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INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No.
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 24 , 1989
'19'KNITARY LANDFILL AGREEMENT
Waste Management of Fort Worth, Inc. has requested (letter dated
January 5 , 1989 from David Fielding, which is attached) an
extension of the Eastside Sanitary Landfill Agreement . The
current agreement requires Waste Management to stop taking in
waste into this landfill on June 30 , 1989. The landfill would be
completely closed and the property given to the City by January
1 , 1990 . This property would eventually be developed as part of
Gateway Park.
Because the amount of fill going into this site has decreased
from the original projections, the contours and elevations
included in the current agreement will not be met . The landfill
will have considerable volume left unfilled by June 30 , 1989 . An
extension of the agreement would allow Waste Management to use
the unfilled volume and meet the desired contours and elevations .
Landfill space within the City is valuable commodity, and the
City's sanitation operation could benefit from the continued use
of the landfill . At the same time, staff is aware of t,he
agreement to close the landfill by -June 30 , 1989 and is prepared
to pursue such closure if desired by City Council .
In light of the importance of this issue, how does City Council
wish to handle this issue raised in the Waste Management letter?
If City Council wishes to pursue Waste Management 's proposal ,
does City Council desire to establish a special Council Committee
to consider the issues? Would City Council wish to conduct a
public hearing on the general proposal before authorizing
negotiations? Does Council wish to refer the Waste Management
letter to the Park and Recreation Board for recommendations?
Councilman Lancaster may wish to guide Council on how to proceed.
Waste Management has offered to continue payments to the City and
support projects which would benefit the citizenry of Fort Worth
if the agreement is extended. Eastside citizens have also
identified some projects they would like to see supported if the
extension of the landfill agreement is approved.
City staff requests guidance from the City Council on whether
discussion of extension of the landfill agreement should be
initiated with Waste Management and what role should the staff
have in these discussions.
City Manager
Attachment
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
FIELDING. BARRETT. HUNTER &TAYLOR
ATTORNEYS
300 WESTERN NATIONAL BUILDING
9851 HIGHWAY 80%%TM
Fr,WORTH.TEXAS 761 W1969
CARMAN E.ADJUNS
DANIEL R.BARRETT,
DAVID FIELDING
MICHAEL B.HUNTER
SUSAN E.HUTCHISON
WAYNE K.OLSON
Ttm G.SRALLA TELEPHONE NO,
E.ALLEN TAYLOR.JR. January 5, 1989 917.56"303
*BOARD CERTIFIED PERSONAL INIURY TRIAL LAW
TEXAS BOARD OF LEGAL SPECIALIZATION
Mayor Bob Bolen
Members of the City Council
City Hall
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Re: Extension of Eastside Sanitary Landfill Agreement
Dear Mayor Bolen and Members of the Council:
Several years ago, our client, Waste Management of Fort
Worth, Inc. , entered into an agreement with the City of Fort
00"k Worth concerning the operation of the Eastside Sanitary
Landfill. Under the terms of that agreement, the parties
agreed to extend the life of the landfill until June 30,
1989, and in exchange for this agreement, our client was to
do a number of things. Pursuant to the terms of that
agreement, our client has paid to the City, or will have paid
to them by June 30, 1989, the sum of $500, 000 for the
development of Gateway Park in the landfill area, has paid
$45,000 toward the construction of a ball diamond in the
park, has acquired more than $250,000 worth of real property
to donate to the City as part of the park and has been
filling the landfill pursuant to the terms of the agreement.
Under the agreement, our client agreed to provide the
landforms and contours for the Gateway Park Plan developed by
the Streams and Valleys Committee in consultation with the
park planning firm of Zion & Breen. Our client agreed to
provide these landforms and contours subject to the
availability of a sufficient amount of fill material coming
into the landfill.
Our client stands ready, willing and able to fully
comply with all of the terms of the agreement and to close
the landfill on June 30, 1989. However, an insufficient
amount of fill material has been coming into the landfill to
achieve the elevations required by the park plan. our client
has informally discussed with City Staff the possibility of
extending the landfill so that these elevations can be
January 5, 1989
Page 2
obtained. The purpose of this letter is to request that you
formally assign this project to the Staff and request that
they work with our client in an effort to evaluate whether
the life of the landfill should be extended.
Our client is mindful of the fact that this issue has
created a great deal of discussion in East Fort Worth in
years past. At the suggestion of a number of individuals, we
have been having informal discussions with Eastside residents
concerning this project, and we have also spoken with nearby _
property owners, including the Amon Carter Foundation. Our
goal was to seek information from these sources to determine
whether Waste Management might be in a position to
participate in projects that might be beneficial to the
Eastside of Fort Worth that would make the continuing
landfilling operations more palatable to the people who live
there. We have endeavored to contact a large segment of the
Eastside population and are enclosing with this letter
copies of a newsletter we sent to the residents of White Lake
Hills and a number of other Eastside neighborhoods. As a
OP"'` result of our client's efforts, we have identified a number
of projects that seen worthy of consideration and which might
make the continuing operation of the landfill more acceptable
to those who are most affected by it. We would very much
appreciate your asking the Staff to work with us and
scheduling this matter for a January council agenda so that a
decision can be made as soon as possible. Frankly, if our
client is to close the landfill by June 30, 1989, it needs to
have an answer on the extension by the end of January.
Our client looks forward to working with you and members
of the Staff as well as residents of East Fort Worth in an
effort to have this matter resolved as intelligently and
amicably as possible.
Very truly yours,
David Fielding
DF/mhp
66/GD
Enclosure