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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/23/1981 - Special Minutes City Council MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1981 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Halter, Councilmen Runnels, Jones, Prause, Dozier, Ringer COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilman Boughton STAFF PRESENT: City P~nager Bardell, Asst. City Manager/Finance Director VanDever, City Engineer Ash, Tax Assessor-Collector/City Secretary Schroeder VISITORS PRESENT: See guest register. A~enda Item No. 1 - Council Concerns. No council concerns. Agenda Item No. 2 - Discussion of contract with Sanders and Thomas on Municipal Solid Waste Study. Mayor Halter presented and explained the contract with Sanders and Thomas. He stated that the College Station, Bryan, and Texas A&M University representatives met last week and decided to present this item to their respective bodies to see if they were interested in proceeding with a study on the site located for a facility that would burn municipal solid waste. He stated that the letter from Mr. James Deal of Sanders and Thomas is a preliminary proposal of what is involved and the cost. The study would involve locating and interviewing potential energy users other than the University. It would also determine the availability, zoning, cost and any institutional factors at potential sites associated with those alternative energy users, and would determine the availability, zoning, cost and any institutional factors associated with sites in the environs of the University. Sanders and Thomas would analyze this data, write and present their final report. The project would cost, including travel and expense, $9,000.00. This would cost the City of College Station $3,000.00. Mayor Halter stated that he felt that it would be economical to generate energy from solid waste rather than to continue to landfill it. He stated that he has studied solid waste since 1974. Councilman Runnels asked what amount and type of power could be generated from the solid waste now. Mayor Halter stated that it would be primarily steam rather than electrical energy. He stated that you can generate electrical energy from steam but solid waste has a variable B.T.U. value. Many factors such as rain can effect it. He stated that it's better used to generate a low temperature pressure steam around 200 pounds. City Manager Bardell stated that they had initially talked about 800 pounds of steam. Now estimates indicate that about 30,000 pounds of low temperature pressure steam could be generated an hour. Mr. Deal pointed out that the main economic factors of the feasibility study a~e whether the city has the garbage to burn and a firm commitment from someone to use it on a daily basis. Also, selection for the conversion process is important. MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1981 5:00 P.M. PAGE 2 Councilman Runnels asked if the mix of the garbage is critical. Mayor Halter stated that it is consistent and not a critical factor. He stated that they could do an analysis to determine the contents but Mr. Deal suggested that unless we have some really unusual circumstances, it would be unnecessary to do this study. City Manager Bardell stated that Mr. Deal estimated our B.T.U.'s between 4,200 and 5,500 per pound. He stated that this will reduce the volume of the garbage approximately 80% and the weight about 85%. Councilman Jones asked what the market would be for the steam. Mayor Halter stated that initially it could be to heat and cool the buildings on the west campus. City Manager Bardell stated that he had received a call from a firm interested in negotiating for purchase of the steam. The firm is not located here presently and could not relocate at this time. Councilman Dozier asked how far the steam could be transported. Mayor Halter stated that it could be tranported approximately 2 miles. He stated that this is the siting problem they have. Sanders and Thomas will be studying possible sites and determining if there is a user for the energy. Mayor Halter pointed out that this system has been tried elsewhere in the country. There have been few failures with this system. Some of the failures were due to technical difficulties, such as it did not perform the way they expected it to. Others were be- cause there was not enough solid waste to operate the system at full capacity. The third reason was due to having no one to buy the steam. Councilman Dozier moved to authorize the city to enter into a contract with Sanders and Thomas Engineering for a preliminary study on the Solid Waste Recovery Facility provided that the other entities also agree. The city will allocate $3,000.00 to be put with the City of Bryan and the University's additional $3,000.00 each to pay Sander and Thomas Engineering the total cost of $9,000.00. Councilman Jones seconded the motion which passed unanimously. City Manager Bardell stated that the $3,000.00 will come from the sanitation contingency fund. Agenda Item No. 3 - Closed session to discuss pending litigation [6252-17(e)] and land acquisitions [6252-17(f)]. The council moved to closed session and later reopened to the public. Agenda Item No. 4 - Action on closed session. Councilman Ringer moved to adopt Resolution No. 11-23-81-4 on the site of the water well located off Sandy Point Road in Brazos County, Texas. MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1981 5:00 P.M. PAGE 3 Councilman Dozier seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Asenda Item No. 5 - Adjourn. Mayor Halter adjourned the meeting at 6:25 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED Gary Halter, ~y°r GUEST REGISTER SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1981 $:00 P.M. PLEASE SIGN BELOW: 16. 17. Se 18. 19. 20. 21. 21. o 23. ® 24. 10. 25. 11. 26. 12. 27. 13. 28. 14. 29. 15. 30.