CALGARY EDMONTON FORT ST. JOHN KAMLOOPS KELOWNA NELSON QUESNEL RICHMOND

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1 th Street, Fort St. John, BC V1J 3Z6 Telephone: Fax: City of Dawson Creek A Street Box 150 Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4G4 VIA Attention: Ms. Shelly Woolf, Chief Financial Officer RE: City of Dawson Creek Waste Management Review Work Program Thank you for asking us to submit a work program and budget for a waste management review for the City of Dawson Creek. We have reviewed the information provided to us by the City of Dawson Creek, and from that have developed a work program we feel will be most effective at identifying the best methods for managing waste within the City. We would be prepared to begin work on this project immediately, and present the following background, work progra, team, estimated fees and estimated timeline for your review. BACKGROUND The City of Dawson Creek s current waste management contract is set to expire in the spring of In addition to this, the Peace River Regional District, who is responsible for solid waste across the region, is currently working towards completing a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP). With the City s time constraints, and an unfinished regional SWMP, it has been recommended that at this time the City of Dawson Creek look at extending their current solid waste contract for one to two years. There are a number of reasons for this, with the most important ones being: 1. It provides time for the PRRD to complete their SWMP; 2. It provides time for the City of Dawson Creek to complete their waste management review; 3. It provides time for the City of Dawson Creek to develop and implement any suggested changes to how they currently handle solid waste and allows for coordination with direction set out in the PRRD s SWMP; and, 4. It provides opportunities for collaboration and partnering between communities in the region. From our review of the seven tasks identified by the City of Dawson Creek (outlined in Phase 2 of this work program), we have developed a work program that we feel will be most effective in addressing current concerns with waste management and works to move Dawson Creek into the future.

2 Page 2 WORK PRORGRAM The following is a work program for undertaking a waste management review for the City of Dawson Creek. Phase 1 Assessment of Current Situation 1. Meet with Staff. We would meet with staff to review this proposed work program, timelines and deliverables, as well as a confirmation of whether this review pertains to all waste within the City of Dawson Creek, or only recyclable materials. 2. Review of Existing Waste Management Information. We would review all literature pertaining to the City s current waste management process. This could include bylaws, contracts, promotion materials, etc. From this review, we will compile a list of questions for the City that we would need to get direction on in order to move forward with subsequent phases of the waste management review. Although the focus of those discussions will be refined once the existing literature is reviewed, we anticipate that some of these questions may include: a. What is the life-span of the City s landfill(s)? b. What are the City s current costs for waste management? c. What aspects of the City s solid waste management employ private sector resources? From staff s perspective, which solid waste management aspects are operating as intended and which are causing concern? d. What are the foreseen staff, Council and public priorities? e. Are the any financial, operational and service level issues or successes worth noting at this time? 3. Workshop with Council and Senior Staff. We feel that a meeting with Council and senior staff early on in the process will help set clear direction. The purpose of this workshop would be to obtain answers/direction to a number of questions identified from our review of existing waste management literature and common industry practices. Some of these questions would include: a. Why does Dawson Creek wish to review their existing waste management scheme? b. What are the existing issues associated with waste management in Dawson Creek? c. Why does Dawson Creek wish to move to curbside recycling? Does it make sense to invoke mandatory or voluntary practices? d. What level of service would Dawson Creek like to see? e. What is the City s threshold for costs associated with waste management? f. Why does Dawson Creek wish to look at diversion of organics? Are these organics strictly yard wastes, or would this include other organics such as kitchen wastes? g. What scale would be incorporated in future waste management in Dawson Creek (i.e. would this include the Village of Pouce Coupe? Rolla? Farmington? Etc.)?

3 Page 3 Other items that we would wish to discuss at this meeting is the possibility of collaborating with Fort St. John, aligning Dawson Creek s waste management activities with direction set out in the PRRD s SWMP and a general discussion on what the City would like to see recycled. Technical issues would be resolved with staff prior to this workshop so that the workshop can focus specifically on discussion and obtaining clear direction from Council and staff. At the conclusion of this workshop, our goal is to have Council and staff unified in what direction they wish to take waste management in Dawson Creek. The discussion that we will have and the answers to the questions will directly impact the direction the waste management review is taken. Our experience shows that without clear direction established at the onset, too much time is spent trying to figure out the direction later on. 4. Prepare Summary Paper. At the conclusion of our workshop session, we will prepare a summary paper that summarizes what we heard at our workshop session with Council and staff. This will solidify direction for subsequent phases in the review process. In addition to this, we will prepare a timeline and budget for the remaining phases. Phase 2 Waste Management Review 1. Review of Curbside Recycling Options & Costs. We will review such items as service delivery options (contract options, fixed payment versus per tonne etc.), materials to be collected, curbside collection options (voluntary versus mandatory, schedule, material segregation, collection containers, etc.). 2. Review of Bylaws. Expanding on the Phase 1 review of the current bylaws pertaining to waste management, we may suggest changes that would strengthen the bylaws. 3. Review Contract(s). Based on Phase 1 review and direction set with Council and senior staff, we may suggest changes that would strengthen the contract(s) and ensure that they address all areas of collection, disposal and transportation. In addition to this, it may be feasible to amalgamate the City s future solid waste contract with its future recycling contract. If the City elects to change to a curbside pickup process or other major revisions then we would provide general direction for the subsequent contract authoring and tendering. 4. Review Billing Process. We will review the current billing process and suggest potential changes in order to make it more effective. In addition to this, we will review revenue allocation from the recyclable materials processed. 5. Review of Rates. In Phase 1, we will have obtained some information regarding waste management rates. In Phase 2, we will undertake a detailed review of current rates and identify what potential increases/decreases would occur as a result of implementing the new waste management direction that was agreed to by Council and staff. This rate review will look at residential as well as commercial rates.

4 Page 4 6. Review Feasibility of Owning & Supplying Commercial Containers. We will assess if commercial waste collection (all or only a portion of the process) is appropriate for the City of Dawson Creek to include in their service delivery. 7. Review Organics Diversion Options. We will review the feasibility of diverting organics from the landfill through a composting program. Phase 3: Finalize Report 1. Prepare Draft Report for Council. We will prepare a draft report for Council summarizing our findings and our recommendations. We will seek Council s comments and direction on this draft report. 2. Prepare Final Report. Based on the direction received from Council, we will finalize our report, making any revisions necessary. OUR TEAM We have selected the following team based upon professional experience and familiarity with the City of Dawson Creek and waste management. Katrin Saxty, BNRSc., MCIP, Project Manager & Project Planner Katrin is a project planner based in our Fort St. John Office. She is a member of the Planning Institute of BC and Canadian Institute of Planners and a Biologist-in-Training with the Association of Professional Biologists of BC. At this time, she is also pursuing her Masters in Public Administration through the University of Victoria. She has over 8 years of professional experience in land use planning through her work with Urban Systems, the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management. Katrin is well versed in many aspects of land use, strategic and comprehensive development planning. Katrin has previously worked on waste management studies and will be the project manager, the lead contact with Council and staff and will conduct the facilitation session with Council. Katrin will be working jointly on this project with Rick Collins, the project engineer who has also worked on waste management studies. Katrin will be the principal author of the waste management review. Rick Collins, P.Eng, Project Engineer Rick Collins is a professional engineer with 10 years of experience in local government engineering and operations. He has considerable experience in an array of municipal services, including operations strategic planning and cost recovery strategy development and implementation. His experience working with City Councils and all levels of City staff has led to a sound understanding of the priorities and challenges faced by local governments. Specific to waste management, Rick has helped other communities assess the service level needs, including recycling operations. His experience spans from

5 Page 5 establishing program direction, to waste management facility design, to recycling contract preparation. Rick will be the technical researcher on this project and will work closely with Katrin in the preparation of the waste management review and facilitation session with Council. Natalie Clarke, Draftsperson/Mapping Technologist Natalie is an AutoCAD technologist who will be responsible for any mapping and graphics preparation associated with this project. Additional Staff and Resources Additional staff and resources will be engaged on an as-needed basis throughout the project and may include: Rob Close (Civil Technologist), Jeremy Clowes (EIT) and Kim Livingstone (Clerical). ESTIMATED FEES Our professional fees and disbursements estimate for Phase I is outlined below: Estimate Phase 1 Assessment of Current Situation 1. Meet with Staff 2. Review of Existing Waste Management Information 3. Workshop with Council and Staff 4. Prepare Summary Paper $18,000 Disbursements (travel, map production, photocopying, long distance $2,000 telephone charges and similar items) TOTAL $20,000 The total budget for Phase 1 is $20,000, including disbursements. This budget does not include GST which we are required to collect on behalf of the federal government. You will be billed monthly as the work progresses, and the budget amount will not be exceeded without your prior approval. The lump sum amounts include all professional fees and disbursements such as mileage, accommodation, printing, mapping, etc. Upon the completion of Phase 1, we will develop another budget to address Phases 2 and 3, as the level of work involved in these phases is dependent on the decisions made in Phase 1 by Council and staff. ESTIMATED TIMELINE We would like to complete Phase I by the end of February. Thus, we would like to suggest the following Phase 1 timeline:

6 Page 6 Phase 1 Tasks: 1. Meet with Staff 2. Review of Existing Waste Management Information 3. Workshop with Council and Staff 4. Prepare Summary Paper Proposed Date Week of December 3-5 December January Week of January Submission by February 29 Urban Systems Ltd. is once again looking forward to working with City Council and staff on this project. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us. Yours truly, URBAN SYSTEMS LTD. Katrin Saxty, MCIP Planning Consultant /ks U:\Projects_FSJ\0714\0000\Waste Management Review\ DC Waste Management WP.doc