CITY COUNCIL Rovlett WORK SESSION MINUTES T E X A Our Vision: A well-planned lakeside community of quality neighborhoods, distinctive amenities, diverse employment, and cultural charm. Rowlett: THE place to live, work and play. Tuesday, April 8, 2025 6:30 P.M. Municipal Building - 4000 Main Present: Mayor Pro Tem Winget, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Shinder, Counciimember Reaves, Councilmember Bowers, Councilmember Britton and Councilmember Schupp 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Pro Tem Winget called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION There was no Executive Session. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION AND TAKE ANY NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE ACTION ON CLOSED/EXEXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS No action taken. 3. CITIZENS INPUT Pat Karacostas, Rowlett = Spoke regarding trash. She can't get through to Republic. There has to be a better way to control overflow. The phones have been out of order for at least two weeks. She has to call the city and bother the city employees. Bulky items were supposed to be picked up on Wednesday and she didn't know. As a result, her bulk items were not picked up. There is no communication with Republic. She has a large lot with lots of bulky items. Curtis Smith, Rowlett - Spoke regarding trash. He put his trash out at 7 pm Wednesday and it wasn't picked up. He called the Action Center, was told to call the utility department, who told him to call Republic. The City needs to handle the calls. Republic needs to honor their contract. He does not have a recycle cart. Robbert Van Bloemendaal, Rowlett - Spoke regarding trash. There is a lot of trash in the neighborhood. There are mattresses and couches everywhere. This is making the value of their property go down based on all the trash. He knows that he gets two free landfill trips a year but should not have to do that. Needs bulk picked up. Kristy Cavaness, Rowlett - - Spoke regarding trash. The neighborhood looks trashy. Drive down West Shore and there is nothing but garbage in front of all the houses. Most of the trash has been out for over a month. There are mattresses everywhere. There is trash at almost every house now. The City is responsible to manage this trash. City of Rowlett 10806 Michele Stoudt-Wright, Rowlett - Spoke regarding the trash. Wants to suggest solutions. Communication and videos have gone out but need more communication. Proposed having signs that they state Week 2i is Next Week. Send out text messages. Have signs in the neighborhood to say when bulk is getting picked up. Martha Brown, Rowlett - Spoke regarding the Keep Rowlett Beautiful (KRB) agreement. Thanked city staff and city council for taking many hours to come up with an agreement. KRB has been here for over 38 years. 4. WORK SESSION 4A. Presentation regarding options to revise contract with Republic Services in relation to bulky waste service collection. Deputy City Manager, Kristoff Bauer, presented this item. Mr. Bauer stated the City contracted with Republic Services to provide solid waste collection services beginning in October of 2024. The contract provides for a different level of bulky waste collection services. The current service is trash collection once a week and bulky waste collection of up to 8 yards once a month. For an additional amount, the City can increase bulky waste collection to twice a month, however, collection will be up to 6 yards. f the City should choose to increase bulky waste collection up to 8 yards, it would be an additional amount. The current bulky waste collection went from once a week to once a month with the new contract. Republic requires the bulky waste to be out by 7 am Monday and will be collected by Saturday. A compliant load can wait up to 5 days to be collected. Uncompliant loads can wait at the curb for a month; with oversized loads left at curb for another month. Since October 28, 2024, the following notices and violations were issued. 838 for placing bulk out during the wrong week. 198 for setting out excessive material (over 8 yards). 6 for blocking on street parking. 11 for setting out waste that should have been removed by a hired contractor. 1,053 total bulk violations. In December, 110 notices were sent, and 2 citations were issued. In January, 208 notices were sent, and 2 citations were issued. In February, 248 notices were sent, and 3 citations were issued. In March, 282 notices were sent, and 17 citations were issued. There is an education that needs to take place. Mr. Bauer reviewed various options to the Republic Services contract. Option One is to clarify current service. Define the bulky waste collection day. The bulky waste is out by 7 am on assigned collection day. The compliant load will be collected within 48 hours maximum. There is no rate impact for this option. Option Two is to increase bulky waste collection to twice a month but reduce the load from 8 yards to 6 yards per collection. The bulky waste is out by 7 am on assigned collection day. The compliant load will be collected within 48 hours maximum. The residential rate will increase from $20.36 to $27.08 per month. Option Three is to increase bulky waste collection to twice a month and maintain the 8 yards per collection. The bulky waste is out by 7 am on assigned collection day. The compliant load will be collected within 48 hours maximum. The residential rate will increase from $20.36 to $28.10 per month. Staff is looking for direction from City Council. Should city council consider any changes, the next steps are to execute a contract revision. Implement the changes in June and communicate change to residents. Rick Bernas, with Republic, stated they were putting in a new phone system. It is now complete and moved over. Now phones are being answered in 1% minutes. Councilmember Schupp stated he knew that he was going to have extra bulk and tried to call Republic but couldn't get through. City of Rowlett 10807 He had to call the City to get the rest of the bulk picked up. Councimember Reaves asked why can't bulk be pidked up the same days as trash. Mr. Bernas asked if the city wants to quadrant each zone for buk pick up. It would take longer for the bulk pick up. Councimember Britton asked for a percentage of residents that have paid extra for the extra bulk pick up. Mr. Bernas stated about 40 loads aweek. Councilmember Britton then asked if it would be possible to negotiate more than two free trips to the Garland landfill. Staff stated they would research it. Councimember Schupp stated that he knows he has a lot of bulk pick up and he's willing to pay for it. He also realizes that there are others that hardly use it. Mayor Pro Tem Winget asked about the City of Wylie allowing their residents to drop off their bulk at the Public Works Department. David Hall, City Manager, stated they are regulated by TCEQ and have very stringent rules. Councilmember Britton asked about having a central location drop off for landscaping. Can the city grind the landscaping and sell back as mulch? Staff stated we could, there are startup costs for that. He also asked about contractors leaving debris behind and not hauling it off. Staff stated % of citations issued were from contractors leaving debris behind. Councimember. Bowers stated that she went to the utility department and got pick tags to put on her trash and it got picked up. Mr. Bernas explained that is for extra trash, not bulk pick up. When a resident calls infor extra bulk pick up, Republic sends a supervisor out to the address to measure how much bulk there is, they then relay that back to the office and an invoice is created and the resident is notified of the extra charge. This process takes a couple of days. Mayor Pro Tem Winget stated he feels that the city was sold a bill of sale. The Republic app has tremendous value, but it is not what was sold to us. Why can't the resident take a picture of the bulk pick up and send it to Republic and have a bulk truck come pick it up. It is ridiculous to have someone come out, measure the bulk, then call the resident to tell them how much extra it would cost, then wait a couple of days for it to be picked up. You can follow the trucks on the app. Councilmember Schupp stated that he got a push notification, and he now has the schedule. Mayor Pro Tem Winget wants a push notification for all residents. He also confirmed with Mr. Bernas that Republic is the point of contact for all trash and bulk items/complaints. Councimember Schupp stated he went to the utility department and staff didn't know how to contact Republic or even have the number to Republic. He was very disappointed. Mr. Bernas stated that Republic did two mailers, three videos, and had their card on the carts with their website information, when they were delivered to the residents. Councilmember Bowers stated that with code enforcement, if you have tall grass and the city has to cut it, they place an abatement lien on the property. Can we do this with trash? Staff stated it could be done. Councilmember Britton would like to see a survey go to the residents to see what they want again before deciding to raise rates and adding more bulk pick up. We need to have a better education for residents. Councimember Schupp stated he liked the abatement lien avenue. It needs to be done quick with short time periods and high fine. No one is willing to raise rates. Mayor Pro Tem Winget stated we are six months into this contract we are still talking about communication. Mr. Bernas stated Republic did more communication in Rowlett, then anywhere else. Councimember Reaves stated that he preferred to get a specific day for bulk pick up. He would love to have bulk pick up on the same day as trash. Councilmember Schupp stated he does not want to raise rates. The consensus is to go with Option. One, that does not raise rates and defines which day is bulk pick up. Mr. Bernas stated that we can do an addendum to contract to pick a certain service day for bulk pick up and renew communication with residents. City of Rowlett 10808 4B. Discuss and provide feedback regarding a Funding Agreement with Keep Rowlett Beautiful. Brittney Farr, Director of Economic and Community Engagement, presented this item. Brittney introduced Michele Stoudt-Wright, with Keep Rowlett Beautiful (KRB). Beginning in late summer 2024, Community Engagement staff began meeting with KRB leadership to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the nonprofit and the City collaborate. Over the course of several meetings, staff worked with KRB to map out the various interactions between KRB and City departments. The result of these discussions is a proposed funding agreement that clearly outlines the roles, responsibilities, and expectations between KRB and the City. The Funding Agreement between the City of Rowlett and KRB establishes a relationship to support environmental stewardship, community beautification, and sustainability initiatives. Under this agreement, the City would provide a grant of up to $40,000 for fiscal year 2025 and transfer ownership of a vehicle to KRB. In return, KRB must ensure that all funds and assets are used solely for the intended public purposes outlined in the agreement. The City will also provide office space, utilities, and services at no charge while maintaining oversight through a designated staff liaison and representation on KRB's Board of Directors. This agreement will expire on September 30, 2025 requiring reauthorization annually. The City retains the right to terminate the agreement with 30 days' notice or immediately in case of a breach. The agreement also includes provisions for conflicts of interest, insurance requirements, and compliance with City policies to ensure accountability in the use of public funds. Ms. Stoudt-Wright reviewed with City Council the changes KRB would like to see in this agreement. KRB wants to change funding to an annual funding, which grant funding will be guaranteed. Victoria Thomas, City Attorney, stated that you can'tbind future city councils to contract or money. The way it is written is fine. Any change in funding would require an amendment. The agreement will incorporate that the City will not charge KRB permit fees. Regarding Bee City USA, the agreement will reduce the notice to request access to pollinator garden from 2 weeks to 1 week. Mayor Pro Tem Winget recessed the meeting at 8:45 pm for a break. Mayor Pro Tem Winget reconvened the meeting at 8:56 pm. 4C. Presentation regarding options to contract for the improvement of the Kids Kingdom play facility. Deputy City Manager, Kristoff Bauer, presented this item. Mr. Bauer reviewed the demolition plan, updates to existing features, new features, and surfaces. Phase One will be in May and the park will be closed 3 to 4 days for the main structure refurbishment. Phase Two will be in July and the park will be closed 4 to 6 weeks for the surfaces and installation of new elements. Staff presented two options and need direction. Option A is a total replacement by WeBuildFun for a cost of $2,047,500. Option B is to refurbish and add by Playbydesign for a cost of $1,466,875. If Option B is chosen, staff needs feedback on surface options as to quality and color of Turf and PIP. There were multiple discussions regarding quality and color of turf and PIP. The consensus was to choose Option B. Staff will come back with color options and seating options. 5. ADJOURNMENT - Mayor Pro Tem Winget adjourned the meeting at 9:45 pm. City of Rowlett 10809 JK Cenoe Jeff Winget, Mayor Pro Tem Deborah Sorensen, City Secretary Approved on: May 6, 2025 City of Rowlett 10810