As we previewed on Monday morning, Garbage was set to be one of the key items of note for the first Council session for April, with the Council membership listening keenly in the evening to a presentation from Operations Manager Richard Pucci.
At the Monday session, the City's Garbage Czar provided for his view of the brave new world of refuse collection that is soon to be upon us.
The focus for his presentation was his recommendation to council to move forward with a contract bid from Rollins Machinery and IPL to provide for the garbage cans for the new approach to community collection the cost of the contract award to come to $564,850 plus PST and GST.
The request for bids was issued in Mid February though the BC Bid process.
As part of his overview for Council, Mr. Pucci observed how the new Garbage collection program is part of an agreement that the city has signed with Recycle BC for curbside recycling in the community for the summer of 2021.
While little was explained about that agreement, the terms apparently require that the city will supply two garbage bins to all 4,300 households in the community, the new hinged lid bins will be compatible with the tilt assist mechanism on the new garbage truck that the city has recently purchased
One bin destined for regular garbage and the other for use for recyclable items.
Of the three options towards financing the garbage bin purchase, Council decided to go with the recommended option number two from staff, which will see residents billed 22 dollars through their garbage fees for a one time levy on the 2022 utility bill and the remainder of the cost to come through the gas tax.
As part of his presentation, the City's Operations Manager also noted that if residents were to lose their bins, or they become damaged the replacement would be 41 dollars for garbage and 65 for the recycling bins, plus assembly and delivery.
As for questions from Council members, Councillor Blair Mirau opened up the discussion asking if there was a plan for apartment buildings and multi family residences, to which Mr. Pucci advised there was not at the moment as they are not covered by the program, though he did add it could be added in the future.
Mr. Mirau also asked about the potential for any uptick in recycling costs through Regional District and if there would be a increase in taxes on recycling, Mr. Pucci did not have an answer to that for the night, but did say he would research it and forward his findings through an internal memo.
Councillor Mirau followed up with comments expressing his enthusiasm for the project, noting of the benefits he believes will be found by taking up the recommendation from city staff, offering up the belief that if no fee is charged the impression of the provision of what he describes as a free service may be taken for granted.
Noting of the impact that such a charge as 20 dollars could have on seniors in the community, Councillor Cunningham asked for the cost of option three which would see the city absorb the full cost through the gas tax.
He was advised by the City's CFO Corinne Bomben that the total cost through that option would be 86,000 dollars, a figure which seemed to eliminate his enthusiasm for that approach.
Mayor Brain also echoed a theme from Councillor Mirau, observing how having a charge in place will develop a sense of ownership for residents towards the city supplied bins.
"I just think some of the points here for the twenty dollars, it also gives people ownership that it's their bin and I think that even though it is a smaller fee, I think it's important that people feel like they own their bins. Sometimes when things are just given out, you know people, I don't think they respect it as much as if they have a small contribution to be made to that. And these are going to be very good solid bins that they'll use for a long period of time. Personally I'm very excited about this initiative this is something that from even when I first got elected back in 2014 that I've wanted to see" -- Mayor Lee Brain
Councillor Adey also had some themes to explore on the topic, agreeing with much of what Councillor Mirau had stated calling it a significant forward step, recounting his own observations on a recycling program that is in place in Victoria with the councillor noting of some of the benefits that he can see from the program.
He did have a question related to the bins to be purchased and asked if residents would be allowed to put out their own bins as well, or if this marks a transition away from that process.
Mr. Pucci noted that with the new system only the city supplied bins would be allowed to be used, noting that the bins are large and he doesn't see any issues related to that changeover.
The Councillor also asked if there was any plan for what residents should do with their current bins once the changeover takes place. Mr. Pucci noted that the city hasn't determined what will happen to the old bins, observing that the city plans a major messaging campaign in the weeks to come.
He then outlined how the new bins will feature a computer chip that will allow for monitoring of the refuse that goes into the bins.
Councillor Cunningham followed up on that theme, asking if there was s structure for the fines that would be in place, as well he asked for an explanation as to how the monitoring of the recyclable material would work.
Mr. Pucci, did not have any timeline on what amount the fines would be or when they would be put in place noting that thither would come with the introduction of the required bylaw.
As for the monitoring process he explained that with each bin having an RFI chip, when the bin goes up to the truck the items in the bins will be reviewed by electronic means to assess whether any non compliant materials were in the bin and if a fine would be required for the residents.
He noted how the city is just moving into the process and that Prince Rupert will be looking at how other communities have approach the issue to learn what they've done right and what they've done wrong.
Monday night really made for the first mention for the public of what the city has in mind towards its new approach to garbage and recycling.
With Council deciding to select option 2 and award the contract first, rather than discussing it at a previous session and perhaps even seeking feedback from the public when it comes to their current plans; they now will launch an information campaign designed to, as the Mayor put it, educate the public on the path ahead.
"I do think that an education campaign is definitely required, I know that's in the works and in the plans. But this will be a large enough change for the community that some clarity multiple times over and over and over again will be necessary. You know flyers in the home, videos on the internet that type of thing to explain to people what the process is. I think it's going to make peoples lives a lot more, a lot more convenient ... I think it's going to make it easy for people to do the right thing, So I think we're doing our part to help them do the right thing as well" -- Mayor Lee Brain
As for an introduction for the program, Mr, Pucci noted that a soft start would take place following the Canada Day weekend with the full impact of the program to be found later that month.
Mr. Pucci's report to council is available for review from the City Council Agenda.
The presentation to Council can be viewed from the City's Video page starting at the six minute mark.
More notes from Monday's Council Session can be explored through our Council timeline feature.
A wider overview of past Council discussion themes can be reviewed here.
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