Healdsburg looking at 10-year garbage franchise extension

A multi-year extended contract for garbage collection could
include a wide array of new services at minimal annual increases,
if final talks pan out between Healdsburg city officials and
Redwood Empire Disposal.
Neighborhood clean-up events, more recycling education programs,
Christmas tree disposal, commercial food waste composting, free
tire recycling and, maybe, even an annual donation to the American
Legion’s fireworks display could be included.
A current Solid Waste Collection Franchise agreement is due to
expire  in July. Private hauler Redwood Empire Disposal (RED) is
willing to add more than a dozen special and subsidized services as
a favor for winning a new 10-year agreement.
“All the service enhancements we’re talking about would be
offered at the current rate structure without  a rate increase,”
RED’s Pam Davis told The Tribune, following a presentation to the
City Council on Monday.
City residents now pay between $8.29 and $23.53 per month for
weekly curbside pickup services. Fees depend on the size of the
container, ranging from 20 to 90 gallons. Commercial collection and
dumpster fees are higher.
Terms of the current franchise agreement allow for an annual
cost-of-living and “tipping fee” adjustment which resulted in a
nine percent increase last year.
This year’s pending adjustments might provide for a lower, to
no, fee increase, based on preliminary county staff studies. The
“tipping fee” is set by the county Board of Supervisors as a
pass-through charge to commercial haulers for the cost of operating
the county’s transfer stations and other garbage facilities.
On Monday, some of the council members were leery of a 10-year
extension. They instructed staff to include a 5-year option as
well. A 5-year extension would not include as many enhanced
services, based on already-completed talks with city staff and
RED.
“We’re a local service provider, with local owners and we’re
very committed to our local communities,” Davis said. “We have all
the infrastructure we need in place and the added longevity of an
agreement will allow us to amortize our expenses over a longer
time.”
Council member Mike McGuire on Monday lobbied for more emphasis
on “diversion,” increasing recycling, composting and consumer
education.
“If we’re talking about 10 years we should set a positive
example about all this early on,” McGuire said.
Member Eric Ziedrich and the rest  of the council also endorsed
increased efforts for diverting household and other solid waste
from landfill burial.
Currently, about 30 – 50 percent of the county’s solid waste is
not recycled or diverted and must be “exported” to out-of-county
landfills. The county-owned landfill near Petaluma on Mecham Road
has been closed for over two years, due to federal agency  concerns
over hazardous waste leakage from the site.
Last year, a split vote by the board of supervisors failed to
support a sale of the site to a private company. A long term
solution remains in limbo.
“Diverting as much garbage away from a landfill is good for all
of us and it keeps the eventual costs down as well,” said
Davis.
In Healdsburg, the city government and Redwood Empire hope to
formalize a commercial food waste composting program that was
stymied last year by the state’s Water  Quality Control Board. Meat
wastes in the restaurant and other food trash raised concerns over
pathogens that might remain in any final compost product.
“We hope we can work that out over the next year or so,” said
Mike Kirn, the city’s public works director.
Kirn also suggested some pilot project trash compactors might be
added in the city’s commercial districts to reduce the bulk of
garbage and possibly help keep the city’s streets and public spaces
cleaner from debris.
Other “deal sweeteners” offered by Redwood Empire Disposal
include an annual donation of $15,000 to the city’s Community
Grants program, free side yard service for the elderly and
handicapped, twice-annual municipal airport sweeping, residential
curbside oil collection by appointment, free special events
collection and portable toilets and, possibly increased services
for Alliance Clinic and Healdsburg District Hospital.
The current franchise agreement was set in 2002 between the city
and  Waste Management, a national corporation that has since
divested itself from Sonoma County.
Redwood Empire Disposal’s parent company, North Bay Corporation,
acquired the franchise in 2007. North Bay and Redwood Empire
Disposal provide solid waste collection services at eight cities
and for most of the county’s unincorporated areas, under separate
franchise agreements.
Healdsburg residents have been under a “mandatory” garbage
collection program since the early 1990s. New residents or property
owners must call Redwood Empire Disposal directly to arrange
curbside garbage collection. The telephone number is 585-0291.
Offices are located in south Santa Rosa on Standish Avenue, off
Todd Road.