The Rock Island City Council met in Special Session on Monday, August
17, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. at the Quad City Botanical Center. Present were Mayor Mark W. Schwiebert,
presiding, and Aldermen David R. Conroy, John E. Bauersfeld, Jr., Dan Rockwell,
Evelyn "Evie" R. White, Ann Keefe and Charles "Chuck" O.
Austin. Also present were Rock Island
City Manager John C. Phillips, Moline Mayor Stan Leach, members of the Moline
City Council, Rock Island Public Works Director Bob Hawes and Moline Public
Works Director Michael Waldron, Moline Acting City Administrator Jeff Lester
and Public Works staff members from both cities.
Rock Island City Manager John C. Phillips gave a
welcome message to all those in attendance.
He noted the purpose of this meeting with the Moline City Council was to
provide an update on the Regional Services Study, and then to discuss a
proposed Joint Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Service Study.
Mr. Phillips discussed some examples of sharing
that is already occurring between the two cities, noting that some of this
sharing also extends across the river.
The sharing included things such as the Police and Fire records, the
Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Gang Task Force, the K-9 from Rock Island is
sometimes used by Moline, animal shelter and mutual aid. The Fire Departments have joint training,
the HazMat Team, Rapid Intervention Team, they are using common standard
operating guidelines and sharing equipment.
He added that both Fire Departments are using the same software, and
some of the Rock Island IT personnel have assisted Moline with the
implementation and use of this.
Jeff Lester, Moline Acting City Administrator,
spoke of sharing that between the Public Works Department – the body shop,
crack seal and pavement marking, sandbagging machine that was purchased jointly
to be shared, the asphalt injection machine, the GPS Base Station, and also
working together on the Storm water Ordinance and fleet management equipment
sharing. He stated that Moline has a
sign shop that can also be used by Rock Island. He discussed some sharing within the Community and Economic
Development Departments, including some applications through Bi-State for grant
money for lead-based paint removal, some joint planning for the QCIC area which
should maximize development opportunities, and other examples.
Rock Island Public Works Director Bob Hawes and Moline Public Works
Director Michael Waldron reviewed the report and shared information on the
proposal. Mr. Waldron introduced the committee members and expressed
appreciation to them for their input and assistance. He stated that both communities participated actively in the
joint study with a strong sense of cooperation and resource review, noting that
there were many areas of opportunity identified and explored.
Mr. Hawes reviewed the goals of the committee – to evaluate the existing
solid waste management systems in an effort to maximize efficiencies; minimize
costs; coordinate and/or consolidate services; identify available options;
recommend changes, if any; and develop an implementation strategy if the cities
would benefit from service modifications.
Mr. Waldron indicated that the committee is
recommending a comprehensive reorganization of the refuse services provided by
Moline and Rock Island that will 1) enhance the services provided to
residential customers; 2) enhance the appearance of residential neighborhoods;
3) provide a safer work environment for refuse service workers; and 4) reduce overall
refuse service costs by about $315,000 per year (12%) in both cities
combined.
Mr. Hawes discussed the four significant changes
to the refuse collection system, which included the implementation of an
automated residential refuse collection service. He noted the advantages to this type of system would be the
safety of the worker, higher productivity, customer convenience and cleaner
neighborhoods. The second change would
be to provide yard waste collection through a consolidated subscription service
and drop-off centers in each city. With
this service, customers would have two yard waste collection alternatives. One would be a subscription service for
curbside collection and the yard waste drop-off centers. The third change would be for bulky item
collection through a consolidated call-in Special Pickup Service. The fourth change would come with joint
bidding for refuse equipment, refuse carts and land filling services, which
would hopefully save money by purchasing in larger quantities.
Mr. Hawes reviewed the implementation of each of
these changes. He stated that Moline
would provide the special pick-up service with one free pick-up per customer
per year, and a charge of $25.00 for any additional pick-ups. He noted some issues with the automated
collection system – one-side collection in alleys, which would mean that
customers would need to put their containers on the same side of the
alley. Some alleys would be too narrow
to use this service, and it would not be practical for condos and
apartments. He stated that Rock Island
would provide the yard waste pick up.
He indicated that the staff would be decreased through attrition, and
fewer seasonal workers would be needed if the refuse workers would be working
on other jobs. Mr. Hawes added that
they would probably wind up with promotions, since the refuse workers were the
lowest classification of workers.
Both Mr. Hawes and Mr. Waldron responded to
questions from the audience. One
question was asked regarding the need for an additional cart to be used for
yard waste, and Mr. Hawes indicated this would be available for $50.00 per
season. He added that this would be
easier to use than paper bags, noting in response to another question that yard
waste would be picked up once a week as it is now. Mr. Waldron indicated this would not replace the leaf vacuum.
When asked about the implementation of the
program, Mr. Hawes indicated that there would be time needed to go out for bids
and purchase the trucks and equipment, time to educate the public and time to
deliver the approximately 29,000 carts to residents. They discussed the benefits of purchasing the entire fleet of
trucks at one time, noting that they would be cheaper and mechanically better.
Alderman Brooks arrived at approximately 6:00
p.m.
Mr. Hawes indicated that there would be a
Handicapped Program for those unable to move the carts to the appropriate
pickup spot. He stated that this would
be available upon request and when the customer is able to provide appropriate
documentation. A question was asked
about a smaller barrel/cart, and Mr. Hawes noted that the arm on the truck
could pick up any size of barrel and a smaller one is available. A fee has not been determined if one
customer needs more than one barrel per pickup.
Mr. Phillips reviewed the next step, stating
that each City Council should review this further and react before pursuing the
program. He stated that they would also
need to determine up-front financing to implement the program, and to allow six
months to a year for implementation. He
then expressed his appreciation the Mr. Hawes, Mr. Waldron and the committee
for their work on this proposal.
A motion made by Alderman Keefe and seconded by
Alderman Rockwell to recess to Monday, August 23 at 5:00 p.m. CARRIED on a Roll
Call vote. AYES: Aldermen Brooks,
Conroy, Bauersfeld, Rockwell, White, Keefe and Austin. NAYS: None.
The meeting was recessed at 6:15 p.m.
__________________________________
Jeanne
F. Paggen, City Clerk