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06.f Scandia Recycling Grant_2024 -1- 2024 GRANT AGREEMENT FOR MUNICIPAL RECYCLING GRANT DISTRIBUTION THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into by and between the County of Washington, hereinafter referred to as the "County", and the City of Scandia, 14727 209th Street North, Scandia, MN 55073, hereinafter referred to as the "Grantee". WHEREAS, the County desires to encourage and provide opportunities for residential recycling to reduce the County's reliance on solid waste disposal facilities, and WHEREAS, the Washington County Board of Commissioners has budgeted funds to be used to further develop recycling projects in the County. NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows: 1. Term: The term of the Agreement shall be from the date this Agreement is approved by the County to December 31, 2024. 2. The County's Obligations: The County will pay the Grantee an amount of up to $8,164.00 which is to be used for recycling program expenses in 2024. Payment will be within 60 days of execution of this Agreement. 3. The Grantee's Obligations: a. The Grantee agrees to follow their 2024 Municipal Recycling Grant Application and the guidelines therein (Exhibit A). b. The Grantee will use all recycling grant money received in 2024 as a result of this Agreement, for base funding activities, recycling projects, and public education related to recycling, as indicated in Exhibit A. If all recycling grant funds are not used within the grant period, the Grantee must return unexpended funds to the County unless the County approves utilizing the unspent funds for recycling projects the following year. c. The Grantee shall sign and return this Agreement to the County by July 1, 2024. Failure to do so will result in a reduction or loss of grant funds. d. The Grantee agrees to support State efforts in obtaining hauler reports by ensuring compliance through ordinance, contract or license requirements and the ability to exercise punitive actions, if needed. e. The Grantee will prepare and submit annual work plan project reports to the County. The reports shall cover the time period from January 1 to December 31 and shall be submitted to the County by January 31st of the year following the reporting period. The annual reports are available on the County’s Municipal Recycling Grant Application and Reporting software (Re-TRAC Connect). f. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Sections 115A.46 and 115A.471, all waste generated by city/township government activities (including city/town halls, public WASHINGTON COUNTY CONTRACT # PUBLIC HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT TERM: Date of final signature - 12/31/24 -2- works buildings, parks, and for city/townships that arrange for waste services on behalf of their residents) shall be delivered to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy Center in Newport for disposal. Failure to comply with this provision shall constitute a breach of this Grant Agreement. g. The parties agree that if the Grantee contracts or otherwise arranges for municipal solid waste hauling service on behalf of its residents and/or businesses and the Grantee issues bills for this service, the Grantee shall bill the County Environmental Charge (CEC) as a separate line item on the solid waste bill and shall make reasonable effort to collect the CEC. Exception to this provision is if the licensed hauler collected the CEC for the previous year. All County Environmental Charges collected shall be remitted to the County according to section 14.5 of Washington County Ordinance #178 or its replacement, Ordinance #194, effective July 1st, 2014. Failure of the Grantee to comply with this provision shall constitute a breach of this Grant Agreement and will result in loss of grant funds. 4. Indemnification and Insurance: a. The Grantee agrees it will defend, indemnify and hold harmless the County, its officers and employees against any and all liability, loss, costs, damages, and expenses which the County, its officers, or employees may hereafter sustain, incur, or be required to pay arising out of the negligent or willful acts or omissions of the Grantee in the performance of this agreement. b. The Grantee agrees that in order to protect itself, as well as the County, under the indemnity provisions set forth above, it will at all times during the term of this Agreement, keep in force the following insurance protection in the limits specified: 1. Commercial General Liability with Contractual liability coverage in the amount of $1,500,000 per occurrence with a $3,000,000 aggregate. An excess or umbrella liability policy may be used in conjunction with primary coverage limits to meet the minimum limit requirements. 2. Automobile coverage in the amount of $1,500,000 on a combined single limit basis and include hired and non-owned. 3. Worker’s Compensation in statutory amount. (if applicable) Washington County shall be listed as additional insured as it relates to Commercial General Liability and Automobile Liability. Prior to the effective date of this Contract, the Grantee will furnish the County with a current and valid proof of insurance certificate indicating insurance coverage in the amounts required by this Contract. This certificate of insurance shall be on file with the County throughout the term of the Contract. As a condition subsequent to this Contract, Grantee shall ensure that the certificate of insurance provided to the County will at all times be current. The parties agree that failure by the Grantee to maintain a current certificate of insurance with the County shall be a substantial breach of the Contract and payments on the Contract shall be withheld by the County until a certificate of insurance showing current insurance coverage in amounts required by the Contract is provided to the County. -3- Any policy obtained and maintained under this clause shall provide that it shall not be cancelled, materially changed, or not renewed without thirty days’ notice thereof to the County. 5. Data Practices: All data collected, created, received, maintained, or disseminated for any purposes by the activities of Grantee because of this Agreement is governed by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, as amended, the Minnesota Rules implementing such Act now in force or as adopted, as well as Federal regulations on data privacy. 6. Condition Subsequent: It is understood and agreed that in the event that reimbursement to the County from state sources is not obtained and continued at a level sufficient to allow the Grant, the obligations of each party hereunder shall thereupon be reviewed to determine the necessity of renegotiating all or parts of this Agreement. 7. Records Availability and Retention: Pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 16C.05, Subd. 5, the Grantee agrees that the County, the State Auditor, or any of their duly authorized representatives at any time during normal business hours and as often as they may reasonably deem necessary, shall have access to and the right to examine, audit, excerpt, and transcribe any books, documents, papers, records, etc. which are pertinent to the accounting practices and procedures of the Grantee and involve transactions relating to this Agreement. Grantee agrees to maintain these records for a period of six (6) years from the date of termination of this Agreement. 8. Independent Contractor: Nothing contained in this Agreement is intended or should be construed as creating the relationship of co-partners or joint ventures with the County. No tenure or any rights or benefits, including Worker's Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, medical care, sick leave, vacation leave, severance pay, PERA, or other benefits available to County employees, shall accrue to the Grantee or employees of the Grantee performing services under this Agreement. 9. Nondiscrimination: The Grantee agrees to comply with the nondiscrimination provision set forth in Minnesota Statute 181.59 and not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. -4- The Grantee’s failure to comply with this requirement may result in cancellation or termination of the Contract, and all money due or to become due under the Contract may be forfeited for a second or any subsequent violation of the terms or conditions of this Contract. 10. Firearms Prohibited: Unless specifically required by the terms of this Contract or the person it is subject to an exception provided by 18 USC§ 926B or 926C (LEOSA) no provider of services pursuant to this Contract or subcontractors shall carry or possess a firearm on County premises or while acting on behalf of Washington County pursuant to the terms of this Contract. Violation of this provision is grounds for immediate suspension or termination of this Contract. 11. Noncompliance by Grantee: If the County finds that there has been a failure to comply with the provisions of this Agreement, the County may terminate the Agreement at any time following seven (7) days written notice to the Grantee and upon failure of the Grantee to cure the default within the seven day period. The County will require the Grantee to repay the grant funds in full or in a portion determined by the County. Nothing herein shall be construed so as to limit the County's legal remedies to recover grant funds. 12. Termination: This Agreement may be canceled by either party upon thirty (30) days written notice. Notice to the Cities shall be mailed to the City Administrator or to the City Clerk if there is no Administrator. Notice to Townships shall be mailed to the Township Clerk. Notice shall be sent to the official business address of the City or Township. Notice to the County shall be mailed to: Department of Public Health and Environment, 14949 62nd Street N, PO Box 6, Stillwater, MN 55082-0006. 13. Merger and Modification: a. It is understood and agreed that the entire Agreement between the parties is contained here and that this Agreement supersedes all oral agreements and negotiations between the parties relating to the subject matter. All items referred to in this Agreement are incorporated or attached and are deemed to be part of this Agreement. b. Any material alterations, variations, modifications, or waivers of provisions of this Agreement shall be valid only when they have been reduced to writing as an Amendment and signed by the parties. 14. Force Majeure Events: -5- For purposes of this agreement, “Force Majeure” refers to an event that by its nature is unforeseen, or, if it was foreseen, was beyond reasonable control by either party. With a Force Majeure event, the parties agree to 1) make an attempt to reschedule any such municipally planned events impacted included but not limited to community clean-ups, collection events, planned performances, and promotional campaigns, or 2) substitute the impacted event with other acceptable recycling efforts as outline in Exhibit A of this agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the dates indicated below. GRANTEE WASHINGTON COUNTY BY:_ __________________________________ BY: David Brummel, Director TITLE: Department of Public Health and Environment DATE: DATE:____________________________ _ APPROVED AS TO FORM BY: ____ ______________________ Ass't Washington Co. Attorney DATE: __ ______________ 1 2024 Municipal Recycling Grant Guidelines Municipalities in Washington County are responsible for establishing and maintaining municipal recycling programs. The County provides educational, financial and technical assistance to local governments to aid these programs. The County’s municipal recycling grant program assists municipalities with recycling program expenses. Grant funding levels are dependent on municipality household counts and recycling program activities. Municipalities are encouraged to apply for the maximum level of funding. Four levels of grant funding are available: 1. Base Funding: funding to cover administrative and program expenses to sustain existing programs and covers the BASIC category of the recycling continuum. Base funding is dependent on the number of households in a community. 2. Project Funding: funding to target specific grant projects that are related to achieving recycling goals and covers projects contained in the IMPROVED and ADVANCED categories of the recycling continuum. 3. Incentive Funding: funding for one-time special projects or purchases that cannot be covered with project funding. Project funding shall be used for before incentive funding is applied for. 4. Shared Resources Funding: funding for collaboration among multiple municipalities. I. Eligibility Requirements To receive funding through the Washington County municipal recycling grant program, municipalities must meet the following eligibility requirements: 1. A municipality’s curbside recycling program shall be established by; 1) ordinance, 2) contracted with a hauler, or 3) a hauler be licensed to operate within the municipality. 2. Municipality must support State efforts in obtaining hauler reports by ensuring compliance through ordinance, contract or license requirements and the ability to exercise punitive actions, as needed. 3. All multi-unit dwellings (4 or more units) must have recycling service available. 4. At a minimum, the municipality must meet or plan to meet the components under the BASIC category of the recycling continuum (see page 8). 5. At a minimum, municipal staff must participate in two recycling coordinator meetings and one meeting with PHE staff per year to develop the grant project work plan(s). 6. Supply Verification of Compliance with Minnesota Statute 115.471 and 115A.46 Public Entities Law (if applicable). 7. Submit completed previous grant cycle expenditures and project final reports. 8. Submit complete application and project(s) form, as applicable. Complete projects and performance measures outlined on the application or return funds for incomplete projects. 9. Continue to make progress along the municipal recycling performance continuum. 2 Washington County, on behalf of State requirements, reserves the right to withhold any and all funding from municipalities for; 1) failure to report on previous grant activities of a municipality (not in good effort), 2) failure to complete application and project work plans and 3) failure to not actively engaging with PHE staff in grant funding activities and the execution of projects. II. Funding Application Municipalities must complete a funding application by February 29th, 2024, to receive grant funding. Applications and yearly work plan(s) must be submitted using Re-TRAC Connect. III. Grant Funding Allocation Funding is separated into four (4) categories: 1. Base funding: funding for activities that sustain the municipalities existing recycling program. This includes funding for administration of a recycling ordinance, resident questions, completing the municipal grant application, work plan(s) and annual report, residential recycling information, website maintenance, and meeting the BASIC category of the continuum, which can be found on page 8. The table below shows how base funding is determined for each community. # of Households Eligible Amount for Base Funding <450 $1,500.00 451-1000 $2,500.00 1001-2000 $5,000.00 2001-5000 $10,000.00 5001-10000 $20,000.00 >10000 $30,000.00 Note: household data is retrieved from the Metropolitan Council’s most recent population estimates. These estimates are the official population and household estimates for state government purposes, including how local government aid (LGA) and local street aid allocations are determined. Previous year estimates are prepared the following year and certified by July 15. 2. Project funding: funding to develop and implement new or expanded recycling projects that encourage movement along the recycling continuum in the IMPROVED and ADVANCED categories, found on page 8. A municipality is eligible to receive $0.50/household/project. A municipality may qualify for up to four projects per year. 3. Incentive funding: one-time special project funding for large purchases that cannot be covered with project funding. Incentive funding can be applied for after the February 29th grant application deadline so long as the municipality meets to discuss with PHE staff. Funding can be requested and utilized at any time during the 2024 grant cycle. 3 4. Shared Resource funding: this is targeted to fund collaborations among municipalities. Municipalities participating in shared resource funding must designate one municipality to act as representative and fiscal agent to be liaison with the county. IV. Eligible Expenses Grant funds are used for the following expenses and are subject to approval by PHE staff: 1. Administrative (maximum of 75% of County grant funds) • Salary and legal costs of personnel only while directly working on, part time or full time, the planning, implementation and promotion of eligible activities. • Salaries, benefits and mileage for consultant services or temporary help with prior written approval from PHE and must be related to eligible activities. • County-approved educators, performers, and municipal staff who help implement required education activities using County toolkits and standardized messaging. 2. Capital Expenses • Event recycling containers • Public space recycling containers • Recycling containers and education for municipally owned/operated buildings and internal spaces • Resident-only municipal food scraps drop-off site 3. Public Education and Promotion* • Design, production, and distribution of flyers, brochures, newsletter articles, posters, advertisements, videos, billboards, audio (radio, video, television, theater), electronic (website and e-news) and other communication promotional items reaching at least 1% of a community’s population • Disseminating Washington County flyers, brochures, newsletters, posters, advertisements, videos, billboards, audio (radio, video, television, theatre) electronic (website and e-news) and other communication promotional items • Development of promotional materials for a community event such as a clean-up day or road clean up event • The percentage of cost for a municipality’s newsletter devoted to recycling • Environmental commissions and related expenses directly related to recycling and waste education (maximum of 25% of County grant funds) 4. Singular Item Collection • Design, production, and distribution of flyers, brochures, newsletter articles, posters, advertisements, videos, billboards, audio (radio, video, television, theater), electronic (website and e-news) and other communication specific to the collection of a specific item or material.* • Disposal costs of items collected for recycling or reuse at special collection events by an approved County vendor 5. Other • Yard waste, recycling, or composting project • Reuse projects and promotion • Other expenses with prior written approval from the PHE *Municipalities should reference MN State Statute 16C.073 for purchasing of paper for print materials. 4 V. Ineligible Expenses Ineligible expenses are considered the following and subject to review by PHE: 1. Permanent, single sort, year-round recycling drop-off locations 2. Disposal expenses for community clean up events or road cleanup activities where specific items are not directed to recycling or reuse 3. Expenses for non-waste abatement, such as energy or ground water 4. Ongoing recycling or garbage service fees (collection, processing, transportation) 5. Costs for office equipment and supplies 6. Street sweeping expenses 7. Beautification projects or rain gardens 8. Lobbying and legal expenses 9. Food or refreshments 10. Funding currently budgeted or being provided by applicant VI. Standard List of Residential Curbside Recyclables to Be Collected Curbside for Single Sort Collection PHE created the list of standard recyclable materials to be collected curbside after researching current materials collected curbside by haulers as well as the availability of viable end markets for those materials. This list covers only the minimum materials recommended for residential curbside collection. A municipality may require the collection of additional recyclable materials. A municipality may choose how to enforce such as through ordinance or hauler licensing. The Standard List of Residential Curbside recyclables can be found at the link below. Washington County Standard List of Residential Curbside Recyclables This standard list of recyclables for single sort recycling collection will be periodically reviewed and updated by PHE as additional materials and end markets become available. PHE may add materials to this list and require municipalities to begin collection of the new materials within one year of receiving notification from the PHE. VII. Verification of Compliance with Minnesota Statute 115.471 and 115A.46 Public Entities Law As a condition of eligibility for the Washington County Municipal Recycling Grant funds, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 115A.46, subd. 5 and 115A.471, all waste generated by municipal government activities, including, but not limited to city/town halls, public works buildings, parks, etc., and waste arranged or waste contract for on behalf of its residents (such as organized garbage collection), must be managed in accordance with the County’s Solid Waste Management Plan and delivered to the Ramsey/Washington County Resource Recovery Facility in Newport for disposal. Failure to comply with this provision shall constitute a breach of the Municipal Recycling Grant Agreement. VIII. Reporting 5 1. Hauler Reporting The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (the State) will collect tonnage reports directly from haulers on behalf of counties and municipalities. Reports will be collected on a quarterly basis and will have tonnage amounts for MSW/garbage, recycling and source separated organics listed for each county. To ensure data is provided to the State quarterly, municipalities are expected to continue their role in enforcing hauler compliance through existing ordinances, contracts or licenses with haulers. Municipalities are expected to exercise punitive actions, if needed. The final, compiled hauler reports will be available on the County’s Re-TRAC Connect system for municipality’s to view after the reporting period has closed. 2. Annual Work Plan Project Status Reports Municipalities receiving funding through the Washington County municipal recycling grant program must complete annual work plan project status reports. The annual report is a measure of a municipality’s progress towards meeting components on the recycling continuum and on program expenditures. Annual reports must be completed by the municipality receiving the grant by January 31st of each year using the County’s Re-TRAC Connect system. • Work plan project status report: o project completion (yes/no) o performance measurements (minimum of 3 forms of measurement, as identified in work plan, should be reported) o description of information helpful to other municipalities desiring to replicate projects 3. Final Program Expenditures Report Municipalities receiving funding through the Washington County municipal recycling grant program must complete final program expenditures report at the end of the grant term. Reports must be completed to receive funding in future grant cycles. Components to be included in the final report includes the following: • Program expenditures: Total program expenditures must equal total program revenue. o Administrative costs including 1. Direct salaries 2. Direct membership, training, subscriptions 3. Consultant services and or temporary help 4. Promotion 5. Design, printing and postage 6. Advertisements/Videos/Promotional items 7. Special events 8. Other (list and describe) o Capital Costs o Collection Costs (grant funds cannot be used for collection costs) o Other • For each line item on the report’s expenditures sheet, indicate: o Total County grant funds used o City/Township funds contributed o % of County grant used for particular line item o Total expenditures IX. Recycling Performance 6 A municipality’s performance will be evaluated based on information from the annual work plan project status reports, and reasonable effort towards reaching outcomes from work plan activities implemented and progression along the recycling continuum. PHE reserves the right to request documentation for information submitted. Failure by a municipality to demonstrate measurable progress towards one or more of the work plan goals will result in a Recycling Improvement Plan be submitted 90 days of being notified by PHE. The Plan must be negotiated with PHE and specify the efforts that will be undertaken by the municipality to improve its recycling program to achieve the identified goal in the work plan by implement strategies agreed upon by municipal staff and PHE. The plan should focus on components of the recycling continuum. Funding will be withheld until the municipality’s Plan is completed and approved by PHE. X. County Responsibilities The county will be responsible for the following: 1. Grant documents PHE will provide the grant application and work plan by January 1st for each municipality to use to request grant funding and to develop project work plans. PHE will also provide the report for municipalities to report on their recycling program. Annual reports are available year round. 2. Meetings PHE staff will host quarterly recycling coordinator meetings and will make meeting materials available on the City Recycling Resources webpage on the County’s website. PHE staff will also coordinate individual work plan meetings with each municipality to identify grant projects. 3. Technical assistance PHE staff will help identify if and how additional technical assistance is needed. 4. Payments Grant payment will be made in one installment, which is to be used for recycling program expenses in 2024. The payment will be made within 60 days of execution of the Recycling Grant Agreement. 5. Recycling tonnages Recycling tonnages for each municipality will be collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (the State) from the community’s recycling hauler(s) on a bi-annual basis. Reports are available by request. 6. Residential recycling survey If requested, PHE will develop a survey on residents’ recycling knowledge and behavior for municipalities to promote and distribute regularly. 7. Online recycling information and best practices PHE will maintain the City Recycling Resources webpage on the County’s website for use by municipal staff to obtain information on recycling best practices, track recycling coordinator meetings and access templates and other educational information designed specifically for use by municipalities. 8. Commercial Recycling PHE has a separate funding mechanism to promote and support recycling in the commercial sector. This program is called BizRecycling and more information can be found at www.bizrecycling.com. 9. Recycling in multi-unit dwelling (4+ units) 7 PHE has a separate funding mechanism to promote and support recycling in multi-unit dwellings. More information and ways to access this program can be found on www.bizrecycling.com. Supplemental documents required upon application submittal: 1. Updated waste and recycling ordinance(s) (if applicable) 2. Updated waste and recycling contract(s) (if applicable) 3. City/Township council meeting minutes discussing/approving updated ordinances/contracts (if applicable) 4. Verification of public entities law (MN Statute 115.471 and 115A.46) (if applicable) 5. A certificate of insurance indicating the municipalities’ general liability limits as indicated in Section 4 of the Agreement. Please include certificate with the application.