AGENDA DATE: 2/6/2019
TITLE:
Title
Recommendation on Extended Hours at Ivy Materials Utilization Center
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST:
Request Board endorsement of recommendation by the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority and County staff to extend hours of operation to include Mondays at the RSWA Ivy Materials Utilization Center.
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Kamptner, Henry, Stewart
PRESENTER (S): None
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND:
In 2018, the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (RSWA) completed a renovation of the Ivy Materials Utilization Center to expand its ability to accept a greater volume of solid waste, in a manner that allows larger commercial haulers to utilize the facility. The capacity of the new facility is much greater than the amount of solid waste received historically.
On December 14, 2018, at the request of the County of Albemarle Board of Supervisors, the RSWA board authorized a reduction in solid waste tipping fees from $66 dollars per ton to $52 dollars per ton. The change brought the facility’s rate in line with similar facilities in the region. It was believed that a more competitive rate would increase the tonnage processed by the facility to a level sufficient to offset the additional costs of third-party waste disposal.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Natural Resources Stewardship - Thoughtfully protect and manage Albemarle County’s ecosystems and natural resources in both the rural and development areas to safeguard the quality of life of current and future generations. Quality Government Operations - Ensure County government’s capacity to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities.
DISCUSSION:
Initial data indicates a marked increase in deliveries of solid waste to the expanded facility since the lower rate went into effect on January 1, 2019. The limited available dataset - 15 days at the time of this writing - shows an increase from 25.4 tons/day (average from January 2017 and January 2018) to 66.0 tons/day. Projected over the course of a full year, tonnage received would more than meet the 8,800 additional tons required to offset the reduced revenue rate, by approximately 2,500 tons per year.
Consideration is now being given to expanding the days of operation of the facility - currently Tuesday through Saturday - to include Mondays. It’s believed that the tonnage which could be received by opening Mondays would equal the average tonnage being received Tuesday through Saturday. In other words, it’s expected that the additional day would produce a similar amount of waste as other days and would not diminish the amount of tonnage received on other days. As such, Albemarle staff project an increase of 20% total tonnage/week above the current rate.
Due to the limited period of performance upon which a decision may be made, staff recommends that the facility be opened Mondays for a pilot period of six months. During that period, RSWA would provide regular reports to its board and to the Board of Supervisors.
BUDGET IMPACT:
To add the additional day of service, it would be necessary to increase staff by two forty-hour employees, at a cost ranging from $7,211/month (for temporary employees) to $8,008/month (for benefitted full-time employees).
Should the data trend experienced in the first three weeks of the new rate schedule continue as it has, the collective decisions to reduce rates and to open the facility Mondays would result in sufficient revenue to offset additional labor costs. The budget neutral optimization of the facility’s capacity.
In the event that solid waste tonnage delivered on Mondays does not meet expectations, or if tonnage figures across all days diminish from the success of the initial weeks of the reduced tipping feet rate, the County would need to absorb the additional operational costs. The financial exposure of a shortfall in received tonnage would be up to $43,266 over the course of the six-month pilot period, assuming the use of temporary employees.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board endorse the staff recommendation and direct the Albemarle County representatives on the RSWA Board of Directors to sponsor consideration of the recommendations at the next RSWA Board meeting (February 26, 2019).
If the RSWA Board approves the six-month pilot, RSWA staff advise that Monday service might begin as soon as March 18, 2019.
ATTACHMENTS: None