HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 6954 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 6954
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~oE fORT�p To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 17, 1984
\. ,.' GARBAGE BAG SALES
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Background
Since 1971, residents of Fort Worth have been asked to dispose of gar-
bage in plastic bags. The change from cans to bags enabled the City's
Solid Waste Division to reduce staffing and to implement other changes
that have improved efficiency. Because of the concern that animals
would break bags and scatter garbage, and that the price of bags would
skyrocket, the City promised to provide high quality, low cost bags.
The decision was made to purchase and sell them at the City's fire sta-
tions.
Currenty, the City sells plastic garbage bags at 27 fire stations and
City Hall. The price per roll of fifty bags is $4.50, including tax.
In the past, bag sales totaled approximately 300,000 rolls annually.
However, sales decreased to 206,442 rolls sold in FY 83-84 and it is
projected that sales in FY 83-84 will decline to 200,000 rolls. Both
the decreasing number of bags sold and the increasing cost of bags to
the City have reduced the revenue derived from the sale of bags. The
revenue from bag sales is still sufficient to cover the cost of pur-
chasing and distributing the bags; however, a survey to determine how
the City's garbage bag compares with other bags of similar size and
quality was conducted recently. The information gathered indicates that
the City's bag is "best buy." The only bag that is comparable in size,
quality, and price is a bag manufactured by the City's previous supplier
and sold by 7-Eleven stores in Fort Worth for $4.75 including sales tax,
per roll of fifty bags.
It is believed that bag sales have decreased Fire Department personnel
have begun spending more time away from the stations in the past two
years as a result of several new programs. Consequently, personnel are
not available to sell bags to citizens.
Increasing Bag Sales
It is proposed that sales locations be expanded to include six community
centers and seven brach libraries at the following locations:
East Branch Library North Branch Library
2000 Stark 601 Park
Northeast Branch Library South Branch Library
2913 Yucca 501 E. Bolt
Southeast Branch Library Southwest Branch Library
4300 E. Berry 3816 Kimberly Lane
West Branch Library Worth Heights Center
3628 Bernie Anderson 3551 New York
Como Center Martin Luther King Cente
4900 Horne 5565 Truman
L ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER - FORT WORTH, TEXAS —
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 6954 - p.2
QTo the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 17, 1984
Subject: GARBAGE BAG SALES
Northside Center North Tri-Ethnic Center
18th & Harrington 2950 Roosevelt
Riverside Center
201 S. Sylvania
Expanding the sale of plastic garbage bags to these sites will require
the expenditure of funds for safes and liners, a metal storage buildinq
for each of the branch library sites, the expansion of the armored car
route, and new signs at each location. The estimated cost to include
the branch libraries and ccrmunity centers in bag sales is $26,905 and
will as follows:
Purchase and installation $7,930
of 13 safes and 26 liners
Purchase and installation $4,600
of 7 storage buildings
Armored Car service @ $17 $13,260 per year
40 signs 18" x 24", .032 $1,115
Aluminum
No additional personnel or equipment will be required to make bag deli-
veries to the additional locations. To reach a break-even point after
the expenditure of $26,905, an additional 5,979 rolls of bags will have
to be sold. Based on a recent 12-week survey, average annual bag sales
for each fire station is 8,073 rolls. It is reasonable to expect that
each additional sales location could sell at least 460 rolls of bags per
year, given the amount of citizen traffic that each of these locations
experiences daily.
Recommendation
Based on the preceding information, it is reccm-r-ended that staff proceed
with the actions necessary to expand plastic garbage bag sales to the
branch libraries and corrunity centers.
If additional information is desired, it will be furnished upon request.
Robert L. Herche
City Manager
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ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER - FORT WORTH, TEXAS