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7.2. SR 04-19-1993 ITEM 7.2. TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: PATRICK KLAERS, CITY ADMINISTRATOR DATE: APRIL 16, 1993 SUBJECT: SCORE FUND PROPOSAL Environmental Officer, Gary Schmitz, has put together the attached SCORE funding proposal. The City Council must approve the City's request for SCORE Funds. The proposal is reviewed by the County and the County distributes money based mainly on a recommendation from the SCORE screening committee. The proposal is similar to previous City proposals but includes additional issues such as the business recycling proposal, and the cardboard recycling proposal. . . 720 Dodge Avenue N.W.,Elk River, Minnesota 55330 (612) 441-7420 . . . SCORE FUND PROPOSALS BACKGROUND As the Board reviews these proposals, please keep in mind that Elk River is 44 square miles in size with a population of 11,143 people. This population figure comprises 27% of the entire population of Sherburne County. Therefore, any successful program will have a significant impact on a large sector of the County's population. Elk River is working on a comprehensive refuse and recycling program, however, running this type of a responsible program is very expensive and monetary help is greatly needed and appreciated. The City of Elk River has strived to become a leader in solid waste abatement issues. To date, the City has developed an organized route mandatory refuse program and have taken on the responsibility of the refuse billing program. This program has ensured that all of the approximately 3,100 homes use the refuse collection service provided by the City. Mandatory refuse collection has since been mandated by the State for all cities with a population of over 5,000 people. The City has also developed a mandatory biweekly curbside recycling program for all homes and apartment complexes. This has given every resident in the City the opportunity to conveniently recycle at the curb. Items that are currently collected curbside include food and beverage cans, newspaper, glass and plastic. PROPOSAL #1 - APPLIANCE RECYCLING Last year the City of Elk River held a citywide clean up day and collected 300 appliances; 38.38 tons of tires; 200 car batteries; and 4 fifteen yard dumpsters of scrap metal. Even with the Sherburne County clean up day grant of $1,800 and a $2,000 SCORE Grant for the collection of appliances, the City still had to pay $3,500.00 to cover expenses (see attached 1992 cost breakdown). Because of the success of the 1991 and 1992 citywide clean up days, the City is eager to operate another clean up day in 1993. In order to make the clean up day more economically feasible, the City of Elk River requests an additional $2,000 above the existing grant of $1,800 to help cover the cost of appliance disposal. If this request is approved, it would give 11,143 residents the opportunity to economically recycle their worn out appliances. It would also ease the economic burden of holding a clean up day. The City is expecting to hold the event during a weekend in May. . Expected Project Initiation Date - May 22, 1993 PROPOSAL #2 - CHRISTMAS TREE SHREDDING PROGRAM . The City of Elk River plans on organizing a Christmas Tree Shredding Program in early 1994. Christmas trees are a very difficult item to dispose of because of the lack of compost sites in both Elk River and Sherburne County. Each year the City of Elk River receives numerous calls from the public on how to properly dispose of Christmas trees. The City plans on holding a Christmas Tree Shredding Program on January 8 and January 15 for approximately 4 hours each day. The site would be staffed by three Elk River employees who would operate the tree shredder. The City of Elk River feels that for this program, City employees would be much cheaper then a private firm which has contracted with the City. The City of Elk River already has a chipper so the only costs for the actual service would be employee costs. A private firm would need employee costs, equipment costs and transportation costs all leading to a more expensive program. Compost could be collected by anyone who wishes to use it. The City does not charge for this service. The City is requesting $1,050 to administer this program (see the proposed budget for cost breakdown). The City has held the event the past three years and the program has become very popular. Last year, the City collected over 1,000 Christmas trees. The benefit to Sherburne County is that the popularity of this program may encourage other cities and townships to follow suit. This could lead to the elimination of several hundred Christmas trees out of the County and City ditches each year. The program is a low cost, practical way of disposing Christmas trees for Elk River residents. Initiation Date - January 8 and 15, 1994 PROPOSAL #3 - SPRING LEAF COLLECTION DAY . The City of Elk River receives numerous calls every spring and fall regarding the disposal of leaves and grass clippings. New laws which have banned compost from the waste stream make compost harder and harder to dispose. Since there is no public compost site for Elk River residents, the City plans on holding a drop off leaf collection day on a Saturday in April. No leaf collection days have been scheduled for the fall since Sherburne County plans on holding a comprehensive leaf collection program at this time. During April, residents will bring their compost to a centrally located area where they will debag their own compost in packers and roll offs. There would be no charge to residents for this program. The City will then land spread the compost at one of the City parks, keeping disposal costs to a minimum. Last year the City held the event . . . and had a very high turnout. More workers will be needed this year to keep up with demand. At the present time, compost is picked up by special arrangements made between the refuse hauler and the resident. There is a minimum $5.00 collection fee with $1.00 charged for each additional bag after five bags. The other option available to Elk River residents is the Elk River Landfill which also charges per bag for compost disposal. The cost of holding compost drop off program in the spring would be $687 (see proposed budget for further cost breakdown). This program will be offered to every household. Therefore, this is an excellent chance to give up to 3,100 households the opportunity to dispose of their compost during the peak spring season. Initiation Date - April 24, 1993 PROPOSAL #4 - USED OIL COLLECTION SITE Used oil has become an increasingly difficult item to dispose of in the last few years in Elk River. Currently there are no service stations or recycling centers who wish to accept used oil from the public. State law requires that service stations and retail businesses who sell oil must either have a used oil drop off site or provide signage on where the public can take used oil. The closest public used oil collection sites in the Elk River area are two private auto repair shops located in the City of Ramsey in Anoka County. The City of Elk River is concerned that some residents of Elk River and Sherburne County will illegally dispose of their used oil by dumping it on the ground, throwing it in their garbage can or leaving it at local service stations rather than driving all the way to Ramsey for proper disposal. In response to this dilemma, the City has considered operating a drop off site at the City maintenance garage. The problem with this proposal is that this site would be an unstaffed facility and the City is very concerned about the serious problems associated with an unstaffed used oil site. The City used to have an unstaffed used oil drop off site near the old City Hall and had problems associated with it such as illegal disposal of hazardous waste and spills. The City would like to pursue a better solution which would involve the City and County working together to reimburse a service station or other entity for operating a public used oil drop off site for the southeast Sherburne County area. This would ensure to the greatest extent possible that no illegal dumping would take place by making the site convenient for all residents and adding direct supervision to the process. The City estimates that $5,000 would be sufficient to reimburse a . service station or City for the added burden of a public used oil drop off site. The City is currently working with a local service station on setting up such a program. Initiation Date - Early summer, 1993 PROPOSAL #5 - RECYCLING CORRUGATED CARDBOARD AND MIXED PAPER The City of Elk River currently recycles food and beverage cans, newspaper, glass, and plastic. The City has received several phone calls from area residents concerning where and how corrugated cardboard and mixed paper can be recycled. In response to these inquiries, the City of Elk River would like to add these items to the curbside program if it is economically feasible. The City estimates the cost of this program at $2,000. The initial start up costs include talks with the refuse haulers, seminars, publications such as newspaper articles, ads, and brochures (see the proposed budget for start up costs). . A corrugated cardboard/mixed paper recycling program would definitely increase recycling in Sherburne County. There are currently no recycling centers in Elk River that accept these wastes, therefore, I would estimate that most of the corrugated cardboard and mixed paper is added to the residential waste stream. Elk River's curbside corrugated cardboard/mixed paper recycling campaign would offer approximately 3,100 households the opportunity to recycle cardboard and mixed paper, leading to a direct decrease in the amount of cardboard/mixed paper currently being placed in the waste stream. Initiation Date - Summer, 1993 PROPOSAL #6 - COMPOST SITE The composting of grass clippings and leaves has become an increasingly difficult process in the past few years. State legislation does not allow grass clippings or leaves to be landfilled, therefore, cities and counties are left with the dilemma of proper disposal. The City of Elk River does not currently have a public compost site available to Elk River residents. The Elk River Landfill does, however, have a private compost site. However, for the average resident who brings in small loads of compost, the cost are quite high. In fact, the minimum charge for bagged compost is 1/2 ton which costs $25.00 per load. . The City of Elk River has received several calls from area residents inquiring about the possibility of a permanent compost site. In the past, the City of Elk River has held . spring and fall compost collection programs as a "band-aid" approach until a more permanent compost program could be established. The City of Elk River would like to work with Sherburne County and develop a Sherburne County/Elk River compost site for southeast Sherburne County residents. The City has a few possible locations in mind, however no formal discussions have taken place. The City has not approached the county to see if there is any interest on their behalf. The City of Elk River would like to have two years in which to set up this program. The reason for the two year time period is that there is a lot of research and time that goes into siting and constructing a compost site. The City of Elk River estimates that $20,000 should be enough to offset most of the start up costs. Start up costs include fencing, signage, staffing, water, and road upgrading. These estimates were based on costs that the City of Big Lake is currently facing with the construction of their compost site. The southeast Sherburne County compost site would obviously need to be much larger than Big Lake's. Initially, the compost site would probably be open twice a month, depending upon demand, and would be used by Sherburne County residents only. . PROPOSAL #7 - BUSINESS RECYCLING The City of Elk River currently has a mandatory recycling program in place for all residential homes within the City limits of Elk River. An untapped market for recycling in the Elk River area is the business sector. There is some business recycling of office paper and cardboard already taking place, however, the majority are not recycling. I feel most businesses would like to recycle, however they are simply unaware of how to set up a program and find haulers who are interested in picking up recyclables. . The City of Elk River and the Elk River Chamber of Commerce are planning to work together to educate businesses on the recycling opportunities available in the Elk River area. The City will work with a booklet printed by the Tri-County Solid Waste Management Commission titled Tri-County Solid Waste Management Directory. In this booklet, a local recycling option fact sheet will be included giving names and numbers for various companies that will pick up office paper, cardboard, and other recyclables. In conjunction with the pamphlet and fact sheet, the City is planning on holding a series of workshops for interested businesses to establish a one on one relationship and get specific questions answered. The City will try to get other professionals, such as interested haulers, recycling center representatives, and other county and city officials, to attend some of these meetings. . The City of Elk River is requesting $2,000 of SCORE monies to reimburse the City for this program. The money would be used for printing, postage, and speaker costs and whatever other costs associated with the program. A business recycling program would definitely increase recycling in Sherburne County. Establishing a business recycling program where recycling information is easily obtained, I feel, would give approximately 350 area businesses the opportunity to recycle which would increase Sherburne County's recycling rate substantially. Initiation Date - Summer, 1993 . . . . . CITY OF ELK RIVER CLEAN UP DAY MAY 30, 1992 Price Breakdown TIRES - Waste Mangement Company - $100 per ton - 38.38 tons collected - 4 semi trailers - Estimated-tires collected 2,300 TOTAL $3,838.00 APPLIANCES - JR's Appliance Disposal - Appliances $7.00 per unit - Air Conditioners $15.00 per unit - Total units collected - 291 Air Conditioners - 6 - Total lbs recycled 56,430 TOTAL SCRAP METAL & CAR BATTERIES - Gene Zappa - 200 Car Batteries - 4 - 15 yd dumpsters - scrap metal TOTAL ADVERTISING - Elk River Star News - Two 1/4 page Ads TOTAL LABOR - 6 City - 6 Volunteer TOTAL MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES (pop, food) TOTAL CLEAN UP DAY CHARGES - Amount received on Clean Up Day CLEAN UP DAY GRANTS Tires Appliances Advertising Labor Misc. Expenses Total Charges Received Total County Grants City Cost $3,838.00 2,127.00 375.00 951.14 34.17 $7,325.31 $1,750.50 $5,574.81 $3,818.18 $1,756.63 $2,127.00 NC NC $ -0- $ 375.00 $ $ $ 951. 14 -0- 951.14 34.17 $1,750.50 $3,818.18 . . . COST BREAKDOWNS PROPOSAL #2 - CHRISTMAS TREE SHREDDING PROGRAM *Staff Time - 3 workers, 2 Saturdays, 4 hours per day *Total Hours - 24 *Overtime Pay - $25.00/hour ($600.00) *Advertising(Star News) - Two 1/4 page ads ($187.00 x 2 = $374.00) *Miscellaneous Expense (pop, equipment & repairs, etc.) - $76.00 FIGURES $ 600.00 $ 374.00 $ 76.00 $1,050.00 Employee Pay Advertising Fee Miscellaneous Expense Total Project Cost for Proposal #2 PROPOSAL #3 - LEAF COLLECTION DAY *Staff Time - 3 workers, 1 Saturday, 4 hours per day *Total Hours - 12 *Overtime Pay - $25.00/hour *Total Employee Pay - $300.00 *Advertising(Star News) One 1/4 page ad - $187.00 *Packer Fee - ($50.00/hour) 4 x $50.00 = $200.00 FIGURES $300.00 $187.00 $200.00 $687.00 Employee Pay Advertising Fee Packer Fee Total Project Cost for Proposal #3 PROPOSAL #4 - USED OIL COLLECTION SITE The City estimates that $5,000.00 is enough compensation for a service station or other entity to operate a public used oil drop off facility. It is difficult to estimate the amount of staff time that will be needed to operate this program and the total amount of used oil collected per year. Therefore, this amount is an estimate. . . . PROPOSAL #5 - RECYCLING CORRUGATED CARDBOARD & MIXED PAPER *Seminars - $200.00 *Advertising - Newsletter, Star News, Direct Mailing - $1,400.00 *Staff Time - $400.00 FIGURES $ 200.00 $1,400.00 $ 400.00 $2,000.00 Seminars Advertising Staff Time PROPOSAL #6 - COMPOST SITE The City estimates that $20,000 is enough compensation for the City to set up a compost site. It is difficult to estimate all the potential costs involved with the location of a compost site. Fencing, signage, water, and road construction all play an important role in the program. As the City narrows down a site, more specific information will become available. The City did use some of the information the City of Big Lake obtained when searching for their compost site location. PROPOSAL #7 - BUSINESS RECYCLING PROGRAM The City estimates that $2,000 is enough compensation to operate this program. The money will be used to cover postage costs, printing costs, and speaker costs throughout the year. The City hopes to work with approximately 300-350 area businesses.