OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CHERYL L. BROWN 117 WEST
DUVAL STREET,
DIRECTOR 4TH FLOOR, CITY
HALL
OFFICE (904) 630-1452
FAX (904) 630-2906
E-MAIL: CLBROWN@coj.net
Special Finance Committee Meeting on 2012-569
Meeting Minutes
October 9, 2012
3:00 p.m.
Topic: Ordinance 2012-569
Location: Conference Room A, City Hall –
In attendance: Council Members John Crescimbeni (Chair),
Lori Boyer, Greg Anderson, Bill Gulliford, and Stephen Joost
Excused: Council
Members Johnny Gaffney and Clay Yarborough
Also in attendance: Council Members Bill Bishop, Richard Clark, Matt Schellenberg, Don
Redman and Doyle Carter (arr. 3:04)
Kirk Sherman, Janice Billy,
Kyle Billy and Robert Campbell – Council Auditor’s Office; Peggy Sidman –
Office of General Counsel; Chris Hand - Mayor’s Office; Jim Robinson and Jeff
Foster – Public Works Department; Paul Crawford – Office of Economic
Development; Charlie Appleby and Mary O’Brien – Advanced Disposal Services
Meeting Convened: 9:31 a.m.
Chairman Crescimbeni convened
the meeting and stated that he had met in the past several days with
representatives of the Office of Economic Development, Public Works Department,
Council Auditor’s office, Mayor’s Office, and Advanced Disposal Services to
discuss this bill and the associated issues relating to ADS’s host fees and
recycling of City yard waste at the Old Kings Road Landfill.
Paul Crawford outlined the
ADS headquarters project and proposed economic incentive package, consisting of
a QTI match and a REV grant. Mary
O’Brien of Advanced Disposal Services explained how the definition of
“recycling” under state law and Florida Department of Environmental Protection
(FDEP) regulations may be the cause of some confusion and be responsible for a
misunderstanding about what percentage of yard waste at the Old Kings Road
Landfill is considered ‘recycled” and how much is subject to the City’s solid
waste host fee. She said that the FDEP
is in the process of a
draft revision of Chapter 62 of the Florida Statutes, but the definition of the
term “recycling” is not proposed to be changed.
ADS is in compliance with the state law both as
it stands now and as the chapter is currently proposed to be changed.
Council Member Joost stated
that ADS is a good company and deserving of the incentive package for the
headquarters location. Any questions
about recycling rates and host fees are a separate matter and can be resolved
later. Chairman Crescimbeni noted that
ADS last year agreed to pay the City a settlement of over $280,000 for use of
residential collection trucks to collect commercial solid waste, so the
company’s record is not entirely unblemished.
Ms. O’Brien stated that ADS will gladly pay any host fee amount that is
determined to be due after a complete review is done. In response to a question, Charlie Appleby of
ADS stated that some of the 85 new jobs will be filled by transfers from the
company’s recently acquired companies in Milwaukee and Basking Ridge, New
Jersey, and others will be filled locally.
Employees the company wishes to transfer have been told that they will
be offered jobs at the new headquarters, but have not been told where that will
be since the company has not made a final decision yet.
Kyle Billy of the Council
Auditor’s Office distributed the results of a survey of other large Florida
jurisdictions about how they recycle and reuse their yard waste, and the
results vary widely from place to place.
None use Jacksonville’s current system.
The committee voted 4-1 to
recommend approval of the ordinance to the full council (Crescimbeni opposed).
Meeting Adjourned: 3:29 p.m.
Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research Division
10.10.12 Posted 3:00 p.m.
Tapes: Finance agenda meeting– LSD
10.9.12
Materials: Auditor’s marked Finance agenda
10.9.12