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C. 84

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:	August 15, 2023

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Solid Waste and Recycling Collection Services in the Unincorporated Areas Served by Richmond Sanitary Service

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 08/15/2023

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Ken Carlson, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Justin Sullivan, (925) 655-2914

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: August 15, 2023
Monica Nino, County Administrator

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. APPROVE the Spending Plan for Reserve Funding allocated to County from West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority (Attachment 1).


2. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to execute the Third Amendment to the Franchise Agreement between Contra Costa County and Richmond Sanitary Service (RSS) (Attachment 2), which extends the Agreement through December 31, 2024, and replaces several Exhibits and adds two new Exhibits.

RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)

3. AUTHORIZE the Conservation and Development Director, or designee to expend Supplemental Funding in accordance with the Spending Plan for Reserve Funding allocated to the County from West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority and the Third Amendment.

4. DIRECT the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to participate in negotiating meetings called for in the Third Amendment.

5. FIND that the Spending Plan and Third Amendment are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the CEQA guidelines, as the Spending Plan and Third Amendment will not cause potentially significant impacts on the environment.

6. DIRECT the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to file a CEQA Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk.

7. DIRECT the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to arrange for payment of the $50 handling fee to the County Clerk for filing the Notice of Exemption.

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no impact to the County General Fund. The costs for County staff time spent administering the Franchise Agreement with RSS, and any related consulting services are covered by solid waste/recycling collection franchise fees.

BACKGROUND:

In October 1993, the County entered into a Franchise Agreement with RSS which was amended in 1994 and again in 2013. The Franchise Agreement grants RSS the exclusive right to collect solid waste, recyclables and organics within the designated RSS service area. The service area includes the following eight (8) unincorporated communities, which are all located in Supervisorial District I, with the exception of a portion of Alhambra Valley located in District V:

1. Alhambra Valley (partial)
2. Bayview
3. East Richmond Heights
4. El Sobrante
5. Montalvin Manor
6. North Richmond
7. Rollingwood
8. Tara Hills

On October 23, 2018, the County Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 2018/539 to disburse reserve funds from the West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority (WCCIWMA) to the County. Subsequently on June 11, 2019, the County Board of Supervisors also adopted Resolution 2019/160 to disburse additional reserve funds from the WCCIWMA. These funds are collectively referred to as Supplemental Funding. The combined total amount of Supplemental Funding provided to the County is $704,783.62. The County’s Supplemental Funding is required to be used to further the purpose and services of the WCCIWMA. This includes any use that relates to solid waste or recycling services, or waste reduction, such as litter pickup or recycling education. Concurrent with resolution adoptions, the Board directed staff to return and present a funding allocation plan (Spending Plan), identifying recommended allowable uses, which is included as Attachment 1. The Spending Plan provides a means to pay for specified on-call services (Activities 1 & 2) and offset specified rate increases for customers served by RSS (Activity 3) under the Franchise Agreement with RSS consistent with requirements outlined in the resolutions.

The current Franchise Agreement with RSS continues through October 11, 2023. The purpose of this Third Amendment is to (i) authorize Supplemental Funding to be used by County to reimburse RSS for costs incurred to provide bulky item pickups for the period February 1, 2018, through December 31, 2019, and for costs incurred to provide right-of-way cleanups for the period beginning on February 1, 2018, and continuing until such costs are included in rates charged to customers; (ii) authorize Supplemental Funding to be used to pay RSS's Deferred 2019 Compensation; (iii) extend the term of the Agreement through December 31, 2024; (iv) add provisions concerning the mutual obligation of the County and RSS to meet and confer on a monthly basis during the extension term to negotiate in good faith for a longer term extension of this Agreement; (v) add exhibits and delete outdated exhibits; (vi) update addresses in the notice provision; and (vii) revise other assorted provisions. There are no service changes in this Third Amendment. The two new Exhibits H and I are described in more detail below.

Exhibit H authorizes Supplemental Funding to be used by the County as the source to compensate RSS for specified on-call services performed since February 1, 2018, that were not funded by the collection rates. This includes costs incurred to provide bulky item pickups for the period of February 1, 2018, through December 31, 2019, and for costs incurred to provide right-of-way cleanups for the period beginning on February 1, 2018, and continuing until such costs are included in rates charged to customers.

Exhibit I is a list of topics to be discussed during negotiation meetings with RSS. Effective on October 12, 2023, and for the remainder of the term, the Third Amendment requires the parties to regularly meet, at least once per month and more frequently as needed, for the purpose of conducting good faith negotiations to reach full agreement on or before December 31, 2024, on the terms of an extended agreement for solid waste collection and post-collection handling services. Topics to be discussed will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the topics set forth in Exhibit I. Staff recommends the Board identify the Director of Conservation and Development, or designee as the person(s) responsible for participating in the negotiation meetings (Recommendation # 4).

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

After October 11, 2023, solid waste and recycling collection services in the unincorporated West County area currently served by RSS would no longer be regulated under a franchise agreement as required by County Code Chapter 418-7.