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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCityGreen Consulting Proposal 2025 PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE Solid Waste Consulting Services Prepared by CityGreen Consulting, LLC 30181 Outpost Road San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 February 28, 2025 Prepared for City of Diamond Bar Attn: City Manager’s Office 21810 Copley Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 2 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response 1-Project Team Our project team is very familiar with the City of Diamond Bar as a current consultant to the City. For this project Mike Balliet will serve a project lead, planning and refining all aspects of project work through active communication with the city staff. He will also serve as the primary point of contact. He will also perform 20% of our proposed scope work. Matt Balliet will act as co-project lead, assisting in project management and administration tasks. In addition to directly performing task work, Matt Balliet will track staff consultant hours and deliverables and lead bi-weekly internal meetings to review the efficiency and quality of project work. Matt will lead project efforts dealing with outreach and education, any website updates, and also with technical assistance related to commercial recycling and edible food programs. Matt’s involvement will encompass 18% of our project work. Mike Byrne will perform 26% of task work, bringing his 35-years of experience managing solid waste and compliance programs, as well as the contractual and compliance efforts of multiple hauler as a Senior Management Analyst for the City of Irvine for 26 of his 30 years with that jurisdiction. He is in his 5th year with our firm and is responsible for edible food programs, business technical assistance programs, hauler and generator compliance reviews, and additional SB 1383 Mike Balliet (President - Project Lead) Mike Byrne (Sr. Consultant) Andrew Playford (Consultant) Matt Balliet (VP - Co-Lead) 3 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response compliance programs that include procurement, records management, and program monitoring/enforcement activities. Andrew Playford will perform 36% of task work, providing technical assistance and site visits to assess and support business recycling and edible food recovery program, perform compliant related inspections, and other task support functions. In Andrew’s 4 years with the firm, he has worked and excelled in all areas of our compliance consulting practice. A more detailed summary of the experience of all project team members is provided below: Michael Balliet, Principal Since 1991, Michael Balliet has been providing franchise hauler negotiation, management, auditing, compliance program development and implementation, and technical assistance programs to help local jurisdictions comply with state mandates. He has worked with well over 50 municipalities and helped the University of California, Irvine to establish cost-saving waste management programs, eventually assisting them in starting their own hauling service. Mr. Balliet also developed an innovative food waste recycling program for the Disneyland Resort in the mid-1990s and has helped thousands of businesses develop recycling programs through City-sponsored technical assistance programs. He has been the business technical assistance consultant for the City of Irvine since 2014. Mr. Balliet has extensive experience preparing all State-mandated integrated waste management planning documents (SRRE, HHWE & NDFE) and implementing all compliance programs established therein. He was an early innovator of non-exclusive commercial franchised hauling services and has managed the Costa Mesa non-exclusive franchise since its creation in 1992. He has developed and implemented all of Costa Mesa's compliance programs since that time, including an award-winning (CRRA 2022) contractor self-haul permit program to increase city revenues while helping them comply with expanded CalGreen project monitoring requirements. This 34-year record of accomplishment demonstrates his ability to effectively represent the city’s interests while achieving full compliance with a multitude of regulations. Michael L. Balliet (Mike) Email: mballiet@citygreenconsulting.com Phone: 949-378-2205 Matthew Balliet, Vice President Matthew Balliet has over 6 years’ experience in all aspects of solid waste consulting, joining the practice after his graduation from the University of Montana and working in all aspects of the business for 5 years, prior to taking a career opportunity in marketing, technology, and brand management in Nashville, Tennessee. He returned to CGC last year to head-up our CityGreen Connect software program development and roll-out, as well as provide project consulting support to our growing client roster. Matthew has 4 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response extensive experience in managing hauler compliance efforts, implementing business technical assistance programs, and auditing the finances and facilities of waste haulers. Matthew Balliet (Matt) Email: mattballiet@citygreenconsulting.com Phone: 949-378-6187 Mike Byrne, Senior Consultant Our project team includes Mike Byrne who brings extensive experience in municipal government and the solid waste field, gained over his 30 years as a senior management analyst with the City of Irvine. He spent 26 of those years as lead analyst overseeing the planning and implementation of the city’s solid waste and recycling service delivery and compliance programs, managing program budgets, and pursuing numerous local and state grant funding opportunities to support the program. Mr. Byrne has assisted in negotiations of city solid waste franchise agreements, interacted with key stakeholders including elected officials, executive management and the public, continually interacted with developers and property managers, and oversaw the work of several consultants to ensure the city’s constant compliance with California state recycling mandates. Mike has provided invaluable project support over his past 5 years with CGC. Andrew Playford, Consultant Andrew Playford has been working in all areas of the consulting practice for the past 4 years. This University of Indiana graduate has consistently demonstrated dedication to exemplary client service and quickly mastering all areas of our consulting practice. He transitioned from an internship to full-time employment two months ahead of schedule and has successfully spearheaded compliance program roll-out in Irvine, Costa Mesa, Chino, Irvine and Los Alamitos, as well as edible food recovery programs in Cypress, La Palma, Claremont, and Los Alamitos. CityGreen Consulting has also been at the forefront of developing waste hauler compliance systems and technical assistance programs to help businesses and institutions comply with recycling mandates, ranging from small retail or office locations to some of California's largest commercial entities like Disneyland, The Irvine Company, and the University of California. To facilitate compliance, we have created several compliance tracking and reporting programs, and we have a proven track record of representing local jurisdiction interests to CalRecycle. We have never been the subject of any legal investigation by anyone at any time. We are a trusted resource for all our clients and believe we offer the best service and technology available. We urge you to reach out to the references provided as they can attest to our experience in providing the assistance you are seeking, as well as the quality of our work. 5 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response 2-Qualification & Experience CityGreen Consulting, LLC (CGC) is a California Corporation in good standing. Our Entity Number is 202359519603. Our Federal Tax ID number is 93-4489144. Michael Balliet (34 years’ experience) is the President and CEO. Matthew Balliet (6 years’ experience) is the Vice President. Mike Byrne (35 years’ experience) and Andrew Playford (4 years’ experience) are our project consultants. We pride ourselves on maintaining long-term clients. The City of Diamond Bar has been a client for over 10 years. Costa Mesa has been our client since 1992. The City of Laguna Woods since their incorporation in 2001. The Cities of Irvine, Los Alamitos, and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District have also been clients for over 10 years. Other current clients include the cities of Fullerton, Chino, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Rolling Hills Estates, Selma, Claremont, Westminster, Signal Hill, La Palma, the Midway City Sanitary District, and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District. More information about our company can be found on our website. http://www.citygreenconsulting.com/ CGC, through its founder Michael Balliet, has been assisting local governments in California since 1991. For the past 34 years we have helped municipal and county governments comply with State regulations, by creating and implementing all required compliance programs for AB 939, AB 341, AB 1826, CalGreen, AB 827, SB 1383, etc. and managing their waste haulers and other vendors/components of their solid waste systems. We regularly develop, implement and manage compliance programs for our clients. We current provide both business recycling technical assistance and edible food recovery programs for a number of jurisdictions. We also have a good working relationship with CalRecycle and are currently helping two client cities navigate through the JACE review process. We were one of the first consultants to create and manage non-exclusive hauler franchises in California and have established/managed both exclusive and non-exclusive franchises since the 1990s. We also have many years of experience auditing haulers and their facilities (financial and performance reviews). We regularly help local governments develop ordinances and franchise agreements and have recently done quite of bit of this work to assist both established and new clients deal with incorporating SB 1383 mandates into their code and agreements. We have also helped many cities with their hauler selection process (RFP/RFQ) and in rate negotiations, within established agreements. The lowest franchise rates in Orange County, and likely the State, are enjoyed by the City of Los Alamitos. They have been our client since 2013. We have also recently helped the Central California cities of Reedley, Selma and Dinuba select new trash haulers and incorporate SB 1383 requirements into their franchise agreements. We are currently working on a similar project with the City of Fullerton. 6 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response As mentioned, we also have a long working relationship with the City of Diamond Bar and are very familiar with your compliance programs and both franchised waste haulers, whom we manage in a number of client cities. The following is a sampling of current clients that you may contact for references: City of Costa Mesa, CA - 1992 to Present City Contact: Raja Sethuraman, Public Services Director RAJA.SETHURAMAN@costamesaca.gov or 714-754-5343 Kevin Gaxiola, Sr. Management Analyst KEVIN.GAXIOLA@costamesaca.gov or 714-754-5303 Midway City Sanitary District – 2024 to Present District Contact: Ashley Davies, Director of Services & Program Development adavies@midwaycitysanitaryca.gov or (714) 893-3553 City of Chino – 2024 to Present City Contact: Xochitl (So-chee) Huerta, Sr. Management Analyst xhuerta@cityofchino.org or (909) 334-3357 City of Irvine – 2013 to Present City Contact: Ryan Tenney, Management Analyst RTenney@cityofirvine.org or 949-724-6379 Ryan Ramos, Management Analyst RRamos@cityofirvine.org or 949-724-6250 City of Cypress – 2020 to Present City Contact: Doug Dancs PE, Public Works Director DDancs@cypressca.gov or 714-229-6740 Kirsten Graham, Senior Management Analyst kgraham@cypressca.org or 714-229-6748 City of Los Alamitos – 2013 to Present City Contact: Ron Noda, Deputy City Manager RNoda@cityoflosalamitos.org or 562-431-3538 x500 Irving Montenegro, Development Services Manager IMontenegro@cityoflosalamitos.org or 562-357-4514 7 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response Costa Mesa Sanitary District – 2013 to Present City Contact: Scott Carroll, General Manager scarroll@cmsdca.gov or 949-645-8400 ext 230 City of Fullerton – 2024 to Present City Contact: Michelle Duron, Solid Waste & Recycling Specialist michelle.duron@cityoffullerton.com or 714-738-6778 Additional references available upon request. 3-Project Understanding We regularly handle all aspects of compliance and solid waste system management. Turn-key service is something we have been providing since the 1990’s. We have recently onboarded several new clients who required a full assessment of SB 1383 compliance, subsequently addressing all areas of non-compliance, and providing ongoing program management. This includes two jurisdictions who retained us to assist with current JACE reviews (Midway City/Westminster & Chino). We are currently managing business technical assistance programs and edible food recovery programs for over a half-dozen clients. This experience demonstrates our knowledge and ability to fit the specific rolls the City of Diamond Bar wishes to assign to augment its compliance and system management efforts. We have a long track record of working well with your franchise haulers and have multiple decades of experience with both, in addition to the past 10 years assisting the City of Diamond Bar. Our additional experience with your hauler’s includes: 1) Valley Vista Services - City of Cypress and previously for the City of Industry; and 2) Waste Management - cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, Chino, and Rolling Hills Estates. We have developed the following scope of work to demonstrate our understanding of what the city is seeking and the level of assistance we believe is required. Task 1 – Contract Management As presented in our qualifications, we have managed and audited franchised haulers as an agent for local governments since 1992, including several multiple hauler franchises. Our firm has successfully helped client cities manage hauler service transitions and new program rollouts throughout our 30+year history. Since 2020, we have assisted with well over a dozen franchise hauler transitions and/or new service rollouts. We are experienced and well qualified to assist the City with the contract management functions listed in the RFP. 8 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response The plan for transitioning franchise hauling service, includes following specific timelines, education/outreach actions to be taken, and equipment procurement requirements and distribution schedules. Such a transition in service plan was likely part proposal submitted by each hauler as part of the City’s RFP process. In this task we will expend efforts necessary to familiarize ourselves with each haulers roll-out plan, work with the haulers and the city to clarify specific milestones, dates, and other quantifiable items or accomplishments we will monitor to ensure a successful transition. Working with the hauler’s designated point person(s), throughout the period prior to new service starting, we will monitor program roll-out progress and provide monthly progress updates to city staff. As applicable, we make the city aware of any required activities or timelines that are not being met or will likely not be met, so appropriate mitigation measures can be taken. We will continue monitoring, reporting, and assisting with mitigation measures (as applicable) until the full transition in service is complete and the city is satisfied that 100% completion has been achieved. Deliverable will be a master list with milestones and dates accomplished, through completion. Separate progress reports monthly and emergency emails/reports when/if issues occur. Prior to transition of service (upon our notice-to-proceed), through the first several months of new hauler service, it is likely that franchise customers will have questions, issues and/or concerns that the respective haulers cannot fully resolve. A number of customers may elect to contact the city instead, especially during a transition in service period. We recommend the City establish and/or maintain existing phone and/or email system for resident and business questions/concerns. Establish a forwarding process for all communication you would like us to assist in addressing, and we will log our efforts and provide monthly updates. If there are issues, we cannot resolve or believe the City should be looped back into the situation, we will rapidly do so. Our project deliverables will be a complaint log, complete with initial date received, issue, hauler, all touchpoints, notes, and final resolution. We will also provide monthly progress reports, and special reports or emails if the need arises. Using the methodology that has worked successfully for decades we will review each new franchise agreement and establish all the various compliance items therein, for each franchised hauler. Wherever possible we will precisely quantify “compliance” or develop standards or submission requirements that reasonably approximate compliance. We will then work with each hauler and city staff to define and establish a reasonable expectation where the measurement of compliance may not be clearly defined. The finalized “compliance list” will then be shared with each hauler, along with the timeline for submissions (where applicable) or what items are best incorporated into an annual review process. We recommend the city incorporate this monitoring and accountability process into an annual “compliance review” for your franchise hauler. While we will work throughout the year on monthly and or quarterly records organization and compliance tracking, a complete review of the contract year should occur at a set time every year. 9 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response Deliverables will be a constantly updated tracking table, maintenance of complete agreement compliance records, and an annual “compliance review” report and related checklist. Task 2 – SB 1383 Compliance We have been providing technical assistance and education programs to businesses since we started in this industry in 1991. In preparation for SB 1383, we began edible food programs for client jurisdictions in 2020. We have performed both residential and commercial route reviews and provide waste composition studies for one of our clients each quarter. We also advise and assist most of our clients with procurement, both for Recycled Organic Content material and paper products. We believe we are uniquely positioned to provide the best all-inclusive SB 1383 compliance assistance to the City of Diamond Bar. Direct Outreach and Education We believe your commercial sector will experience some challenges with the transition to Waste Management’s 3-container service. Valley Vista Services recently obtained a High Diversion Organic Waste Processing Facility designation from CalRecycle. The first such facility in Southern California. For this reason, we believe you will have a larger number of 2-container program recipients than is typical, and a tougher task to educate and motivate them on their transition to a 3-container program. We have currently proposed to help the city identify these accounts and I believe there should be an effort started as soon as possible to explain the transition in service to them, building up the advantages of source separation. Technical assistance to these businesses, helping to right-size service and refine indoor container placement and usage is seen as another key direct education and outreach need for this contract. After year one, we believe technical assistance should transition to assisting locations that receive contamination or overflow charges, signaling ongoing issues the city should address as a monitoring/enforcement action. Deliverables will be either a site visit form or a program recommendations report for each technical assistance recipient. We will also maintain a tracking database listing business detail, assistance provided, compliance status, assistance notes and listing of educational materials delivered, and notations if inspections or enforcement actions are needed. Route Reviews and Field Inspections Complete residential route reviews can be time consuming and costly. We are assuming they are not required but can performed if needed. It is also highly likely commercial route reviews for contamination are covered Waste Management’s Smart-Trucks. We are assuming the city would like us to perform route reviews on a spot check or follow-up basis, and that our primary work in this subtask would be field inspections of various non-compliance issues. Based on our work in other jurisdictions, field inspections would entail responses to complaints, investigating locations identified as not participating or exhibiting contamination and overflows per hauler reports. We perform these types of inspections for virtually all our clients. 10 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response Our deliverables would include an inspection tracking database, which we would support with inspection forms that would ultimately either note resolution of the issue or escalate it to an enforcement action. Edible Food Recovery Program CityGreen Consulting has streamlined edible food recovery programs over the 3+ years we have been providing them for our clients. We have established with CalRecycle that annual inspections of both generators and in-city organizations/collectors do not need to be performed every year. A rotating 3-year schedule, that eventually covers everyone, is considered sufficient by the State. We would work with the city to establish your Tier 1 and 2 generator’s compliance status and determine when/if they have received an inspection. We are assuming inspections have not been done. We believe it is beneficial to have us perform inspections and ensure that each generator receives their annual education and outreach material from us. In addition, we highly recommend that the city require annual reporting of edible food donations by the generator, as this keeps you engaged with them, even in years you are not performing inspections. Inspections of edible food recovery organizations and collectors is vital, as the city is ultimately responsible to provide program support (including financial support) to these volunteer organizations, if they cannot handle the 20% increase in donations prescribed by SB 1383. Inspections allow the city to know how they are doing, what items they may need for expansion or to keep up with current demand and provide us with website listing and other contact information. The latter is important, as the city should promote these organization to your residents and businesses on your website and at City functions. Featuring information on how to volunteer your time or donate money to these worthy causes benefits these organizations and helps insulate the City from the financial burden program support could entail. Deliverables include a generator compliance status database that features annual touchpoints and material provide, who is providing collection services, confirmation of written agreements, and pounds donated information. Deliverables also include a database, providing all contact information for edible food organizations in the city, as well as collector providing services in the city, along with types of food donations accepted, approximate amount of Diamond Bar donations in the previous year, and additional capacity available for increased donations. We will also provide the city with an educational notice, completed inspection forms, and assistance in updating your website and/or providing written lists and copy. As part of our project pricing, we are including a $4,000 annual cost for a Chow Match or Careit subscription that would allow every Tier 1 and 2 generator in the city access and use of this compliance software. The cost may be less, but we do not know how many generators your current/previous contractor may have established. Recovered Organic Waste Product (ROWP) Procurement We assist a number of jurisdictions in this area and believe procurement should be addressed in two parts: 11 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response 1. Qualifying compost, mulch, and energy product procurement or credits, to meet SB 1383 mandated levels, require planning and projections, as well as tracking and conversion into ton-equivalents. Also, certain vendor certifications and proof of procurement, and an annual procurement opportunity study needed for your ROWP program. 2. Recycled content paper procurement should also be tracked, and certifications and vendor data requirements, related to recycled paper products, must be obtained. We have previously shared guidance sheets with the city that references the relevant regulations for all procurement requirements, so you are likely covered and simply need help identifying, obtaining, and maximizing your ROWP procurement. In addition, you likely require clarification and assistance with ways to lower your procurement target and/or expand your ability to obtain procurement credit from vendor purchases. We are currently helping a number of clients do just that. We would initially perform an ROWP inventory, starting with making sure you have addressed means to lower your procurement target. Second step is contracting and seeing who might be able to provide you with procurement credit for their purchases or product use. From there we would review ROWP purchased for 2024 and make sure appropriate documentation and procurement records are on file. We would then go through the various procurement opportunities we are aware of, to see if the city is interested in pursuing them. We the assist the city in filling out their procurement planning tool for CY 2025 and make sure CY 2024 procurement is logged and finalized. Project deliverables would include a completed procurement planning report (with amended requirement, if applicable; two procurement tracking database containing all key metrics required by regulations, and supporting document folders for certifications, invoices, and other related records. Deliverables will also likely include revised vendor agreements, policy documents and reports. Task 3 – SB 54 Compliance SB 54 is still in its relative infancy, with its regulations likely to undergo some fine-tuning based upon needs assessment data and potential push back on regulations. We would initially recommend working with the City’s business license records to identify any producers of single use plastics in the city. These businesses should be contacted to see if they are aware of the regulations, what measures they have taken to date to reduce the weight of single use plastics they sell and reduce the number of plastic components. A 25% reduction in both is required. Second, identification of wholesalers or retailers in the city that are selling single-use plastics. We recommend a survey to identify products they sell that would fall under SB 54. Lastly, work with the City’s residential and commercial haulers to identify the approximate percentage of single-use plastics (listed as covered materials by the State), to identify the approximate cost 12 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response impact to the city. The last task we propose in the short-term is an internal review of single-use plastics by the city and developing an alternative products list for consideration. Deliverables will include databases of single-use plastics manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in the city, and education material specific to them. A report establishing single use plastic disposal, both citywide and specific to city facilities. Where applicable, we will develop lists of alternative items to purchase and/or provide recommendations on material bans. Deliverables may also include education material for stakeholders impacted by material bans. 4-Cost for Services Based upon the RFP assistance requests, and our assessment of activity required to meet the City’s needs, we are estimating 540 hours will be required the first year of contracted service. This need will drop by 100 hours in years 2 onwards, Task 1 hours are specifically related to new service rollout monitoring and addressing related complaints, and Task 2 hours related to the Task Individual Hours Individual 2 Hours Individual 3 Hours Individual 4 Hours Task 1 - Contract Management New Service Roll-Out Assistance Mike Balliet 16.00 Mike Byrne 12.00 Address Roll-Out Compliants Mike Balliet 12.00 Matt Balliet 4.00 Andrew Playford 24.00 Hauler Contract Compliance Mike Balliet 24.00 Matt Balliet 24.00 Task 2 - SB 1383 Compliance Direct Outreach & Education Mike Balliet 16.00 Matt Balliet 16.00 Mike Byrne 24.00 Andrew Playford 44.00 Route Reviews and Field Inspections Mike Balliet 14.00 Mike Byrne 16.00 Andrew Playford 48.00 Edible Food Recovery Program Mike Balliet 6.00 Matt Balliet 12.00 Mike Byrne 48.00 Andrew Playford 80.00 ROWP Procurement Mike Balliet 12.00 Mike Byrne 12.00 Task 3 - SB 54 Compliance Manufacturer, Distributor, and Seller Database Mike Balliet 6.00 Mike Byrne 14.00 List of covered materials and Educational Material Develoopment Mike Balliet 4.00 Matt Balliet 40.00 Mike Byrne 12.00 110.00 96.00 138.00 196.00 20%18%26%36% Project Hours Allocation 13 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response edible food recovery program will be reduced through a reduction in inspections (3 year rotating inspection cycle). Thus, our proposed price for years 2 onwards will be 18% lower, unless the City decides to redirect these hours to new or expanded work. The table below shows our proposed hours, hourly billing rates, and costs for this project, both by task and overall. As discussed, we believe our proposed cost will be be reduced to $56,400 unless the City elects to allocate our 100 hour reduction in the proposed scope, to other tasks. 4-Cost for Services As a current vendor to the City of Diamond Bar, our insurance coverages and known to meet your requirements. Task Individual or Item Hours Hourly Rate $ Task 1 - Contract Management 15,000.00$ Mike Balliet 52.00 145.00$ 7,540.00$ Matt Balliet 28.00 125.00$ 3,500.00$ Mike Byrne 12.00 110.00$ 1,320.00$ Andrew Playford 24.00 110.00$ 2,640.00$ Task 2 - SB 1383 Compliance 44,380.00$ Mike Balliet 48.00 145.00$ 6,960.00$ Matt Balliet 28.00 125.00$ 3,500.00$ Mike Byrne 100.00 110.00$ 11,000.00$ Andrew Playford 172.00 110.00$ 18,920.00$ Chow Match or Careit Software 4,000.00$ Task 3 - SB 54 Compliance 9,310.00$ Mike Balliet 10.00 145.00$ 1,450.00$ Matt Balliet 40.00 125.00$ 5,000.00$ Mike Byrne 26.00 110.00$ 2,860.00$ Andrew Playford 110.00$ -$ Total Proposed Budget = 68,690.00$ 14 City of Diamond Bar RFP Response 5-Consulting Services Agreement We agree with the City’s Consulting Services Agreement terms and conditions. 6-Subcontracting We are not using any subcontractors for this engagement. 7-Conflict of Interest CityGreen Connect, LLC, its officers and employees have no interest, and shall not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, financial or otherwise, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of the services requested herein by the City. Consultant further covenants that, in the performance of any contract or agreement resulting from this RFP, no subcontractor or person having such an interest shall be employed. Consultant certifies that to the best of Consultant’s knowledge, no one who has or will have any financial interest under any contract or agreement resulting from this RFP is an officer or employee of the City.