DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: David W. McCary
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
2020-2021 Alamo Area Council of Governments Regional Solid Waste Pass-Through Grant
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes the City Manager or designee to submit grant applications for approximately $213,000.00 to the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) representing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). These Regional Solid Waste Pass-Through Grants support environmental programming efforts related to recycling, solid waste stream reduction and municipal enforcement of anti-dumping laws. This ordinance also authorizes the acceptance of funds, the execution of contracts between the City and AACOG for any of the grants awarded, and allows for supplemental grant applications, and their acceptance if awarded, should AACOG make additional funds available during their 2020-2021 grant cycle process.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Since 1996, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has provided statewide grants to area Councils of Government for distribution to municipal and local agencies; cities, counties, and public school districts. These funds are generated by fees imposed by the State on volumes of disposed municipal solid waste. Historically the City of San Antonio’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) has been awarded the majority of these grants, with Code Compliance, Public Works, Health, Parks and Recreation, Convention, Sports and Entertainment Facilities and the City Clerk’s Office receiving funding from this program in the past as well. Since 1996, the City has received over $4.8 million from this program. The City received $142,714.30 from the 2018-2019 grant.
This year’s grant cycle covers the 2020-2021 State of Texas Biennium. There will be only one call for applications for projects during this time. The AACOG Resource Recovery Advisory Committee will decide which projects will be funded and when those projects are to be funded for both FY 2020 and FY 2021.
ISSUE:
The purpose of the grants is to enable the City of San Antonio to expand its efforts to reduce the generation of waste through education and to encourage recycling efforts within the City of San Antonio. These programs will offer the City greater opportunities to meet the 60% residential recycling goal of the Recycling and Resource Recovery Plan by 2025 and will be designed to reach a wide variety of residents throughout all council districts of the City. This ordinance sustains City Council's policy of seeking intergovernmental assistance for enhancing environmental sustainability.
If awarded, funding will be used for educational and outreach programs, creating new educational materials, and targeting new audiences. For example, the SWMD would be able to provide another educational event for San Antonio’s home school community planned specifically for this community’s needs. The pilot event in FY 2019 was very successful with over 400 people in attendance. The SWMD would be able to reach out to the vision-impaired community by producing materials in Braille, creating more tactile activities such as games, and investing in technology that supports that community.
The SWMD would be able to create a new original children’s book to follow the first original book written and illustrated in-house at the SWMD. The first book, Where Does It Go, focused on the recycling process (blue cart) while the new book will focus on the organics process (green cart). Grant funds will be used to the printing costs so that a larger quantity of books can be purchased and distributed in the community and to area schools. Additionally, a new digital technology called ‘augmented reality’ will be employed to promote a ‘pop-up recycle’ program and youth would be invited via social media to attend a spontaneous recycling presentation utilizing this new technology.
With all of these proposals there will be ancillary costs including merchandise, media, promotions, logistics, rentals and other miscellaneous expenses.
Additionally, to continue efforts to reduce construction and demolition waste, the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) will submit requests for grant funding from AACOG’s Regional Solid Waste Grants for FY 2020 and FY2021 in alignment with the department’s draft deconstruction and salvaging policy. Funding in the amount of $30,000.00 will be requested for FY 2020 to support the development of a strategic plan for a salvaged building materials exchange program, as well as funding for a peer exchange that will bring select national experts in the field of reuse retail and representatives from other cities to San Antonio to develop partnerships and best practices for the recovery, reuse, and redistribution of building materials. An additional $30,000.00 will be requested for FY 2021 to support the training of certified deconstruction contractors and contract services to provide building material warehouse support.
ALTERNATIVES:
In order to meet the City’s goal of 60% residential recycling by 2025 as outlined in the Recycling and Resource Recovery Plan, an alternative to submission and acceptance of this grant would require the identification of other City funding to enhance existing recycling and solid waste reduction efforts. Additionally, OHP would need to identify alternate funds to support their efforts related to the draft deconstruction and salvaging policy.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes the application and acceptance of approximately $213,000.00 in grants to fund activities such as recycling education, and organics education, as well as waste reduction efforts from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for Regional Solid Waste Pass-Through Grants for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 through the Alamo Area Council of Governments.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this ordinance to submit applications to the FY 2020 and 2021 TCEQ Regional Solid Waste Pass-Through Grant and acceptance if awarded.