2017-29867 Reso 2017-29867
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SUSTAINABILITY
AND RESILIENCY COMMITTEE AND THE FINANCE AND CITYWIDE PROJECTS
COMMITTEE TO TRANSITION TO NON-GAS POWERED LEAF BLOWERS FOR ALL
CITY LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS AND DIRECTING THE CITY
ADMINISTRATION TO REQUEST ALL CURRENT CITY LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
CONTRACTORS TO VOLUNTARILY COMPLY FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR
CONTRACTS AND, FURTHER, DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO
REQUIRE NON-GAS POWERED LEAF BLOWERS IN ALL FUTURE BIDS FOR CITY
LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE WORK.
WHEREAS, at its February 10, 2016 meeting, the City Commission discussed the elimination
and/or phasing out of gas-powered leaf blowers and converting to the use of a less noisy and
environmentally friendly alternative. The Mayor and City Commission referred the discussion to the
Sustainability and Resiliency Committee for further direction; and
WHEREAS, at its June 15, 2016 meeting, the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee discussed
the item. A motion was made to have the Sanitation Division reach out to a manufacturer to coordinate
a temporary pilot program to test blower models that would produce less noise. At the March 1, 2017 City
Commission meeting, a dual referral of this matter was made to the Sustainability and Resiliency
Committee and to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committees; and
WHEREAS, at its March 8, 2017 meeting, the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee
unanimously approved a recommendation that the City transition to the use of non-gas powered leaf
blowers; and
WHEREAS, at its March 17, 2017 meeting, the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee also
recommended moving forward with the transition to non-gas powered leaf blowers, while continuing to
use the existing gas-powered blowers through their life cycle; and
WHEREAS, in view of the above-referenced Committee recommendations, the City
Administration recommends that all current City landscape maintenance operators and contractors be
requested to voluntarily comply by utilizing non-gas powered leaf blowers for their duration of the
contracts and that all future bids for City landscape maintenance work require the use of non-gas
powered leaf blowers.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission hereby accept the
recommendations of the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee and the Finance and Citywide Projects
Committee to transition to non-gas powered leaf blowers for all City landscape maintenance operations,
direct the City Administration to request all current City landscape maintenance contractors to voluntarily
comply for the duration of their contracts and, further, direct the City Administration to require non-gas
powered leaf blowers in all future bids for City landscape maintenance work.
PASSED and ADOPTED this livalut.. day of M ay
for * ` '4
ATTEST: �� ••
0
Y
i
. P • ev,
PIM!, -, ayor
it N('r\ ORATED:
i
Rafael E. Granado, ity Cle
% � '`- APPROVED AS TO
��._
T:\AGENDA\2017\4-April\Public Works\I"7'3' . ItFSFORM 8( LANGUAGE
,�.�cx' & FOR ECUTION
f---.P�""7I GG
5 1 (t l
City Attomey15( Date
Resolutions - R7 F
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: May 17, 2017
SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE SUSTAINABILITY & RESILIENCY COMMITTEE AND THE FINANCE
AND CITYWIDE PROJECTS COMMITTEE TO TRANSITION TO NON-GAS
POWERED LEAF BLOWERS FOR CITY OPERATIONS AND
CONTRACTORS.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends approving the resolution.
ANALYSIS
At the February 10, 2016 meeting, the City Commission discussed the elimination and/or
phasing out of gas-powered leaf blowers, to a less noisy and environmentally
friendly alternative. The Mayor and City Commission referred the discussion to the
Sustainability& Resiliency Committee for further direction.
At its June 15, 2016 meeting, the Sustainability & Resiliency Committee discussed the item. A
motion was made to have the Sanitation Division reach out to a manufacturer to coordinate
a temporary pilot program to test blower models that would produce less noise. At the March 1,
2017 City Commission agenda, a dual referral to the Sustainability& Resiliency Committee and
Finance and Citywide Projects Committees were made.
At its March 8, 2017 meeting, the Sustainability& Resiliency Committee unanimously approved
the transition to non-gas powered leaf blowers. At its March 17, 2017 meeting, the Finance and
Citywide Projects Committee also recommended moving forward with the transition to non-gas
powered leaf blowers, while continuing to use the existing gas-powered blowers through their
life cycle.
Leaf blowers, widely used in yard maintenance, are the subject of repeated complaints related
to air pollution from combustion products and fugitive dust, as well as noise pollution, particularly
from gas-powered motors. Several local, state, and federal agencies across the U.S. have
published reports concluding that there are potential health and environmental impacts
associated with leaf blowers.
Alternatives to gas-powered leaf blowers include electric leaf blowers, electric mowers, and
manually-operated tools such as rakes and brooms. Electrically-operated leaf blowers are the
Page 690 of 878
preferred alternative to gas-powered leaf blowers because they provide plenty of power without
producing exhaust emissions or as much noise. While noise emissions from the average gas-
powered leaf blower measures about 65-75 decibels (dB) at 50 feet, electric-powered models
on average measure about 65 dB at the same distance. Furthermore, electric-powered leaf
blowers for both personal and commercial uses generally fall within the same price range as
similar gas-powered blowers. The main difference between the two leaf blower types is that the
batteries for the electric model last between 30 to 130 minutes of continuous run time and
therefore its operation for professional purposes requires a supplemental power source such
as a long extension cord, a back-up battery, and a high-speed battery charger.
The City of Santa Barbara in California has banned gas-powered leaf blowers and regulated
other types of leaf blowers since 1997. According to several reports, the City has not incurred
increased expenditures beyond a one-time cost of $90,000 to replace their gas-powered leaf
blowers with electric-powered blowers and has experienced little to no impact on their municipal
operations since the ban went into effect. Conversely, the City of Claremont in California opted
to replace leaf blowers with rakes and brooms following the enactment of their leaf blower ban
and quantified a 6% increase in staff hours. However, the increase in man hours needed to
maintain the same level of service in our tropical environment is expected to be much greater
and would have substantial impact on our sanitation, public works and parks operations.
The City of Miami Beach owns and operates over 40 leaf blowers for its Greenspace
Management, Sanitation, and Parks & Recreation operations. All leaf blowers currently, except
two which were purchased for the pilot program are gas-powered. In addition, City contractors
currently use over 15 gas-powered leaf blowers for their operations. The cost of substituting the
City's current stock of gas-powered leaf blowers for cordless battery-powered units is
estimated at approximately $1,200 per unit (Attachment A), or $48,000, which includes the
professional (heavy duty) wireless electric leaf blower, backpack battery, and high speed
charging unit. It should be noted that this estimate does not consider staff or contractor time
required to learn how to operate new equipment or the costs for back-up batteries, additional
chargers, etc.
With regard to City landscape maintenance contractors making the transition to battery operated
leaf blowers, the City's Greenspace Management Division currently has approximately $2.5
million in landscape maintenance contracts which expire in March 2018. The direction to utilize
battery operated leaf blowers on City owned or controlled properties will entail a revision of the
contract language and an increased cost for maintenance services, as the expense for
additional non-standard equipment will be passed on from the vendor to the City. Should the
City Commission accept the recommendation of the Sustainability & Resiliency to phase out
gas-powered leaf blowers, current landscape maintenance vendors will be asked to voluntarily
comply with the directive for the remainder of their existing maintenance contracts. Once the
contracts expire, during the new bid process the City could solicit bid alternatives for the
exclusive use of battery operated leaf blowers on all City properties.
Attachments: A—Joe Blair Garden Supply Cost Estimate
CONCLUSION
The Administration will not purchase additional gas powered leaf blowers.
Page 691 of 878
Legislative Tracking
Public Works
Sponsor
Commissioner Michael Grieco
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
D
Page 692 of 878
DATE INVOICE
2117;16574163
j IIML JOe
12 36
Blair P?O NUMBER
SALESMAN WORK ORDER
079/079 32ieiITF7iiha3St 3 5"757 "` .
STORE W AA , <ss
PAGE
1Www.joebi&Jriawrmower corn - 1 of 1
BILL TO ACCOUNT. 2100 [- SHIP TO ACCOUNT
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH PUBLIC CITY CF MIAMI BEACH PUBLIC
WORKS,GREENSPACE ROW DEP. WORKS,GREENSPACE ROW DEP.
2100 MERDIAN AVE 2100 MERDIAN AVE
MIAMI BEACH,FL.33139 MIAMI BEACH.FL.33139
Tax Exempt# 230932987154
ALL PROPERTY BELONGS TO JOE BLAIR GARDEN SUPPLY CUSTOMER PICKUP
UNTIL PAID IN FULL. NO RETURNS ON SPECIAL_ ORDERS. Shipped VIA-
ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND STORM SALES.
ORD SHIP BIO LINE PART NUMBER DESCRIPTIONLIST NET AMOUNT
OMARLEON MIAMIBEACHFL.GOV
1 1 STE BG66L BG66L HAND HELD BLOWE 269.95 189.56 189.56
SN- 1.
1 STE BGA100 BGA 100 276.46 276.46
1 1 STI 48654006501 AR900 LITH ION 671.46 671.46
1 STI 4850-430-5702 CHARGER 129.95 119.95 119.95
SUB TOTAL 1257.43
QUOTE ONLY MISC 0.00
LABOR 0.00
Tax: 7,000 0.00
DOWN PAYMENT
INVOICE TOTAL 1257.43
Pag�69aaf 8.7..8_ —
f _.