Fernandina Beach is talking trash again.

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter - News Analyst

August 18, 2017 - 3:10 p.m.

While chances of winning that half billion $$$ from PowerBall are slim, if you bet that Fernandina Beach sanitation rates will rise next year with a new contract, you have a much better chance of winning. The city will soon issue an RFP for sanitation services—i.e., trash hauling, recycling and yard waste removal – that will go into effect some time in 2018 upon the expiration of the current contract with Advanced Disposal.

Currently, the city bills for 5,770 residential and 490 business customers of Advanced Disposal. Ninety percent of the revenue collected goes to Advanced Disposal for services performed, and the city keeps ten percent for administrative charges relating to billing and contract management. The city manages the mulch site – maintenance, grinding, hauling – using 550 man-hours annually. This activity was inadvertently omitted from the previous waste-hauling contract. The city also incurs costs for the annual recycle event and various neighborhoods clean up projects.

Jeremiah Glisson

At a workshop on August 15, 2017, Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) listened as Jeremiah Glisson, the city’s Fleet and Facilities Maintenance Director, briefed them on the history and status of waste management in the city and sought their input on challenges facing both the city and the contractor.

To date, seven vendors, including Advanced Disposal, have expressed interest in submitting bids for the next contract. Glisson said that there is considerable interest in securing a 5-year, multi-million dollar contract to service a relatively compact area with an exclusive franchise agreement. But there are also negatives to be considered, such as the need to transport waste more than 40 miles to the nearest landfill along with the increasing costs for recycling.

Glisson noted that prices have increased very little over the life of the current agreement. While the city is looking at a variety of options to limit major cost increases, the likelihood is that consumer prices for services will need to rise, the level of service will need to change, or both.

The city’s timetable calls for advertising and issuing the RFP on September 1, 2017 with a closing date for receipt of bids as well as bid evaluation in October. The FBCC will be asked to select a contractor at their November 7 Regular Meeting to be followed by a formal approval of a contract at the December 27 FBCC Regular Meeting. The contract start date will be July 1, 2018.

Glisson identified ten major challenges facing waste management in the city today.

The FBCC endorsed the city’s recommendations for many solutions suggested by staff, including:

• Requiring roll out/roll back service for downtown commercial customers along with night time service;
• Requiring the contractor to provide compact, single-axle trucks to service downtown and Amelia Park areas to avoid damaging curbs and right-of-ways (ROWs);
• Increase hours of operation from 7a-7p to 3a-7p, stipulate that commercial pickups in the downtown area and along South Fletcher be serviced after 6am ONLY;
• Require in RFP contractor charge for pickup of piles larger than 1 cubic yard AND require all mixed debris piles in the ROW must be removed by implementing a weekly route schedule;
• Require contractor to provide and maintain a communication platform via social media where deviations in route schedule or other important information can be conveyed immediately;
• Contracting out the handling of the city’s mulch site.

The FBCC rejected one solution completely: bringing in a roll off trash compactor for use downtown.

Solutions to other issues were considered as a series of options.

The issues generating the most discussion involved the future of recycling and the frequency of residential pick up. These issues are interrelated.

Currently, recycling is not mandatory. However residential participation has been high, meaning that normal refuse pick up is not required as frequently. While this would seem to be a good thing for the community, it has proved to be a mixed blessing when costs are factored in.

The cost for handling recycled materials has been constantly rising. Markets have changed for recycled materials since the city began recycling. There is no market today for recycled glass, for example. Some residential customers generate more recycle waste than standard trash, however.

If the city were to eliminate recycling, it would result in more routine trash needing to be picked up, meaning that any thought of cutting back residential pick up to once per week would not be feasible. If the city continues to recycle—and the volume continues to grow—rates will need adjustment upwards to cover the hauler’s cost.

Commissioners asked that the RFP be structured in such a way that various options can be considered in awarding the contract. For example: fewer scheduled pick up and continued recycling; no recycling; larger refuse containers.

The city could require that those residential customers who wish to recycle (the current system is voluntary) pay an additional fee, while those who choose not to do so would not pay that fee.

Over the next 2 weeks city staff will receive feedback from potential vendors, many of whom attended the workshop and listened to the city’s concerns. Glisson indicated that the city hopes to build flexibility into the RFP so that respondents can provide information on costs and charges to meet a variety of scenarios.