08-16-17 Personnel and Finance (#1)

Home Browse Search

few projects our Sustainability Office is involved in. We are moving toward a few electric stations to allow electric vehicles to charge. The greenhouse reduction strategy is also underway. We have a WorkSmart Committee where we interface with all the departments in the City and train employees to be more efficient in how they manage their own office spaces and physical environment,with the goal of creating a culture of sustainability in the City. We are also involved in supporting initiatives such as biking, walking,transit and other mobility and accessibility projects. We are looking at an AmeriCorps program to provide volunteers to low- income properties to provide assistance for weatherization and teach individuals how to be more efficient in how they use their energy. We are also looking at small consulting projects where we can provide assistance to different departments for HVAC lighting services like solar. The Streets and Sewers Division is involved in a number of activities. As of today, we have completed fourteen point three (14.3) miles of main roads paved throughout the City. We expect the total number at the end of the year to be about twenty-eight miles (28). As a reference point, we have about two thousand two-hundred (2,200) lane miles in the City, so there is a lot to cover. We use an industry-standard rating system where we rate the condition of all the pavement and we are able to prioritize the top fifteen(15) or sixteen (16) miles based on that. There is now available a map at www.southbendin.gov/projectmap which allows residents to see the condition of the work in their block or on their street,but also City-wide. Our sweepers have completed one (1) round throughout the City. Our Traffic and Lighting office is focused on converting many of the street lights into LED for greater efficiency. We have completed about fifty-nine (59) so far with ninety (90) left to be done. They also provide support for events. Our Sewer team has been busy since our heavy rain in August 2016 with a number of digs. We have also completed approximately two thousand eight-hundred (2,800) feet of sidewalk and another two thousand seven-hundred (2,700) feet of curb projects. Mr. Kain briefly discussed the Department's MBH revenue and expense, primarily referencing the graph depicted in the presentation. He stated, You will notice the revenue increased in 2018 due to the gas tax increase, and that will result in approximately $1.4 million coming in to the fund, and that will allow us to do more paving. It will also help support our work on traffic signals. Our Solid Waste fleet has been converted to CNG and will continue to do that over the next couple of years. We have been converting a majority of our City to front-side garbage pick- up. There are few cases where we would continue alley pick-up, but the vast majority of the City will have front-side pick-up by the end of 2018. The yard waste pick-up program has been really popular. The participation rate has been higher than initially estimated, more than half of the City is utilizing the program and it continues to grow on a monthly basis. In addition to the weekly pick-up, we offer one (1) free pick-up per month. Container management is a large part of our work, too. To date, we have supplied approximately seven thousand six-hundred(7,600) yard waste containers. He then briefly overviewed the Solid Waste Capital Expenses depicted in the last two (2) slides of the presentation. Committee Chair White thanked the Departments for their presentations and reminded the Departments and members of the public there will be an opportunity for questions and comments at the next budget hearing. Jen Hockenhull, City Controller with offices on the 12th floor of the County-City Building, stated, The presentations made today will be available in the next twenty-four(24)hours on the 8