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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCC 10-09-17 Approved Meeting Minutes DA COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Committee: Cost Control Commission Meeting Date October 9, 2017 Location Mo`ikeha Building – Meeting Room 2A/B Start of Meeting: 2:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:46 p.m. Present Chair James Whitfield; Vice Chair Tyler Rodighiero; Members: Jan Hashizume and Joanne Nakashima Also present: Board & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Mercedes Omo, Administrator Paula Morikami; Office of the County Attorney: First County Deputy Attorney Matthew Bracken; Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division: Acting County Engineer Lyle Tabata, Executive Assistant Keith Suga and Solid Waste Program Development Coordinator Allison Fraley. Excused Commissioners Preston Chong, Tricia Lynn Yamashita and Laurie Yoshida Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Whitfield called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. with four members present constituting a quorum. Approval of Minutes Regular Open Session Minutes of August 14, 2017. Chair Whitfield asked the Commissioners if they had any corrections to be made in regards to the meeting minutes. Hearing none, he called for a motion to approve the meeting minutes as circulated. Ms. Hashizume moved to approve the meeting minutes of August 14, 2017, as circulated. Vice Chair Rodighiero seconded the motion. The motion carried 4:0. Business CCC 2017-08 General Overview of the County’s Recycling Program Solid Waste Program Development Coordinator Allison Fraley gave a PowerPoint presentation on the County’s Recycling Programs reflecting data related to the operational costs for the County’s landfill, transfer stations and curbside trash collection; solid waste division recycling programs; operational costs that are offset by residential fees; landfill tipping fees; a graph showing the County’s recycling percentage rate from 2007 to 2016; the types of materials that are being diverted to the landfill; green waste diversion; metal recycling processing facility; Cost Control Commission Regular Open Session of October 9, 2017 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION commercial restrictions for the landfill; commercial recycling; residential drop bins; types of items that are accepted; redemption centers; electronic (e-waste) recycling; free home composting bins; the County’s used tire and motor oil recycling programs; household hazard waste disposal; items that are banned from the landfill; and Kaua‘i Resource Center and educational outreach and assistance. Ms. Fraley stated that before she begins to take questions, she wanted to say that the purpose of her presentation was to give the Commission insight as to what the costs are to keep the various recycling programs up and running, the type of recycling programs that are mandated by law that the Solid Waste Division must provide, and the other types of recycling programs the Solid Waste Division has created and funded in their efforts to encourage the public to recycle. Vice Chair Rodighireo asked where does the E-waste go after it is collected to which Ms. Fraley replied that it goes to Puhi Metals to be dismantled and once it’s dismantled the items are shipped to Washington State. She explained that a law passed in 2010 called the Recovery Law requires all manufactures like Apple, Microsoft and Samsung to provide free electronic recycling programs for the counties. Vice Chair Rodighiero asked if the County recycles used batteries, and if yes, does the County keep a record on how many batteries are sold to the public? Ms. Fraley replied that the County’s Solid Waste Division did a brief point of purchase campaign to inform the public where to recycle their used batteries, but does not keep a record. With regard to the disposal of used tires, Chair Whitfield stated that if he’s correct the consumer pays a disposal fee at the time of purchase to which Ms. Fraley replied yes. Chair Whitfield then asked where the money goes. Ms. Fraley replied that the money goes to the state and in turn they use the monies to clean up tire piles. Cost Control Commission Regular Open Session of October 9, 2017 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Chair Whitfield asked since the disposal fees that are collected by the retailer at the time of purchase goes to the state who pays to dispose the tires that remain on the island. Is it the taxpayers? Ms. Fraley replied that tires from residential sources are accepted for recycling at all County Refuse Transfer Stations and the Landfill free of charge; however, they highly recommend that the consumer return their used tires to the place of purchase for proper disposal; otherwise the cost to dispose the tires would fall on the County. Vice Chair Rodighireo asked if the $1.2 million a year to collect and convert green waste to compost includes a trucking fee to which Ms. Fraley replied that businesses pay a small tipping fee of $10 to $20 per load. Vice Chair Rodighireo asked if the County contracts private companies to do all of the shredding. Ms. Fraley explained that the shredding of the green waste that’s done in Hanapēpē allows the residents and non-profits to pick-up the shredded material for free or for a fee, the County would the delivery the material to designated area. But relative to the Northshore and Līhu‘e contracts unlike Hanapēpē, allows the contractor to keep the green waste after its shredded. Vice Chair Rodighiero stated that one of the responsibilities of the Cost Control Commission is make cost savings recommendations. He asked if the Solid Waste Division has established some goals to bring down the cost. Ms. Fraley stated that the Solid Waste Division is a huge division and there’s not a lot of opportunities to save money when it comes to recycling, and the way the markets are going worldwide, she has learned that China has stopped taking recyclable materials from the United States as well as the countries and that has caused a bit of crisis. Mr. Suga stated that he knows that most of today’s presentation is focused on recycling and as everyone here can knows there is a huge cost involved when it comes to landfill development and other operational programs. But from an operational sense there’s always room for improvement and that room for improvement would equate into some cost savings. He added that over the past four to six months the Solid Waste Division has been focused on trying to fill their vacancies at the transfer stations, landfill and refuge collection and within that period they were able to hire roughly seven bodies for the landfill ranging from laborers, operational assistants and equipment operators which has helped to minimize the cost relating to overtime. Cost Control Commission Regular Open Session of October 9, 2017 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION With regard to the transfer stations, they were able to fill five to six vacancies, and from an operational standpoint, they have to make sure that they have the appropriate amount of staffing in order to keep the operations running as well as limit the overtime. Mr. Suga shared that the County has plans to do a lateral landfill expansion at the Kekaha landfill and is in the process of negotiating a contract with the consultant to complete the final design. The project is slated for construction this time next year and upon completion it will provide the County an additional six to eight years of landfill capacity. Relative to the Maalo landfill in Hanamā‘ulu, the County has just received a draft copy the EIS which currently being review by the administration for comments to be incorporated into the document which will posted for the public to review once its finalized. Vice Chair Rodighireo asked relative to the issue with China, is the County expecting an increase in dumping of recyclables in the near future? Ms. Fraley replied hopefully not. It is her understanding that the United States is looking at opening up more recyclable mills to accommodate investors who want to invest in recyclable goods. Chair Whitfield stated that today’s discussion was very informative but as a follow-up to Ms. Fraley’s presentation, he would like more information on what the other operations in the Solid Waste Division are doing in terms of additional costs and possible ways the County could save money when it comes to trash collection at the landfill, including information on the present cost of residential trash collection compared to the past (after the implementation of the new trash collection program using the 2 bin sizes). Staff acknowledged Chair Whitfield’s request and will send a written request to Mr. Keith Suga of the Solid Waste Division. CCC 2017-05 Continued discussion on other possible areas to investigate to reduce the cost of county government while maintaining a reasonable level of public service in accordance to Section 28.04 of the Kaua‘i County Charter XXVIII Cost Control Commission. Cost Control Commission Regular Open Session of October 9, 2017 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Vice Chair Rodighireo asked if it was possible to get an update on the County’s efforts to do a lateral expansion of the Kekaha landfill and an overview of the proposed costs and timeline for the new Maalo landfill in Hanamā‘ulu. Staff acknowledged Vice Chair Rodighiero’s request and will include in the memo his request as noted. Adjournment Next meeting – Monday, November 13, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. at the Mo’ikeha Building, Meeting 2A/2B. With no further business to conduct, Chair Whitfield called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Hashizume moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Nakashima seconded the motion. The motion carried 4:0. At 2:46 p.m. the meeting adjourned. Submitted by: __________________________________ Reviewed and Approved by: _________________________________________ Mercedes Omo, Staff Support Clerk Tyler Rodighireo, Chair-elect (x) Approved as circulated on February 12, 2018 ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of ___________ meeting.