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090897 sws agenda & min. AGENDA Sanford City Commission Meeting Monday, September 8, 1997 Sanford City Hall, 300 North Park Avenue Sanford, Florida ******************************************************************************** Special Work Session 7:00 P.M. City Commission Chambers 1. Discussion regarding privatization of the City's Solid Waste Division of Public Works. ADVICE TO THE PUBLIC: IF A PERSON DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION MADE WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTER CONSIDERED AT THE ABOVE MEETING OR HEARING HE MAY NEED A VERBA TIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS, INCLUDING THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE WHICH RECORD IS NOT PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF SANFORD. (FS286.0105) PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NEEDING ASSISTANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THESE PROCEEDINGS SHOULD CONTACT THE PERSONNEL OFFICE ADA COORDINATOR AT 330-5626 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING. FOR FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF AGENDA ITEMS, SEE ATTACHED MEMORANDUM E405354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, 'Florida WORK SESSION September 7 19.97 The City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida met in Special Work Session: on Monday, September 8, 1997, at 7:00 o'clock P.M. in the City Commission Room, City Hall, 300 North Park Avenue, Sanford, Florida. Present: Mayor-Commissioner Larry A. Dale Commissioner Whitey Eckstein Commissioner Velma H. Willjams Commissioner Brady Lessard Commissioner Kerry D. Lyons City Manager William A. Simmons City Clerk Janet R. Dougherty Absent: City Attorney William L. Colben The Chairman called the meeting to order. DiscuSsion regarding privatization of the City's SOlid Waste Division of Public Works. Mayor Dale announced that Mr. At Cramp, representing Browning Fenis Industries, Mr. George Geletko, representing Waste Management of Orlando, and Mr. Bob Hyer, representing Jennings Environmental were present to make a presentation and field questions from the City Commission regarding privatizing the City' s Solid Waste service. Jerry Herman, Director of Public Works, reported he was not prepared to make a presentation per se, however, he requested he be allowed to respond to the presentations given by the haulers, as opposed to making a presentation. He distributed a sintartary sheet relating to the Solid Waste Revenues and Expenses for Fiscal Year 96/97 and a list of Solid Waste Division Valuation of Assets. Mr. Herman stated that the Public Works Department and the Solid Waste Division are very interested in the job they perform and the services they provide. At the request of the new Commission which took office in January of this year, a lot of steps have been taken to reduce expenses. He asked to be allowed to respond with those figures to the presentations given by the haulers. Mr. Hennan said the current rates are as follows: $15.94 for single family residential and $ I 1.17 for multi-family. The commercial rate is $I5.56 per cubic yard per month. The tipping fees for this current fiscal year is approximately $1,288,841.00 including an estimate through September 30, 1997. The number of current residential customers is approximately 8,700 and the number of commercial customers is approximately 1,100. Mr. Herman stated that approximately $250,000.00 (prori0 would be put in reserves this year and that final figures would be available at fiscal year end. He said that the profit last year was approximately $80,000.00. Mr. A1 Cramp, Browning Ferris Industries, appeared and reported that BFI has five locations in the central Florida area, with operations in Osceola County, Lake County, and a regional container repair facility in Orange County where dumpsters and compactors are repaired and serviced for most of central and north Florida, ~'om Tampa to Jacksonville. BFI has a recyctery in Seminole County and the base of operations is in Altamonte Springs, Seminole County. BFI is the only hattier with both hauling company and recyclery located in Seminole County. Mr. Crump commended the Commission for considering privatized garbage collection. He stated he had visited with several public works directors in the past, including Jerry Herman. Indicating it would be difficult to understand the total cost of in-house service, he urged that attention be given in great detail to determine exactly what the cost is to provide service. Certain costs such as insurance and workers' compensation are not allocated for in a solid waste budget. To consider the privatization of garbage coIlection, it wilt require the understanding of the full cost associated with the provision of that service. E40~354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, Florida WORK SESSION September 8 ~997 Mr. Crump said that two areas of concem are employees and equipment. Regarding employees, BFI would give priority consideration to all City employees affected by a transfer of service. While they would be subject to BFI' s standard hiring procedures, there are employment opportunities at several BFt locations in Florida. Employees who come to BFI as a result of transfer of service would be entitled to the full benefits package that is available to BFI employees, medical and dental coverage including dependent coverage at no additional charge, 40 l(k) savings plan and a retirement plan. The 'Florida Retirement System program is not transfertable to a private company, however, the time is "frozen" and is available if the employee should remm to public employment under the FRS program. Regarding equipment, Mr. Crump suggested that the City consider an outside third party appraisal, that a number be spelled out in an RFP, and that all prospective respondents refer to the same number. When it comes to comparing the bid responses, one company may be higher on the equipment, lower on the service, or vice versa and if everyone bids to the same number, it will save a lot of headache. Regarding the bid specs of three years ago for privatizing the Solid Waste Division, Mr. Crump stated that although a lot of work had gone into the document, he felt it could be improved upon. He said that the document specified that the equipment used in Sanford' s service be strictly dedicated to Sanford, and that dedicated equipment is very expensive if it sits idle for several days a week, it is not cost effective. Any reputable hauler could guarantee adequate equipment to perform Sanford' s service on the days specified. If dedicated equipment to the City is insisted upon, BFI may be in a position, through their partnership with a major financial institution, to help with a lease-purchase agreement that would lower BFI' s capital cost and provide the City with security for equipment at the end of the contract term should the City elect not to remain with the private sector. Mr. Crump also suggested that the City issue a Request for Proposal rather than a straight bid situation. The basic service would be very similar between all the interested haulers, however, each one may have their individual wrinkles, programs, and special services that may interest the City. The bid document should allow for that innovation and that singular approach to the needs of the City. BH would be interested in promoting some of their programs and community affair initiatives that might benefit the full spectrum of business and citizenry in the City of Sanford. BFI has some recommended language for an RFP as well as recommended specifications and contract language that can be tailored to meet the specific . needs of the City. BFI has sought the City of Sanford' s business for several years and made a presentation three years ago when the City was considering privatization. Mr. Crump assured the Commission that without a doubt, the City of Sanford would be well served by a public/private partnership with BH. Commissioner Eckstein clarified Mr. Crump' s statement regarding FRS and stated that should an employee leave prior to having served ten years, there would be no vestment, and the time invested would be lostunless the employee were to work for an FRS agency in the future. Commissioner Eckstein asked for clarification ofBH's hiring policy since Mr. Crump stated employment opportunities would be available. Mr. Crump stated that the guidelines would be no different than any other individual seeking employment: there would be a drug screening, a physical, and a background check. Should BFt be awarded the contract, those employees displaced as a result of the privatization would have a priority consideration over anyone else applying for employment. All of tl3e BH drivers have a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and any employee without one would go through a CDL training ?program to enable the employee to pass the certification for a CDL. B05354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford,' Florida SFSSION SeptembeT 58'9 8 19 97 Commissioner Williams asked Mr. Crump how BFI' s job requirements compare to Sanford' s job requirements, would a test be required, and what are the education requirements. Mr. Cntmp stated there would be a test for the CDL and he was unaware of any minimum education requirement. She asked how easy it is for an employee to be dismissed. Mr. Crump said with the first offense a written warning would be issued, with a second offense there would be a consultation and possibly some t/me off without pay, and with a third offense there would be possibly some time off without pay or depending on the severity of the infraction, possibly dismissal. A serious offense such as stealing or DUI would mean immediate termination. Commissioner Willjams asked ifBH currently has contracts with cities that are comparable to the City of Sanford, and if so, what is an example of how long the employees h/red through a transfer of service remained on that job, percentage wise. Mr. Cramp said that BH has several municipal contracts in thecentral Florida area: City of Oviedo, City of Winter Springs, City of Belle Isle, City of Windermere, BH is the largest hauler in un/neorporated Seminole County and the smallest rattler in unincorporated Orange County. He cited Ormond Beach as being the perfect example and urged the Commission to contact Mayor David Hood, who could go into great detail on how BFI handled the employee issue. He could not say how many stayed or left. Commissioner Willjams asked if Mr. Crump had ever had a contract with a city that encompassed the employment of all employees affected by a transfer of service. Mr. Cramp said BH could never guarantee employment to everyone because it would be necessary for an individual to pass the screening process: the drug screen, the physical, and the background check. Commissioner Williams asked what the ethnic composition was of the City of Ormond Beach. Mr. Cramp stated the business of Ormond Beach had been sold to another hauler and he could not answer the ethnic question, however, the etlmic composition three years ago was similar to the City of Sanford. Commissioner Willjams asked Mr. Crump to tell her, in one minute, why the City of Sanford should choose BFI to be the hauler of the City' s solid waste. Mr. Cramp said that BH, more than any other company presently represented, is well positioned to senrice the City of Sanford quickly and efficiently because of the very large base of operations in the City of Altamonte Springs which employs 200 people and has 100 pieces of equipment. Garbage collection in Seminole County is twice a week for garbage, once a week for recycling, and holiday pick ups are stated in the contract. Mayor Dale said that the rate sm, ucmre, number of pickups, and service would be addressed in an RFP. He stressed it is important to the citizens of Sanford to be able to receive the same quality of senrice presently given by the City's Solid Waste Division. Commissioner Lyons asked Mr. Crump about the language he could provide for an RFP. Mr. Crump said the old document needed to be corrected due to the tremendous amount of "free service" requested. He indicated that "free service" is not free, but becomes pan of the rate. While some free service is anticipated and expected, there is a substantial amount of free service requested in the old document The document should allow for innovation on the pan of the hauler. The basic service may be the same between hattiers, however, each has individual programs and procedures which may be of interest to the City: a eommtmity affairs program, a mentor/ng program, or an internship for disadvantaged employees, etc. Commissioner Lyons suggested that any specific items should be submitted, rather than saying the whole document needs to be updated. Commissioner Lyons requested Mr. Crump provide BH's hiring guidelines and employee handbook to the Commission. 5.90 E405354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, Florida WORK SESSION Septembe~ 8 Commissioner Witliams stated the City's 97 budget for the Solid Waste Division is $3,000,000.00. She asked Mr. Cramp to compare how much money the City could have saved in fiscal year 97 if the City had been under contract with BH. Mr. Crump said that privatized solid waste collection can easily be 10 to 15 percent cheaper; the average across the nation reflects 10 to 15 percent and sometimes higher, even as much as 40 percent. Commissioner Williams asked Mr. Cramp to provide the requested information, and the questions would be provided at a later date by herself or the Clerk, if necessary. Waste Management, Inc. was represented by George Geletko, Municipal Marketing Manager, Paul Rodrigues, Human Resource Manager, Johnathan Gilliam, and Arthur Cobb. An introduction to Waste Management and 1997 Summary of Benefits was issued to the Commission, City Manager, and City Clerk Mr. Geletko reported that he would cover information: cities that privatize the waste management, employee benefits, and comments on the RFP draft. Waste Management of Orlando is a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management Inc. of Florida. Central Florida Waste Management of Orlando has been providing collection services over thirty-five years, including the City of Sanford. In November of 1991 the City of Sanford began to provide commercial service to its own customers and until that time Waste Management had approximately 55% of the market share inside the City limits. Waste Management is currently servicing 116,000 customers in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties, including contracts with the Cities of Winter Park, Kissimmee, Winter Garden, Oakland, Longwood, and Maitland. The company provides Class 3 and C and D disposal services at King Road IAmd~ll in Apopka. The company also designed, constructed, and operates under the terms of a five year agreement Recycle America of Orange County, a residential, commercial, materials recycling servicing facility serving all of Orange County. Mr. Geletko introduced Waste Management Human Resource Manager, Paul Rodrigues. Mr. Rodr/gues referred to the 1997 Summary of Benefits provided by Waste Management of Florida which includes a comprehensive summary of benefits. The summary outlines items from medical through retirement: medical plans, employee assistance program, dental plans, vision plan, flexcare health care account, flex care dependent care account, employee and dependent life/accidental death and dismemberment insme, hourly short-term disability benefit, hourly Iong-term disability benefit, pension plan, profit sharing and savings plan 401 (k) with company matching contribution and retirement contribution, dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan, general scholarship program, minority scholarship program, merit scholarship proyam, tuition assistance program, direct deposit, and a matching gift program for charities. Mr. Geletko made recommendations on the RFP draft: I ) long term contract with a minimum of ten years to benefit the City through the depreciation of capital cost over a long period of time enabling the City to receive the lowest possible price, 2) consider alternate proposal which will benefit the City by allowing all respondents to be creative enhancing the service quality at the best possible price, 3 ) exclude franchise fees became the City is not regulated by contract and can change the rams to their customers as needed, 4) consider annual C.P.t. increases which will benefit the City by guamteeing the lowest possible rate without cornpromising senrice which also allows the City to keep rates in line with inflation without the fear of high increases at contract end, 5) R.F.P. development considering input from all the participants as the City will benefit from the experience of the haulers by focusing on the components that insure good service to the majority and eliminates excess that increases rates to the average resident. Mr. Lyons asked Mr. GeIetko to provide, in hard copy, his suggestions regarding alternate proposal information. He also asked him to provide hiring guidelines and an employee handbook. Mr. Geletko introduced JOhnathan Gilljam, an 1997 EA05354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, Florida WORK SESSION September 591 8 1997 employee of Waste Management, who worked for the City of Winter Park and was affected by the privatization project. Mr. Gilljam gave his views on working in the public sector and the private seaor. He stated he began -working for the City of Winter Park in 1992 and was contracted out to Waste Management in 1994. He spoke positively on the growth potential with Waste Management. There were few growth oppommities with the City of Winter Park due to the longevity of employees. He stated that Waste Management has a vast oppommity for growth and it doesn't take long if you are a good worker, if you prove yourself, and regardless of age, the opportunity is available. He said that all of h/s co-workers in the Solid Waste Division at the City of Winter Park were hired by Waste Management ( 15-20 people). Mr. Gill/am said the pay benefits with Waste Management are greater. He is paid every week, and makes double his pay received with ihe City of Winter Park due to an increase in the hours he works. The ethnic makeup is diverse, and two women work on the recycling track. There were men with 20 years of service to the City of Winter Park that went to Waste Management as a result of transfer of service and they are still with Waste Management. Mayor Dale asked about the retirement benefit: how long does an employee have to be with Waste Management to be vested. Mr. Geletko said an employee is 100% vested after five years. There are options on the 401(k) plan, the Vanguard Group offers several options, and oppommities are available through the profit sharing plan through issuance of stock if the company makes its budgeted numbers as a national company. Mr. Geletko stated there could be negotiations regarding an employee' s investment in the ten year vestment. Mr. Geletko introduced Arthur Cobb, Manager of Business Development. Mr. Cobb reported he has twenty-four years of experience as a public official. He was the Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning for ten years and was the Public Works Director and Solid Waste Manager for the City of Riviera Beach for ten years. He emphasized that the most important aspect of a privatization venture was the employee aspect. It is possible to negotiate a package with each employee, dealing with their basic needs. Commissioner Willjams asked if the City of Sanford chose Waste Management, what percentage of employees would the City need to be worried about. Mr. Geletko said that the transition should be smooth, to the point of the customer not being aware that a transition has taken place. Waste Management would ma/ntain the integrity of the routing, keep the same guys on the route, and continue to operate business as normal. Commissioner Willjams asked if all of the City' s employees would have the oppommity to be employed, unquestionably so, all thirty-two. Mr. Geletko said it would be hard to make the commitment to hire all thirty-two without knowing the scope of service and what the work plan would be. However, if an empIoyee has a CDL license, ff they show up for work every day and provide service to the customer, and stay drug free, there would not be a problem. Commissioner Williams stated she is concemed about saving the City money, but is also concerned for security for the employees, bottom line. Mr. Cobb said that security for the employees is the biggest concern of every Commissioner, however, neither Mr. Geletko nor himself were in a position to say that all employees would be hired because the specifications of the scope of service still has to be outlined; it is based on what the City needs. Commissioner Willjams asked about the scholarship program offered by Waste Management. Mr. Rodrigues stated there are up to 18 four-year college scholarships available annually to dependent children, up to 11 four-year college minority scholarships, and a National Merit Scholarship. A tuition assistance program for employees is available which pays 75% of tuition, books and fees. Each scholarship program is separate and each of the scholarships is awarded. Mr. Geletko said there E405354 I 5 9-2 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, Florida WORK SESSION September 8 1997 are low cost loans available for education through Waste Management, which eliminates the need to go to a bank to qualify for a loan. Mr. Geletko said he would provide the wage structure for the Winter Park employees who were transferred to Waste Management, what their income was at Winter Park and what they are presently being paid at Waste Management. Commissioner Willjams asked Mr. Geletko to provide the wage structure for Waste Management compared to the City of Sanford employees. Jennings Environmental Service was represented by Mr. Bob Hyers, Governmental Contracts Manager for the State of Florida and Jim Swan, Govermnental Contracts Representative for Central Florida. Mr. Hyers reported that Jennings Environmental Service has an existing franchise with the City of Sanford, currently in the fifth year. They also provide service to the City of Lake Mary, City of DeBary, City of Dettona, City of Eatonville, Orange County, sole provider of all services for Volusia County, provide 60% of the services in unincorporated Brevard County and many accounts in the Central Florida area~ Their yards and service facilities are in Orange City, Orlando, Cocoa, Ormond Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Miami, and Largo. Jennings Environmental is the tstest gro-Mng solid waste company in Florida, due to the service provideo[ The corporate headquarters is Iocated in Altamonte Springs, Seminole County. Mr. Hyers said the employee benefits information will be provided through the RFP process. Theparent corporation of Jennings Environmental is USA Waste Services which operates in thirty-eight states, every province of Canada, the District of Columbia, herto Rico, and Mexico. USA Waste Services also operates 203 collection companies, 119 landfills, 80 transfer stations, and 42 other affiliated businesses. Jennings Environmental has Class 3 disposal capacity, yard waste disposal capacity at Pine Ridge Landfill in Orange County and also has the only existing Class I disposal capacity through the transfer station on Kaley Avenue in downtown Orlando. One of the key advantages of privatization is the growth opportunity. The statistics available in the trade journals show 10to 15% and as much as 20%, 30%, 40% differential. Another advantage of privatization is the technology that is available. Jermings Environmental, because it is a national organization, gets constant updates on technology about equipment, operating personnel, and routing. Another advantage of privatizing is if there is a disaster, storm, or a freeze and there is an excessive mount of waste, there is a backup of a large quantity of equipment and mediate backup .to handle emergency conditions. Regarding the RFP specs, Mr. Hyers suggested a longer term which would serve both the purposes of reducing cost and stability for employees. Another key issue in the RFP is the consideration for the City to handle the billing versus the contractor. The City and the County are well designed for billing became a bill is already going out for water services. Mr. Hyers also requested that enough time be given to respond to the RFP and once the responses are in, enough time to analyze them and time to implement. A time frame from the beginning of designing an RFP to trying to implement should be a minimum of six months. He also suggested that the City detail in the RFP its requests for service regarding the container size and frequency of pick ups. Commissioner Witliams asked Mr. Hyers if it was possible to draw up a contract that would guarantee the hiring all of the employees affected by a transfer. Mr. Hyers said that Jennings Environmental can contract for anything; requirements should be listed in the bid specs. Commissioner Williams asked Mr. Hyers to estimate how much Jermings Environmental could save the City if they were to be awarded the contract. Mr. Hyers said 10 to 20%, possibly more. E405354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, 'Florida WORK SESSION September 593 8 1997 Mayor Dale thanked the hattiers for being responsive to the questions and concems regarding the privatizing of the Solid Waste Division, however, the City is not going to rush into a decision. The Commission will seek answers to questions and look into information aspects of going private. Mayor Dale asked Mr. Herman, Public Works Director, to answer a few questions regarding the Solid Waste Revenue and Expense Report for fiscal year 96/97 he provided at the beginning of the meeting. The revenue and expenses were both $3,086,597.00. Mayor Dale asked where in the expenses is the $200,000 that was put in reserves. Mr. Herman reported it was carried as overhead, which was $377,000.00 for the total expenses. Mr. Herman indicated he pulled the information together, that it was not an official finance department document. Mayor Dale asked if maintenance of equipment was included in the overhead. Mr. Herman said yes, but a good portion of it is carried mthe equipment expenses as well as capital costs for equipment. Mayor Dale said that if the City privatizes, depreciation is out of the scope and the City won't have to be concerned about depreciation. There is a considerable mount of depreciation on our equipment. Mr. Herman said most of the equipment is in excess of five years old and that most equipment is depreciated in the City's methodology in about seven years. The dumpsters were initially depreciated over a twenty year life span, however, it should be seven years because most dumpsters don't last that long. If privat/zed, the dumpsters would be sold in place. Mayor Dale questioned the liability expenses and indicated those expenses would disappear if privatized. Mr. Herman said the Solid Waste Division is operated as an enterprise fund and the costs are shown in the spreadsheet. Insurance is included in the spreadsheet under personnel, equipment overhead, tip fees, and miscellaneous expenses. The Florida League of Cities covers liability insurance. The operating liability for the current fiscal year was budgeted at $14,099.00, fiscal year 96 expense was $22,063.00, and fiscal year 95 was $11,556.00. The Solid Waste Division has not had a claim paid out of the self-insured fund other than minor miscellaneous items. The workers compensation cost for this year was $31,117.00, tast year was $42,221.00, fiscal year 95 was $205,982.00 due to the settlement of an old claim. Mayor Dale said workers compensation expense, 1/ability, how much is lost in depreciation, vehicle maintenance and replacement are expenses which the City wouldn't have if it were to privatize. The exposure criteria should be considered as consideration is behag given to privatizing. Mr. Herman said those costs are borne in the Solid Waste budget Mr. Herman stated that while comparisons have been made to other cities, Sanford is a unique community with some very old sections. There are many old trees, old infraslmcmre, and providing service to Sanford is somewhat different About half of the residential tipping fee collections is spent on yard waste. Sanford has many rental properties which generate a lot of bulky pick ups. Bulk pick up costs the City in excess of $300,000.00 a year, not including the normal yard waste collection. The $300,000.00 a year on residential service equates to $3.00 a month in fees. Where the City cun-ently charges $15.94, were we not to pick up the bulk items and pay the cost for disposing of it, the cost would be $12.94. We had chosen as a City to pick up the bulk items. Mr. Herman said the fear he has as Public Works Director, because solid waste is not the only division he is responsible for, is that if the City contracts out for solid waste and the contractor wants to bill the City for extra pick ups, that the Commission will fire of having to pay and will deal with the situation in the future by having the street department pick up the bulk items. There are not enough people in the street department to handle the present work load. One of the biggest fears is that we lose the resources we have. We have a considerable amount of resources in the equipment and the people who work for us. The human resource is even more valuable than the equipment resource. The employees know the City, where the problems are, and they deal with the problems day in and day out, without a lot of supervision. Mr. Herman said that the Solid Waste Division in an enterprise fund and can't lose money, although for years a little money has been lost, E4053~4 594 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford, Florida WORK SESSION September 8 1997 and the Division has been offset. He also said that one of the biggest disappointments he has with Solid Waste is that even though four or five years ago when the City lost money and there were difficult times with rate increases, that today the City is making $200,000.00 a year and is likely to make 50% to 100% over that. We are at a point where we need to build up reserves in solid waste and then reduce the rate. Mr. Herman said that in going private, it deprives him the oppommity to put that money in reserves. He personally worked on this issue since he has been in Public Works, and especially since becoming Director in 1990. The Solid Waste Division had been in the red for a Iong time, however, that is all tumed around now. He said he is disappointed that the City may not be able to reap the benefits of all the hard work and is going to sell that asset to private enterprise. Mr. Herman asked the Commission to poll the public to ask their opinion about privatizing the Solid Waste Division. Mayor Dale said that no decision would be made in the near future and the purpose was to get it out to public exposure and to find out if there is a possibility to privatize. Commissioner Willjams suggested that the City' s Solid Waste Department respond to the RFP process in order to compare the advantages of privatizing. She said that although there may not be experts available, Mr. Herman and the Solid Waste Division respond and demonstrate how the City can do as well as, or better than, the private finns. She didn't think it would be in the best interest of the City to make a decision without considering the capabilities of the City. City Manager Simmons said it would depend upon the direction of the CommisSion and would have to be written into the specification to allow the City to respond to the RFP. Commissioner Williams requested Mr. Simmons give all the assistance possible in the preparation of the response to the RFP to insure that the Solid Waste Division has a credible proposal. Mayor Dale thanked the haulers for their presentation and stated that no decision is being made, no predisposition other than to find out if privatization is something the City wants to consider. Other business. A. Mayor Dale announced that the Citizens Advisory Board will meet Wednesday, September 10th at 7:00 P.M. in the City Commission Conference Room. B. Mayor Dale announced that he cannot go to the Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting on Wednesday at 9:30. He reported that the MPO requested that the City have a representative present at the meeting. He asked for a volunteer from the Commission and said if anyone had time to attend that he had the agenda workbook and would leave it on the podlure, and if anyone picked it up, then he would know someone is attending. If not, then he would tell her that it didn' t fit into anyone's agenda. C. Commission Lyons asked if a discussion could ensue regarding Pine Shadow Apartments regarding the City' s liens and suggested it be discussed in length at the Commission Meeting of September 15th. Mayor Dale said the item could be laid on the table, that the deed has been received from London and the buyers are ready to close on the property, however, the buyers want the City to waive the liens that are against the property. Mr. Simmons said there are two Code Enforcement liens which exceed $20,000.00 at this point in time as welt as unpaid utility bills. Mr. Simmons said the City should receive some money from the unpaid bills or from the utility bills. The buyers would like the City to walk away so they could take over the property and begin developing, however, as City Manager he could not recommend that at the present time without another try to recover the money. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. F_,405354 MINUTES City Commission, Sanford,'Florida .3W, ORK':SFSSTfiN 595 September 8 19 97 Attest: