Appropriations & Oversight Committee — 2024-02-12
Attendance
Cal Finocchiaro ; Mark Garipay ; Ward Hamilton ; Maya Jamaleddine ; Manjula Karamcheti ; Leila Migliorelli ; John Obremski ; Devin Romanul ; Robb Stewart ; Kimberly Vandiver ; Ryan Williams
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Public Comment
- Appropriation
- APPRO-2024-10 : An Appropriation from Capital Stabilization (#8405) in the amount of $30,000 (Thirty Thousand Dollars) to Inspectional Services (#241) for an emergency replacement of a vehicle. The balance as of 12/12/23 in the Capital Stabilization fund is $656,475.67.
- APPRO-2024-11 : An Appropriation from Capital Stabilization (#8405) in the amount of $70,000 (Seventy Thousand Dollars) to DPW Operations (#401) for an emergency replacement of a fleet vehicle. The balance as of 12/12/23 in the Capital Stabilization fund is $656,475.67.
- Grants
- GRANT-2024-6 : Acceptance of The Recycling Partnership Residential Curbside Cart Grant in the amount of One Hundred Forty Two Thousand and Four Hundred Dollars ($142,400)
- Adjournment
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE APPROPRIATIONS & OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CALENDAR● FEBRUARY 12, 2024 Council Chamber, First Floor, Melrose City Hall Committee Meeting 7:45 PM 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Maya Jamaleddine Chair Present Ryan Williams Vice Chair Present Mark Garipay Present Robb Stewart Absent Manjula Karamcheti Present John Obremski Absent Ward Hamilton Absent Kimberly Vandiver Present Devin Romanul Present Cal Finocchiaro Present Leila Migliorelli President, Ex Oficio Present
APPRO-2024-10 Appropriation An Appropriation from Capital Stabilization (#8405) in the amount of $30,000 (Thirty Thousand Dollars) to Inspectional Services (#241) for an emergency replacement of a vehicle. The balance as of 12/12/23 in the Capital Stabilization fund is $656,475.67. Ought to Pass as Amended City Council
APPRO-2024-11 Appropriation An Appropriation from Capital Stabilization (#8405) in the amount of $70,000 (Seventy Thousand Dollars) to DPW Operations (#401) for an emergency replacement of a fleet vehicle. The balance as of 12/12/23 in the Capital Stabilization fund is $656,475.67. Ought to Pass City Council
GRANT-2024-6 Grant Acceptance of The Recycling Partnership Residential Curbside Cart Grant in the amount of One Hundred Forty Two Thousand and Four Hundred Dollars ($142,400) Ought to Pass City Council City of Melrose Page 1 2/14/2024 5:04 PM
Transcript
▶ 23:35 Maya Jamaleddine: All in favor? Aye. Aye. All opposed? We are adjourned. Woo. That will be on. Not a problem. Good evening. The time is 7 45 on Monday, February 12th, 2024. This is a meeting of the Appropriation and Oversight Committee. I am Maya Jamal, Dean pronouns, she and her the chair. And joining me tonight, vice Chair Williams Councilor, uh, RO Gar pe, Kara Sheti, Romano Vandiver, and pre president GL Lee Ex fio. This serves as notice of a quorum for the record and in accordance with the Open Meeting law. This meeting is being recorded and broadcast live on MMTV. I will. Um, and now, uh, for the portion of public comment, I will motion by anonymous consent to open the floor for public comment. And seeing no objection, we are now open for public comment.
▶ 24:45 Maya Jamaleddine: This is the portion of the meeting where anyone can, uh, speak on any item of, uh, on our agenda for tonight. Seeing none in person, do we have anyone online? Not at this time. Okay. If there is no objection, I will motion to close. Public comment. Seeing none, we are now closed for public comment. Um, since we have members of the administration here tonight to speak on the items before us, I would like to motion by unanimous consent to suspend Rule 37 B before we proceed. And seeing no objection, the rule 37 B is now suspended. The first, um, item on our agenda is appropriation 2024 dash 10 in appropriation from capital stabilization number 84 0 5 in the amount of 33,500 $500, uh, to inspection
▶ 25:51 services number 2 41 for an emergency replacement of a vehicle. The balance as of 12 12 23 in the capital, uh, stabilization fund is, uh, 6 56, 4 75, and 67. Um, we have members from the administration to speak on this. Good. Uh, evening everyone, I new faces around here. I'm a new phase two. Um, so I'm here tonight to request an appropriation for 30,000 for, uh, from the Capital Stabilization fund to replace a 2007 Chevy Blazer that was deemed, um, unrepairable by, uh, by our mechanics. Uh, I think I communicated some pictures, some uh, emails and, um, some background as far as what we use the vehicle for, uh, daily operations. Um, mainly it, it's, it's inspections. Um, just to give you a little brief, um,
▶ 27:08 history on the Chevy Blazer, since I've been here, I think we've brought it several times to get repaired on one occasion. Um, while on inspection myself, I had to have it towed. Um, and I had to get someone to gimme a ride back to city Hall. So it was in bad shape. Um, what, uh, what I'm asking, uh, originally I, I asked for 33 5. Um, I can say that that number has come down a little bit. I did, um, when I put the, uh, budget together for the vehicle, I did add sales and registration costs. Um, since we're, uh, tax exempt, from what I'm hearing from my fi uh, finance department, those, those fees are waived. Um, so the vehicle cost will be $30,000. And that's what I really, I think I need.
▶ 28:02 Um, I want to change the amount to, Okay. So, so you're asking to amend the order for 30,000, 30,000 even. Okay. The vehicle is two, uh, uh, two, uh, 20,999. So, okay. Figured I rounded up a dollar or penny. Um, I did want to share the fact that, um, um, the vehicle is that we are looking at is a fully electric vehicle, which, um, is compliant with, uh, Melrose Electric First Policy. I did apply for a state grant for 7,500, which, um, i, I was approved for. So we will be getting 7,500, uh, $7,500 back after I complete the paperwork showing the, um, department of, uh, uh, environmental protection that I purchased the vehicle. So essentially we're getting the vehicle for 22,500, uh, which I feel is, uh, a pretty good deal
▶ 29:09 Manjula Karamcheti: for brand new electric car. So, with that, if anybody has any questions, Um, counselor, um, Karani. Hi. Thank you for being here. And thank you for sharing with us all the legwork in regards to the electric vehicle following the policy. Um, my question might be a little strange, but I saw the pictures of the current vehicle and the state of which it was in. And I guess I'm just curious, what is our maintenance, um, in regards to the vehicles that we have to sort of make sure they're not in this condition and deemed unsafe to drive while one of our employees is driving them? That's a good question. Um, we only, uh, as far as, uh, you know, what, what I'm aware of is we would take it in when there was some sort of issue
▶ 30:08 with the car, not that we go and check them. Um, you know, which is, which it is a little bit, you know, usually you go down and get your inspection sticker so you figure someone's checking it out. But this is underneath the frame. I'm not sure. Um, just a, a regular inspection that kind of eyeball the fact that there's that, that much damage until you put it on a lift. Um, and that's what happened, uh, when, when we took this, uh, to DPW. Okay. But I think I heard you say also that you were driving it another time. I was driving it when IF uh, last, uh, last year during the summer, uh, up street. And, uh, it just died. And, uh, we had to get it towed. So there was numerous issues with the vehicle.
▶ 30:53 Manjula Karamcheti: It didn't get checked out right then and there. They just looked at what the problem was and, and kind of addressed that without, like over, uh, looking at every, everything that was wrong with it. Well, I'm glad you were safe in those two on those circumstances. And I just, you know, hope we are thinking about with all of our vehicles, how do we make sure that we're having them inspected and we're doing regular maintenance, um, specifically for the priority of keeping city of Melrose employees safe. So, Well, thank you. Thank You. Um, next I have counselor, um, Garey. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, just a couple quick questions. Um, going from a trailblazer to the Chevy Bolt, I think it was a Chevy.
▶ 31:42 It was a Bolt. It's a bolt, right? I dunno if it was a Chevy or not. Chevy Bolt. Yeah. Looks small. Is it gonna be big enough for you? It is. And and the reason I, I really took my time to thinking about what I needed. Um, I mean, we had some options, which, um, I think, uh, one of the options was the, uh, Ford Lightning. It was a truck. Um, but we have a second vehicle that we use right now. It's a little, it's a Chevy, uh, Ford Ranger. It, it, you know, between those two vehicles, it can accommodate what we needed to do. Um, we needed something just to get around for inspectors to go on their inspections for, for, for the other vehicle that we have, we're required to have. Um, since my electrical inspector slash weights
▶ 32:25 and measures inspector goes out, he has all this equipment that he needs and it can't be, uh, inside a vehicle, it has to be outside in the cab. So the, the Ranger kind of facilitates that, that side of it. Okay. Um, you mentioned we looked at a Ford. Um, who's gonna be doing the maintenance? Are we doing it in-house? Uh, DPW gonna do the maintenance on this new vehicle or warrant after warranty will handle it. So they do have the, there is a, um, a significant warranty on the vehicle. Um, I'm glad you asked me that question 'cause there was, it's in the proposal that maintenance, uh, it that, um, it does cover, um, certain aspects on the warranty. I can give you all those details. I'll kind of figure it out later.
▶ 33:14 Mark Garipay: But they, they do have, uh, when it, when it's a new vehicle, as you know, they, they warranty them to a certain mileage or, um, uh, lifespan on, uh, 10 years, something like that. And when we purchase a new vehicle, do we get the DPW involved? 'cause if we run a lot of Fords, one would assume it would make sense to maybe potentially look at a Ford. 'cause we're familiar with it. Parts, maybe availability. We may have stock parts. I know it's an electric vehicle, but, um, was it just not the Ford Not an option? I really didn't look at that. I went through the list of, uh, available, um, cars. First thing that I looked at was budget. I really didn't want something that I didn't need. Mm-Hmm.
▶ 33:57 Mark Garipay: Um, I, I didn't wanna, uh, overburden, you know, by asking for too much. Um, so I, I thought of it. I picked out a vehicle that was in, uh, you know, in the, uh, state's list. Um, and that's the one that I picked out. Thought it, it, it met our needs. And it was a, uh, it was, um, it was short money. And just a couple of other questions that sparked with, uh, some of the, some of your answers. Um, $7,500 grant we're getting back. Will that money go? I don't even know if you know the answer. Will that money go back into capital stabilization at 7,500? I do not know that. Okay. I, I think I asked finance and they were supposed to get back to me, but I wasn't sure. It might, it might come back as a check
▶ 34:44 and it, depending on who it gets paid out to, um, you know, general fund or maybe it could be allocated for the, um, stabilization fund. Okay. Um, I, I'll support this order and, um, I will, uh, the 30,000, do you think that's gonna give you enough 30,000 is the number? Or should we keep it at the same? Well, I just to make it a little in case something comes up. Yeah. I went back and forth. That's why I put that cushion on there just in case. Um, and I went back and forth with McGovern and I told him I want bottom line number. What's going on? Am I gonna need anything else? And they told me that, uh, I think they've worked with TPW before, so they've worked with cities and towns and, and, and know that, you know,
▶ 35:34 I'm gonna be asking these questions. This is the first time I'm doing this, by the way. Yeah, yeah. Um, so what he relayed to me was, this is the bottom line number. This is 2 99. It's everything in there. Uh, as far as registration and plates, we, um, you know, I guess we're tax exempt. We don't have to pay for that. Um, insurance, um, that goes through, uh, the, um, solicitor's office. I am taking one vehicle off. I'm putting another one on. So I'm not sure what, what the cost on that is. I'll, uh, I mean, I'll more than happy to make the motion to amend, amend it. I just wanna make sure we're not short changing it and something comes up. So if you feel comfortable that 30 30 is the number, then,
▶ 36:19 Ryan Williams: then I'm more than happy to make that, to amend this order. Yeah, I'm, I'm pretty sure, I mean, I went back and forth so many times. I just wanted to make sure myself. So, uh, 30,000 is, is the number At this time. Uh, Madam President. I'll, I'll make a motion to amend the, um, this appro I'm sorry. Please Go ahead. Um, we just have, uh, questions from others. Do we have any, uh, other, I'll withdraw my motion Questions or motion counselor? Uh, vice Chair Williams. Thank you. Um, I was looking through the packet and I noticed that the first letter that you sent about this vehicle was December 1st, 2023. Right. So it's substantially later in the calendar year than December 1st. And, um, I'm sorry that it took so long,
▶ 37:06 but I'm glad to see it land, uh, quickly in the new administration. And I'm just wondering what you've been doing to make due, uh, in the last two and a half months while this vehicle's been outta service, I've been begging and, uh, persuading my inspectors to take, take their vehicles that it wasn't gonna take that long. And they've been, uh, so good. Um, typically as other cities and town Zoo, they, they get a stipend using their own vehicles. Um, we haven't gotten to that and, uh, to that point, but, um, they've been using their own vehicles and there, there's maybe something i I can look at to kind of compensate them somehow, but, um, but they haven't asked for anything. Well, that's, that's very good of them.
▶ 37:55 Ryan Williams: Um, I noticed also that your initial request was for you considered F two 50 F three 50 Yes. Are big vehicles. Um, what I, and it would, I would love to hear your kind of thought process about how you talked yourself down from a gigantic, extremely heavy truck. The kind of truck, by the way, that makes it very difficult to accomplish our, our traffic calming goals in the city. And you brought it down to this, what seems like a right sized small and electric vehicle. Well, I, like I said, I have, we have another vehicle that we could use for, um, if, if need be for any other situation. So we do have a truck. Yeah. Um, uh, and it was purchased I, I believe, uh, maybe four years ago. So it, it's, it's fairly new.
▶ 38:43 Um, I really didn't think that we needed to splurge on, not splurge. Let me change my, I I really didn't think that it, we needed it. I, I really didn't think we needed it. And, uh, the cost between those two vehicles is I think like $25,000. Yeah. It's like two for one. Yeah. Um, for what we need it for, which is going to inspections, you know, uh, bringing some tools, some, some, some other equipment with us. It's not, it'll, it'll fill our needs. Yeah. Um, are you gonna, do you have charging infrastructure? We, we are gonna be using the one in the, um, In the lot. Multiple parking Lot. Cool. Very good. Good to see. Okay. One Thing I did like about this, uh, and I think the charging between the two vehicles,
▶ 39:30 Devin Romanul: this would charge quicker. Mm-Hmm. Just because it's a smaller vehicle than, than than the lightning wheel. Mm-Hmm. Cool. Alright. Thank you very much. Um, councilor Romanul. Well, uh, Councillor Williams had one of my questions, so that's good. And as a current driver of a 2007 vehicle, uh, I commend you for keeping on the road as long as you did. Uh, my goodness. Uh, my mine has all kinds of maladies, but we, this is not the subject of today's discussion. Um, I want, I just wanted to ask, um, uh, are you gonna have an opportunity to sell the old vehicle for scrap or, you know, for whatever purposes you need? If there's, I'm not sure. I mean, that's goes back to DPW. Um, I'm not sure what, what we do with that vehicle. Okay.
▶ 40:15 If it goes to scrap or not. Typically auction. Auction. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. And next we have Counselor Ro. Hi. Hey, how are you? Thanks for doing all the leg work here. Um, just kind of on, um, councilor Karen's questions. Um, where do you store the vehicles when they're not being used? It's stored right in the parking area. Okay. Yeah. That's what we keep, uh, um, that's where we kept both of them. Okay. The laser and the arranger. Okay. Just wondering if they would last longer if they were stored like in like a garage or something, but we probably don't have that. Yeah. Um, well, it's convenient because when the inspectors park here, they pick up the vehicles and Right. Where we don't take those vehicles home. Right.
▶ 41:04 Maya Jamaleddine: Um, they've gotta stay in the city. Yep. Thank you. Um, councilor Gpe. Thank you, Madam Chair. At this time, I'll make a motion to, uh, reduce the appropriation that the recommendation of Mr. Teleco from 33,500 to 30,000 out of the capital stabilization fund. Second. So we have a motion made by Counselor Garey to amend, um, um, appro, um, appropriation 2024 dash 10, um, from, um, an appropriation from Capital Stabilization 84 0 5 in the amount of 33 500 and reduce it to 30,000, um, uh, dollars to, uh, inspection services for an emergency replacement of a vehicle. Uh, and seconded by President, uh, Mali. Um, uh, is that wrong call Mr. Clerk? Vice Chair Williams? Yes. Councillor Repe. Yes. Councillor Carcetti. Yes. Councillor Vandiver. Yes.
▶ 42:19 Maya Jamaleddine: Councillor Romanul. Yes. Councillor Finocchiaro. Yes. Uh, president Oli? Yes. Uh, chair Jamine? Yes. That is eight. Yes. Okay. So we have, um, uh, the, uh, the order to amend, uh, the motion to amend passes, uh, by eight votes. And, um, councilor Carpe Gpe. Yeah. Um, Madam Chair, uh, I'll make a motion, uh, to recommend this for passage to the full board. Second, We have, uh, a motion to, uh, recommend to the full counselor for passage made by Counselor Gpe, seconded by counselor, uh, Karen Sheti. Um, Mr. Clerk Vice Chair Williams? Yes. Councillor Repe? Yes. Councillor Carrara Shetti. Yes. Councillor Vandiver. Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councillor for Naro? Yes. Uh, president Elli? Yes. And Chair Aldine?
▶ 43:22 Maya Jamaleddine: Yes. That is unanimous. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank You. Thank you. Thanks. Next up we have appropriation 2024 dash 11 and appropriation from, uh, capital stabilization number 84 0 5 in the amount of $70,000 to DPW, uh, number 4 0 1 for an emergency replacement of a fleet vehicle. The balance as of 12 12 23 in the capital stabilization fund is 6 56 475 0.67. And today, tonight we have Mr. Troop and, um, director, um, uh, of the DPW. The floor is yours. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, for your consideration. We have submitted a request for, uh, vehicle replacement, uh, similar to, uh, Mr. Teleco. We had a very similar situation happen to a frame on a facility's vehicle where the frame cracked.
▶ 44:33 Those two pictures are gonna look very similar to those that were submitted by Mr. Tallarico because it is the same exact condition, uh, and the best way to really demonstrate exactly what happened to the frame of the vehicle. Um, the requests tonight is for, uh, 70,000. The price is made up of a, uh, quote that we received from Colonial Motor Group on the, uh, police contract for, uh, vehicles. So it's a price that's afforded to municipalities, and it is for a Ford F two 50, which is the recommendation for a one for one vehicle swap that would allow us to continue to deliver the services similar to what we're gonna experience tomorrow in the snow and and ice. And the removal of such, as well as the annual services
▶ 45:21 that our facilities department deliver. Um, the additional prices is a little bit of a contingency because what we asked for a quote was a stock vehicle, one that could be delivered immediately, and one that we could deliver our winter operations with, as well as any other outfitting for equipment that would be necessary for us to, uh, put the proper lighting, safety lighting and other things on the vehicle for us to, to do the, to deliver the services. So with that, I welcome any questions, and thank you very much for your consideration. Thank you, Mr. Chu. Um, anyone from my colleagues like to ask a question? Uh, counselor, uh, van? Uh, yes. So, and you've addressed this a little bit, but I, I, um, uh, so my questions are about the requirements
▶ 46:13 Kimberly Vandiver: for the vehicle and, and whether we do need a vehicle the size to continue the services. Um, and, um, I wanna ask that with the context that, um, larger vehicles do, um, tend to pose a greater safety risk for pedestrians. Um, recently in Malden, um, within the past month, there was a 4-year-old who was struck by a DPW truck that was a similar truck to this, um, who, um, luckily did not have life threatening injuries. But it's, you know, it's something that when you're in a bigger cab that's higher up, it's, it's harder to have that visibility. Um, so my, my question is what, you know, what leads us to need this specific vehicle? And if we do need this specific vehicle, um, what can we do to mitigate that as far as safety features?
▶ 46:55 Sure. Uh, it's an excellent question because, uh, what we wanted to propose is a one for one. So the vehicle that is being proposed is an exact vehicle as the one that's coming out of the service. And what this vehicle does is it delivers, uh, to the facilities, the schools, and the public buildings, uh, snow removal right now to make it very relevant, but it also to deliver supplies and materials that are necessary for our tradespeople to make repairs and, and, uh, to perform a service in the schools. So we feel as if we've right sized this vehicle. We haven't asked for anything more. We haven't asked for anything less because we feel that that's the right size for them to continue to deliver the services.
▶ 47:36 Kimberly Vandiver: And, and so during the snow operations, um, is it, does it have a plow attached? Is it holding snow in the back? What, what types of operations it's Doing it? Yeah, it would, so the reason that it's right size in terms of plowing, it would be able to put a, a standard plow that we have on the front to clear the lots, the streets, what have you, but it'd also allow for possibly a sander to be put in the back. So that's obviously pretty critical to what we wanna do to promote the safety in the lots and around the schools. Great. And, and are there, um, you know, proximity sensors, blind spot detection, different features like that included in the plan? Yeah. In this quote, there is not, but the reason that there's not is that we wanna be able
▶ 48:14 to deliver a vehicle quickly. So we're basically buying off the lot what might be available. The reason that we've asked for the 70,000 is that little bit of extra that we could possibly outfit with the necessary safety equipment to put that on the road and to help identify it as a public works and a service vehicle so that it's easily identified. Uh, the other safety things, I mean, those are things that obviously we would have to consider and at this point, without sacrificing safety, make sure that it fits in our budget. Okay. No, I would, I would just recommend, and I saw there are things in there about, about, uh, uh, paint and some other things to, to identify it. And, um, I think where possible,
▶ 48:54 Manjula Karamcheti: if we can add in those other safety features or even increase the allocation to make sure that we're considering those, I think at a minimum, replacing a brand new vehicle, replacing an old vehicle with a brand new vehicle will end up with a backup camera, you know, features that are standard in today's vehicles that were not standard at that time. So I think those, even little safety improvements will go a long Way. Right. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? Uh, counselor Kim, I just have to ask, even though you indicated already my curiosity or touched upon it, but the two pictures between the inspector building and a vehicle and the DPW fleet vehicle look exactly alike. They, They are the same. And
▶ 49:40 ironically, it was the same exact problem that when it went up on the lift because of the crack on the frame, it folded over. So we really couldn't get a good picture of how it experienced on the DPW truck. So these pictures are what it looks like on that inspection truck. So I apologize if that's a little misleading, but this, this is, This is the inspection truck. This is the inspection truck. Okay. It's to demonstrate really the critical nature of what happened to the frame. Okay. And I think to answer one of your questions from earlier too, um, to Mr. Teleco, we, our vehicle age, our average vehicle age is beyond industry standard. Yeah. And so we are well aware of that. We're trying to, we've been working the last few years
▶ 50:21 to try to have a more programmatic process for vehicle replacement. Um, we just got through doing a sort of industry best, best practice, um, consulting service with a company that made a bunch of recommendations of how we can get there. Um, but, you know, this is the unfortunate state of our fleet and it is certainly not the desired state. We want to, we wanna have all of our vehicles essentially under 10 years old, other than some of the, the very large equipment. Okay. Yes. That would be great. And so you couldn't get a picture of the actual fleet vehicle in terms of the condition that it was in? Is that just, I wanna make sure I'm understanding you correctly. No, the, the vehicle, when I, I say
▶ 51:08 Manjula Karamcheti: that it folded in half, it literally folded in half. So it went, that's not good up. Like, so that's not Good. Yeah. It sounds like we need a new one. Yeah. And, and, uh, again, to your comment, it's a good thing that we did not right. Have that occur on the road. I tend to be slightly humorous about things, but I, it is imperative that we make sure that our vehicles are up to par and safe. 'cause what might happen to the city if someone is injured or harmed or something happens. So, um, that seems like something to prioritize, um, in terms of the work that we're doing. Thank you. Next we have counselor, uh, Romano. Yeah. I, I wanted to get a sense of, uh, you know, what kind of mileage, uh,
▶ 51:56 you're looking at on an annual basis and, uh, for, for this kind of use. Yeah, that's, um, that's pretty, that's pretty interesting. I think we're, um, it'd be difficult because all the trucks are gonna be used for different, different reasons. What we do try to do is we try to capture all the mileage, uh, per truck and per vehicle. Sure. So it's very difficult to answer that. And I, I don't know what this vehicle would do, but we have trucks that are out on the road that will reach in near hundreds of thousands, a hundred thousand miles, while others, they may be old, but they may not have the mileage that a, a heavy equipment might, might have. So, Um, thank you very much. I I appreciate that and, uh,
▶ 52:36 Devin Romanul: totally understand about off the lot, but I've just out of outta curiosity, are there, uh, ev um, uh, models of sort of similar make mileage and what's that price differential when you factor in particularly the various tax credits and, and things like that? I'm just thinking about over the lifetime of the vehicle, what kind of emissions we're Looking. Yeah, so, um, we, we are governed by the ev first policy. So, uh, in a situation where, where that would qualify, we would look for an electric vehicle. And, uh, as, uh, Mr. Teleco said earlier, Ford Lightning, we just received delivery of a Ford Lightning. What we're unsure of right now is if we wanna put that on the road to plow in the winter operations, just
▶ 53:17 because of the strain on the battery, they are typically a little bit more expensive despite the, uh, incentives and the rebates that might be available. Right. But we would look at every opportunity to electrify our fleet Gotcha. Despite the cost. Okay. Yeah. So in this instance, cost is not a factor in our decision to not electrify. We don't feel the industry is there yet with our, with our plowing fleet. Oh, interesting. Um, because we need to be on the road, 24 7 can be for extended periods, multiple days at a time. Um, the, uh, so we work very closely with, there's a national grid program called fasp that helps us select what our next electric vehicle pur purchases should be. And so a vehicle like the one Mr.
▶ 54:01 Devin Romanul: Teleco brought forth is the perfect case for an ev It's driving during the day and then it parks in the lot at night. Yeah. But that's not the case with this vehicle. So we're, we're very closely following our ev first policy. Um, and in this instance, this would be one that, that we can't get what we need from a operations perspective with an Ev No, thank you for sharing that detail. I, I really appreciate it. I, I guess my final question is, um, uh, with that plan that, that you alluded to earlier, working with that outside consultant or, or, or business, uh, is that something we could take a look at? Because when we think about long term investments and, and how we can best support the work that you're doing and,
▶ 54:41 Devin Romanul: and have it fit in with our various financial climate, uh, logistics, maintenance, you know, whether it's covering or, you know, how, how to do all of this, um, you know, I, I'd really love to be supportive of that and think about it in, not in terms of like a one-off purchase and, and or a one year budget, like Yeah. Over the next decade. How can we best support that Work? Yeah, we, we'd be happy to share the document, but I can also tell you what the punchline is, which is $1.1 million per year for vehicle replacement to get caught up to the industry standard age. So that would be what they, what the consultant recommends we need to spend over the next five to 10 years annually, if we're gonna replace our vehicles,
▶ 55:19 we're also looking at potential lease options that, that's another way to go. Um, there were some counselors previously who requested we look at that, so that's something we're considering too. That'd be great. Um, yeah, so it's, uh, it will take some money to get there, whether it's through purchasing or leasing, but we do hope to have a recurring funding source that's, um, predictable so that we can start to really swap out these vehicles. That'd Be great. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. You're welcome. Um, counselor, uh, Firo, thanks again for being here. Um, do we have other vehicles that are similar ages and conditions? Right now? We have several. Um, so a couple years ago we put together a report showing
▶ 56:05 what our next recommended replacements were. There are a couple more of the, the one tons or roughly the two f 2 50, 3 50 sizes, um, that are similar, maybe not quite as bad condition, but similar. Um, we had, I believe, three that we just replaced last year or two years ago that were also, um, high up on the priority list. Um, and then we have a couple of our very large, uh, dumps that we, that are in similarly bad condition Mm-Hmm. Um, that we would like to replace. So yeah, there's a, there's a mix. They're not all the, the one ton rough size that are in the worst shape. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Next I have President Exofficio, um, cle Thank you. Um, thank you both for being here. Just to clarify, the, the vehicle we, we,
▶ 57:05 Leila Migliorelli: we would be purchasing is new, Not brand New. Okay. Correct. Great. Um, and then just to kind of piggyback off of counselor Keim, Chaney's question, how often do you put vehicles up so you can see what's underneath, given this is now like the second? Yeah, sure. So the preventive maintenance is, uh, uh, obviously ongoing in terms of, you know, oil changes, um, and, and other preventive maintenance. So, um, I think now that we have our full complement of mechanics, it's been a long struggle to try to find, uh, a qualified foreman. Uh, now that we have our full compliment, it has been a priority to address the preventive maintenance schedules and then obviously to have an accurate record of that stuff.
▶ 57:49 So it's always a, an evolution. It's always something that's in process to try to update that stuff and to make sure that we increase the number of points that are inspected. And now that we have the full complement, it's a lot easier to do. So, uh, it's something that is definitely in progress that we want to at least look under the vehicle twice a year. Mm-Hmm. So similar to when we do the oil changes and other routine maintenance. So, so Now that you have the correct, that's something that and enough staff, you'll be able to do that? Correct. Okay. Correct. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. What is the will of the committee? Councillor gpe. I'll Make a motion to recommend for passage. Second,
▶ 58:28 Maya Jamaleddine: I have a motion to recommend made by Councillor gpe, seconded by counselor Kara Shetty. Um, Vice Chair Williams? Yes. Councilor cpe. Yes. Councillor Kara Shetty. Yes. Councillor Vandiver. Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor naca? Yes. Uh, president ly? Yes. Chair. Jamal? Yes. Uh, that's unanimous. Eight. Yes. Thank you. This past, uh, this order, um, passed, uh, and recommended, uh, to the, uh, full council, and now we have Grant 2024, um, dash six acceptance of the Recycling Partnership, presidential Curbside Cart grant in the amount of $142,400. Um, and just for the record, this was offered by the former administration, um, mayor, former Mayor Paul Broder. Um, and we still have, um, director Ellis
▶ 59:35 and, um, Mr. Troop to speak on this order. Um, Thank you. Um, so as you all know from our presentation, uh, well, those of you who were on the council in December, we made a presentation, uh, about the new trash and recycling contract. And we will be back, I believe it's two weeks from tonight to give some more details on that program. Um, but an essential part of that program is the purchase of, uh, toters or carts for automatic pickup from our new, uh, hauler who will be starting on July 1st, 2024. Um, just a little bit of background on that. The, um, our, our current hauler, as you all know, comes to your house and lifts up the barrels by hand. Um, the, the three vendors, all three vendors
▶ 1:00:23 who were willing to give us pricing for our new contract told us that they are not, they're no longer doing, um, manual pickup, so they wouldn't give us pricing at all for manual pickup. So any scenario that we were looking at for our new trash and recycling contract involves the purchase of carts, um, for both trash and recycling. So we have about 8,000 plus customers, so that's about 16,000 carts that we have to purchase. And, um, the good news is that on the recycling end, because it, um, encourages less trash into the waste stream and more recycling into the recycling stream, um, there are grants to be had for the cart purchases. And so Alison ler, who unfortunately has moved on from the city
▶ 1:01:12 and gone to a different municipality, um, she was able to secure this grant for 142,000 toward our purchase of specifically the recycling carts. And so our request tonight is just to accept the grant. Thank you. Any question from the council? Councilor? William? Uh, vice chair William. Thank you. Um, you're talking about 64 gallon recycling bins. That is, yeah. We don't, don't wanna put the cart before the horse, no pun intended. Um, but yes, that's what we're looking at now. Okay. Um, and have you thought at all about what type of recycling bin you might be interested in? So we've, we've reached out to a number of vendors and we have, uh, not completely locked in, but essentially locked in a vendor.
▶ 1:02:05 So, um, you know, it's a two wheeled litted, excuse me, litted cart, um, sort of a standard 64 gallon recycling toter. Do, do you have a price per cart for them from them yet? Yeah, we've received, Uh, quotes from the four major, four of the major cart, uh, providers so that we would have something to compare. Okay. Uh, so yes, we have prices that are ready to go. They're both based on whether we're getting 64 or 96 gallon carts. And then they've indicated that if we are going with one size, that they'd be willing to fine tune their pricing. Can you give us a rough idea of, Yeah. I, to give you a budget estimate, when we were going through this process and trying to figure out how the funding was gonna work,
▶ 1:02:50 Ryan Williams: I gave an estimate of about $1.4 million for our total purchase. Yeah. I can indicate now that it has come in less than that. Okay. So that's good. Uh, and we are also gonna take advantage of this grant to help offset some of the costs. So I think that's the fair answer to give you right now. Okay. Yeah. I just, um, thinking through in my head that, I mean, the bins to, to customers, retail bins like a hundred bucks, 120 bucks times 16,000, it adds up faster than you might think, and it gets to, you know, you know, one and a half, 2 million. So it's good to hear that it's below one and a half million. I don't think we should be too optimistic about it being much less than a million. Fair to say. No,
▶ 1:03:31 Ryan Williams: Fair to say. Unlikely to be less. Yeah. Um, so that is, you know, that's a, it's a cost in a year with a lot of costs. Um, and it's one that we have to tackle 'cause the haulers are gonna need these bins, you know, we just have to do it. Um, so I just wanted to kind of put that flag out there as we're thinking through this. And I am, I'm thrilled to hear about the, the, if it means what I think it means the 64 gallon bins. Um, so, uh, yeah, I, I support any effort to get more cash in the door, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about the new contract. Yeah. And I think the good news in terms of the overall program and the need to purchase all these carts is that this was a known cost for quite some time.
▶ 1:04:14 Maya Jamaleddine: Mm. And I believe the finance department had had it built into their bond model Yeah. For quite some time. So that's very good to hear. Um, you know, it, it shouldn't be anything unexpected or that doesn't fit into our, uh, bond percentage. Yeah. That's great to hear. Wonderful. Thank you very much. Thank you. And just for the public, I just, uh, would like to clarify that, um, today we're just discussing the grant so we can purchase, um, um, the, um, the containers or the tar for our residents. However, in the future meetings we will be discussing the new contract for trash and recycling. Um, next I have Councilor gpe. No, you're all, Sorry. I'm all set. Uh, councilor Williams did ask my question.
▶ 1:05:02 Kimberly Vandiver: Okay. Thank you. Um, thank you. And next I have, uh, counselor. Hi. Um, I, I really appreciate actually the terms and the conditions in the grant. Uh, they have a lot of things in there that are, um, aimed at helping communities who accept these grants to be successful with their recycling programs. Um, so they include elements of public education that need to be part of the rollout and that they can help with to some extent, um, in even things such as providing specific household by household communication about what you're doing is working or not working as far as recycling. Um, which I think would help a lot of people who get confused. Um, there are also some requirements in there for us
▶ 1:05:43 Kimberly Vandiver: to pri provide some data about how things are going and things like that. Um, so I, I think those are all really good things, um, in terms of keeping a focus on the rollout. Um, but I, I just wanted to make sure that, you know, we are aware of any overhead that, that would go along with that, and that we're prepared to kind of do the entire, um, package that's in here. Yeah. There's no, there's no doubt about that. And, and to follow up with what you just mentioned about the, um, the, the, the nuts and bolts of this contract, we've already met with the cycling recycling partnership, and they have already shown us their, uh, marketing materials, their, everything that goes into that $125,000 in, in-kind services that comes with this,
▶ 1:06:28 that goes towards the, the grant purchase. And it is unbelievably impressive. And as somebody that is really focusing on the rollout and the education piece, I'm really happy that this company has identified themselves and has presented this grant to us. It was a competitive grant, so we had to earn it. So they're putting their faith in us, and I'm really glad for it because they are gonna make a commitment to the city and, uh, help with the rollout. So I'm really happy And, and the position that Alison bu LER used to hold that we hope to fill very soon, we're already in second round interviews, that position will be largely dedicated to this rollout over the next few months. That's great. Appreciate that.
▶ 1:07:11 Maya Jamaleddine: And really, uh, yeah, good sign for the rollout of this program. Yeah. Thank you. Councilor Kati. Um, I would just like to make a motion for passage. Say again? Yes. Um, we have motion for passage made by Councillor Kati, seconded by Counselor gpe. On discussion, I just would like to ask question, but I would like to suspend the rules, um, as, um, the chair, I will need to suspend the rule. And, um, now that the rules are suspended, I just have couple of questions for you. Um, when, um, do we have, do we know when we will receive, uh, those cards? So, uh, that's gonna be the end part of this process. So as we're gonna sign this contract with the recycling partnership to accept this grant, that will trigger the next step
▶ 1:08:04 to enter into a purchase order with, uh, the cart supplier. We will still, I believe, have to come in front of council for, uh, the, the bonding to make that purchase. Mm-Hmm. Um, and then just to kind of stay in a schedule that has been proposed all along, we wanna roll these carts out probably sometime. Uh, it would be, uh, my preference to do this sometime in maybe early May, early to mid May. Mm-Hmm. Let the residents have about a month to a month and a half to get acclimated to the carts, putting them out on the curb and actually seeing them in use so that they're there. We've worked out any kind of bugs or, or anything that, uh, would help with customer service to get them in the residents possession.
▶ 1:08:49 Maya Jamaleddine: So that come July one, we'll be ready to deliver the service with the new, with the new hauler. So, mm-Hmm. To shortly answer your question, I would love to get these carts to the residents by mid-May at the latest. Okay. And, um, I know, um, these, um, are standardized cards. So, uh, for those with, um, physical, um, ability and challenges, um, how are we taking into consideration? Is it something that they are, um, able to adjust or adapt to it? Yeah, 100%. That's a great, that's a great point to make, and something that we really need to focus on when we provide the education, the recycling partnership as part of their materials and their marketing. When they do educate the resident, they have some fantastic pictures that demonstrate
▶ 1:09:42 that these carts can be handled, manipulated, uh, used to, uh, everybody's ability. And it'll actually probably, I, I would love to say, make the whole process easier. So they are very considerate of those that might have a hard time handling a 64 gallon cart to put their trash and recycling out. So it is, it's a major consideration. Awesome. Thank you. Um, and, uh, we will have, uh, one for every, uh, uh, not resident, but every, uh, household, Correct? Yeah. Every unit. So if you're in a multi-family, that is a question we've been getting. If you're in a multi-family building, each trash fee or trash paying household gets a recycling and a trash bin. So if you're in a three family house, you're paying three trash fees right now,
▶ 1:10:34 Cal Finocchiaro: you'll get six bins delivered. Okay. Thank you. And, um, um, thank you for answering my questions. And I have next, um, counselor, uh, che Close up. I'm sorry it's been a long day. It's fine. Um, sorry, I, I know we have a long time to, you know, review the contract and get into all this, but just because we're talking about the carts right now, and I just have a suggestion in, you know, take it or leave it, but, um, I don't know if you would ever contact Sela from now and maybe put the bin out front of City Hall so people can look at it maybe at like the Milano Center or certain places around the city so they can see it. I just feel like that would kinda make their Yeah. Make people feel at ease.
▶ 1:11:27 Maya Jamaleddine: That's a great idea to like, touch it and look at it and, um, get familiar with it before it gets delivered to their doorstep. Yeah. Great. That's a great suggestion. Yeah. Anyways, thank you. And, um, now, um, uh, we still have the, uh, motion. Uh, please call Vice Chair Williams. Yes. Councillor Repe. Yes. Councillor Chetty. Yes. Councillor Vandiver. Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councillor for Naro? Yes. President Elli? Yes. And Chair All? Yes. I senior as, yes. Okay. And that motion carries. Uh, thank you both. Thank you for being with us. Motion to adjourn. Second. Second. We have a motion to adjourn made by President Elli, seconded by, uh, counselor William. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay.