[Service Delivery Committee on January 28, 2025. ]
[00:00:17]
GOT READY.IT IS TUESDAY, JANUARY THE 28TH, 2024, AND THE TIME IS 2 10 0 3.
UM, I'M COUNCIL MEMBER ASHA JACKSON, CHAIR OF THE SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITTEE, AND I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, TODAY WE ARE JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS IN CHAMBERS, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN AND COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR PRO TEM, VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM
AND ONLINE WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER.
AND WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM ONLINE AND IN CHAMBERS WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S OFFICE, COUNCIL MEMBER, CAYMAN'S OFFICE, COUNCIL MEMBER, HUFFMAN'S OFFICE, AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, RAMIREZ'S OFFICE.
SO, DID I CALL EVERYONE? MM-HMM
SO THIS MEETING HAS BEEN HELD IN HYBRID MODE IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY, AND IT'S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, THE CHAIR AS A PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE COMMITTEE IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE CHAMBERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 5 1 DASH 1 27 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, APPLICABLE BY APPLICABLE TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES.
ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA TE UM, MICROSOFT TEAMS. SO TODAY WE WILL BE HEARING A PRESENTATION FROM DIRECTOR MARK WIL FALK, THE DIRECTOR OF THE CI SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, UM, TO DISCUSS HEAVY TRASH PICKUP.
UM, THIS MIGHT BE THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE, UM, ACROSS THE CITY IN ALL OUR DISTRICTS.
UM, AS WE GET A LOT OF, WE GETTING A LOT OF PHONE CALLS, COMPLAINTS ABOUT HEAVY TRASH.
AND SO THIS IS GONNA GIVE US OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW SOLID WASTE WILL BE MOVING, UM, UM, THE TRASH PICKUP FORWARD.
AND SO, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF, PLEASE HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS AND ARE PRESENT IN CHAMBERS, REQUEST TO SPEAK.
UM, IF YOU ARE JOINING VIRTUALLY, TYPE REQUEST TO SPEAK IN THE CHAT POD AND YOU WILL BE RECOGNIZED IN ORDER.
WHEN YOU'RE RECOGNIZED, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICROPHONE AND ENSURE YOUR CAMERA IS ON.
YOU WILL ALSO BE ADVISED YOU WILL ALSO BE GIVEN TWO MINUTES, UM, AND WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ATTENDING VIRTUALLY USE THE CHAT POD.
IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS TO LET US KNOW.
UM, THEN WE'LL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
IF YOU DIDN'T GET A LIST, IF YOU GET ON, IF YOU DIDN'T GET ON THE LIST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT BY THE DEADLINE, PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE'LL SIGN YOU UP AND ALLOW YOU TO SPEAK.
UM, SO WE WILL GET THIS MEETING STARTED.
UM, SO DIRECTOR HAWK, COME ON DOWN.
ALRIGHT, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.
UH, OKAY, HOW'S THAT? IT'S BETTER.
ALRIGHT, WELL, GOOD MORNING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE TODAY.
GLAD WE, UH, GOT THIS TOPIC ON THE, UH, CALENDAR AND ON THE AGENDA SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY ADDRESS, UM, GIVE YOU A, A BRIEF LOOK ON THE INSIDE OF SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
UH, TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING AS WELL AS, UH, OUR PLANS, YOU KNOW, TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, AS WE CONTINUE TO FIND THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND EFFICIENT WAYS TO, TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICE DELIVERY.
UH, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
JUST A, A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE AGENDA.
UH, WE'LL AGAIN, WE'LL KIND OF COVER THE OVERVIEW, UH, GET IN THE STATUS OF THE OPERATION, TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE STRESSOR AND CHALLENGES THAT WE CURRENTLY FACE THAT YOUR, YOUR OFFICES ARE DEALING WITH, WHY THAT'S HAPPENING.
AND THEN SOME OF THE ACTION ITEMS THAT, UH, WE WILL BE EITHER ARE WORKING ON OR WE'LL CONTINUE WORKING ON UNTIL WE START SEEING THE FAVORABLE RESULTS THAT, UH, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, BE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.
WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, ALWAYS LIKE TO START OUT BY RECOGNIZING OUR MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UH, TO PROVIDE THE CITY WITH INTEGRATED MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, UH, DESIGN TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, SUSTAINABILITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ALL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO, UH, OUR VISION TO PRESERVE THE, THE CLEANLINESS OF OUR COMMUNITIES, THAT'S WHAT WE SEE.
THAT'S WHAT WE BELIEVE WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO
[00:05:01]
DO THROUGH THE PROVISION OF EFFICIENT, RELIABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES.AND THEN OUR VALUES REALLY IMPRESS US UPON OUR EMPLOYEES.
UH, THEY REALLY FOCUS ON FAIRNESS, ACCOUNTABILITY, UH, CUSTOMER SERVICE, TEAMWORK, AND MOST OF ALL SAFETY.
UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU A BIT, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE FORWARD FACING AND SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
UH, EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE THREE THAT MAKE HOUSE CALLS, GARBAGE RECYCLING, UH, JUNK WASTE, BUT WE ALSO HAVE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO UTILIZE AND SIX THROUGHOUT THE CITIES.
AND THEN I BELIEVE WE ACTUALLY HAVE ABOUT FOUR OTHER, UH, RECYCLING DROPOFF, UH, FACILITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, SOME OF THE AUXILIARY SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE THAT DON'T GET AS MUCH RECOGNITION, UH, SUCH AS THE, THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT SERVICES.
WE'RE ACTUALLY PART OF THAT WRAPAROUND SERVICE.
SO AS, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER HAS LAUNCHED THAT INITIATIVE TO REALLY ADDRESS THE HOMELESS ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, JUST KNOW THAT THE SOLID WASTE TEAM IS BACK THERE CLEANING THE GROUNDS, YOU KNOW, REDUCING THE SPREAD OF HEPATITIS A, UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE COMMON AIRBORNE, UH, CONCERNS THAT OFTEN RESULT, UH, FROM SOME OF THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT SITES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO ALSO JUST KIND OF PUT UP FOR NUMBERS PURPOSES, KIND OF WHAT THE BUDGETS ARE FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE LINES OF SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
UH, 10 MILLION, 10 PLUS MILLION FOR GARBAGE.
UH, ABOUT SIX FOR RECYCLING HEAVY TREE WASTE, WHICH IS, UH, A, A BIG PORTION OF WHAT WE DO, ABOUT 13 MILLION DEPOSITORIES TOO.
AND THEN YOU SEE, UH, WE DO, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES, LITTER, HOMELESS ABATEMENT FOR UNDER A MILLION DOLLARS.
I WANT TO GET IN AND AND REALLY DISCUSS, UH, SOME OF THE STRESSORS AND WHY WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THE DELAYED SERVICES THAT WE ARE, ARE DEALING WITH.
UM, IT'S NO SECRET, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A STRESS SYSTEM.
UH, FOR A WHILE WE WERE ACTUALLY RUNNING PRETTY GOOD.
UH, I WOULD SAY BETWEEN THE MONTHS OF, UH, JANUARY AND MAYBE RIGHT AROUND APRIL, MAY, YOU KNOW, SERVICES WERE PRETTY GOOD.
I WAS RECEIVING A LOT OF COMPLIMENTS FROM EVERYONE.
THE TEAM SOLID WASTE TEAM WAS RECEIVING A LOT OF COMPLIMENTS FROM EVERYONE.
HEY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING OUR GARBAGE AND RECYCLING PICKED UP AT THE SAME TIME.
BUT BEHIND EVERY ONE OF THOSE COMPLIMENTS, I'VE ALWAYS ADVISED PEOPLE, WE'RE NOT OUTTA THE WOODS YET.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST ONE INJECT AWAY FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO, UH, FROM GETTING KNOCKED OFF WHAT OUR, OUR CORE WEEKLY SERVICES ARE.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED? STORMS CAME, YOU KNOW, WE GOT OUR LITTLE APPETIZER WITH THE KINGWOOD FLOODS, NO BIG DEAL.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE ABLE TO RECOVER IN ENOUGH TIME, BUT THEN UNFORTUNATELY, DURIO CAME AND THAT PRODUCED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL WORK THAT WE WEREN'T PREPARED TO HANDLE.
WE, WE WERE PREPARED TO HANDLE IT, BUT THE AMOUNT OF WORK ACTUALLY EXCEEDED THE DEPARTMENT'S CAPACITY TO DELIVER THOSE SERVICES THAT PEOPLE WERE ACCUSTOMED TO.
THEREFORE, WE CALLED IN CONTRACTORS, EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS WERE, WERE, UH, ISSUED AND WE CALLED IN OUR CONTRACTORS.
AND IN FACT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DOING SO WELL.
I WAS READY TO, FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO GET SOME RECOGNITION.
WE PROJECTED WE WOULD BE DONE IN 60 DAYS.
WE WERE RIGHT THERE ON THE, ON THE, ON THE CUSP OF COMPLETING IN 60 DAYS.
YOU KNOW, NOW IT'S THE ENTIRE CITY THAT'S AFFECTED.
SO NOW WE'VE BEEN KNOCKED OFF OUR, OUR, OUR COURSE.
AGAIN, THOSE STRESSORS WHEN THEY HIT OUR SYSTEM, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'VE GOTTA BUILD MORE REDUNDANCY, MORE RESILIENCY IN OUR SYSTEM SO THAT WHEN WE GET HIT WITH THOSE STORMS, THOSE UNANTICIPATED EVENTS, WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES AS SCHEDULED.
UM, WHEN THAT DOES HAPPEN, THERE'S SOME OTHER VARIABLES THAT COME INTO PLAY AS WELL.
UM, WHEN OUR VACANCY RATE EXCEEDS 15%, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN, THAT CAN BE A PROBLEM.
THAT COULD BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR AN ALREADY STRESSED SYSTEM.
UH, WHEN OUR VEHICLE AVAILABILITY RATE DROPS BELOW 80 OR 85%, THAT'S ALSO GONNA HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON WHAT WE DO, HOW WE PROVIDE SERVICE IN THE TIME, UH, MANNER THAT WE CAN DELIVER THOSE SERVICES TO.
ALSO, HOLIDAYS ARE STARTING TO AFFECT US AS WELL AS THE POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW, AS OUR NUMBER OF UNITS THAT WE CONTINUE TO SERVICE, UH, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE OBLIGATED TO SERVICE CONTINUES TO GROW.
THE HOLIDAYS THAT COME IN AND, UH, WILL ALSO AFFECT THE SERVICE DELIVERY AND OUR, OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE THOSE
[00:10:01]
SCHEDULED SERVICES IN A TIMELY MANNER.UH, LET'S GO BACK TO CHRISTMAS.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAD TO, WHAT I CATEGORIZE AS FURLOUGH COLLECTION DAYS FOR RECYCLING.
AND WE GET OUT, WE COMMUNICATE, WE PUSH IT IN THE NEWSPAPERS, WE PUSH IT, SOCIAL MEDIA, INTERNET, UH, I'VE EVEN BEEN ON RADIO STATIONS, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT WHY WE HAVE TO DELAY THOSE SERVICES.
UH, IF WE DON'T TAKE THE MEASURES THAT WE, WE HAVE TAKEN, WE WILL CONTINUE.
THOSE CREWS WILL CONTINUE TO RUN BEHIND ON RECYCLING, NOT THROUGHOUT DECEMBER, NOT THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JANUARY, BUT THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY, BECAUSE WHEN WE GO A DAY BEHIND AND THEY HAVE TO GO AND WORK SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, THEY'RE STILL NOT CAUGHT UP THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
THEY'RE STILL WORKING ON THE PREVIOUS WEEK.
NOW YOU COME INTO JANUARY 1ST, THE NEW YEAR, THAT'S ANOTHER HOLIDAY.
WE HAVE TO STOP, TAKE THE BREAK THAT PUSHES THEM FURTHER BEHIND WORK.
TWO MORE WEEKS COME INTO MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY, THEY HAVE TO STOP AGAIN.
AND THAT PUSHES THAT SCHEDULE FURTHER BEHIND.
THE ONLY WAY TO ADDRESS THAT IS TO CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS THAT WE'RE WORKING NOW WITH THE ADMINISTRATION TO DO, IS TO RIGHTSIZE THE ORGANIZATION SO THAT IT COMPLIMENTS THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OR ADDITIONAL UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO OUR PORTFOLIO OVER THE YEARS, RIGHT? IT'S JUST A PART OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION.
SO SINCE, UM, JUST RAN SOME NUMBERS WORKING WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND WHAT I'VE COME TO REALIZE IS THAT SINCE 2015 AND 2015 IS SIGNIFICANT TO ME BECAUSE FOR THE DEPARTMENT, THAT'S WHEN THEY WENT CITYWIDE RECYCLING.
SINCE 2015, WE'VE ADDED ABOUT 51,000 NEW HOUSEHOLDS, AND THAT'S JUST THROUGH 2023.
WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT OUR BUDGET HASN'T INCREASED, IT CERTAINLY HAS, BUT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THAT BUDGET.
SO IT'S MORE COMPLIMENTARY TO THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE EXPERIENCING THOSE DELAYS.
THERE WILL COME A MOMENT WHERE WE CATCH UP.
HOWEVER, IF WE GET HIT WITH AN UNANTICIPATED EVENT, WE'RE RIGHT BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
WE'RE WE'RE JUST THAT FRAGILE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, KIND OF WHAT I MEAN, AND, AND WHAT I SEE AS I KIND OF LOOK THROUGH OUR NUMBERS.
UH, JUST LOOKING AT SOME OF THE STATS THAT WE PROVIDE.
YOU LOOK AT HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION, WHICH IS, UH, THE HOT ITEMS RIGHT NOW.
WE'LL LOOK AT HEAVY TRASH AND CURBSIDE RECYCLING.
WHAT WE LITERALLY HAVE CAPACITY RIGHT NOW IS FOR ABOUT 30,000 TONS A MONTH, RIGHT? THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
30,000 TONS A MONTH THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY, UM, ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT A HUNDRED, 1,520 TONS A DAY.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING ARE NUMBERS EXCEED 40,000 TONS A MONTH.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE COMPLETE, OR WHEN WE REACH THE END OF THE MONTH, WE'RE SO FAR BEHIND THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH TO COLLECT THAT DEBRIS.
SO THAT MEANS OUR NUMBERS ARE HIKING NORTH WITH OF 40,000 TONS.
WHAT'S THE RESULT? DELAYS, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO SEEING, UH, WHAT I KINDA CALCULATED IS ABOUT AT LEAST A 30% INCREASE IN PARTICIPATION.
UH, WE ASK PEOPLE NOT PLACE, UH, UH, DEBRIS OR ITEMS OUT THAT EXCEED, UH, EIGHT CUBIC YARDS IN VOLUMES, BUT WE'RE CONSTANTLY SEEING THOSE LIMITS SUCCEEDED.
SOME KNUCKLEHEAD DECIDES TO GO OUT AND TRASH SOMEBODY'S NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.
NOW WE HAVE TO PULL THOSE CREWS OFF OF THAT ROUTE AND GO ADDRESS THIS HAZARD.
YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S NOW BEEN PLACED IN SOMEONE'S COMMUNITY.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ADDRESS, BASED ON OUR STAFFING, BASED ON OUR EQUIPMENT, ABOUT 72,000 TONS PER YEAR.
THE KEY IS WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT FOUR DAYS A WEEK.
PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET OUR COLLECTION DAYS ARE MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY.
HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE ADDITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED, THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE DEPARTMENT AND US, THE THE CITY OVER THE YEARS, THIS IS NOT JUST A, A ONE YEAR THING OR FOUR YEAR THING OVER THE YEARS NOT KEEPING, UH, HAVING THE COMPLIMENTARY, UH, INCREASE IN RESOURCES.
THE DEPARTMENT HAS TO WORK SIX DAYS PER WEEK AND COLLECT ABOUT 192 TONS A DAY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT EQUATE TO? YOU LOOK AT ABOUT A, A A 50% DECREASE IN EFFICIENCY JUST TO PROVIDE A SERVICE THAT WE SHOULD BE PROVIDING FOUR DAYS A WEEK.
AND, UH, AND, AND WE STILL CONTINUE TO SEE AN INCREASE IN TONS COLLECTED ADDITIONAL O AND M EXPENSES.
AND THEN FOR YOU ALL, ADDITIONAL PHONE CALLS FROM FRUSTRATED
[00:15:01]
RESIDENTS, RIGHT? LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.SO WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THOSE SERVICES? SO I WANT TO THANK MAYOR WHITMEYER AND THE ADMINISTRATION, AND, AND I'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, BUT I DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE I DO IT PUBLICLY AS MUCH AS I CAN, BECAUSE WE HAD RECENTLY HAD AN INJECT OF ABOUT $3.5 MILLION TO OUR OPERATION.
YOU KNOW, NOW IF YOU GIMME 40 MILLION, WE COULD REALLY MAKE SOME THINGS HAPPEN,
OKAY? BUT LET'S LOOK AT WHAT 3.5 MILLION HAS DONE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE DELAYS, UH, IN OUR HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION PROGRAM BEFORE YOU, BEFORE YOU, NOW YOU SEE A MAP.
THIS IS A MAP THAT WE ACTUALLY WANNA START MAKING PUBLIC.
THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE STORM DEBRIS TRACKING MAP THAT WE, WE HAD WHEN WE WERE MANAGING THE STORMS. THE BROWN INDICATES ALL THE ROUTES THAT WE'VE COMPLETED.
THE PURPLE INDICATES WHERE OUR CONTRACTORS ARE WORKING AT.
YOU CAN SEE NOW THERE'S NOT MUCH PURPLE DOWN THERE IN THAT SOUTHWEST QUADRANT.
AND WE SELECTED THAT AREA BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS THE AREA THAT HAD BEEN, THAT WAS THE MOST STRESS FOR OUR SYSTEM.
ALTHOUGH YOU DON'T SEE MUCH PURPLE DOWN THERE.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS AN ADDITIONAL 40 ROUTES THAT ARE BEING COLLECTED BETWEEN JANUARY AND TODAY THAT'S SIGNIFICANT FOR THIS DEPARTMENT.
YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WE SAW, I BELIEVE IT WAS WESTBURY THAT WAS DOWN DOWN HERE, AND THEY WERE EXPRESSING THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION.
AND I BELIEVE THEY SAID THEY WERE A COMMUNITY OF SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 1500 TO 2000.
THIS IS WHAT A SMALL BUSINESS, SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS HERE, YOU KNOW, WHO, UH, WHO'S COMMITTED TO THE INDUSTRY, LOVES THE CITY.
THEY REALLY WANNA SEE THE SEC CITY SUCCEED.
AND, UM, AND THEY, THEY'RE PRODUCING THE FAVORABLE RESULTS.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY'VE BEEN IN.
SO EVERY DAY WE GET A REPORT FROM THE CONTRACTOR THAT SAYS, HEY, I'M FINISHED WITH THIS ROUTE.
I'M GOING OVER TO THE NEXT ONE.
NOW, BY US UTILIZING THIS INTERACTIVE MAP, I CAN ACTUALLY TELL WHERE YOUR COMPLAINTS ARE COMING FROM, RIGHT? SO EVEN JUST LOOKING AT THE, THE GEOGRAPHY OF THIS MAP RIGHT NOW, I PREDICT THAT UNLESS WE TAKE SOME SORT OF ADDITIONAL MEASURES, OUR NEXT SERIES OF COMPLAINTS WILL COME FROM DISTRICT A, BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEE THAT AREA SHADED.
AND WE'RE GOING INTO THE FOURTH WEEK, AND WE'RE NOT PROJECTED TO COMPLETE OUR ROUTES IN TIME.
SO DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE JUST GONNA SIT UP THERE AND LET IT HAPPEN.
IT MEANS WE'RE GONNA SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE RESOURCES THAT THE ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE AVAILABLE TO US.
YOU WILL SEE THAT PURPLE SHIFT UP NORTH BECAUSE OUR SOUTHWEST QUADRANT IS JUST ABOUT COMPLETE.
IN FACT, BY THE END OF THE WEEK, WE EXPECT, UH, TO MAKE CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS, AND THEN WE'LL START SHIFTING THOSE RESOURCES UP NORTH.
UH, HOPEFULLY BY THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY, WE WILL BE CAUGHT UP, AND THEN WE'LL ONLY BE MAYBE A COUPLE OF DAYS BEHIND, AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET BACK ON OUR NORMAL HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION SCHEDULES.
BUT AS YOU SEE THESE POLYGONS FILL IN, I SEE THE COMPLAINTS COME DOWN AND YOUR CALL VOLUME GOES DOWN IN THOSE AREAS.
SO JUST KNOW OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THIS PUBLIC, USE THIS AS AN INTERACTIVE TOOL SO THAT FOLKS CAN, CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
UH, TALKING TO SOME OF OUR, OUR COUNTERPARTS AND OUR PARTNERS AT THE CALL CENTER YESTERDAY, THEY NEED ANSWERS.
SO THAT'S BEEN MY COMMITMENT TO MY STAFF, UH, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, IS WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE BETTER.
I THINK FOLKS GENUINELY UNDERSTAND THAT OUR SYSTEM IS STRESS.
THEY JUST WANT TO KNOW WHEN WE'RE COMING, RIGHT? AND I, I BELIEVE THAT WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE IN OUR DEPARTMENT, FOLKS SITTING BEHIND ME AND THOSE WHO AREN'T HERE TODAY, WE HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT TECHNICAL LANGUAGE AND BREAK IT DOWN SO THAT THE EVERYDAY RESIDENT CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE GOING.
SO, UH, MAYBE IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE THIS INTERACTIVE TOOL ONLINE SO THAT RESIDENTS CAN NOT ONLY SEE WHERE WE'RE WORKING AT, THEY CAN ALSO SEE WHERE WE WILL BE OVER THE NEXT TWO OR THREE DAYS, AND THEN WHERE WE PLAN TO GO IF WE'RE NOT IN THEIR AREA YET.
SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE ON.
I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT INCREASING THE COMMUNICATION.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING OUT TO, YOU'LL SEE US BEING MORE VISIBLE AT YOUR, UH, COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
I BELIEVE WE WERE JUST WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON, UH, THIS PAST SATURDAY.
SO, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT BECAUSE WE NEED THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.
NOW, LET ME TELL YOU, WHEN I'M OUT AT, AT SOME OF THESE MEETINGS, UH, MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT I ENCOUNTER, THAT I INTERACT WITH OR THAT ARE IN THAT AUDIENCE, THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON.
[00:20:01]
SO THEY, THEY UNDERSTAND THE PATH TO SUCCESS AS WELL.UM, WE'RE ALSO STARTING TO LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, YOU KNOW, OUR POWER OF THAT.
UH, WE JUST HIRED ON A NEW COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, MS. LEGGE.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA GET A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE IN THAT SPACE, UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL SO THAT WE CAN MEET RESIDENTS WHERE THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME AT.
YOU'LL SEE THE, THE ILLUSTRATION IF YOU GO ON, I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU'ALL TO GO ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE BIT AND LOOK AT THAT VIDEO THAT I PUT UP THERE.
YOU NOT ONLY GET TO SEE MY BEAUTIFUL FACE UP THERE, BUT YOU GET TO SEE HOW AGGRESSIVE WE ARE GETTING TOWARDS ILLEGAL DUMPING, WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAVE PEOPLE WITH, WITH NO REGARDS, NO RESPECT, PULL OVER, DUMP THE STUFF RIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BROAD DAYLIGHT WITH CARS ROLLING BY AND EVERYTHING.
AND SO WE, WE GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE, YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED AT WHAT SOME OF THE YOUNG FOLKS WERE DOING AND SHOT A LITTLE VIDEO, PUT THE, UH, CRIME STOPPERS NUMBER IN THERE, POLICE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES UNIT NUMBER IN THERE.
AND LET'S TRY TO BRING THESE FOLKS TO JUSTICE.
SO THIS PARTICULAR ILLUSTRATION THAT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING NOW, UH, THE SAME FOLKS HAVE BEEN BACK TO THAT AREA, SO I HOPE THEY'RE LISTENING BECAUSE THE CONSTABLE'S OFFICE IS NOW GONNA BE ENGAGED AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY OUT THERE ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR THAT BLACK PICKUP TRUCK.
SO, UM, SO KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF WORKING USING SOME OF THESE TOOLS TO ENHANCE OUR APPROACH AND OUR OUTREACH.
UH, ENHANCE LOGISTICAL MANAGEMENT.
UH, THE DAY THAT I STARTED HERE, THE COUNCIL, UH, APPROVED THE DEPARTMENT TO UTILIZE RUBICON ROUTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
IT'S BEEN A GAME CHANGER FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE STILL, UH, I BELIEVE WHEN I GOT HERE, IT'S EASY TO INSTALL THE PROGRAM, BUT THE USAGE AT OUR FRONT LINE WAS ONLY ABOUT 20%.
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH THAT.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO UTILIZE THOSE TOOLS TO HELP IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR ROUTING, AND THEN ALSO FIND WAYS, INNOVATIVE WAYS TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAVE RAPID RESPONSE VEHICLES NOW TRYING TO GET A LITTLE BIT SMARTER WITH HOW WE UTILIZE THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCIES.
AND I'LL GET INTO THAT IN IN A FEW MINUTES.
UH, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SOME ADDITIONAL THINGS WE'RE, WE TALKED ABOUT DEPLOYING THE, UH, THE RAPID RESPONSE ITEMS, BUT ALSO WE, WE HAVE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE SEEING THROUGH CONTRACT MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE WAIT TIMES WITHIN OUR OWN INFRASTRUCTURE.
WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW FOR OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM? A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, WELL, WHY IS RECYCLING ALWAYS DELAYED? YOU KNOW, IT WAS GETTING BETTER, BUT IT'S STILL NOT 100%.
HOWEVER, FOLKS, THE NAME OF THE GAME IS LOGISTICS.
OUR COMMODITY THAT WE MOVE IS GARBAGE.
IF I HAVE A ROUTE DOWN IN ALE AND THEY HAVE TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY OVER TO THE NORTHEAST QUADRANT TO DUMP OUT ONE LOAD AND THEN DRIVE BACK, THAT'S GONNA AFFECT SERVICE DELIVERY AT THE FRONT LINE.
WE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
WE'VE GOTTA UTILIZE OUR RESOURCES.
WE'VE GOTTA LOOK AT THE AVAILABLE PROPERTY THAT WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE CITY, FIND MEANINGFUL WAYS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR LOGISTICS SO THAT IF THERE ARE TEAMS ARE DOWN IN ALE, THEY CAN DRIVE UP FIVE MINUTES, DUMP OUT, GO BACK, DELIVER THAT SERVICE, AND PROVIDE AND FINISH THAT ROUTE ON A SCHEDULED DAY.
ALRIGHT? SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT OUR CONTRACTORS TOO.
I'M SEEING SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUR SUPPORTING CONTRACTORS.
SO OUR TEAM AND I, WERE ACTUALLY GONNA GET DOWN AND DIRTY TOMORROW.
WE'RE GONNA GO AROUND AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT, AT ALL OF OUR TRANSFER STATIONS.
IF YOU EVER BEEN IN A TRANSFER STATION, IT'S NOT THE PLACE YOU WANNA SMELL, BUT FOR ME, IT'S THE SMELL OF BILLS BEING PAID, RIGHT? BUT THERE'S, THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO IMPROVE OUR THROUGHPUT, OUR FLOW THROUGH THAT, THAT THAT FACILITY, IF YOU TALK TO OUR DRIVERS, THEIR NUMBER ONE COMPLAINT IS THAT SOMETIMES THEY HAVE TO WAIT UP TO TWO HOURS, SOMETIMES THREE, IF THEY GET CAUGHT BY A TRAIN JUST TO DUMP OUT ONE LOAD, WHAT DOES THAT EQUATE TO? DELAYED SERVICES? WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, UH, DIRECTOR JESSE BOUNDS.
HE'S BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN WORKING WITH US ON HELPING ADDRESS ILLEGAL DUMPING.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WHENEVER WE ENCOUNTER ILLEGAL DUMPING, THAT PULLS US OFF.
AGAIN, WE'RE A STRESS DEPARTMENT.
SO NOW WHEN YOU CALL AND YOU TELL ME THAT SOMEBODY DUMPED SOME, UH, 20 CUBIC YARDS OF DEBRIS BEHIND THE JACK IN THE BOX IN THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT, WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME IS WE'VE GOTTA PULL THREE OR FOUR TRACTOR TRAILERS OFF ROUTE THAT SHOULD BE COLLECTING, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, GO PICK THAT UP AND THEN STILL TRY TO MAINTAIN AN ON TIME SERVICE DELIVERY RATE.
IT'S NOT GONNA HAVE, IT'S ALWAYS GONNA IMPACT WHAT WE DO.
SO WE'RE IMPROVING THE, THE CODE ENFORCEMENT.
LAST YEAR OR YEAR BEFORE LAST, WE WERE,
[00:25:01]
WE WERE GRANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVOLVE CODE ENFORCEMENTS, A ACTUALLY SOLID WASTE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN OUR DEPARTMENT.AND THEY ARE GROWING AND WE'RE SEEING THE RESULTS OF, UH, OF THEM BEING ON BOARD WITH US.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO FOCUSING ON EDUCATION.
AGAIN, COMMUNICATIONS, OUTREACH, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, REALLY GET OUT AND EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT OUR SERVICES.
I JUST WANTED TO KINDA SHARE A CASE STUDY WITH YOU.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
WHAT YOU SEE RIGHT HERE IS, UH, STORE DISTRICT B ON CRANE STREET, DRIVING THROUGH.
NOTICE THAT THEY PUT UP ALL THIS YARD WASTE OR ALL THIS HEAVY TREE WASTE OUT IN THE DITCH.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THE PICTURE? WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR COLLECTING THAT.
OUR FOCUS IS ON RESIDENTIAL, NOT COMMERCIAL.
WE HAD A CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER GO OUT AND VISIT THE LOCATION, TALK TO THE RESIDENT, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET, OR I'M SORRY, TALK TO THE STORE OWNER, THE COMMERCIAL STORE OWNER.
AND YOU SEE THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PICTURE STORE OWNER TOOK THE APPROPRIATE ACTION, HIRED A COMPANY TO COME OUT AND LOAD THAT DEBRIS UP.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS IS CRANE STREET AS COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON KNOWS PRETTY LONG STREET HOMES THAT LOOK FOR THIS SERVICE.
IF WE HAVE TO STOP AND ADDRESS THAT, THEN WE'VE JUST ROBBED TIME OF THE RESIDENTS ON THAT STREET.
SO AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO REALLY INCREASE THE PRESENCE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
NOT TO NECESSARILY GO OUT AND START FINDING EVERYBODY, BUT BRING ABOUT CORRECTION AT THE LOWEST LEVEL.
I KIND OF GOT AHEAD OF MYSELF A LITTLE BIT.
I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THE INTERACTIVE MAP THAT WE HAVE OUT THAT'S COMING ON.
SO, UM, THAT'LL BE COMING SOON.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE THAT AVAILABLE WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK.
IT'LL HAVE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE IT AS WELL AS SOME INTERPRETATIONS ON THE, UH, ON THE LINGO AND, AND SOME OF THE WORDS THAT WE USE TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS IT.
SO, AGAIN, SOME OF OUR, OUR KEY CHALLENGES AND, AND SOME SOLUTIONS.
I DON'T BELIEVE IN JUST SITTING UP HERE TALKING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS, BUT ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE WITH THE SOLUTIONS AS WELL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THE ILLUSTRATION, THE CURRENT ILLUSTRATION UP TOP WITH THE BUDGET.
YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE TRENDING AT ABOUT $107 MILLION, UH, FOR THE YEAR.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, WHERE YOUR DIRECTOR WANTS US TO BE.
IT'S PROBABLY AT ABOUT 140 MILLION, YOU KNOW, TO OCCUPY ABOUT 5% OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
WHAT DOES 40 MILLION DO? ADDITIONAL 40 MILLION.
WELL, EARLIER DURING THE PRESENTATION I EXPLAINED TO YOU THAT 3.5 IS GREAT, AND YOU SAW WHAT THAT DID, RIGHT? YOU SAW THE PURPLE ON THERE.
IF WE HAD 40 MILLION, WE CAN COVER THE CITY FROM HEAD TO TOE, AND IT ALL DOESN'T GO THERE EITHER.
IT ALSO HELPS US EITHER RIGHT SIZE THROUGH RESOURCES, EMPLOYEES AND EQUIPMENT, OR DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHERS SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE AREAS OF SERVICE DELIVERIES THAT WE'RE LAGGING IN AND GET 'EM ON TIME, GET THOSE SERVICES, UH, TO BE DELIVERED ON TIME.
STAFFING, WE HAD 489 BUDGETED POSITIONS.
UH, WHEN I ARRIVED, UH, THREE YEARS AGO, OUR VACANCY RATE WAS ABOUT 26, 20 7%.
WE WERE MISSING UP TO ONE POINT 60 TO 65 DRIVERS.
YESTERDAY, WE'RE AT ABOUT 10%.
SOMETIMES IT MAY FLUCTUATE 11 OR 12, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO GET TO FIVE TO SEVEN.
HOWEVER, MY CONCERN IS THAT EVEN IF WE GET BELOW FIVE OR SEVEN, WE STILL DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO MEET THE DEMAND.
IT MAY FEEL GOOD, BUT JUST KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT ALL THE WAY THERE YET.
EQUIPMENT, WE'VE GOTTA REDUCE THE STRESS ON OUR EQUIPMENT, JUST LIKE WE HAVE TO BE CONSCIENTIOUS OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE ALSO NEED TO BE CONSCIENTIOUS OF THE EQUIPMENT.
THE AUTOMATED ARM IS REALLY DESIGNED TO MAKE 900 LIFTS A DAY.
ANYTIME WE START PUTTING ADDITIONAL HOMES ON THERE, WE GET UP TO 13, 1400, WHICH IS WHERE WE CAN FIND OURSELVES AT.
YOU'RE PUTTING ADDITIONAL STRESS, YOU'RE, YOU'RE EXPEDITING THE LIFECYCLE OF THAT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.
SOLUTION EASY INCREASE THE EQUIPMENT.
I KNOW IT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE, BUT WE EITHER HAVE TO INCREASE THE EQUIPMENT OR WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO REDUCE THE CITY SCOPE OF SERVICES AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PARTNERSHIPS THAT MAY BE OUT, UH, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO HELP US ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD BUDGET INCREASES.
AND IN FACT, THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE TODAY IS THE HIGHEST I BELIEVE THAT HAS EVER BEEN IN THE DEPARTMENT'S HISTORY.
HOWEVER, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND THERE SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINES, LONG BEFORE MARK WILLOCK CAME HERE, WE WERE ALREADY BELOW WHATEVER THE CASES MAY HAVE BEEN.
SO THE INCREASES THAT WE GET RIGHT NOW ARE THE INCREASES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE.
IT'S LIKE MAKING A MINIMUM PAYMENT AND YOU ALREADY OVERDUE
[00:30:01]
ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, RIGHT? SO WE GOTTA FIND SOME, SOME CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO, TO REDUCE THAT GAP.I ALSO WANT TO, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR LISTENING TO US TODAY, BUT I WANNA RECOGNIZE PARKS AND REC AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
PUBLIC WORKS IS ACTUALLY OUT WITH US RIGHT NOW ADDRESSING SOME SRSS BECAUSE OUR TEAM IS FOCUSING SO MUCH ON CATCHING UP ON HEAVY TRASH.
SO I DEFINITELY WANNA RECOGNIZE THEM.
AND THEN PARKS AND REC, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO HANG OUT WITH SOME OF THEM AT SOME COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND, AND TALK TO DIRECTOR ALLEN, I LEARNED THAT THEY ACTUALLY TAKE, REDUCE OUR SCOPE OF WORK.
AND WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? SOME OF THE MEDIANS THAT YOU SEE IN YOUR AREAS AND YOU SEE SOMETHING IN THERE.
A LOT OF TIMES THAT'S PARKS AND RECS BECAUSE WE'RE OVER IN ANOTHER AREA OF THE CITY.
BUT AS THEY COME THROUGH AND THEY TREAT THOSE MEDIANS, THEIR JOB IS ALSO TO REMOVE THE DEBRIS WITHIN THOSE MEDIAS.
SO I DEFINITELY WANT TO THANK THOSE PARTNERS IN THERE, UH, FOR THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT SOME OTHER AREAS, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE SYSTEM, BUT THERE, THERE'S SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES, BUT WE'RE REALLY KIND OF FOCUSING ON THE ONES THAT WE CAN GET THE BIGGEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK FOR.
SO WITH THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
BE HAPPY TO ADDRESS AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE HAVE SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS, BUT BEFORE WE GO TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, WE'VE BEEN JOINED IN CHAMBERS, UM, BY COUNCIL MEMBER, VICE CHAIR RAMIREZ, UM, ALSO ONLINE.
WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE GONNA TURN IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER PECK.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, FIRST YOU MENTIONED THAT THE, UM, COMPLAINTS ARE ABOUT TO COME FROM DISTRICT A YES.
UM, I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN ALWAYS EXPECT THAT EVERY TIME THAT THERE'S A DELAY BECAUSE MOST OF DISTRICT A IS FOURTH WEEK PICKUP.
AND SO EVERY SINGLE TIME THERE'S A DELAY DISTRICT A GETS EITHER MISSED OR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT PICKED UP FOR, UM, WE'RE DELAYED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO LOOK AT THOSE ROUTES AGAIN.
I KNOW SOMEONE HAS TO GO LAST, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S FINE IF IT'S DISTRICT A, BUT WHEN WE PLAY CATCH UP MM-HMM
WE NEED TO CONSIDER THAT DISTRICT A SOMETIMES GOES MONTHS THEN WITHOUT THAT HEAVY TRASH PICKUP BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY SO FAR BEHIND BY THE TIME THEY GET TO FOURTH WEEK PICKUP.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO, TO LOOK AT THOSE ROUTES AGAIN, WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
UM, WHEN YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS, UM, AND I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT IS KEY BECAUSE PEOPLE CALL 3 1 1 AND THEY'RE TOLD SOMETHING, RIGHT? THEY LOOK AT THE PRESS RELEASE OR THE CITY'S WEBSITE OR SOCIAL MEDIA.
IT SAYS SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
AND THEN THE APP SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN BOTH OF THOSE AS WELL.
IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE APP RIGHT NOW, UM, IT SAYS THAT, UM, I ALREADY KNOW, I KNOW IT SAYS TREE WASTE AND YARD WASTE.
I KNOW, UM, IS SUSPENDED FOR THE MONTH.
BUT THEN WHEN YOU SCROLL DOWN IT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, FEBRUARY 7TH TREE WASTE.
SO IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT EVEN ACCURATE.
PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING.
EVERYONE ON MY STREET HAS HAD RECYCLING CANS OUT FOR TWO WEEKS NOW BECAUSE NO ONE KNEW THAT IT WAS SUSPENDED.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME MESSAGING, I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE ARE UNDERSTANDING AS LONG AS THEY KNOW WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PUT IT OUT.
SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE, UM, THE WEBSITE MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, GETTING, GETTING YEAH.
BE INTERACTION A LITTLE BIT MORE COMMUNICATION ON WHEN THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT CONTRACTORS AND I THINK YOU SHOWED THAT IT'S WORKING, IT'S HELPFUL.
WE USED TO HAVE CONTRACTORS IN DISTRICT A TO SUPPLEMENT HEAVY TRASH PICKUP AND THAT WAS SUSPENDED.
UM, YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS NOT LET US HIRE MORE CONTRACTORS.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HELP WITH THAT UNTIL WE CAN GET CONTRACTORS IN DISTRICT A.
I KNOW WE CAN'T PICK UP EVERYTHING WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR SERVICE FUNDS, BUT IT WAS AT LEAST HELPFUL WHEN PEOPLE WERE MISSED OR GETTING TO CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, MORE TIMELY.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO START UP THAT CONTRACT AGAIN WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
THOSE ACTION ITEMS ARE DEFINITELY NOTED.
UH, I DO WANT TO, UH, ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BEING IN THAT FOURTH WEEK, OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE GONNA START FOCUSING IN ON DISTRICT A TWO BECAUSE WE'RE NOTICING SOME EVIDENCE OF ABUSE IN THERE WHERE, UH, THE TEAM WILL BE ROLLING ALONG FINE AND THEN HERE'S 20 CUBIC YARDS.
YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S NOT WHAT THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED FOR.
SO WE'LL CERTAINLY BE FOCUSING IN ON THAT.
I DO WANT TO, UH, APOLOGIZE ON, ON BEHALF OF, UH, OUR COMMUNICATIONS APP, HTX APP.
IT'S A VERY MANUAL APP THAT I DON'T THINK MEETS THE NEEDS OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S NOT A GOOD APPLICATION.
HOWEVER, I THINK IT'S BETTER FOR THOSE SER UH, FOR A SYSTEM THAT HAS A 90% OR BETTER ON TIME DELIVERY RATE.
A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU RECEIVE IN FROM THOSE
[00:35:01]
APPS HAVE BEEN POPULATED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.SO IF WE, AGAIN, IF WE GET HIT WITH AN INJECT AND UNEXPECTED WHATEVER STORM OR WHATEVER, IT'S OFF AND IT REQUIRES US TO MANUALLY GO IN AND YOU CAN ALREADY SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF STRETCHED ON ON OUR TALENT.
SO, UH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE EVALUATING THAT AS WELL.
AND WE CERTAINLY, UH, WILL LOOK INTO THAT, UH, UH, HOT TEAM FOR YOU AS WELL.
SO WE'VE HAD TO MAKE A FEW CHANGES, UH, ON OUR TEAM TO GET THE RESPONSES THAT WE NEED.
UH, SO WE'LL DEFINITELY BE ADDRESSING THAT TOO.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS.
UH, I WAS AT A MEETING LAST NIGHT, BRAD, WITH BRAD AND DISTRICT G.
THIS COMES UP IN ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I HAD A SLIDE UP ABOUT RECYCLING YOUR STAFF WAS VERY HELPFUL 'CAUSE THEY WANNA KNOW ABOUT IT.
UH, COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, TIME THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE IT ON TIME.
YOU'RE SAYING THAT THAT'S NOW UP TO 70% MM-HMM
IT'S, IT'S NOT, BUT 70% IS NOT A COMFORTABLE PLACE.
UM, I REALLY, UM, APPRECIATE THE, THE COLOR AROUND HOLIDAYS.
I DON'T WANNA MAKE PEOPLE WORK ON THE HOLIDAYS, BUT LIKE, WHAT ARE, IS THERE A WAY TO SOMEHOW LIKE, YOU KNOW, CHRISTMAS, YOU KNOW, SOME HOLIDAYS MAYBE WE PAY TIME AND A HALF OR DOUBLE OR WHATEVER WE HAVE TO DO.
SO WE DON'T CONSTANTLY, EVERY HOLIDAY, EVERY CITY HOLIDAY GET BEHIND.
UM, YOU SAID THE OPTIMUM STAFFING NUMBER WAS FIVE.
WHAT? FIVE? I WOULD SAY, IF MY MEMORY SERVES CORRECTLY, ABOUT 5 35, WE SHOULD BE IN THERE.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUAL PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE COLLECTING? OR IS THAT THE WHOLE STAFF OF SOLID BOOTH? THAT WOULD BE THE, THE WHOLE STAFF.
THE, BUT THE BULK OF THAT WOULD BE FOR OPERATIONS.
HOW, HOW MANY ARE IN OPERATIONS? UH, I WOULD SAY ABOUT 70% OF THAT NUMBER IS OPERATION.
AND YOU MENTIONED THAT ROUTES, UM, AND THE STRAIN, CERTAINLY NOT JUST ON THE WORKERS, BUT ON THE EQUIPMENT, UM, CORRECT.
WOULD, AND SOME ARE GOING 1300, 1400 HOMES.
IS THAT LIKE, WOULD YOU SAY HOW MANY ARE DOING THAT? IS THAT EVERYBODY DOING THAT? EVERYBODY KIND OF GETS THEIR FAIR SHARE AT IT, BECAUSE WHAT WILL END UP HAPPENING IS THEY WILL, GARBAGE IS ALWAYS GONNA BE THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE REFUSE IS TAKEN CARE OF FIRST.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU'LL ALWAYS SEE US WITH A 90% OR BETTER ON TIME DELIVERY RATE THERE.
BUT WHEN THEY FINISH THAT ROUTE, THEY'VE GOTTA GO AND ADDRESS THOSE RECYCLING ROUTES.
AND, AND IT SEEMS TO ME DURING YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HIRING THESE CONTRACTORS TO HELP OUT WITH MM-HMM
UM, YOU HAVE TO TAKE PEOPLE OFF ROUTE TO, TO GO GET ILLEGAL DUMPING.
IT FEELS LIKE, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO HAVE CONTRACTORS DOING THAT STUFF, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND YOU GUYS CONCENTRATE ON THE BASICS, RIGHT? AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT, YOU GUYS CONCENTRATE ON THE RECYCLING AND THE PICKUP AND THEN ALL THAT OTHER STUFF SOMEBODY ELSE NEEDS TO DO, IN MY OPINION.
BUT I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, GURU OF SOLID WASTE.
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS BURNS AND MCDONALD REPORT, BURNS AND MCDONALD'S WAS LOOKING AT BROAD OPERATIONS.
BURNS AND MCDONALD'S IS GONNA BE COMING UP SOON.
UH, WHEN I SAY WHEN BY SOON, I MEAN WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, UH, WE EXPECT TO HAVE OUR, OUR FIRST DRAFT COMPLETE.
OUR FIRST STOP, YOU KNOW, TO DISCUSS THAT IS GONNA BE WITH MAYOR WHITMEYER AND HIS TEAM.
AND THEN WE ACTUALLY WANT TO GET AROUND TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL AND, AND, UH, HAVE SOME DISCUSSIONS.
SO, I MEAN, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO SOMETHING BIG GUYS.
I MEAN, I'VE BEEN SITTING UP HERE WAY TOO LONG TO KEEP SAYING, OH, WELL THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY.
I CAN'T SAY THAT ANYMORE AT MEETINGS.
THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY BECAUSE WE'RE NOT PUTTING ENOUGH MONEY OVER THERE.
SO, HOWEVER WE HAVE TO DO THAT A FEE.
A A A DIS REDISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES DURING THE BUDGET.
WE CANNOT EXPECT YOU TO DO THIS JOB WHEN WE DO NOT GIVE YOU ENOUGH RESOURCES.
AND, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY, BUT I LOVE THE WAY YOU TALK TRASH
AND I, AND I ECHO MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO USE DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS TO CONTRACT, AND I KNOW I'VE TALKED TO YOUR OFFICE ABOUT MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, ABOUT CONTRACTING, UM, CONTRACTORS WITHIN THE DISTRICT TO HELP WITH PICKING UP THAT HEAVY TRASH, YOU KNOW, TO RELIEVE THAT LOAD THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE.
I THINK IT'LL BE BENEFICIAL TO US ALL BECAUSE DISTRICT B, AGAIN, LIKE ALL THE OTHER DISTRICTS, IS LIKE OVERWHELMED WITH, WITH TRASH, HEAVY TRASH.
JUST, JUST ONE THING, JUST FOR EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE, HEAVY TRASH PICKUP IS NOT CHEAP.
AND, AND IN FACT, WHEN I TALK TO MY COUNTERPARTS IN THE INDUSTRY, THE WASTE MANAGEMENT, THE, THE FOLKS WHO ARE IN THIS SPACE, THEY KIND OF LOOK AT US SIDEWAYS MM-HMM
SO IT'S NOT A CHEAP VENTURE TO TAKE UNDERTAKE.
CHAIR, I HAVE ONE MORE IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T MIND, GO AHEAD.
UH, WE HEAR A LOT OF TALK ABOUT PRIVATIZATION
[00:40:01]
MM-HMMPRIVATIZED THE SIDEWAYS DEPARTMENT.
UM, I'VE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT MANAGED COMPETITION, POSSIBLY, UH, GIVING A QUADRANT OR A SECTION TO A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, SEE HOW THAT WORKS.
WHAT, I'D JUST LIKE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO EVERY MUNICIPALITY IS UNIQUE, RIGHT? HOUSTON CERTAINLY IS.
IF IT WERE A SMALLER MUNICIPALITY, I WOULD SAY LET THE CITY HANDLE IT.
HOUSTON IS BIG ENOUGH WHERE WE NEED TO REALLY CONSIDER, OR WE COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM MANAGED COMPETITION.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE ME BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, UH, ACCEPTING THE INVITATION.
WHEN I HEAR THE REQUESTS COME UP FOR, UH, HEAVY TRASH TEAMS AND WHATNOT.
THE ONLY THING THAT I WILL FOCUS ON AND ENCOURAGE, UH, OTHERS WHO DECIDE TO GET INTO THAT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE HEAVY TRASH TEAMS ARE BEING EFFICIENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ IN CHAMBERS.
I'LL DEFER TO COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS, WHICH SHE'S HAVING ISSUES.
WELL THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION DIRECTOR.
UM, CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW MANY, UH, HOUSES WE, UH, SERVICE.
CAN YOU TELL ME THE NUMBER OF HOUSES WE SERVICE? YEAH.
WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SERVICING OVER 420,000 HOMES.
UH, WE DIRECTLY SERVICE RIGHT AT ABOUT 400,000.
THE PORTION THAT WE DON'T, THAT'S CONSIDERED OUR SPONSORSHIP SERVICE WHERE THOSE FOLKS HAVE ELECTED TO, YOU KNOW, SELECT THEIR OWN PRIVATE HAULER FOR SOLID WASTE SERVICES.
AND HOW MANY ROUTES DO WE HAVE? UH, YOU WOULD ASK ME THAT QUESTION AND IT JUST ESCAPED MY MIND.
IT'S GONNA BE ABOUT 90, 89 TO 90.
WE'RE TALKING JUST GARBAGE, JUST GARBAGE ROUTES.
89 TO 90, EVERYTHING ELSE GOES DOWN FROM THERE.
RECYCLING, WE'RE AT ABOUT 39 ESTABLISHED ROUTES.
UH, YARD WASTE, UH, LET'S SEE, EIGHT TIMES FOUR, ABOUT 32.
AND HEAVY TRASH DROPS DOWN SIX TO ABOUT 27.
BUT ON A, ON A WEEKLY BASIS, WE CAN PICK UP TRASH.
YOU'RE SAYING AT 400,000 HOMES IN HOUSTON, IS THAT RIGHT? YES, SIR.
AND THAT IS SPREAD OUT AMONG 89 TO 90 ROUTES, IS THAT RIGHT? YES.
AND SO WE CAN DIVIDE 400,000 BY 89 OR 90 AND ARRIVE AT THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOMES SERVICED PER ROUTE SOMEWHAT.
UM, THE WAY THAT NUMBER WILL MAKE MAY NOT GIVE YOU THE CORRECT OR ACCURATE UH, UH, RESULT.
IS THAT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT RIGHT SIZE OF THOSE ROUTES? THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS RUNNING WHEN THEY'RE SCHEDULED TO RUN.
HOW HAS THAT, HOW HAS THAT NUMBER 400,000 CHANGED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS? I WOULD SAY OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, IT'S GONE UP PROBABLY BY ABOUT 5,000, FIVE TO 6,000, UH, HOMES OR UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED ONLINE.
UH, BACK IN DECEMBER, I ASKED YOU FOR, FOR THIS INFORMATION AND UM, YOU, YOU TOLD ME YOU REALLY DIDN'T KEEP THOSE FIGURES IN HOUSE.
SO WE RELY ON THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOR OUR INFORMATION.
UM, WE DO HAVE A GIS COMPONENT, BUT REMEMBER, ONLY 25, 30% OF OUR STAFF IS DEDICATED TO THE ADMIN.
SO WE RELY ON SOME OF OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS FOR THAT LEVEL OF SUPPORT.
SO DOES, DOES PLANNING, UH, MAINTAIN YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION? YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS THE HOUSES WHERE YOU PICK UP TRASH? WELL, I DON'T THINK THEY MAINTAIN WHERE WE PICK UP TRASH.
THAT'S WHAT RUBICON SOME OF THESE, UM, LOGISTICAL, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ARE FOR.
SO WE CAN ALWAYS RELY ON THAT TO GET AN OVERALL ACCOUNT OF HOW MANY STOPS WE'RE MAKING PER DAY.
W WHY WOULD YOU TURN TO PLANNING FOR, FOR THIS INFORMATION? NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WE SERVE? BECAUSE IT HELPS US PROJECT OF WHERE WE NEED TO BE AND HOW WE NEED TO STAFF AND, UH, UH, HELPS US DETERMINE OUR LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA EXPECT.
FOR INSTANCE, UH, WELL, IF, IF I COULD, IF I COULD STOP YOU OH, AHEAD.
I'M, I'M, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN PROJECTIONS.
I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN LIKE, CURRENT FIGURES.
HOW MANY HOUSES ARE WE PICKING UP TRASH AT RIGHT NOW? RIGHT.
BUT LET'S FACE IT, THE CURRENT FIGURE CAN CHANGE.
THERE'S A HOUSE, THERE'S A NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT NOW WITH ONE HOUSE OUT THERE AND THEY'RE KNOCKING IT DOWN TO PUT THREE OF GOTCHA.
SO 400,000 AND THAT, THAT FIGURE IS MAINTAINED INTERNALLY AT SOLID WASTE OR BY PLANNING OR, OR BY WHO? SO THE NUMBER THAT I GAVE YOU EARLIER IS BASED ON PLANNING 400, 420,000.
WE MAINTAIN OUR, UH, WE USE OUR RUBICON ROUTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO EVALUATE THE NUMBER OF STOPS THAT WE'RE MAKING, THE NUMBER OF LIFTS THAT THE TRUCK IS, UH, PROVIDING
[00:45:01]
SERVICE AT AS WELL.AND DOES PUBLIC WORKS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT? BECAUSE YOU AND I, UH, WE HAD AN EMAIL CHAIN HERE MM-HMM
AND AT ONE POINT YOU MENTIONED PUBLIC WORKS AS WELL.
DOES PUBLIC WORKS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS? WELL, I MAY HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN.
I, I WAS LOOKING AT PUBLIC WORKS AS, OR AS A PLANNING DEPARTMENT AS BEING UNDER PUBLIC WORKS, BUT WE KIND OF FOCUS ON, ON THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOR THOSE NUMBERS.
IF I'M GONNA UTILIZE PUBLIC WORKS, I WOULD WANT TO LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF WATER ACCOUNTS OR UTILITY WATER ACCOUNTS THAT THEY HAVE.
AND EVEN THEN, I'M GONNA HAVE TO EVALUATE THOSE ACCOUNTS TO SEE WHICH ONES WE ACTUALLY SERVICE.
DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF DATABASE INTERNALLY THAT WOULD TELL YOU HOW MANY HOUSES YOU SERVE ON A, ON A WEEKLY BASIS? YES.
THAT WOULD BE OUR RUBICON ROUTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
AND DO YOU HAVE A WAY OF EXPORTING SOME DATA TO, TO SHARE WITH ME SURE.
THE EXACT NUMBER OF, OF HOMES THAT YOU SERVICE MM-HMM
AND, AND CAN YOU TRACK THAT HISTORICALLY AND TELL US WHAT WAS, WHAT WERE THE FIGURES IN IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS? YEAH.
HISTORICALLY, FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, IT'S GONNA BE CHALLENGING BECAUSE RUBICON WAS IMPLEMENTED WHEN I STARTED, FIRST DAY THAT I WAS SWORN IN, RUBICON WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
AND THAT WAS WHEN, SO I MAY BE ABLE TO GO BACK ABOUT TWO YEARS.
WELL, CAN YOU, CAN YOU DO THAT FOR ME? SURE.
I'D ASKED FOR THIS BACK IN DECEMBER.
CAN YOU GO BACK TWO YEARS AND, AND SHOW ME SOME HISTORICAL DATA ON HOW THAT NUMBER HAS CHANGED? ABSOLUTELY.
I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE, BUT WE'LL CERTAINLY PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.
AND, AND AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A REFERENCE TO NUMBER OF, UH, TRASH CANS PURCHASED MM-HMM
DO, DO YOU FEEL THAT'S AN INDICATOR OF, OF GROWTH OR IT COULD BE, BUT RIGHT NOW THIS SYSTEM HAS A PRETTY GOOD FEEL ON HOW MANY CONTAINERS THEY NEED TO ORDER PER YEAR VERSUS WHAT THEIR BURN RATE IS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD GRIP ON THAT.
UH, I BELIEVE THEY PROBABLY ORDER MAYBE 20, 30, 40,000 A YEAR.
AND THAT USUALLY HOLDS THE DEPARTMENT AND, AND IS ABLE TO MEET THE CUSTOMER DEMAND.
AND SOME OF THOSE ARE BECAUSE THE TRASH CANS JUST GET WORN OUT.
UH, SOME, THEY HAVE A 10 YEAR LIFECYCLE ON 'EM.
MOST OF 'EM HAVE A 10 YEAR WARRANTY.
AND YEAH, THEY GET BEAT UP PRETTY BAD.
SOME OF THEM GET DROPPED INTO THE, INTO THE TRUCK AND GET CARTED OFF TO THE LANDFILL AS WELL.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ ONLINE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, AND I'VE SPOKEN TO THIS, UH, SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT RIGHT SIZING, UH, DEPARTMENTS SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT COMES TO, TO, UH, SOLID WASTE.
UM, AND YOU'VE MENTIONED ESSENTIALLY FUNDING, RIGHT? ANOTHER 40 MILLION, WHICH WOULD RIGHTSIZE WITH STAFFING AND EQUIPMENT.
HAVE Y'ALL TAKEN A LOOK AT ALSO RIGHTSIZING? UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT DISTRICT OFFICES OR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, DISTRICTS DO IS REDISTRICT, WHENEVER THERE'S AN INCREASE IN POPULATION, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT WHERE THE INCREASE IN SERVICE GROWTH HAS BEEN TO BE ABLE TO SAY, MAYBE I NEED TO JUST FOCUS ON THIS PARTICULAR AREA AS A, AS A NEW ROUTE, UH, THAT IS PLANNED RATHER THAN CONTINUING? OR DO Y'ALL DO Y DO Y'ALL MANIPULATE THE ROUTES? HAVE Y'ALL MANIPULATED THE ROUTES TO BE ABLE TO BETTER SERVICE IN THAT MANNER? UH, LEMME SEE IF I CAN, UH, UNDERSTAND IT.
I'M THINKING COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ, I THINK YOU SAID ABOUT THE, THE, THE REDISTRICTING VERSUS YES.
YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE'S POPULATION GROWTH, UH, OR HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE BEING ADDED.
ARE Y'ALL, ARE Y'ALL FOCUSING, UH, MORE STRATEGICALLY TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT AREA RATHER THAN ENCOMPASSING IT IN THE LARGER GRAND SCHEME OF WHAT THAT ROUTE USUALLY WAS? UM, OR Y'ALL LOOKING AT, AGAIN, CHANGING ROUTES IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO BETTER SERVICE AS WELL WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT SIZING THE DEPARTMENTS.
LET, I'M GONNA SEE IF I CAN, UM, ANSWER, ANSWER YOUR QUESTION THE WAY I THINK I, I UNDERSTOOD IT.
UM, WE WILL BE LIMITED ON ACCEPTING NEW CUSTOMERS, RIGHT? NEW, NEW RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES THAT POP UP.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, UH, AN AREA OFF OF, OFF OF EAST TIDWELL THAT IS, UH, BEING DIS UH, UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
I BELIEVE IT'S SUPPOSED TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL 500 TO A THOUSAND HOMES TO OUR CERT.
WE, WE WE'RE, IF WE ACCEPT THAT NOW, WE ARE GONNA INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CALLS AT THE CALL CENTER, UM, WITH OUR CURRENT RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
SO WE HAVE TO RELY ON OUR PARTNERS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO COME IN AND PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
[00:50:01]
INNOVATIVE WAYS TO ADDRESS THAT.BUT JUST KNOW THAT AS THOSE NEW DEVELOPMENTS COME ON, UH, NEW COMMUNITIES COME ONLINE, WE REALLY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES, EMPLOYEES AND EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ACCEPT THAT.
I'LL, I'LL FOLLOW UP MORE WITH YOU ON THAT SPECIFIC QUESTION.
I THINK THE TWO OTHER THINGS REAL QUICK, UM, THE CODE ENFORCEMENT MM-HMM
UM, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR EARLY AND LATE PLACEMENT OF HEAVY TRASH NOW? ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE'S SOME INCONSISTENCY, UH, OR DELAYS RIGHT NOW? ARE Y'ALL STILL PROVIDING, UM, EDUCATION BUT THEN ALSO NEED BE CITATIONS FOR FOLKS THAT ARE PLACING YEAH.
UH, TRASH EARLY? GOOD QUESTION.
AND, AND THEN THE LAST ONE, UM, REALLY MORE OF A COMMENT, UH, THE MAP, THE, THE MAP THAT YOU SHARED.
UM, IT'S, I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PECK.
IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY NOT, UH, FUNCTIONING PROPERLY BECAUSE IN, IN FOUR ZIP CODES IN DISTRICT I, THREE OF 'EM IN THE HOBBY AIRPORT AREA, 6, 1, 8, 7, AND SEVEN FIVE, WE STILL HAVE CALLS ABOUT HEAVY TRASH THAT HASN'T BEEN PICKED UP SINCE NOVEMBER-ISH, I WANNA SAY.
UM, AND THEN, UH, 7 7 0 2 3, WHICH IS IN THE EAST END.
AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT SHOWED THERE THAT IT WAS ALREADY SERVICED.
WE STILL HAVE AREAS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SERVICED AS WELL.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I I, I AGREE WITH COUNCILOR PECK.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THAT COMMUNICATION IS CLEAR, UH, HONEST, TRANSPARENT AS WELL.
SO THAT WAY FOLKS, UM, FOLKS REALLY DO GET A, A, A, A GOOD SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WORK BEING DONE.
UH, BECAUSE AGAIN, IF YOU'RE PUTTING OUT THAT IT'S ALREADY BEEN PICKED UP, BUT ACTUALLY MY NEIGHBOR THREE HOUSES DOWN FROM ME HAS HAD THEIR HEAVY TRASH OUT SINCE EARLY DECEMBER.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT HASN'T BEEN PICKED UP.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, COMMUNICATION'S IMPORTANT.
I, I AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, UH, I KNOW FOLKS DON'T WANT US HEAR ABOUT A TRASH FEE, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, TO YOUR POINT, THERE'S, WE HAD, WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T ADDRESS THIS BACK WHENEVER WE SHOULD HAVE.
UH, AND NOW WE'RE PAYING FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE THE SINS OF OUR FOREFATHERS, I SHOULD SAY.
UH, FOR NOT ADDRESSING, UH, RIGHTSIZING THE DEPARTMENT THEN.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS THAT, AS THAT REPORT COMES OUT, I'D REALLY LOVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN GET A HOLD OF IT.
'CAUSE I'M GETTING PRETTY EXHAUSTED AS WELL, SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WE, WE, WE NEED TO FUND MORE.
AND, AND AT SOME POINT, RESIDENTS JUST GET TO A POINT WHERE, YOU KNOW, THO THOSE, UH, THOSE COMMENTS OR THOSE, UH, THOSE RESPONSES ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY JUST BECOME IGNORED AS WELL.
SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK SOLID WASTE IS DOING, BUT REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, UH, WE'RE FIRST SHARING CORRECT INFORMATION SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD OR BUILD TRUST.
AND THEN SECONDLY, UH, REALLY AGAIN, LOOKING AT HOW OPERATIONS IS, IS WORKING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S AN INCREASE, UH, UH, OR ADDED, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD THAT'S GONNA BE COMING.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT UNDERSTANDING IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME MONEY, BUT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE BEING MORE FOCUSED ON, ON THOSE COMMUNITIES SO THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE DELAYS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
AND, AND KEEPING THE MAP THAT I HAVE UP FOR YOU NOW IS ONLY AN ILLUSTRATION, SO PLEASE SEND ME, UH, MY TEAM AND, AND INCLUDE ME ON IT.
I WANNA SEE THE DIRECT ADDRESS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND SEE WHERE IT LANDS AT ON OUR, UH, ON OUR MAP.
UM, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ.
UM, COUNCIL, UM, DIRECTOR TO PIGGY BACK OFF OF COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ QUESTION ABOUT THE CITATIONS.
YOU KNOW, IN OUR MEETING ON SATURDAY, CONSTITUENTS WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE TRASH BEING OUT THERE, BUT FOLKS ADDING TO THEIR TRASH OF COURSE.
UM, WHICH CREATES A BIGGER PAUSE.
SO HOW ARE WE LIKE DISTINGUISHING WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IN VIOLATION YES.
OR IF SOMEONE ADDED TO IT TO CAUSE THEM TO BE VIOLATED? YEAH, GOOD QUESTION.
SO WE HAVE TO USE SOME DISCERNMENT, RIGHT? SO IT WAS, IT, OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE AWARE OF THE DELAYS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY FACING FROM THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE SITUATION OF WHY THOSE DELAYS WERE CREATED.
SO THEY REALLY WON'T TAG ANYBODY IN THOSE AREAS.
WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE VACANT LOTS AND THEY'RE NOT MAINTAINING THEM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT IS THAT PROPERTY OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN THOSE VACANT LOTS.
IN FACT, WE JUST HAD A NEWS STORY THAT BROKE THE OTHER DAY AND WHEN WE WENT OUT, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE HAZARDS THAT PREVENTED US FROM PROVIDING THE COLLECTION.
BUT SINCE THEN, OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS HAVE ENGAGED THAT PROPERTY OWNER AND WE ARE REQUIRING THEM TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING, YOU KNOW? OKAY.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW IS AN UPWARD TREND IN PEOPLE STARTING TO FENCE OFF PROPERTIES.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO BACK ONLINE.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN.
[00:55:02]
THANK YOU.AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, RECENTLY MY OFFICE HAS SEEN AN UPTICK IN CALLS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TRASH NOT BEING PICKED UP AND RECYCLING NOT BEING PICKED UP.
NOW IN DISTRICT G, ONLY ABOUT 25% OF THE DISTRICT USES CITY OF HOUSTON TRASH.
SO, YOU KNOW, TO GET THIS TYPE OF INCREASE IN CALLS IS, IS PRETTY ALARMING.
UH, MOST RECENTLY A LOT OF IT HAS BEEN ABOUT RECYCLING, PICKUP.
DO WE PICK UP THE SAME AMOUNT OF HOUSES FOR TRASH AND RECYCLING, OR IS RECYCLING LESS? NO, IT'S GONNA BE, RECYCLING IS ALWAYS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT LESS.
PARTICIPATION IS NOT GONNA BE AS GREAT AS IT IS IN, UH, HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE.
SO YEAH, THAT'S, THAT ANSWERS THAT QUESTION IF THAT'S OKAY.
SO THE ANSWER YOU WERE LOOKING FOR, YES.
AND SO, UM, SO WHAT, HOW MANY HOUSES DO, DO WE SERVICE RECYCLING FOR IN THE CITY? WELL, I MEAN, EVERY, EVERYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECYCLE.
I WOULD SAY OUR OH, YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT SOME PEOPLE DON'T.
PARTICIPATION RATE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON HOVERS MAYBE AROUND 60%, 50 TO 60%, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THAT.
IT CAN GET UPWARDS TO 70% IN CERTAIN AREAS, AND THOSE ARE JUST AVERAGES.
SO SOME ARE GONNA BE HIGHER AND SOME ARE GONNA BE LOWER.
UM, JUST TODAY I'VE HAD ABOUT 10 DIFFERENT CONSTITUENTS CALL MY CELL PHONE THIS MORNING.
UM, CONCERNED ABOUT THE RECYCLING ON A MID LANE WESLEYAN PLACE IS, IS THE ADDRESS.
THEY SAID IT HADN'T BEEN PICKED UP FOR TWO WEEKS AND BEFORE THAT IT HADN'T BEEN PICKED UP FOR A MONTH.
SO WHEN CAN I TELL THESE RESIDENTS THAT RECYCLING WILL BE PICKED UP? YEAH.
SO IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THEIR SERVICE DAY IS FOR THE WEEK.
UH, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER, WE JUST CAME OUT OF A SNOWSTORM.
SO WE SUSPENDED SERVICES FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, AND THEN PRIOR TO THAT WE HAD A HOLIDAY.
I MEAN, I'M SORRY, PRIOR TO THAT.
WE WERE STILL FEELING THE IMPACTS OF THE HOLIDAY.
SO, WE'LL, IF YOU CAN SEND US THE ADDRESS, LET US LOOK AND SEE WHAT, UH, WEEK THAT IS, AND THEN WE CAN MAKE A DETERMINATION.
IF YOU SEND US THOSE LOCATIONS, WE MAY BE ABLE TO SEND SOMEBODY OUT, JUST GO OUT AND RESOLVE IT AS WELL.
THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE STORMS, LIKE THE UNEXPECTED STORMS, THE UNEXPECTED STORMS, THE UNEXPECTED FREEZE.
I MEAN, I THINK BY NOW IN HOUSTON, WE CAN SAY THAT STORMS ARE EXPECTED.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE STORMS. THERE HASN'T BEEN, YOU KNOW, A SUMMER THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE SOME STORMS. SO HOW CAN WE BUILD, UM, BUILD IN THESE EXPECTED STORMS INTO THE ROUTINE OR THE PLANNING SO WAY, THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY, OH, WELL, IT WAS UNEXPECTED.
THAT'S A GREAT 'CAUSE WE KNOW THEY'RE COMING.
AND THAT, THAT KIND OF GOES BACK TO SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT I TOUCHED ON IN OUR, UH, IN OUR PRESENTATION AND OUR DISCUSSION TODAY.
WE HAVE TO BUILD UP A SUSTAINABLE AMOUNT OF BACKUP OR RESILIENCY IN OUR SYSTEMS. I MENTIONED EARLIER WE HAVE 89 GARBAGE ROUTES.
WE SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 20% BACKUP FOR EMPLOYEES AND EQUIPMENT IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS, WE HAVE TO GO A LITTLE BIT HARDER, PERFORM A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
BUT RIGHT NOW, THAT RESILIENCY DOESN'T EXIST.
IT'S BEEN SWALLOWED UP OVER THE YEARS.
SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THE PROGRAM AND BUILD THOSE RESOURCES UP SO THAT WE CAN BECOME STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THESE UNIN UNEXPECTED EVENTS AS THEY OCCUR.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE THERE IN SOME AREAS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR CONTRACTS IN PLACE FOR STORM DEBRIS REMOVAL.
WE, WE GOT IT, BUT WE HAVE TO ADOPT THAT SAME CONCEPT AND OTHER LINES OF SERVICES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
WOULD YOU, UM, SUGGEST TO RESIDENTS WHO ARE FRUSTRATED ABOUT THEIR RECYCLING NOT BEING PICKED UP? WOULD YOU SUGGEST THAT THEY JUST THROW IT ALL INTO THE, THE TRASH BIN IF THEY FOR SURE WANT IT PICKED UP? NO, I WOULD NEVER SUGGEST THAT.
BUT WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT THEY CONTINUE TO LEARN ABOUT OUR SYSTEM AND, AND KIND OF HELP US DEVELOP SOME SOLUTIONS TO IT SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THIS SITUATION.
WE'RE NOT IN THIS SITUATION BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE JUST SITTING AROUND NOT WORKING.
WE'RE IN THIS SITUATION BECAUSE THE MEN AND WOMEN ARE COMING IN SIX, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND THEY STILL CAN'T CATCH UP.
COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS, ARE WE ON? ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, AND THANK YOU TO THE CLERKS THAT HAVE ASSISTED THIS OLD LADY WITH GETTING ONLINE FOR THIS MEETING.
UH, DIRECTOR, I HAD TO PULL OVER IN A PARKING LOT BECAUSE, UH, AND LISTEN TO THIS MEETING BECAUSE IT WAS SO IMPORTANT.
I WANT TO JOIN, UH, MY NAME WITH MY COLLEAGUES IN ALL OF THEIR COMMENTS AND THEIR SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
I ALSO JUST WANT TO AMPLIFY, UM,
[01:00:01]
UH, YOUR SUPPORT ON THE WEST SIDE, NOT JUST WITH SOLID, UH, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING, BUT ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT Y'ALL ARE WORKING WITH OUR OFFICE AND DOING.AND I WANT TO JUST SHOUT OUT MY DISTRICT HOT TEAM THAT IS SUPPLEMENTING THAT WORK.
THEY PICKED UP 12,000 POUNDS OF TRASH IN 2024, 13,000 POUNDS OF TREE WASTE, UM, AND WAS IMMEDIATELY OUT THE GATE, UM, AFTER HURRICANE BARREL COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN TOUCHED ON THIS POINT EARLIER AROUND THE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND I KNOW YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT IT, AND NOT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT YOU KNOW, AS COUNCIL MEMBERS AND EVEN THE ADMINISTRATION, WE ALL, YOU KNOW, UNANIM UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED THE HOPE CONTRACT AND, UH, THE, UH, ONE OF THE F CLAUSES BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR WORKFORCE, OUR FRONT LINERS, UM, WE INVEST IN THEM WITH BENEFITS.
AND OFTENTIMES WE ARE LOOKING AT THEIR PAY RATE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THEIR RETIREMENT PACKAGE.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK WE HAD ENOUGH, MADE ENOUGH, UH, QUERIES.
UM, AND AT LEAST I DID NOT, UM, OR EVEN IN THE LABOR COMMITTEE, WHEN THE HOPE CONTRACT DEAL CAME AROUND THE MANDATORY OVERTIME MM-HMM
UM, AND THEN THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT HAD TO BURN TIME BY THE END OF THE YEAR BASED ON HOW THE CONTRACT WAS SET UP.
AND I THINK THAT WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE BECAUSE NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THE STORMS, UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE TRYING TO CATCH OUR BREATH FROM THAT, BUT WE HAVE BACK TO BACK HOLIDAYS AND THEN COUPLED WITH THE FACT THAT OUR PERSONNEL BASED ON THE CONTRACT HAD TO BURN THAT TIME.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT AND THEN HOW WE CAN PLAN IN THE FUTURE AND KIND OF MANAGE THAT WORKFORCE TIME? UM, SO WE CAN LOOK AT HOW WE SUPPLEMENT IF WE NEED TO SUPPLEMENT AND THE IMPACT OF THAT? UH, CERTAINLY IF I UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION CORRECTLY, IT WAS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ELIMINATION OF MANDATORY OVERTIME AND THEN, UH, THE NEW, UH, UNION CONTRACT COMING IN, IF I, IF I HEARD THAT CORRECTLY.
SO, UH, WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED, THE DEPARTMENT WAS WORKING MANDATORY OVERTIME.
UH, SHORTLY AFTER MY ARRIVAL, I PROBABLY ABOUT SIX MONTHS AFTERWARDS.
AND, AND AFTER CAREFUL THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION, UH, I ENDED THAT.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, OUR VACANCY RATE WENT UP.
YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE NOW WE'RE CREATING A WORKSPACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME IN, WORK, ENJOY TIME WITH THEIR FAMILIES, GET THE REST THAT THEY NEED.
SO THAT'S WHAT PART OF WHAT GOT US TO OUR 10% OR LESS OF WHERE WE ARE TODAY, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH DEDICATED EMPLOYEES WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THEY'VE BEEN US 30 OR 40 YEARS, UH, WHEN THE NEW CONTRACT KICKED IN, AND THEY, THEY HAD THAT MANDATE TO EITHER USE THAT TIME BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR OR, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULDN'T ACCRUE ON THE, IN THE NEW YEAR.
UH, THAT THAT FORCED A LOT OF THEM TO TAKE TIME OFF THOSE PEOPLE THAT TOOK THE TIME OR THE FOLKS WHO RUN THOSE ROUTES, RIGHT? SO WE TALKED ABOUT DELAYS THAT'S GONNA CONTRIBUTE TO THE DELAYS, UH, LESSON LEARNED, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT, UH, AND, AND BELIEVE ME, SOME OF OUR FOLKS DID NOT WANT TO, BUT, BUT THEY WERE LOOKING AT THE CONSEQUENCES ON THE OTHER SIDE.
SO, UH, YOU FELT THAT ABSOLUTELY YOU FELT THAT BUMP, UH, AGAIN, IN THE DELAYS OR SERVICES.
SO REMEMBER, I'M GONNA KEEP REPEATING THIS.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT RESILIENCY, THAT FLEXIBILITY IN THE SYSTEM YET.
WE GOT THE DEDICATION IS THERE, THE DEDICATION IS THERE, SURE.
BUT WHAT OUR ADMINISTRATION IS WORKING ON NOW IS REALLY HELPING AND LOOKING AT THOSE OTHER AREAS AND IMPROVING THAT RESILIENCY.
SO WE APPRECIATE THAT SUPPORT.
NO, AND I THANK YOU FOR, I THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING TO THAT.
AND I THINK, UM, IF I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT ME.
IF I WOULD'VE DONE A BETTER, UH, DUE DILIGENCE AROUND THAT TO ASK THE BETTER QUESTIONS, UM, WE COULD HAVE RAISED THAT FLAG BECAUSE I THINK, UM, BASED ON OUR CONTRACT CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT THAT WE SHOULD HONOR AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE THEIR TIME OFF, RIGHT? LIKE DO YOUR THING, ALL OF THAT.
BUT THAT SHOULD MEAN WE SHOULD HAVE SOME PLANNING IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THAT.
AND IT, AND IT ALL KIND OF HAPPENED AT ONCE, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE STORM.
SO I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING SOLID WAYS.
HTX COLLECTS, WE MUST START FROM SCRATCH.
IT IS HARD TO PROMOTE THAT IN COMMUNITY WHEN IT'S NOT FUNCTIONAL, UM, WHEN IT'S NOT EVEN FUNCTIONAL FOR, YOU KNOW, ME AND MY TEAM, UH, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
SO IF, YOU KNOW, I'LL SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION, UM, IF THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION OR YOUR OFFICE PRESENTS SOMETHING TO COUNCIL, UH, IN ADDITION TO THIS DASHBOARD, I SUPPORT THAT AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, UM, TO, TO GET YOU WHATEVER WE NEED.
AND EVEN IF THAT INCLUDES A FEE, UM, YOU HAVE MY SUPPORT ON THAT.
WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT AND, UH, BUT I, I WILL SAY THIS, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, GOOD BENEFITS IN THAT NEW AGREEMENT.
YOU KNOW, THAT WAS JUST A LITTLE SMALL BUMP THAT WE, WE MADE IT THROUGH, BUT, UH, I CAN TELL YOU EMPLOYEES TRULY APPRECIATIVE OF IT.
[01:05:01]
AND, AND WE WANT THAT BENEFIT TO, WE WANT THAT ENTIRE AGREEMENT TO STAND IN PLACE, BUT WITH THOSE NEW AGREEMENTS, WE SHOULD HAVE SOME FORESIGHT IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT, THE IMPACT OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR SYSTEM.UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO CALL THEM BACK IN AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THAT MANDATORY OVERTIME 'CAUSE WE CAN, UM, UH, UH, BE PROACTIVE ABOUT THAT.
AND SO NOW WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND THE IMPACT OF THAT.
AND SO NOW WE CAN GET BETTER AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE NEXT YEAR.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND LOOK FORWARD TO THANK YOU, UH, WORKING THROUGH THIS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, COUNCILOR RAMIREZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER OR, UH, MADAM CHAIR AND DIRECTOR WOLF.
JUST, JUST WONDERING ABOUT SOME OF THESE NUMBERS.
AND BY THE WAY, I TOTALLY SECOND WHAT, UH, EVERYBODY SAID ABOUT HOW HARD, UH, THE EMPLOYEES IN SOLID WASTE WORK.
A FEW MONTHS AGO I WAS ABLE TO DO A, NOT EXACTLY RIDE ALONG, BUT A RIDE BEHIND MM-HMM
AND, UH, TO SEE WHAT ALL, UH, THE DRIVERS HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
AND, AND I SEE IT IN, ON MY OWN STREET.
YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY COME BY AND THEY PICK UP, PICK UP, UH, THE TRASH AND THE RECYCLING.
I KNOW THEY WORK VERY HARD AND LONG HOURS.
SO I'M, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW, HOW MANY HOURS A DAY DO THEY, DO THEY TYPICALLY WORK? UH, I WOULD SAY IT WOULD RANGE ANYWHERE FROM 12 TO 15.
I'M SORRY, DID I SAY 15? ABOUT 12 ON AVERAGE.
YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO CUT THAT DOWN.
15 NORMALLY COMES IN WHEN YOU GOT DELAYS WITH HOLIDAYS, LONG HOURS.
AND, UM, ARE, ARE THEY ABLE TO COMPLETE, UH, GENERALLY SPEAKING A ROUTE PER DAY OR, OR NOT? UH, I MEAN, ON AVERAGE THEY CAN COMPLETE A ROUTE.
BUT AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT COVERING ALL THE ROUTES, THEY'RE NOT GONNA COMPLETE THEIR DAILY ASSIGNMENTS.
NOT GONNA DO EACH ONE EVERY DAY.
AND, UH, YOUR ROUTES, IS IT JUST ONE TRUCK AND DRIVER PER ROUTE OR DO YOU HAVE MULTIPLE TRUCKS AND DRIVERS PER ROUTE? PRIMARILY, MOST OF THE GARBAGE IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, ONE TRUCK, ONE DRIVER, UH, SOME OF THE YARD WASTE WHERE IT REQUIRES TWO PEOPLE FOR LOADING.
YOU'LL SEE TWO PEOPLE ON THOSE TRUCKS.
STILL TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THESE FIGURES.
'CAUSE YOU'D MENTIONED 400,000, UH, HOMES THAT ARE SERVICED MM-HMM
I'M NOT GREAT AT MATH, BUT I I DO HAVE A CALCULATOR.
SO WE DO THE MATH AND IT COMES OUT TO ABOUT 4,444 HOMES PER ROUTE.
DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT TO YOU OR NOT? NO, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT CORRECT.
OUR, OUR ROUTES ARE GONNA BE, WE TRY TO KEEP THEM AROUND, UH, 1,109.
WE'RE AVERAGING AT ABOUT 1100.
UM, AND, UH, AND THEN RECYCLING IS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE PARTICIPATION RATE WILL FLUCTUATE ANYWHERE FROM 50 TO 70%.
SO IF WE HAVE 90 ROUTES AND 1100 HOMES PER ROUTE MM-HMM
THAT COMES TO 99,000, UH, TRY TRY TO HELP ME UNDER RECONCILE THIS 99,000 VERSUS 400,000.
I THINK WHAT WOULD BE MORE BENEFICIAL, AND, AND I, I CAN CERTAINLY ADDRESS THAT OFFLINE, BUT RATHER THAN COMING OUT, THIS IS FOR EVERYBODY, RATHER THAN COMING OUT, RIDING BEHIND THE TRUCKS, COME INTO OFFICE AND LOOK AT THE PLANNING THAT GOES INTO ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE LOCATIONS, IT'S MORE THAN JUST KIND OF DOING DIVISION ON PAPER AND SAYING, HEY, THIS SHOULD BE THAT.
THERE'S SO MANY OTHER FACTORS THAT ARE INVOLVED WITH THAT.
UM, AND YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND TOO, THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE START OUT WITH QUANTITY WISE MAY NOT BE THE SAME NUMBER THAT WE END UP WITH.
NO, NO ARGUMENT WITH ANYTHING YOU'VE SAID.
BUT I'M STILL TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, 'CAUSE EARLIER YOU SAID WE SERVE 400,000 HOMES.
DOING THE MATH 90 ROUTES AND YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S ABOUT 1100 HOMES PER ROUTE.
SO WHERE DOES THE 400,000 COME IN? WE, WE, I WOULD BE MORE COMFORTABLE TALKING ABOUT IT OFFLINE 'CAUSE I'M NOT DOING THE CALCULATIONS WITH YOU SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND AND LOOK AT EVERYTHING IN ITS ENTIRETY.
WELL, I, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO ENGAGE WITH YOU OFFLINE, BUT YEAH, I'LL, I'LL TRY SOME MORE AND MY OFFICE IS WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, SET UP TIME AS I MENTIONED WONDERFUL.
BEFORE, DURING OUR DISCUSSIONS.
LOVE, LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME, COME BY.
UM, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, DID YOU WANT TO END WITH THE COMMENT, YOU KNOW, I GOTTA THANK THE MEN AND WOMEN MM-HMM
WHO GO THROUGH THIS EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, AND, AND FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND SUPPORT, NOT JUST FOR ME AND THE TEAM, BUT FOR YOU ALL AS WELL, AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE CITY.
SO, AND, AND YOU KNOW, I JOINED MY COLLEAGUES, YOU KNOW, THE, YOUR OFFICE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN, UM, VERY SUPPORTIVE, TENTATIVE, UM, TO ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS MM-HMM
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU, UM, IN WHATEVER YOU NEED TO.
YOU KNOW, KEEP OUR CITY MOVING.
[01:10:01]
CONTINUED SUPPORT AND AGAIN, WE'RE OPEN BOOKED.LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING WITH Y'ALL FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
SO WE HAVE ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER, UM, MR. BOB CHO.
MR. CHOATE, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
LET ME START BY MAYBE SOLVING THAT LITTLE MYSTERY.
YOU HAVE 400,000 CUSTOMERS IS FOUR COLLECTION DAYS.
THAT BOILS DOWN TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND PER DAY DIVIDED BY THE 89 ROOTS.
I CONFIGURE, YOU KNOW, YOU SAY FIGURES CAN LIE AND LIARS CONFIGURE.
I HAD A, I HAD A KIND OF A LINED OUT PRESENTATION, BUT AFTER LISTENING TO MR. WOCK AND WATCHING THE PRESENTATION, I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH SOME NOTES AND HOPEFULLY IT MAKES SENSE.
FIRST OFF, IN GENERAL, AND I'M INVOLVED IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FACEBOOK PAGE AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN ARE WE GONNA GET PICKED UP? I THINK YOU GET PICKED UP, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
OH, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE APP AS A CUSTOMER.
I SAY WE HAVE TOO MANY APPS, TOO MANY WEBSITES AND TOO MANY DASHBOARDS IN THIS CITY.
SOMETHING'S GOTTA COME TOGETHER.
I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE THREE APPS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I'M DOING AS A CITIZEN AND, AND WHAT I'M PAYING MY TAXES FOR THE FIGURE.
I THINK I HEARD THAT FROM BETWEEN 2015 AND 20 23, 50 1000 NEW HOUSEHOLDS ARE ADDED.
THAT'S 6,375 PER YEAR, WHICH IS ABOUT 1.5%.
UH, AND I THINK THERE WAS A VALID COMMENT MADE BY THAT.
WHEN A HOUSE IS KNOCKED DOWN, THREE MORE COME UP IN ITS PLACE.
PARTICULARLY IN TIMBER GROVE, LAZY BROOK, SHADY ACRES THROUGH THAT AREA, BUT ALSO 12 WILL BE PURCHASED, KNOCKED DOWN, REPLACED BY AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, WHICH DOESN'T USE CITY SERVICES.
AT LEAST THEY DON'T HAVE TRASH PICKUP, THEY STILL USE POLICE, FIRE, ALL THAT.
IF THERE'S CONVERSATION ABOUT A FEE, WELL THIS IS ALL VERY CONFUSING IN TERMS OF THE FEE, BUT I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE CHARGE ON OUR WATER BILL FOR TRASH CANS.
I THINK WE'RE PAYING RIGHT NOW SOMETHING AROUND AROUND $14 AND 40 CENTS PER YEAR.
AND HOPEFULLY ONLY THE TRASH CUSTOMERS ARE BEING CHARGED THAT.
SO AS I SAY, IF I, I'D BE MAD, THAT'S $5,760 PER YEAR.
AND IF WE'RE BUYING 40,000 TRASH CANS A YEAR, THAT AVERAGE IS ABOUT BUCK $144 PER TRASH CAN.
AND I'M PRETTY SURE YOU GET 'EM CHEAPER THAN THAT.
AT LEAST YOU CAN BUY 'EM ON ULINE FOR ABOUT A HUNDRED BUCKS, BUT PROBABLY NOT THE SAME QUALITY.
WHERE'S THE, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AND SEE HOW THAT MONEY'S BEING SPENT.
GOT A FEW MORE POINTS, BUT IF YOU WANT TO KICK ME OFF THE PODIUM, THAT'S OKAY.
NO, GO AHEAD WITH YOUR POINTS.
LET'S TALK ABOUT COMMUNICATION.
UH, IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, WE USUALLY HAVE THURSDAY PICK UP ONE THIRD TO ONE HALF OF THE HOUSEHOLDS HAD THEIR CANS OUT ON THURSDAY BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE APP.
THEY DIDN'T SEE, THERE WAS A GRAPHIC THAT I SHARED IN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
BUT I WANNA MAKE A SUGGESTION.
DON'T TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY.
TELL ME WHAT MY CAN YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE GONNA PICK UP MY TRASH? 'CAUSE A NICE CALENDAR ON THURSDAY, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS FRIDAY, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT.
SO I GOTTA LOOK AND SAY, OH DUH, OKAY, SATURDAY, SATURDAY YOU'RE GONNA GET MY TRASH.
IF YOU TELL ME IF YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GET PICKED UP ON THURSDAY, GET GET PICKED UP ON SATURDAY, THAT'D PROBABLY GO OVER BE A LITTLE EASIER.
'CAUSE I'M KIND OF SLOW AND IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIGURE IT OUT.
FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS THROUGH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, ONE THIRD TO ONE HALF OF THE CITY HAS HAD TO HOLD ONTO RECYCLING RECYCLABLES FOR TWO MONTHS.
PLEASE CHANGE THAT FOR THIS YEAR, ESPECIALLY CHRISTMAS TIME.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT IT JUST KIND OF CRAZY.
TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA RIGHT NOW.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT HAS 8,500 FOLLOWERS ON FACEBOOK.
I HAVE THREE TIMES THAT MANY AND I'M NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL
SO HOPEFULLY YOUR, YOUR NEW PERSON'S GONNA RAMP THAT UP.
I COVERED THAT, HIT THAT BELL AGAIN.
AND I'M JUST GONNA BE A WILD COMMENT HERE IN TERMS, I THINK A LOT OF YOUR ISSUE IS PROBABLY TURNOVER AND I USED TO WORK IN THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY, I FEEL FOR YOU, BUT THERE ARE SOME, THERE PROBABLY SOME COMMON DENOMINATORS AND IF I CAN HELP YOU PERSONALLY, I'D BE HAPPY TO DO IT.
IT MIGHT BE ONE OR TWO STUPID IDEAS, BUT I'VE HAD CONSULTING CLIENTS THAT ARE STILL USING THOSE IDEAS 20 YEARS LATER, SO MM-HMM
[01:15:01]
WELL, THANK YOU MR. CHO FOR YOUR FEEDBACK AND FOR JOINING US.WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION.
AND I DON'T KNOW, DIRECTOR, DID YOU HAVE ANY ANYTHING TO SAY ON WHAT HE SAID? IF NOT, THAT'S FINE, BUT I WAS JUST WANTED TO, OKAY.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS IN THE AUDIENCE? IF NOT, UM, SEEING THAT WE HAVE NO MORE SPEAKERS, I REMIND OUR AUDIENCE THAT THIS COMMITTEE IS FOR YOU.
SO PLEASE HELP SET THE AGENDA FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.
IF THERE IS A CITY SERVICE, UM, DELIVERY, UM, UM, SITUATION YOU WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAIN, PLEASE LET US KNOW BY CONTACTING MY OFFICE AT 8 3 2 3 9 3 3 0 0 9 OR EMAIL EMAILING, UM, DISTRICT B@HOUSTONTX.GOV.