##VIDEO ID:SknAJRUfasU## e e e e e e e e e e e e okay I'll call the meeting to order uh we are about 5 minutes late but uh that's the nature of things so um welcome to the emergency meeting of the uh Temple terce City Council on Friday October 24th the purpose of this meeting uh is three-fold uh it is to add a uh contract for an additional debris contractor uh to augment our efforts it is then to revise the existing contract with our current vendor uh and then it is also a resolution uh to allow uh the city manager to uh amend these contracts in the future for this storm season and so I'll turn it over at this time to Mr be or do you want to explain further uh thank you Mr Mayor members of council so um as as you know and the public is probably aware there is a significant amount of debris uh not just in Temple Terrace but throughout all of Hillsboro County and pellis County and portions of Pasco as well uh stemming from Hurricane Seline and hurricane Milton uh we had a uh contractor that was under contract stemming from an original agreement dating back to 2023 uh that contractor has been working here in the city uh but there has been a concern about the pay that was approved in that original agreement the pay scale throughout the county because of a myriad of factors uh the fact that we had back to back storms has basically exacerbated and overheated this Marketplace so the uh we've had other communities now increaseed what they were paying for for for debris contractor Services uh and a lot of times are the they're the same contractors that other communities are using in our case for example Cirus is being used by the county um and probably other municipalities as well and so that has been an ongoing concern uh we know that we have some tools at our disposal to address that but to be very candid we are in an emergency situ ation here uh for the Public's health and safety we have debris covering sidewalks we have debris near intersections where there sight lines obstructed uh we have potential other storms that are that may be in the wind um approaching us so we want to get this debris out as quickly as possible so because of that we've taken a few steps um the first item on your actually if you don't mind I'm going to address all three at once so the first item is actually a a we retaining another contractor to have have additional trucks in the in the field uh this contractor uh has agreed to work for us they're a national contractor they are uh the rate that they are seeking uh for hauling of of debris is is $17 a uh a cubic yard uh which is significant um but that is the rate we understand that Pasco County is about to enter into agreements for as well based on a bid that they put out and it the way this this is for the public certification the way this is working out right now uh the marketplace is generating a demand that is triggering these escalation of costs so I want to make sure the council understands as well as the public that 100% of the cost for this debris removal is reimbursable from FEMA so uh the challenge becomes we will have to upfront that cash uh we are in good shape as the council knows from our budget workshops we have a very healthy unassigned fund balance I believe it's in in the area about $20 million right now that we have um in unassigned fund balance so we have the cash on hand to address this and we should be reimbursed from FEMA within hopefully a matter of hopefully less than a year uh this time for the storm as that process has improved dramatically so SDR uh has their contract here before us uh the current contractor Sirus the one that was on board earlier and was asking for additional funding uh we will do the same thing that the Hillsboro County does Hillsboro County has four debris removal contract contractors they pay everybody the same rate uh we're going to do the same thing here we are proposing to bring the the pay level to to be the same the the pay sheets basically for both cus and SDR um again that will mean that we get the trucks in and hopefully start hauling more and more of this debris quicker out to our our sites the third item before you is um if we were still in a state of emergency like the county is they are a the county is able to negotiate and address these Chang in Marketplace items with these for example debris removal contracts in a very quick manner they can do it administratively uh because of the unique orientation of how we do our ordinance and the pay Provisions associated with this we are actually we're not in the state of emergency anymore here um formally even though the reality is we we're still dealing with the aftermath of an emergency so what I'm asking for is your approval through the third resolution so that I can address these debris management contracts with my staff and I would report to you whatever we would do so if we'd hire a third contractor for example or replace a contractor or we had to modify what we're paying I would report that immediately to the entire Council make that very public um and then we document that also for FEMA purposes so that would be the the authorization of seeking that would be for the remainder of this hurricane season could go beyond the hurricane season and for example we still have lingering payment issues and debris after November 30th but it would be stemming from this particular season I'm happy to answer answer any questions thank you Mr Bea council members yes yes council member Fernandez so in the resolution for the contract for the new debris hauler um it says that it would be a six-month contract um so I just out of curiosity I just wondered why we would want to have a six-month contract when the storm season will end in November and and even if there's debris we'd probably be finished by December so I think typically are you want to address it okay I ask Mr warrenfield to come up CC Jason morfeld public or director um the six-month expiration date on that contract is is going to be in line with the extensions that will probably happen with the storm the 90-day period will expire on January 7th there's an expectation that there will be a 90day extension after that so 6 months we should be outside of that window but that's why it went to six months and not just two months to get to the end of the storm season okay and I I have a question about the price so I I understand that the city will be reimbursed from FEMA for whatever we spend for this process however um FEMA is still a tax-funded entity even though it's not city taxes our residents are paying taxes to FEMA and you know I feel like we still have a duty to try to keep expenses to a reasonable level um what happens when another jurisdiction comes in and says well we're going to pay $25 a cubic ton or yard whatever the yes ma'am so that's an excellent question it's something we have been um the discussing at length for the last several days here as well and I've talked to the uh County administrator's office at at Hillsboro County as well as their procurement officer so um because of the of the way this storm season has evolved with those two big storms hitting us in a very short period of time it has uh magnified certain issues certain challenges that we perhaps didn't have before um this is one of them in fact of trying you have an entire region all looking for the same resources and uh what we've talked about with our colleagues at the county earlier today was I think for next year and going forward we may want to look at a more Collective approach to do this where uh maybe all of us the the three municipalities and the county get together and we approach debris removal and the contracts for debris removal as a single entity and how whatever form that takes I don't really know yet at this point but we'd have a lot more buying power that way uh the county has over a th000 employees easily and they they could facilitate that sort of conversation that process much more than if we're all operating individually I know for a fact because this was confirmed this afternoon that Plant City had very similar challenges to the city of Temple Terrace in terms of contractors that had existing contracts and then the rate is you know changed dramatically and so they were they were concerned about the same things that we were so those are the conversations I think we're going to be uh talking a lot about that with our peers once the storm season ends at this point right now we just we have debris and we need to address the debris so we're we're going to do that I appreciate and I think we all do that these are taxpayer dollars one way or another the US taxpayers is footing the bill for this um uh but from our local property tax perspective we will get these dollars back so from that perspective there is some relief but we want to make sure this can be done in a better format in the future okay and I just have one more question can can I inject a comment before and I'll back to you because it's on the same topic so earlier today I had a conversation with Senator Collins state senator J Collins and um Jane caster and I were having a conversation with him about this very issue and the the debr haulers saying okay well I can get $18 here I can get you know I can they they' this is not a temple terrrace problem this is a Statewide problem this is what they're doing is they're going okay well the highest bidder and I can go over to hillsbor County and haul all that stuff for twice what I you're paying the state is aware of this uh Senator Collins said they're already uh he did make me feel a little better because he told me the going rate right now is about 1875 so even our new rates are 17 which is better than what he um the Attorney General Ashley Mooney is involved in in as aware of this also so there's some action at the state level also to try to figure out what measures can be taken to keep this bidding war from happening uh next year so I don't have that all worked out yet but that's that's underway at the state level also perfect and you still have the floor I'm sorry it's so uh my question is about the volume of debris and I know that we have so our pricing in here some of it is based on distance that the debris needs to be hauled and do we have space at the places that our debris callers are going to be putting it and then what happens to it after the debris is left at those locations Jason you may want to I can wing it but you're much better at this so the Harney Road Site the 711 Harney Road is the main site right now where the debris being hauled that site may not be able to handle what's in the streets currently um Carlos and I are working with the school board to obtain a location that would be an additional site to take on more debris so when that debris when it's all collected from the street it'll be it'll be U put in it'll be ground down into shavings and then ha off to disposal sites so the pricing that you see and I'm going to go down this road just a little bit but the pricing you see is the cubic yards to get it to the site and then there there's additional pricing that will grind it down and then there's a final hul out price and a disposal fee so and can any of this be taken to the trash Inc to electricity the incinerator so some of the material is considered contaminated based on where it fell in the street oils um unfortunately it could have been um the sanitary sewer line you know there could have been material that came up on the street during the storm um so some of it's considered contaminated that's why the the final product is hauled off to a disposal site um the answer is back to your question about to the incinerator the bag debris at this point is that's where it's going um we have collected some of those because our haulers are not equipped to rip every bag and determine if it's garbage or if it's yard debris so we're doing that the sanitation crew is doing that um that stuff is being hauled to the incinerator okay and I guess the only other question I would have is do you have a an estimated timeline as to when uh people might see their debris picked up I do not I honestly uh the haulers are working in four zones in the city there's about 60 sections in those four zones we are giving them sections to to work throughout a time and I to be very honest with you there's one section in the Northwest part of the city they've been there 9 days so there's that much volume of debris in just that one section and then there's four other sections that completed in 3 days so I cannot speculate when somebody in in zone 4 in in in one particular section will be picked up um we we are scattered the we have scattered the trucks through the city and we're trying to collect in in the four different zones at the same time but if I could just add a little bit to that so and Jason correct me if I'm wrong but if if Council approves this SDR contract today they will have they'll be on the street on Sunday correct that's still the case so the trucks they will be here being certified on Sunday they should hit the street actively on Monday unless the certification happens early in the morning that potentially they could be out okay so we'll have additional truck so that will help with that pace I think Jason is we don't really have there's no possible way for us to say definitively yes it'll all be done by October whatever the date is or October 31st or something like that that's everybody's effort that's why we're having an emergency meeting today in part is to make sure we can keep ahead of this and try to get it addressed as soon as we can uh and that is and we also have our own City crews in the meantime besides doing sanitation or streets where they have time we're assigning them to go and drive a grapple truck and pick up debris also uh but they've been working non-stop for for weeks now so we're all we're cognizant of that as well so they do need a break uh but everybody's mind is on debris right now that I can assure you that's what we're we need to get it out and one additional comment with that is the governor has put an executive order out indicating that the debris should be picked up in 90 days from the date of the storm so that that's where the January 7th 8 comes in um right now with with the amount of debris we have and the current contractor that we have additional trucks will only help us meet that deadline thank you council member Chambers did you say that no questions other questions I have a couple questions for uh the deputy City attorneys two of these resolutions have involved the contracts and have signature lines for me the third one that empowers the city manager to make further actions on his own doesn't should it have a signature line also or is that the way it's supposed to be it has it on the back hasn't on the back okay never mind stupid question on the back okay um second question for you relating to the contract ones has this been reviewed by you yes it's been review both that both of them have been reviewed they've gone through legal okay good um in that case we need uh three different motions because we have three different resolutions so council members what your wish I can do the first one okay move to approve the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a six-month agreement with SDR CDR Disaster Recovery LLC for the provision of disaster debris Recovery Services second motion a second discussion of the resolution if not all those in favor say I I opposed no n the resolution is adopted Item B next resolution move to approve resolution approving the First Amendment to the contract to provide disaster debris removal and Disposal Serv between city of Temple terce and Sirus Environmental Services second motion second discussion I just I have one question sure council member Fernandez um we are so we're adding we're amending this contract and we've added a second debris hauler are two contracts enough or should we be looking at additional debris haulers to cont contract with and that they could decide to leave at any time so like we're we're amending this one and they'll stay with this amendment but what if they don't what if they don't um both of them can pull out with notice according to their contracts so the the idea is with the price increase for the Sears contract is so they don't um and by by meaning they don't is so the subcontractors that are actually doing the work don't take a higher rate somewhere else and just drive away um and that's what has been happening throughout this process we we have 11 trucks from Cirus right now that are running the streets but they have rotated so we've we've lost probably half of those due to circumstances some of it is the rate um there are additional haulers out there um with this rate increase they're finding that the resources are flocking to this area and there potentially could be a surplus so we could need an additional huler but at this point I hope not so and to answer your question also council member is the the third resolution if you if you decide to approve it is the uh would allow me to do precisely that so if we felt like there's a need we're not making enough progress we can go ahead and get a third or fourth or however many we feel could be effective you know obviously realizing all these different companies have to go to the same sites and so that becomes a logistic challenge for us if you have too many um but the county has four for example so there's nothing stopping us from having more than two uh we are we think two would probably be the best approach right now because of you know how we're laid out in terms of these locations but if we find that we need to make changes if you Empower me with that ability we'll make those changes and we'll inform you of that okay that that's it okay all those in favor say I I opposed no n's resolution is adopted and then the third resolution is does to address all your concerns council member Fernandez um moveed to approve the resolution authorizing the city manager to approve debris management contracts and contract amendments for the duration of the 20242 hurricane season second motion a second discussion uh but my only question is 2024 2025 is that because of our fiscal year being 2024 2025 so the this is a product of the fact we just did this about 5 minutes ago so the the the resolution itself just refers to the 2024 hurricane season the agenda has 25 in there so please go with a resolution okay so the 2024 hurricane season correct we have a motion do we have a second second did we have a second already no I'm second oh vice mayor AEL second at a discussion okay all those in favor say I I opposed no nay resolution is adopted other business Mr beo no sir council members anything else directors you guys doing all right thank you again for all your work this is a long road I know when the storm passes everybody is in Hurricane mode for about 3 days and then they're tired of it and I know that you folks have not slowed down you're still in Hurricane mode um I just want you to know that we know that um and so we appreciate what you're doing what you continue to do we all knew when the storm hit first thing we said was this is going to take a long time and and it is but we have water we have electricity we have groceries at the grocery store we have roads we have gasoline we'll get through um and so appreciate everything you're doing I know you're continuing to work long hours and seven days a week Mr Warren Feld so um we thank you for that all right we'll be adjourned I leave this paper with you I don't