[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6230364,"mediaKeyId","3442260-486bc307cb9e6f8f1a1a6cd4cc1c620f","parentId",3442260,"title","Milwaukie council continues solid-waste rate discussion as consultant flags Metro disposal and fuel-credit impacts","audioSeconds",4189,"startMs",4198000,"endMs",8524,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3442260-486bc307cb9e6f8f1a1a6cd4cc1c620f&start=4198&end=8","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3442260-486bc307cb9e6f8f1a1a6cd4cc1c620f/thumbnail_4198000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6230364/Milwaukie/Clackamas-County/Oregon/Milwaukie-council-continues-solid-waste-rate-discussion-as-consultant-flags-Metro-disposal-and-fuel-credit-impacts","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6230364-8ca2ce16d15e5e8e41cf629e7d35f91d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155240&Signature=mN62WLm9V7CM7~HnaGR5zNUcYQLKrvK0f2tvj2M3Zs4ib5djz9~J-N9aXHJJnbmLrEQ4XS7SXj1QwQansmsGZR5r-78KBhA97wyDNGTDkFTvADB9m6WEUE1p57w6aC5yjCGiajzrXVIFQI1LNEcLec0i2OZWW5giZv0jNBeq2bt2o2Mklzr-BWAwfZ~zVALRYSYnWKxUQJOoJTzYZhtA5xFWUInBXcOdU~PzMdcXojeQssvdgz4i9rDn9zAXc-RZ4Q1ORbg7JyQ~LbBezmGgAP8CACd20X2fVEDv-sH6emoV-yGZ265d2LQzMGmgnuQavsz7YSf~Tqzf-9AH~o8Skw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Milwaukie, OR","date","2025-05-22T09:08:05.56Z","article","Milwaukie council members continued a detailed discussion on solid-waste franchise rates on May 20 after a presentation by consultant Chris Bell of Bell & Associates.

The question is consequential for residents because disposal and collection cost drivers identified by the consultant — Metro disposal fees, organics-processing costs and the end of a compressed natural gas (CNG) tax credit — are expected to raise franchise costs the city passes through to customers.

Chris Bell summarized franchise areas, customer counts and the principal cost drivers. He said Metro’s organic-disposal fee increased 6.9 percent and that the city’s disposal rate is now about $163.27 per ton. Bell said one significant new cost is the expiration of a CNG tax credit that had subsidized haulers that run compressed natural-gas trucks; that change produces an estimated added cost of about $74,000 to the city franchise pool. Bell also said labor-cost assumptions used for haulers were driven by an existing union contract and that overall the year’s disposal increase ended up lower than an initially proposed 9.98 percent — the figure used for budgeting discussions was lowered to about 5.58 percent after regional review. \"This was the first in about 5 years where the cost of the disposal increase wasn't significant,\" Bell said.

Bell walked council through how the franchise rates are calculated: staff compare actual collection and disposal costs for the prior year to the current contracted rates, estimate the delta, and spread that difference across the customer base. He explained that commercial customers and high-weight users (for example, restaurants with food waste) can have different cost impacts because food-heavy loads weigh more, and that some commercial rates are effectively subsidized by the current allocation method.

Council members raised several concerns. Several asked that the city press Metro for more information and for mitigation steps — calling out a regional group that has pressed Metro to reexamine tipping fees and rate-setting. Council members suggested sending a letter or deputizing one or more councilors to speak at a Metro regional committee meeting; staff said Metro’s regional waste committee was meeting May 22 and that elected officials could attend by Zoom.

Councilors also debated two city programs that add to monthly bills: an organics/food-waste pickup program and a bulky-waste pickup program. Staff and the consultant said the marginal cost to the city of organics disposal is materially higher than yard-debris-only processing; councilors discussed utilization, equity and whether the city should pause organics until it can better estimate program participation. Several councilors asked staff to include specific survey questions in an upcoming resident-engagement effort to gauge use of organics and bulky-waste services.

On next steps, staff said they will place the proposed franchise rate adjustments into the city fee schedule for the June 3 council meeting so the schedule can be adopted on the usual timetable, but they will also add resident survey items and return with additional outreach results and possible amendments later if warranted. The council asked two councilors to consider attending the May 22 Metro meeting and to report back.

Quotes from the meeting included Bell’s explanation of how rates are calculated: \"We take the current rate and the new rate, and we calculate what that additional cost is gonna be,\" and his observation about recent disposal cost trends: \"This was the first in about 5 years where the cost of the disposal increase wasn't significant.\" Council members emphasized both the need to push Metro for clarity and the desire to seek resident input before finalizing program changes.

No final vote was recorded at the work session. Staff will bring the fee schedule with the proposed changes to the council for adoption and will return with survey results and any recommended amendments.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Milwaukie City Council Work Session - 5/20/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Milwaukie council members continued a detailed discussion on solid-waste franchise rates on May 20 after a presentation by consultant Chris Bell of Bell & Associates.","taxTitle","Milwaukie, Clackamas County, Oregon","taxId",70312,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6230370,"Milwaukie engineering staff report pond near completion, multiple street projects and yearlong water treatment study",2798,981000,3779000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3442260-486bc307cb9e6f8f1a1a6cd4cc1c620f&start=981&end=3779","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3442260-486bc307cb9e6f8f1a1a6cd4cc1c620f/thumbnail_981000.jpg","/articles/6230370/Milwaukie/Clackamas-County/Oregon/Milwaukie-engineering-staff-report-pond-near-completion-multiple-street-projects-and-yearlong-water-treatment-study","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6230370-a0ec7283850cd770c5acfbc4f7d0319d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155240&Signature=Zda5akaK1xIvxXFQgLC0cfmEsvJlljmcsZ8wy3-prQwR3XWExfJHqPwvPa5NlJrQ--3G8jh0EUkd98DGcydpAcPvUAjYl4C~z7mk0WnlMZ~InsmZOUNnilz1wGpFCoXUTc3m3ADji~1HGCM6eBKWprBs5PUk52bi0FRQ37v2RilqgkUZzjXjn0fJruQpOlOnigiutR~CfDsVNWi8~616iITDlx33K5OlH-~9dWiwV0xXRsR7ZEYAbLLebYRTustwgCuvX4Y-AHgb1uYcypHMCp13uz4oLEMEEjyOhiABYlCgb74cKK~fGu2vPn90Y12EO2JrLbdWT2xZW5iQ2W51ww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Milwaukie engineering staff updated the City Council on May 20 on a cluster of capital improvement projects and on water system planning tied to PFAS testing and EPA timelines.

The briefing matters because the projects affect street access, stormwater management, sewer and water reliability, and multi-year budgets and bids the city must schedule and fund.

Jennifer Gardley, city engineer, told the council the large stormwater pond project is nearly complete and that the only remaining major items are planting the pond banks and installing temporary irrigation and fencing. \"We are super close — right now, only thing we gotta finish up is the pond,\" Gardley said. She said crews will install two years of temporary irrigation to establish plants and that a final walk-through is expected in June.

Engineering described several street projects with near-term schedules. Washington Street paving and associated concrete work are expected to be largely completed by fall 2025, with most plantings postponed until September. A street-maintenance package that would cover about 4.7 miles of work is out to bid with responses due June 5; Gardley said the product would be completed by fall 2025 but that the city may not have budget to do all segments. A slurry-seal program covering about four miles is scheduled for late July to early August, weather permitting.

Monroe Greenway work and coordination with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) remain on ODOT's schedule; Gardley said the East Washington–Monroe segment (30th to Lynnwood) is expected to go out to bid in summer 2026 subject to ODOT process. King Road was described as nearing bid advertisement in early June, with construction likely to start in late October and to run about a year. Other neighborhood projects discussed included Stanley improvements, Waverly (sewer easements delaying bid), and localized curb/sidewalk work and new sidewalk punch lists.

Gardley also summarized utility coordination: PGE and Lumen relocations are complete at several sites; ODOT staging was already appearing on Milwaukee sidewalks and engineers are coordinating to avoid conflicts with city paving schedules.

On water system planning, staff reported PFAS sampling and early treatment work. Gardley said Well 8 testing did not show PFAS in the initial run but that the well had not been run long enough to be conclusive, so follow-up testing and a cleaning are planned. The city received notice that EPA compliance deadlines likely will be extended from 2029 to 2031, which staff said gives additional time for planning and funding.

To evaluate treatment options, the city will deploy a treatment skid and run a roughly yearlong study of PFAS, volatile organic compounds and treatment technologies; staff said hydraulic modeling and consultant task orders to define reservoir siting and pressure zones will start soon, with more detailed results expected in the next six to 12 months. Gardley said the city is considering consolidating treatment at a single site and will study pressure-zone transfers and valve configuration as part of reservoir siting.

Staff also said they will issue on-call construction inspection contracts (two consultants, six-year term, budgeted at $750,000 each) to augment inspection capacity; a contract award was anticipated to come forward in June. The CIP roadmap presented to the council set an August discussion on affordability goals, November policy direction on CIP prioritization, a February draft CIP and an adoption window in May of the following year.

Council members asked about neighborhood access during narrow-street projects, whether planned medians would block bike/pedestrian routes, and outreach to affected residents; Gardley and staff said they plan mailed notices, neighborhood open-house booths and coordination with contractors to maintain traffic lanes where possible. She told council that some sidewalk tree-well performance will need a full winter season to evaluate.

Next steps: bids and consultant negotiations scheduled this summer; final walk-throughs and project close-outs for several streets this fall; hydraulic modeling and the PFAS treatment-skid pilot over the next 12 months, and formal award actions for inspection contracts and design consultants at upcoming council meetings.","City engineering presented progress and timelines for a suite of capital projects — including a near-complete stormwater pond, Washington Street paving, King Road and Monroe Greenway work — and outlined next steps on water quality testing and treatment planning after PFAS sampling and an EPA compliance timeline change.","actionData","errors"]

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Milwaukie council continues solid-waste rate discussion as consultant flags Metro disposal and fuel-credit impacts

Milwaukie engineering staff report pond near completion, multiple street projects and yearlong water treatment study