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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12191989 - IO.3 I.O.-3 T0: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS _ L Contra FROM: Costa INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE °' z a County C" DATE: �PSrq c6iriCl December 11, 1989 SUBJECT: STATUS OF PLANS TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM TO ADDRESS PROBLEM AREAS OF THE COUNTY BECAUSE OF LITTERING VIOLATIONS SPECIFIC REQUESTS)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECONP ENDATIONS 1. Concur with the concept of a three-stage program for addressing littering problems which are identified as chronic, as outlined in the memorandum from the Health Services Director dated December 5, 1989 . 2. Request the Health Services Director to outline such a public education and enforcement program in more detail and present it to the 1990 Internal Operations Committee by February 1 , 1990 and for this purpose refer the attached program to the 1990 Internal Operations Committee. 3 . Request County Counsel to advise the Health Services Director and County Administrator whether it is possible for the County to selectively require that garbage bills be placed on a property owners ' property tax bill in order to insure that the bill is paid and that subscription to garbage service continues . 4. Remove this item as a referral to our Committee. BACKGROUND: on October 3 , 1989 the Board of Supervisors referred to our Committee a proposal that student workers or participants from the Work Alternative Program be recruited to identify areas of the County which have chronic problems with littering violations Yes CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMIT EE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): TOM POWERS SUNNE WRIGHT McPEAK ACTION OF BOARD ON December 19 , 1989 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT I ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD' ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Administrator ATTESTED— Health TTESTED Health Services Director PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF County Counsel SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR William Walker, M.D. , Director of Environmental Health M382 (,0/88) Jim Blake, Environmental Health BY DEPUTY and work to resolve these problems . In response to this referral the Health Services Director has filed the attached report with our Committee. On December 11 , 1989 our Committee met with Jim Blake from the Health Services Department for the purpose of reviewing the proposed program. The general concept calls for, first, a public education program which would describe the advantages to the property owner of maintaining his or her property in a clean and neat condition, free of refuse, rubbish and garbage and accumulations of abandoned vehicles, building materials and other items which make a piece of property an eyesore if not a health hazard for neighbors. This first phase would also include an effort to elicit the support of the community to wanting to keep their neighborhood clean. The second phase of the program would focus on putting drop boxes at strategic locations in the area so residents could use them to dispose of accumulations of trash. The final stage of the program would include formal notice and abatement action against those property owners who are unwilling to cooperate with the program. The Board of Supervisors will shortly be asked to revise the tipping fee for solid waste enforcement programs. This proposed fee will include sufficient funds to pay for the additional costs of the proposed program. In view of the chronic problems with which all of our offices deal on a regular basis, our Committee believes that the general concept of this program, which seeks to educate and solicit the cooperation of the neighborhood to improve their own neighborhood, bears further investigation. We are, therefore, suggesting that the Health Services Department staff prepare a more detailed program and present it to the 1990 Internal Operations Committee. We would hope that such a program could be implemented in conjunction with our celebration of Earth Month in April, 1990 . Contra The Board of Supervisors Costa Health Services Department Tom Powers,1st District County Nancy C.Fanden,2nd District OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR Robert I.Schroder,3rd District S. c Snne Wright McPeak,4th District �t., o` Wil_ - Mark Finucane,Director Tom Tortakson,5th District =_ Administrative Offices County Administrator °' !z 20 Allen Street T; oa Martinez,California 94553 Phil Batchelor c `�J. (415)646-4416 County Administrator TO: Board of Supervi o s DATE: December 5, 1989 Inter 4iinuuane�, erat' o s Committee FROM: Mark i.rector S B U J. Litter Control In response to your request, we have prepared the concept of a program to improve environmental conditions in the unincorporated area. The details of the program will be submitted for your approval if you concur with our concept of the way we would like to approach this issue. The detailed outline would be made available for your review within - 30 days of your approval of our general concept. We would suggest that a three stage program be implemented to address some of the solid waste issues. The three stages can be described as follows: Stage 1 Distribution of printed material to each property owner/tenant in designated areas. This material should describe the advantages of maintaining property in a fashion that would be appropriate and how the individual can participate in the process: a. Maintain and/or improve property values. b. Reduce the potential for rodent harborage. C. Reduce the potential for fire. d. Minimize the potential for fly propagation. e. Spread the cost of controlling the accumulation of refuse over an entire term of residential occupancy. Many of the abatements now processed by Health Services result in a charge of thousands of dollars added to a single property tax bill. A-345 (11/87) s Board of Supervisors Internal Operations Committee -2- December 5, 1989 f. Describe the services available from various county depart- ments. The descriptions should be so detailed as to assure that code violations will be referred to the proper depart- ment on initial referral. g. Encourage citizens to become an active participant in community improvement projects. h. Emphasize tenant and landlord responsibilities. i. Tactfully remind people that there are formal regulatory procedures for assuring compliance. with certain minimum requirements and describe those requirements. j . Strongly emphasize that we are soliciting the entire com- munity' s assistance in improving the quality of life in our county. Additionally, we would recommend for Stage 1 that an extensive media coverage be given to the effort. It may be advisable to take photographs to show the before and after. Stage 2 To assist impacted communities we would suggest that waste drop boxes be placed at strategic locations in communities that had been exposed to Stage 1. Notification of the location of the boxes and the dates available would be publicized. The boxes and possibly some of the streets in the impacted area could be posted with colorful signs to emphasize the reasons for the boxes. Stage 3 All non-complying properties would be given formal abatement notices to eliminate the solid waste nuisance on their property. The same non-complying property owners would also be directed to subscribe to solid waste collection service. The costs of this proposed program would be recovered as a part of the solid waste tipping fee. We have estimated the additional costs of the program at approximately $10 ,000 for the first six months. This would include funding for pamphlets , student workers for doing surveys and drop boxes. The Health Services Director is proposing an increase in the tipping fee that will recover the cost of this program as well as increases in other solid waste enforcement costs. Board of Supervisors Internal Operations Committee -2- December 5, 1989 The student workers would be assigned to making detailed surveys of selected neighborhoods. They would also be responsible for recording addresses of properties that were non-complying, taking photographs and making follow-up inspections at the end of Stages I and 2.