Title
Resolution to Approve a MRF Education Center Tour Contract with Ecology Center, Inc. ($43,788.00/year)
Memorandum
Attached is a resolution to approve a three-year contract with an option for one, two-year extension at the same rate, with Ecology Center, Inc., for operating the City’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) Education Center tours and open houses at $43,788.00/year with a 3% increase/year. The first-year funding for this contract has been included in the solid waste enterprise fund (60%) and the water utilities fund (40%), both within the Public Services Area approved FY2014 operation and maintenance budget, with proportional increases from each of the funds planned for subsequent years. Continuation of the contract in the second through fifth years will depend on the availability of funding in the budgets for those years. The Ecology Center has also been contracted in a competitively-bid process by the City to provide educational programs in Ann Arbor schools since 1980.
The City has provided MRF tours and open houses for an average of 4,000 visitors/year since the facility opened in 1995. Visitor evaluations for the city’s MRF educational offerings have been consistently high over the years. The tours allow the public to have a first-hand experience with how locally-collected recyclables are processed and what new products are remanufactured from the recovered materials. The MRF tours help support greater quantity and quality of recyclables that come into City-owned facility, which translates into cost-savings for the City by diverting materials from the landfill and directing recyclables to regional markets, wherein the City receives a share of the sales revenues. The MRF tour programs also provide information on composting, household toxics, waste reduction, water and energy conservation and other issues identified by the City. Contracting for the MRF tours will cover the coordination, advertizing, staffing, evaluations, reporting, and suppli...
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