Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center Committee

Quarterly Report to the City Council

December 8, 2005

From Mike Taylor, Committee Chair

Introduction

Thank you for allowing us to postpone this report by one month.  We apologize for being unprepared to present in November as scheduled.  We do have quite a bit to report and we value your comments and direction.  The DRC Committee and DRC staff have been busy this fall with normal DRC operations, plus the preparation of our DRC Planning Document, and the preparation of a Denali Commission grant proposal. 

Operating Highlights

1.  FY 2006 YTD (July 1^st – November 30^th) Material totals:

·                                 The equivalent of 1,800 cans of trash have been processed

·                                 37,000 pounds of food waste have been composted

·                                 21,700 pounds of glass have been pulverized

·                                 2,700 pounds of type 1 & 2 plastics have been shipped

·                                 6,600 pounds of steel food cans have been shipped

·                                 4,600 pounds of aluminum cans (around128,800) have been shipped

·                                 7,400 pounds of scrap metal have been stockpiled

·                                 12,700 pounds of cardboard have been shipped

·                                 15 TVs and computer monitors have been stockpiled

·                                 15,700 pounds of lead-acid batteries have been shipped

2.  Recently Eric Syrene asked to shift from his role as Assistant Operator to the position of 2^nd Assistant/ back-up operator and special projects employee to allow him more time for his contracting business.  Steve Van Epps was pleased to assume the Assistant Operator position year round, so it was an easy transition.  Eric is currently assigned to complete the Quonset improvements, and we have a number of other facility improvement projects for him when he is available.

3.  ADEC has notified the DRC that beginning next year we must include our interpretation of the laboratory groundwater analysis when we report results to the ADEC.  We will be able to include such interpretation without difficulty.

4.  ADEC has also notified the DRC that beginning July 1, 2006 wood waste cannot be burned directly on the ground.  ADEC approved our plan to convert a dump truck bed to a burn box with a screen cover.  We included funding in our Denali Commission grant proposal for this project.  We must also move the burn box to a location at least 50 feet from buried waste.

5.  Paul has determined that the filling rate of the permitted landfill area (within the fence) has accelerated in the last year, largely due to 1) landfilling the putricable waste from Glacier Bay Lodge rather than shipping it out in dumpsters as we have been doing since 2001; and 2) overall increases in the amount of landfilled material from the rest of the community.  Of course the Lodge and other users have paid the DRC to receive these materials so there is a financial upside to this volume.  However, at the current rate the permitted area within the fence will be filled to the height of the existing, berm in about six years.  There are two immediate options at that point.  Option 1: begin depositing bales and landfilled material on an additional layer, adding an estimated 4 – 6 feet to the final height of our landfill.  That is allowed within our existing permit.  Option 2: seek a permit change to expand our disposal area outside the currently permitted area, but still within the 12 acre DRC site.  This would require some capital investment for fencing and earthwork at the least.  With the site transfer from ADNR to the City set to occur in 2006, it would be advisable for the committee and staff to develop a comprehensive site plan, including expansion options, landscaping, structure locations, improved process flows, and the like.  This review will inform long term considerations as to when the DRC should relocate.

6.  Uncertainties about near- and long-term freight services and costs for recyclable and hazardous waste items are a significant concern. Tim Gibson at Glacier Bay Trucking is helping explore options for small shipments by landing craft or small barge.  By coordinating outbound DRC shipments well with incoming community freight, the DRC can help improve overall freight system efficiency for Gustavus.

7.  The DRC Committee would like to thank Ponch, Justin and Sandi Marchbanks for donating and transporting six good-sized trees and the work party of Sandi Marchbanks, Ken Klawunder (his backhoe), Diane Klawunder, Laurie Smith, and Kim Ney for  planting the trees as part of our beautification and screening project along Dock Road.  

8.  Finances:  Please see the 05-06 DRC income and expense spreadsheet, included with this report.  Year-to-date, income and expenses are tracking close to plan according to a running account maintained by Paul.  Budgeted income for July through November was $41,905 while actual income was $41,236.  Budgeted expenses were $37,513 while actual were $38,350.74.  Budgeted profit through November was $4,392 while actual was $4,561.94.  

That said, I have not tried to check Paul’s accounting against the records kept by the City Clerk.  The systems are different and it would be nice to have one system that tracks income and expenses against budget on a monthly basis so we could be absolutely sure we are on track.

Finally, note that income tends to be concentrated early in the FY, while some major expenses come late in the FY.  Reimbursements from the USDA grant for our training program will offset some expenses already on our books and others yet to come.  A profit at this point is expected, but is likely to turn to a small loss by the end of the FY, as indicated in our budget plan.  Much will depend on the costs of shipping recyclables, scrap metal, and household waste and also whether we are successful in landing Denali Commission funding in Spring, 2006.

Planning Document

The DRC Committee met on November 14 and reviewed our draft Planning Document and set priorities, responsibilities, and schedules for action items flowing from the plan.  Mike Taylor updated the draft document and implementation schedule on Nov 15, and Greg Streveler took it to the Planning Committee for their November meeting.  We are including a copy of our Nov 15 draft documents with this report.  They were developed before the Planning Committee issued its new guidelines and format, so we will be redrafting the plan in December in accordance with the new format.  We draw your attention particularly to the implementation schedule as it indicates the key action items we intend to complete during the remainder of FY 2006 and in early FY 2007.

Denali Grant request

The DRC Committee has developed a draft narrative and financial sheet for a Denali Commission grant proposal, totaling $50,000. Recently the deadline for submission was extended from December 15, 2005 to February 1, 2006.  Greg Streveler has taken the grant proposal to the Planning Committee for their review.  We have included a copy of the grant proposal with this report.  Discussions with the Denali Commission manager suggest that scrap metal shipments in our request may not be fundable by this year’s grant program, and that we may need to find other ways of funding the shipping.  We hope to use the additional time before the submission of the grant to refine our grant proposal and to consider other means of covering shipping costs.

General Outlook

The DRC operation is perhaps the most complicated of the various City functions.  Although we have a successful history of continuous improvement and are proud of the advances made, the future is always uncertain.  The DRC Committee and staff intend to improve continuously the efficiency and safety of the core DRC operations while reducing cycle times and costs.  Data collected this year will help us develop an improved fee structure for FY 2006.  We are cautious about taking on new functions before we have wrung the inefficiencies from the existing functions.  Nevertheless, we appreciate the Council’s direction and suggestions for improving our service to the community.