AWESOME OPPORTUNITIES TO DO INTERMITTENT NETWORKING BREAKOUT SESSIONS.
SO THOSE WHO CAME AND PARTICIPATED IN THOSE MOODS GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY INDUSTRY.
AND OF COURSE, OTHER PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE DOING THIS WORK AS WELL.
SO THE GOAL, ALL OF OUR MEETUPS OF COURSE, ARE TOGETHER LIKE-MINDED BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS, UM, GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO NETWORK.
WE ALSO WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE AWARENESS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND OUR BUSINESSES HERE LOCALLY
[01:45:01]
AND HOW THEY'RE MAKING AN INVESTMENT AND AN IMPACT IN HELPING US REACH SOME OF THOSE ZERO WASTE SCHOOLS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.AND WE WANT TO ALSO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT ARE PRACTICING OR EVEN CONSIDERING CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRINCIPLES, UM, HERE IN AUSTIN, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SOME OF THE OUTCOMES, UH, ONE OF OUR FIRST EVENT WAS WE HAD A TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED REGISTERED ATTENDEES OF 53, 28 OF THEM, UM, WERE IN ATTENDANCE THAT INCLUDED OUR SPEAKERS AND SOME MEMBERS FROM OUR TEAM.
UM, AS A RESULT OF THAT, UM, I'VE GOTTEN ONE BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT VISIT FROM THAT.
I'M WORKING ON A SECOND ONE, THREE NEW LINKEDIN CONNECTIONS WHO WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TOGETHER AND CONTINUE TO LEARN ABOUT CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND BE INVOLVED IN THAT.
UM, WE GOT SOME REALLY GOOD SURVEY FEEDBACK FROM SOME ATTENDEES AS WELL, AND SOME NEW SPEAKER REQUESTS.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAYBE WEREN'T AWARE, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A CIRCULAR ECONOMY MAP WHERE BUSINESSES IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY INDUSTRY CAN FILL OUT THE APPLICATION.
WE LIST THEIR BUSINESS ON OUR MAP, DEPENDING ON WHICH PART OF IT THAT THEY FALL INTO.
AND IT'S A WAY FOR THEM TO KNOW WHO IS PARTICIPATING IN THE INDUSTRY HERE LOCALLY, AND FOR THEM TO ALSO CONTINUE TO CONNECT WITH ONE ANOTHER.
SO WE HAD SOME NEW MAP APPLICATIONS AS A PART OF, UM, OUR CIRCULAR MEETUPS AS WELL.
AND OF COURSE FOR OUR FUTURE GOALS AND FUTURE IMPACT, WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE OUR PARTICIPATION UP TO 40 FOR EVERY MEETUP THAT WE'RE HOSTING.
UM, CONTINUE TO INTRODUCE OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY, BUSINESSES TO ONE ANOTHER AND MAKE CONNECTIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS, UM, PROVIDING MORE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONALS AND ENTHUSES WITHIN THIS EMERGING INDUSTRY.
AND OF COURSE WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND BUSINESSES TO INVEST IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ACHIEVE OUR ZERO WASTE GOALS AND OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO CO-CREATE SOLUTIONS, UM, TO SOME OF OUR MATERIAL WASTE STREAM PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE WE'RE EXPERIENCING HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO AGAIN, UM, BUT DAYS FOR 2021, WE HOST THESE BI-MONTHLY.
UM, SO WE'LL HAVE ONE IN FEBRUARY, APRIL, JUNE, AUGUST, OCTOBER, AND DECEMBER OF NEXT YEAR.
UM, OUR FEBRUARY SPEAKERS, UH, FOR 2021, I'VE ALREADY BEEN COMMITTED AND IDENTIFIED AND WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO AND EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO OFFER OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY WITHIN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY, CHANCES TO COME TOGETHER, TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER TO FORM COLLABORATIONS, UM, AND CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER AND INVEST IN THE COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I DON'T WANT TO TAKE UP TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME, BUT I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS NEW EVENT.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT WAY TO CONTINUE TO CONNECT OUR BUSINESSES HERE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
COMMISSIONER IS ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH.
UM, HOW ARE YOU GETTING WORD OUT TO BUSINESSES ABOUT THIS SERIES? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO WE WORK WITH OUR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, PUBLIC INFORMATION TEAMS. SO WE HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES.
SO TALKING TO THE ONES, WE ALREADY HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH, UM, REACHING OUT TO INDUSTRY GROUPS LIKE, UM, ARMA, UM, SOME OF OUR CHAMBERS, OUR LOCAL CHAMBERS, WHO MIGHT HAVE BUSINESSES THAT ARE ENGAGED IN THIS PRACTICE.
UM, AND SOME WHO ALREADY, UM, OUR RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH OUR NEWSLETTER AND BUSINESSES THAT WERE ALREADY CONNECTED TO YOU THAT ARE ON OUR MAP OR ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
SO REALLY USING THE NETWORKS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH, UM, TO CONTINUE TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU ARE MUTED.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, GARY? THANK YOU.
UH, WE HAVE THE REST OF THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT HERE.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER ITEMS THAT, UH, WE'LL JUST TOUCH BASE ON A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME HERE FOR RUNNING OVERTIME AND A BIT SHORT ON EVEN OUR EXTENSION.
UH, THE, UH, HOLIDAY TREE RECYCLING EVENT COULD BE IMPACTED BY A CORONAVIRUS STAGING HERE IF WE GO TO FIVE.
UM, BUT I DO WANT TO ALSO, UM, TO SAY THAT ON OUR STATISTICS STATISTICAL REPORTS, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS EARLIER, BUT, UM, YOU GUYS GOT A CHANCE TO SEE, UH, SOME OF THE IMPACTS THAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH SYSTEMS SHIFT OF WASTE HAS MOVED FROM THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR AND INTO THE HOME.
SO I WOULD PICK IT UP MORE AND MORE MATERIALS.
AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW HAPPY I AM WITH ALL OF THE WORK
[01:50:01]
THAT THE TEAM HAS PUT IN AND CONTINUED TO COME WORK, COME TO WORK DURING THE PANDEMIC.I MEAN, THIS IS, IT'S NOT EASY WAKING UP WHEN YOU HEAR THE, UH, CHALLENGING NEWS EVERY MORNING OR EVERY EVENING.
CAN YOU WANT TO JUST ALLOW THE COMMISSION TO AT THIS STAGE SINCE WE BASICALLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES LEFT TO REVIEW THIS AND ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CAN THE COMMISSIONER'S REACH OUT TO STAFF WITH ANY FUTURE QUESTIONS? YES.
[5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT]
AS FAR AS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS I COMMISSIONERS PLEASE CHIME IN.IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING, I ADD IT NOW ON RECORD THE WEEK, AND THAT INCLUDED OUR NEXT GATHERING.
I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT A RETREAT.
UH, JERRY, I, UM, DID THE, UM, THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE OFFICE, INVITED BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, TO A SESSION TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR WORK AND WHAT THEY WOULD BE ASKING, UM, HOW THEY WOULD BE ASKING US TO PROVIDE A CHANNEL TO COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT THE WORK THEY'RE DOING.
SO IT WAS JUST AN INITIAL CONVERSATION OPEN TO, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN NUMBER OF MEMBERS FROM EACH COMMISSION.
AND, UH, I THINK WE SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, AWARE OF THEIR WORK AND LOOKING OUT FOR WHAT THAT CONNECTION IS GOING TO BE BETWEEN ZERO WASTE AND WHAT THAT RESILIENCE OFFICE IS DOING.
SO IT MAY BE NOT NEXT MONTH, BUT IN A FEW MONTHS IT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE TO HAVE A, A BRIEFING FROM THAT, UH, RE RESILIENCE OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT FOR ATTENDING.
I GUESS I WAS LAZY, BUT JUST TEASING, NONETHELESS.
I, UH, YOU KNOW, KENNETH, DID YOU WANT TO TOUCH ON THE THOUGHTS ABOUT HAVING A RETREAT FOR THE COMMISSION ITSELF SO WE CAN GET A GET TOGETHER AND DISCUSS WHERE WE WANT TO HEAD IN THE FUTURE IN ADDITION TO, TO KIND OF WORK OUT SOME OF THE BUSINESS CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE.
AND I CAN, IF YOU GUYS WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT, EXPLAIN THE PROCESS HERE THAT WOULD, UH, THEY WOULD OCCUR.
UM, ACTUALLY, YES, I DO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO HAVE A RETREAT IN JANUARY, UH, WITH THE COMMISSION WHERE WE WOULD COME TOGETHER AND KIND OF WORK ON A FEW THINGS WE COULD TALK ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT, UM, HAVE A REFRESHER FOR THE BYLAWS, UH, AND SOME OF THE, UM, THE COMMISSION RELATED ITEMS. UM, BUT JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT AND TOGETHER ON DEVELOPING A PATH FORWARD, UH, AND TO TALK ABOUT OUR WORKING RELATIONSHIPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THE OTHER THING, GUYS, I, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS GO, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN ITEM ON THERE.
I MEAN, GOING BACK TO DIVERSION HERE, SOMETHING THAT REINTRODUCES US AND, OR WE TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE SERIOUSLY, THIS C AND D RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE NEED THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
A LOT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, IS MORE PAROCHIAL THAN ANYTHING AT THIS STAGE.
SO IF US, IF WE, AS A CITY, WHEN IT CONTINUE TO PROMOTE AND GROW OUR, OUR ACTUAL DIVERSION ZERO WASTE, PERHAPS WE DO NEED TO CONSIDER THE CITY INVOLVING ITSELF A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE ACTUAL, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE GOALS.
AND I THINK COMMISSIONER, I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER DIRECTOR SNIPES.
AND I HAD A BRIEF CHAT ABOUT THAT AND ON HOW WE COULD, UH, START BRAINSTORMING AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE ARE AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MANY, MANY OTHER CONTRACTORS AND OR SERVICE PROVIDERS WHO DON'T HAVE A QUOTE UNQUOTE, LANDFILL OR FACILITY FOR DOING THAT TYPE OF A DIVERSION SORTING YOU NAME IT.
BUT I LIKE TO SEE THAT IF WE CAN ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT LADY, JUST, JUST BRIEF DISCUSSION AND STARTS TOWARDS THAT GOAL COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO LOOK AT, AND IT COULD BE A VERY SHORT MEETING, BUT, UH, I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE ENOUGH, ANOTHER IDEA OR TWO THAT POPS UP THAT WE CAN INCLUDE IN THE AGENDA.
AND, UH, KENNY, YOU'RE GOING TO GET BACK WITH US ON A POSSIBLE DATE.
YOU SAID, OR I'M SORRY THAT THE TIMES OF DATES.
SO WE'LL REACH OUT TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND A DATE THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.
UH, AND SO, UM, EXPECT TO HEAR FROM US SOON ON THAT.
I APPRECIATE THAT COMMISSIONERS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? ALL I CAN SAY IS THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR A WONDERFUL YEAR TO A CHALLENGING YEAR.
[01:55:01]
ANY SENSE.KEN, RICHARD, GINA, EVERYBODY, RON, ALL YOU GUYS ARE AT STAFF.
YOU, YOU DID A WONDERFUL JOB TO, TO SURVIVE THIS YEAR AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR AND, AND COMMISSIONERS.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE COMMITMENT THAT YOU YOU'VE GIVEN US.
AND PLEASE GUYS HAVE A MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, AND EVERYONE GUYS ENJOY LIGHT.
YOU CAN WAIT FOR A MIRACLE, NEVER COME AROUND.