Public Works, Sanitation, and Environmental Committee.

It is available on our website at SWEBNO.org and the SMIDLs for that are due on the 17th of this month. That would be Friday. Using that information and using some of the other information that we've gathered, that was when we would move into step four, which would be to develop the near and medium-term priorities. I think we already know that the 30-inch main along Magnolia, the additional transmission main project we've already spoke about, and the 48-inch water line would be those near-term priorities in terms of what specifically we can do in the most expedient fashion is what we will be determining. Number five was to evaluate the hydraulic conditions. We had mentioned that we had already put out an RFP to evaluate a hydraulic model for the Littlewoods area, actually, last year due to some frequent boil water advisories. We have selected a firm and will be awarding that contract to the selected bidder beginning contract negotiations and notice to proceed with that for that specific scope of work. And certainly last but not least, number six, to develop the citywide condition assessment. That RFP will be drafted later in this year, as previously presented. We will be going. We talked a little bit about funding, and we will be providing more of that update in our next meeting as requested, which was two months from our last conversation. All right. I'll hand it over to Randy. This is a brief update on the status of the lead service line replacement program. An additional $66 million in loan is in the closing stage from LDH State Revolving Fund. This brings the total allocated to Orleans Parish for lead service replacement line to $154 million. A key need to utilize this funding, utilize funding to its full extent, Lead service line replacements at no cost to the customers requires a change in law. This would allow SWBNO to utilize public funds on private property. Senator DuPlessis has agreed to champion this initiative by sponsoring two bills for us. Senate Bill 268 allows ordinances to be enacted granting access to private property to replace the lines with at least seven days notice. Senate Bill 228 is a constitutional amendment allowing utility access to private property to replace lead service lines with public funding. On the next slide, we see that CDM Smith was selected by the selection committee by consensus scoring to serve as the program manager. The larger scale program remains on the optimized rebid schedule. Part of the winning proposal included a fast track approach to begin construction in 2026. Next steps include awarding the contracts, contracts and negotiations in detailed design. SWBNO continues to utilize the funds received for smaller contracts and intends to bid another inspection replacement contract in Q2 of 2026. Now I also want to note that one way that city council can help us is to help us educate the public on the steps they can do to protect their health. We can provide and will provide a one pager of the topics and talks about lead in general that you can use when you go to your district meetings and we'll be glad to attend with you if you would like. But basically what we were able to do is that customers need to know to use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula when water is not used for six hours or longer. Run the faucet for three to five minutes to flush lines before drinking or cooking. Use a NSF 53 rated water filter picture or request one from SWBNO. Request a lead test kit. Also replace your private service line if possible and also corrosion control adds extra protection. With that I'll hand it back to Kaitlin. All right so we spoke about two items related to the water system. We will move on to our item related to the sewer system. This is an update on the Dwyer Canal. As we previously shared we have been investigating the issues in this area that were brought to our attention regarding sewer discharges into this canal. We have heard from residents who have reported strong sewer smells in this general area and some people have shared with us that this has been ongoing for several years. Surgeon Water Board has been again looking at this in December and into January and since then and as the complexity of the situation became clearer we have since engaged a third party contractor who specializes in this work to assist us with pipe inspections to help identify the locations of subsurface defects in the sewer lines. And in February we started collecting samples, water quality samples within the canal itself. A quick note on the smoke and the dye testing. This was the next step in our investigation. We have completed smoke testing on Galahad, Arthur and Charlene streets. We are in progress with that on Citrus, Bonita and Lurline and we've completed dye testing on Galahad Street which has identified seven defects that do need to be corrected. You can see the map there is simply a location of that area with X's where smoke has been identified through that testing and then the photo which is a little bit difficult to see but that is CCTV inspection of the sewer line and what you see there being green dye indicates that there is a cross connection there between the sewer line and storm line. So this helps us identify this work specifically coupled with CCTV inspection helps us to identify the exact locations of defects so we can go in and SWIBNO crews can go in now and complete those repairs. We will be proceeding with additional dye testing on other streets which have been identified as the most persistent with ongoing issues. We do see consistent issues at Lurline Street as well as Bonita but at this point we are not seeing the continuous discharge that we had previously seen from the storm drains along other streets which we believe is related to the Cerise pump station being back fully in service which we were able to do in March. So that has been good news.

We are seeing improvement from a discharge perspective but it's clear that there are defects and now we need to go ahead and find those. On the testing results, I mentioned that in February we began taking samples for water quality specifically bacteria samples from seven locations along the canal. As consistent with the consent decree and other permits we report this data as well as overflows and our findings to DEQ and EPA. There is no established regulatory limits for the stormwater canals but our goal is certainly not to have any discharges. That is not the condition that we want. We don't find that acceptable. We need to correct this. This can, even though there is no, this is our goal, this can occur due to sanitary sewer overflows and leaking or broken sewer force mains. I think what these samples show is that certainly as we have observed there have been discharges into the canal. These range from non-detect to nearly 250, these are called coliform units per 100 milliliters. This is the unit that they are sampled in. For some comparison, influent range of a wastewater treatment plant can be between 10,000 and a million of these units. I would note that these discharges have ranged from small spaghetti thin trickles to something more the size of a larger faucet. So again, not that it's acceptable but it is not the same as a large sewer force main with a large volume of discharge. So what you see looking at these samples is that although the majority of those locations except for the samples at the Lawrence Canal as well as at Wright Road have decreased, we did see the highest concentrations in the mid-March timeframe. That was also when there was significant rains in the area. It is common that when there's rains you have an increase in fecal coliform bacteria just in general. But this is also the time if there is a defect, which we know that there are, that is when you would see those higher discharges. So fortunately, we still have some investigation to do at Lawrence Canal. We believe that's related to defects at Bonita Street, which require further work and we'll be doing that dye and smoke testing on that street as well. And the others, Reed Boulevard and Wright Road, samples collected at those locations in the canal remain elevated and so we continue to review this area and identify other areas where we need to be investigating and other areas where we need to be making corrections. I will note that these stormwater canals do ultimately go to Lake Pontchartrain. The Pontchartrain Conservancy does measure the levels of bacteria in the lake on a weekly basis and at this point we have not been contacted by them regarding any concerns that they have regarding their sample results that they take for the lake. So again, just to reiterate, we don't consider this to be acceptable. It has been and it remains our goal to find and correct the sources of the sewer issues in the area and ultimately eliminate this problem. So just as a final summary on the things that we've already done here and the things that we will continue to be doing, returning the Cerise pump station to service in March, that was, again, I think that was really impactful in being able to keep the sewer levels lower in this area, which I believe reduced some of that discharge. We have been using a bypass pump in that area since December and was able to begin to reuse this pump station itself in March. We have conducted investigations along the canal to identify what were water discharges. There are potable leaks in the area, so water discharges versus sewer discharges. We have collected samples. We have already corrected defects that we found on Lurline and Bonita Streets. It appears that there are more that we need to be doing, but we have already found and identified some of those. And we have also removed blockages and clean lines as we have been going along. The sewer lines in this area do need to be cleaned this year and next year, and so as part of the 10-year cleaning cycle for the Consent Decree. And so this action will also help us to be able to identify other areas that may need to be corrected. So again, looking forward, we'll be correcting the defects that we found on Galahad Street or rather underneath the street, finish smoke testing and dye testing on those five other streets that we consider to be a priority with persistent issues. And I am pleased to report that actually as of yesterday, we were able to post signs that look like the signs that you see here on the screen. These have been posted at those seven locations along the canal to help inform constituents of the discharges in that area. All right, this is a convenient segue into the topic of canal cleaning in general. So shifting a little bit to the drainage side of things, I just wanted to bring some awareness to this item. We have 66 miles of open canal. We've got two screenshots here in the east and in the west bank as well. That's where the open canals are located. That represents about 850 acres that needs to be maintained. We cut the grass for these canals with a combination of contractors and the Sewerage and Waterboard staff. We split that about half and half. For awareness, with our current funding and without using overtime, we can cut the entire system about three and a half times per year. So we focus those efforts, of course, during the summer months when grass grows quite a bit faster. Another really important aspect to this, though, is the vegetation removal. You can see here in this photo that lilies and other vegetation build up in the canals. This can impede flow. into the pump stations. We maintain this with two methods, the first being an herbicide spray. We'll be partnering with the Mosquito and Termite Control Board this year to spray these areas while they do similar spraying for mosquitoes, so there's some cost savings and some efficiencies gained there.

But the reality is we still have to go out and physically remove either the live or the dead vegetation, and we also need people to clean the pump station screens as well. And unfortunately, we are simply unable to dedicate full-time staff or equipment to vegetation removal, but we really do need to have that for the best, most efficient system. So we are looking into some options for mechanical removal with specialized boat equipment. This is something that they do in other parishes with other large amounts of open canals with barges and other collection devices, and we are looking at other options and, you know, are open to suggestions on what other options that may be to fund this effort that would assist us in improving the drainage in those areas. One final thing for me on drainage. This is an exciting project. At Drainage Pump Station 15, we have been, you can see some photos here of, the top photo would be the discharge pump, I'm sorry, the discharge piping from this pump station. We have been patching this pipe for years. Our in-house team has been doing an excellent job, but it's just at the point where that's just no longer feasible. So last year, we were able to purchase this material for the pipe, and our crews have been installing it themselves. You can see on the bottom photo, the much newer, much newer pipe. So not only does this improve our pumping ability, it also helps to protect the integrity of the industrial canal levy system, which this immediately abuts, and the leaks there were causing some concern. So there's multiple benefits to us doing that, and really proud that our crews were able to do that on our own. Okay. I just want to add a comment regarding the canals. I know we've had a number of water main breaks. That has been our focus for staff, but it is important, and it's very important, and we take it very seriously, that we have to clean the canals. And so we are looking at funding options and trying to think outside the box to get the funding to address that. We cannot let that just go by unlooked at and replaced and cleaned as it needs to be done. So let me go on now to the financial system. We have the, as part of our technological modernization efforts, we've hired a chief information officer, who I'm proud to say also has a Ph.D., and we hired him last year, and one of his focuses has been updating our major software system with four major applications being updated through our strategic plan. The first to go live is our new cloud-based financial system, Oracle. The new system live on February 7th, and we placed a 37-year-old mainframe system as part of a 24-month implementation plan, major step for us going forward. This is SWIPNO's first cloud-based enterprise system. It marks a fundamental shift on how we manage technology. The system we replaced, AFIN, A-F-I-N, which served us for over 32 years, and the hardware was aging. The skills to maintain it were becoming scarce, and it couldn't connect with modern systems. Six of the seven core modules are now live. They are general ledger, accounts payable, procurement, projects, cash management, and grants. Budgeting is scheduled to go live in June. Staff are actively processing transactions in the new environment and working closely with our implementation in this 90-day hypercare period. Our vendors are also transitioning. The new supplier portal allows them to register and submit invoices electronically, which improves efficiency for everyone. Four major system upgrades, that's financial, HR payroll, asset management, and billing. In the last slide, I'd like to say we'd like to take every chance to always remind customers to please report issues as soon as you notice them. If we address them while they're small, we stop them from becoming big problems later. And so I ask that they contact 504-52-WATER. We also have online reporting via website swipno.org slash customer service slash report an issue. And also customers who prefer to report drainage issues via phone can continue to call 311. But again, I encourage everyone, if you see something, please call us and let us know. We'll address it as quickly as we can. Thank you. Thank you very much. Council Vice President Willard is recognized. Thank you, Chairman Hughes. Thank you, Susan Waterboard for coming and giving us some updates, although some of them are pretty troubling. I want to start with the RFI for emerging technologies. It looks like that is due at the end of the month. Are you getting stuff in? Yeah, I believe we're getting good interest in that. Okay. A lot of vendors are interested in providing the information. We're looking forward to receiving it. Okay. I have to admit, I've received several phone calls and people are excited about having a chance to participate. Okay. Are the technologies that you're hoping to analyze demonstrated or proven? Or are we looking to do, you know, something cutting edge that hasn't been done before? It's fair to say both. Both? Okay. Because when we talk about using leak detection, which is often audio, that's a new technology. But we've done some of that here in the past. But the systems, just like your computer, have upgraded over the last couple of years. And so we're looking for things that are regular use at this time. We're also encouraging people to bring us things that are outside the box. Okay. I wanted to ask about funding for that. So if you get one technology that you think knocks it out of the park, game changer, do you have budget set aside for that? Or is that another step of the process where you'd have to go and find the money? Well, we would have to look at each case individually. And to the extent we had funding, we would go ahead and go forward with it. To the extent that we would have to go for additional funding, we'd continue to pursue those. Okay. All right. On page five, that's where you're talking about your immediate action plan.

I noticed in March that you had listed the water mains at Fillmore and Cartier, as well as at Dowman and Dwyer as urgent risks. But today they are not included in this list. I wanted to know why they're not included today, and just some type of explanation on how you're prioritizing what's up next and how you settled on South Claiborne and Third, as well as the location on Florida Avenue. Sure. No. Fillmore and Cartier just simply didn't fit on the map. And I am sorry, it is not on the next steps, but that is not. It is part of it? Yes, absolutely. It's just off of the map extent that we had. So that is an item we just need. That's more of a matter of scheduling that work at this point. We have the contractor prepared to do that. At this point, the South Claiborne and Third is more of an urgent item for us, given that location and just concerns just in general. But we may be able to do both. We're still looking at that. I just know personally Fillmore and Cartier has been... It has. I mean, you know, for a while, for a while. No, you're correct. So that remains high on our team's awareness list for sure. I'm sorry. Downman and Dwyer, actually, we were able to confirm is just a leaking valve. So that was something we were able to easily repair, or not even repair, it's just easily address. And the location on Florida, again, it's just a sequencing. So those three, Claiborne and Third, Florida and Fillmore and Cartier are the highest, as they're all on 48-inch lines. Okay. So Fillmore and Cartier is kind of next on deck after Claiborne? Yes, we'll be looking at those in conjunction. Okay. All right. Moving on to page eight, which is where you talk about the lead remediation. Just want to make sure that we're targeting that message, because at this point, we have a pretty good idea of where those locations are, right? Want to make sure that we're targeting that messaging for households that may actually be dealing with lead in their lines. Are we doing anything to actually target those households? Because at this point, you have email addresses and phone numbers and stuff like that. Yeah. So in October of every year, we are required to send out notifications to every homeowner that describe the status of what we know to be the status, I'm sorry, the composition of their lead service line, both on the public and the private side. So that's information that we send out in October. I have done that now for two years. So that information is provided, and we provide links to our website, and this information is all available there, as well as how to request a pitcher if you'd like one. Okay. Also in the next few weeks, I, along with staff, will be going to different districts to talk about the plan and just an update about SWBNO, and also to share information about the lead. So we will catch them as we do that. Okay. I would just encourage, you know, as targeted communication as possible. I mean, even if you're putting it out on social media, if these are things that people can do to make sure that they're mitigating any type of risk associated with lead in the, you know, in their service lines, I think we cannot over-communicate that. We are councilmen, and we are going to do a targeted approach with LSLR communications, what you can do now. We've sent out some information in the past. We're working on additional information that they can send out. It is a topic of conversation when we go to community meetings. So we are trying to inform residents as much as possible on this topic. Okay. All right. Moving on to the canals in New Orleans East, on the slide that says smoke and dye testing at Galahad, what are those? seven defects that need to be corrected. And this is where we're really getting into the, I mean, the lead stuff is bad, obviously, but I mean, you know, we're at our limits with some of this stuff. So what are those seven defects that need to be corrected? Right, so these would all be in the sewer lines themselves. And so breaks in the line. And so there's, you know, either a break or a collapse such that it's not, you know, flowing properly. And as well as potentially there being a utility board through there. So it looks like there was a specific boring that went through there. So we'll have to look at each of those and make those repairs as needed, probably, you know, partial replacement of that section. Okay, and just for the record, where are all of these locations located, geographically wise, in the city? They are all in these streets that are perpendicular there to the Dwyer Canal. What part of the city is that? New Orleans East, I'm sorry. New Orleans East? Yeah. Okay. I see you finally got around to posting signage. I believe we had our first meeting to talk about the issues at the Dwyer Canal in January. And we just put signage up. That's a problem. As it relates to some of the testing that's been going on, do you know what the EPA sets as a health goal for fecal coliforms? That would depend on the type of, you know, type of use for the water body. And so there's not one that has been established for these canals. I believe that they, when there is an established goal, it is fairly low in the order of hundreds. Yeah. Is it safe to say that anything detectable is not safe? Depends on the detection limit. That's kind of a technical thing, but it depends on the detection limit. But these are levels that we do not find to be acceptable. This is not the condition that we want to be the case. So we fully recognize this is not where we'd like to be, and I'd have to continue to work, you know, with timeliness and urgency around this. So part of, when you first started speaking about this, Caitlin, you said that it was reported that residents of the east had smelled the canal for years. And we're just getting around to testing it.

And when I look at the test results across, you know, various dates going from February through April, I'm seeing high ranges of detection pretty much across the board. How far back does that go? That could have been going on for two years, three years. Are there any, is there any potential of airborne illness associated with fecal coliforms? I am not sure that I can answer that right now. I'm sorry. You know, the mayor keeps talking about a sense of urgency. What are we doing right now to make this right, to remediate this problem in New Orleans East? Yeah, and that's where engaging a specialized contractor, we realized was the best path forward to do so. So when do we expect to have, you know, work actively going on to eliminate this problem? Sure, so the seven defects have, they just completed that work on Galahad in the last several days. And so we have that official information now, and we'll be referring that to our own crews to make those repairs. And we will have to systematically do this. We're gonna have to go down these five streets that we've identified as the most persistent issues. And if we'll make those corrections, and if we still see issues based on sampling results, we'll have to keep doing this. And we will continue to do so. And I just want to tie it together that we have been working on Dwyer's, at least since January, and that to get rid of the smell and to- I believe it was in January, you said something about not being able to smell it or something. So I think when we had that meeting in January, it was on your radar. I don't know if anything was actually being done, just to clarify. No, no, we went out there. I think that's about the time that we went out and a board member went out with us to the site. And we were there, I forget the gentleman's name, but we were there with civic groups that were concerned about it. It doesn't come down to one individual smelled it or not. There was a problem there. And we began working on it then. And for us to deal with the testing that we have now, negative testing, sort of positive tests that we have, it's imperative that we go to the root cause. And we had to, it took time for us to locate. It takes time to do dye testing and all. We've done that. And now we're at a point where we have the contractors going in and we'll start addressing the root cause and making the repairs that will help to eliminate the problem. But it takes time. Are we still doing active monitoring to make sure that there's no new discharge or to make sure that this isn't replicated in other parts of the city? Yeah, we will continue to look at, continue to collect these samples along the wire canal and be hoping for improvement as we see these reports, as we see these, sorry, as we correct the deficiencies. I mean, are there other canals throughout the city that you have a concern this could also happen to? It certainly is possible. And so if anybody is having reports of that, we would love to hear that so that we can start to look at those areas as well. Okay. Anything, any parting words you wanna leave to make us feel better? I'll say this. We are determined to address the issue at Dwyer. It has been top of mind since January before, but definitely since January, like I said, I went out with board members and we met with SAGE and other community leaders, environmental leaders. It takes time, that's the thing. Everyone thinks where you can just snap your fingers and make it happen. We have to locate where that break is. That means you have to do a dye test. And then we have to now line them up, prioritize them, and then make sure the contractors are able to go in and address them in a systematic manner. That's where we are. We're addressing it. We have to get that root cause, and that'll allow us to get the fecal matter out, and that'll also allow us to get the smell to dissipate. And so it is extremely important to us. We're working on it every day. Okay. Thank you, Chairman. Council Member McCarron is recognized. Thank you, Chairman Hughes. I have a question about, I know this wasn't in your report, but we talked about fire hydrants a couple months ago. Have you all gotten the equipment that you need for these replacements? I mean, our office is flooded with calls about leaking fire hydrants that are really becoming a big problem. And so do you have an update on what that looks like, and are you getting the equipment that you need for that? Yeah, we did in the last couple of months get a shipment of fire hydrants that we're able to use. So I'm sorry, I don't have that specific data in terms of those in your area, but happy to follow up with you on those. Okay, and just maybe explain how you all prioritize replacing. I mean, some of them are spewing out water consistently, and we're getting phone calls about it, where it's really becoming a problem. So how you all are prioritizing how to make those repairs? We can provide that to you as well. Okay, and on the equipment, I know that we talked about this. There were a couple issues in District A that had six-inch water main breaks that were not being repaired due to equipment not being available. How are you addressing that problem? I guess, well, first, what was the problem of getting the equipment, and then do you have enough inventory to make all these repairs across the district and the city that we're seeing six-inch water main breaks? Yeah, we had a high demand for that equipment for the six-inch repairs earlier this year. Yeah, we just saw high demand there. And so we have been working closely with our vendors to make sure that we are getting timely shipments. We do have what we need right now, and we'll be getting the materials that we need, clamps, taps, other of those things, every three to five days as we need to from our vendors.

So, you know, as Randy mentioned, we've gone through a financial system transition, which will help in terms of being able to process all that information and those orders. But we do admit there was a bit of a delay, but we believe we have that under control at this time. And I want to stress, too, as you said, we have a new financial system. Every system that's new that you start off, there's a little hiccup here and there. I've met with staff to make sure that we address them, polish it, make sure that we're able to go efficiently as quickly as we can. And so I think you're going to see a speedier reaction to it. Okay, great. For catch basins, we, first of all, you all are responsible for the catch basins. Is that correct? Okay, because we get differing responses from residents that are reporting catch basin issues to Sewage and Water Board. And I don't know if it's that you all need to do another training session with your staff, perhaps on this, but they're getting told to bring it back to DPW. So there's some weird confusion happening there. But where, maybe for next time, can you all let us know how many catch basins you've cleaned out year to date? Because we're still getting consistently, people reporting in that there's clogged catch basins. I see them on the street and now I report them. So, you know, a plan on what the rest of the year looks like for that. And especially as we come into hurricane season coming up in June, it would be good to have a solid plan presented to us on how you're going to fix some of these major blockages that people are experiencing. Sure, I will add that we have a dashboard on our website that does track that information on number of catch basins cleaned by both ourselves and our contractors. We've actually just re-engaged 663 is our number thus far this year. But we've just re-engaged our contractor to assist us with this. And last year there was a focused effort in the Tremere area. This spring will be actually a focused effort in the Carrollton area. And yeah, happy to provide you with our plan for that. So also, you said a contractor. So do you not have in-house staff at all doing this? equipment? We do, we have two full-time crews. They're able to do this one cleaning and the other making like the public safety repairs so if there's a broken or a missing cover or you know public safety things like that that crew handles that so that's a function of staff and equipment. We are working to train up people that just does take time and it takes equipment which we're you know working on getting and repairing some of that but it's it's our goal to have more of an in-house presence but we do have two crews who are on it dedicated at this point. Okay so two crews in-house plus additional outside contractors? Okay, thank you. Councilmember King is recognized. Thank you Chair Hughes. Can we get an update on French Quarter Street projects? Let's see, which one was it? Just one second please. Okay, I apologize. I feel like I'm in law school. I have a ton of papers but as far as the status, we have the 600 block of St. Peter's. The intersection of St. Peter's and Chartres is open for pedestrian only. Energy electric and Delta utility work on the intersection of Royal and St. Peter is now complete. Restoration crews will return to this block after the restoration is completed on 1100 block. Work on sidewalks and asphalt on hold until all underground utilities are complete. We are redirecting crews to ensure all underground work is complete prior to the possibility of a higher river event. The street closure at Chartres and Toulouse is temporarily open until after French Quarter Fest to help alleviate congestion while crews are not at that intersection. The street closure is lifted but parking is still enforced regardless if signs are torn down. We are having cars ticketed and towed from the area immediately so please be cautious on no parking streets where the signs are placed. Due to the excessive number of cars moving barricades on Wilkinson and Chartres, we will be putting up a gate at the intersection to prevent any vehicle from driving down the street. This will be a chain-link gate with no mesh covering and will be supported by bright orange barriers. This is just the gate and not the fencing. When we look at the 900 block of Decatur, this will be the final block to begin construction. This block will begin immediately after French Quarter Fest. The 1000 block of Decatur, the waterline on this block is complete. The line is currently in testing phase and will be tied into the system once all testing is complete. There will be a service disruption once the line is tied into the system. On the 1100 block of Decatur, Rubion crews have completed two of the three concrete pours on this block. The final segment is the intersection of Governor Nichols and Decatur. This intersection is slated to be poured as soon as late next week or weekend. This will all depend on the weather over the weekend period. Once roadway is poured and cured, we will remove fencing from this block and we will keep a gate at Governor Nichols and Decatur at all three crossings to ensure vehicles to attempt to drive down, well to stop vehicles that try to drive down the block. This will be open for pedestrians only. Work on sidewalks and asphalt are on hold until all underground utilities are complete. We are redirecting crews to ensure all underground work is complete prior to the possibility of a high river event. One second. So a lot of work has been done in the French Quarter. I actually went down and met with our staff and with some of the business civic leaders that were walking through to take a look at it and I think overall they were pleased with where we are at this time and understanding that we're still doing some work. I wish everything was completed but we're still doing some work.

But the tone was that they were pleased with what we did and we're looking forward to having a wonderful French Quarter Fest. So we're all good as much as possible for French Quarter Fest? Say the question again. Everything looks as good as it can. That's correct. For French Quarter Fest? That's correct. Okay. And we still on the same timeline which is late this year, fourth quarter of this year? That's correct, yes sir. All right, all right. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank You Councilmember King. The board is clear. Let me go back to Dwyer Canal since I'm actually the only council member that lives in that community and spend an awful amount of time on a daily basis interacting with residents. So it's my understanding that Sewage and Water Board has produced a report of findings regarding the Dwyer Canal. Who exactly was that report disseminated to? We have provided that to your staff and to the community members who have been engaged. Okay. Has that report formally been submitted to your board? Has that report formally been submitted to this committee? Not to the full committee but board members have seen it. Okay. Are you prepared to formally submit that report to your board for the record and are you prepared to formally submit that to the City Council for the record? Okay. We'll look forward to receiving that and we'll ask my staff and Curo to follow up on that. So let's talk about the findings. I really want to understand what these findings means in plain English. Specifically I want to know what levels reflected in this report are considered safe? What levels are considered dangerous? Which contaminants when found should be of greatest concern? Yes so we have collected samples for these two bacteria which are the most common to be measured in for sewer discharges as well as wastewater treatment plant and these I know I don't consider them to be acceptable. I do want to clarify there's there's not a regulatory limit for this just for these for these canals specifically but again that doesn't mean that we consider this to be acceptable. Okay. I hear you consistently using the term acceptable but for the public the public wants to know what is actually safe and what is actually dangerous so can you tell us what what have you found that you consider to be safe and what have you found that you consider to be dangerous? Sure we with with levels at this point you know above several hundred we we would not want residents to be and get you know contacting that water in the canal. Okay. Are there any findings in this report that should trigger immediate public concern or follow-up? That is the the intent of the signs that we have put up. We don't want folks to be contacting the water in the canal and again so that's the purpose of the signs to let folks know again we wish we had been able to put those out earlier but they are there now having this conversation and we will continue to be monitoring and until the results are much more favorable. Okay going forward are you prepared to provide findings in a format that clearly explains what was tested what was found what is safe what is unsafe and whether the public should take any action? Absolutely. What is your current standard protocol for sharing reports like this with elected officials the committee and the public? I think primarily this has been our format so if there's a different feedback or of interest from the committee we'd be happy to hear that from you. Yeah I guess what frightens me about that you know technically this committee doesn't have direct jurisdiction over sewage and water board outside of billing we've been using these meetings since this council has been sworn in to get answers since we haven't been getting them anywhere else and so if for some reason I chose to stop holding these committee meetings then the public would probably struggle to get any transparent answer so I guess my hope would be for sewage and water board to be more transparent and proactive by any means necessary whether that's press releases social media to proactively get this information out to the public had my office not sounded the alarm on this it probably would not have gotten much attention and I certainly want to thank the residents and advocates for bringing this to to the forefront. Let me shift a little bit talking about funding I know sewage and water board has been in the news a lot lately about governance and and Baton Rouge for the record has sewage and water board retained its own separate lobbyists or what lobbyists are sewage and water board using? We use Paul Rainwater okay and I want to make a statement about lobbyists recently we had a board meeting and a general question was asked about lobbyists and information we get and I made a statement a general academic statement which was possibly there are times we would benefit from having our own lobbyist I was asked by the reporter did I mean a specific bill that he pointed to I said no I'm talking in general there are times that we may have our own lobbyist I'm a lawyer it's just like the times individuals in a dispute might have their own lawyers and I've been in water for over 21 years as a general counsel and as a CEO there are times we had our own lobbyist separate from other entities that we interact on given issues you may not have a different lobbyist for everything you may have a different lobbyist for one or two issues but I want to be very clear that when it came to bill 573 I did not promote having our own lobbyist And no one on the board directed me to pursue having a lobbyist. Our lobbyist has been Paul Rainwater, and that's who we work with. And so any story that tries to put me in front of saying that we have to have our own lobbyist is a false narrative. Thank you very much. My final question, I'm going to shift now to interruption and service due to various repairs. Obviously over the weekend, I got a few emails from residents who were not notified.

I will state on the record, I did hear from Sewage and Water Board via email regarding interruption and service that took place over the weekend in the Primrose current area. Unfortunately, unlike Sewage and Water Board, my entire staff was furloughed on Friday. So I was a team of one. And so I guess I would encourage Sewage and Water Board to, as I looked at social media pages, I didn't see anything about the interruption and service published there. So I would ask us to take it a step further. And then I want to understand, because several residents stated via email that they did not receive a written notification piece of paper. And so it's my understanding that part of your protocol, somebody, I don't know who that is, is supposed to go door to door. So question one is, who does that door to door leafletting? And number two, where do they actually place those flyers? So it's typically the crews or the contractors. So if it's Sewage and Water Board crews, our crews will do it. If it's a contractor, the contractors will do it. And they're unable to place it in the mail. So they'll put it on the door. They will tape it to the door. They will do door hangers. That is the way that they are supposed to do it, door to door, right? For the notifications that we are aware of, we place it on Nextdoor. We place it in our customer portal. We also notify the council district, just in case they get calls about it and communicate about it as well. Yep. So I will say this. While many residents may be on Nextdoor, the reality is, for everybody that's on Nextdoor, not every resident is getting a real-time alert every time something is posted on Nextdoor. Yes. And then, like, do you all have any proof? Because it's one thing to hear a complaint here and a complaint there. But when I get a large number of people telling me that they never received a physical notice, I have to wonder if these notices are actually being placed. So after these notices are being placed, do you get any type of notification? Any type of photographic evidence from whoever is allegedly placing the notices? We can get that. We can ask for that. I do know that when we do it through the customer portal, we get that delivery for those customers who are registered. So we know how many customers that we've reached and where it's bounced back. That does take a little bit, but, you know. I just want to, you know, I keep reminding people, I don't know how many people actually spend a significant amount of time in New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward. But, you know, I don't have an influx of tech-savvy college students. My residents tend to skew very older. And so those physical notifications are very, very critical to members of my community. And there needs to be a layer of accountability, ensuring that if we're going to have service interruptions, we get it. You're going to have to do service interruptions. But we need to make sure that folks that are actually tasked to deliver physical notices are actually doing that. Absolutely understood. Thank you. I just want to add, I'm concerned because you're concerned and you've heard things from your constituents. So we need to take a look at it and guarantee that things are working properly. So we will investigate and make sure and make any adjustments we need to make sure that the residents receive the, what they're supposed to receive, the written copy. Thank you very much. Councilman King, did you have something else? All right, thank you. The board is clear. We do have one public comment card from Liz Shepard. Okay, Liz must have departed. So with that, thank you all very much for being here. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. At this time, we are going to go to agenda item 4A, amendment number one to the professional services agreement between the city of New Orleans and Ivy Waste LLC for sanitation services in service area five, French Quarter and downtown development district to extend the term and increase the maximum amount payable. Out of deference to the council member whose district is largely impacted by this particular item, I am going to yield the gavel for item 4A to my colleague, the distinguished councilman from District C, the Honorable Freddie King. Thank you, Chair Hughes. Mr. Tory, have a seat, please. Okay. Got the gavel. All right, Mr. Tory, make your presentation. No, it's not on there. Okay. Mr. Tory is going to send me his presentation so I can pull it. Should we go to item 4B? Would that be okay? Mr. Hughes? What are we doing? The presentation is not loaded? No, we didn't receive the presentation, so I'm going to pull it up now, but while I'm... All right. Why don't we do this? Let's go to item 4B, amendment number six to the professional services agreement between the city and Mott McDonald LLC for engineering design and construction administration services for roadway improvements on Contour Street to extend the term. Yeah, this is also District C, so... Yeah, we'll just let you, Councilman King, preside over both items under number four. All right. Announce yourself and you can start the presentation. Good afternoon, Councilmembers. My name is Mohannad Abdel-Fattah. I'm a project management supervisor with the Department of Public Works, and I have here a chief engineer. Nice to know that this is Nguyen Phan, chief engineer of Public Works, and we come over here for the amendment number six for Mott McDonald, and Mo, he's a project manager for this project. So, yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and present the amendment number six. We have the contract with Mott McDonald for design of DPW 661. The original contract expired on September 8th of 2020. There were several amendments to extend the contract, and the latest one was amendment number five that extended it to September 8th of 2025, and the current request is to extend it with amendment number six for one more year.

This is in order to just allow for them to bill for services that was submitted on October of September of last year, which was past the expiration date, and that was for this final submittal of the design. And after that is extended, we'll be able to pay them for the $23,000 and some change that we owe them for final design, and that project will be complete and closed. All right. Any comments from the dais? Any online comments? I don't see any comments in the audience. None? All right. Make a motion to adopt. Second by Council Member Hughes. Four yays, no nays. Thank you. That's it. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Are we ready for 4A yet? If not, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to stand at ease temporarily. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Diolch am wylio'r fideo. Diolch am wylio'r fideo. Okay. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we will reconvene. Councilman King suggests the absence of a quorum. We'll ask for a roll call. Roll call. Councilmember Hughes. Here. Councilmember Willard. Here. Councilmember McCarran. Here. Councilmember King. Here. Councilmember Greene. We have four members. We have a quorum. Thank you. Councilman King. Thank you. Mr. Tory, Director of Sanitation. The floor is yours. Good afternoon, Councilmembers. Apologies for the delay. Thank you for bearing with us. I'm here today to present an update on Service Area 5, Sanitation Services Amendment 1. Area 5 is the area that encompasses the French Quarter and DDD. As you all may recall, the city entered into a six-month contract at the end of 2025 with IV Waste. That contract ran from December 23rd through this June 22nd. The contract that was competitively procured via an RFP included three six-month extensions in it. With Amendment 1, the city is seeking to execute those three six-month extensions, which would extend the duration of the contract from its current six months to 24 months. So we would extend by 18 months. And the new end date would be December 22nd, 2027. Aside from the standard annual consumer price index adjustment, which would take effect in 2027, there are no changes to the service fees associated with this contract. I wanted to provide just some information on the actual cost as a refresher. So here you'll see the current annual service cost summary for Area 5. The city currently is paying $738,000 for solid waste and recycling collection services, $4.9 million for enhanced sanitation services, and $375,000 for special event services for a total annual cost of a little over $6 million. Following slides will provide greater detail on those service line items. I'm happy to come back and speak to any one of these in greater detail for any council member who's seeking clarity, but you'll see here the solid waste and recycling collection services, the monthly enhanced sanitation services broken down by service feature, ranging from public trash receptacle servicing to pressure washing, mechanical street sweeping and flushing, manual litter collection removal, orphan bag removal, organic waste and graffiti and sticker removal. As we all are aware, the French Quarter is a very unique environment based on the clientele and the daily volume of people that are there, and it requires a significantly different level of service as other areas of the city, hence the enhanced services. We do provide monthly special event support to deal with surge crowds that participate and enjoy themselves in the French Quarter and DDD, so you see those services here. I also wanted to walk through, there were two items in the actual amendment that seemed to generate some discussion, some confusion around what those were referring to. So in our standard contract amendments, we commonly refer to the expenditures to date. So these are the amount of funds that we've paid to the contractor to date at the time we're routing the amendment. So at the time we were routing this amendment, the expenditure summary to date, the amount we actually had paid to IVY was $616,000. So this was comprised of four invoices, it was the partial December invoice, which ran December 23rd through December 31st, the two special event invoices for New Year's Day and post-New Year's Day support, and then the January 2026 sanitation services invoice. You see that January 2026 sanitation services invoice of $471,000, that is our reoccurring monthly sanitation services invoice here. The contract amendment also referenced a contract maximum, which is different both from the contract amount that we'll pay to the vendor and our current expenditure amount. So I wanted to make sure there was clarity on that. Here you'll see our year one cost summary, which I went through previously, which was that $6 million amount. You'll also see the year two amount there, which accounts for the estimated CPI increase, which is scheduled to take effect in December or January of 2027. So while we don't know what that CPI increase will be until that time, we've currently estimated it to be 4%. For the sake of that estimating, you'll see here that equates to an annual increase of $240,000 in 2027 for this contract. You see the total service amount there, and then below that you see a line item for contingency of 10%. So in all of our sanitation services contract, we include a contingency line item. This line item allows us in the event of an unplanned event that happens in the service area to request via work order services from our contractor on a time and material basis. Doesn't obligate us in any way to pay the contractor that amount, but it does reserve the funds should we need them. I can give you several examples during this contract recently where we've had to use that contingency amount. Following the Bourbon Street terror attack, we had to activate IV waste to provide sanitation services to remove organic waste on Bourbon Street.

We also activated IV waste during the winter snowstorm via work order to remove snow and ice from the right of way in Area 5 to allow commerce and traffic to resume there. So there are things that we can't plan for in the contracts. That is what the contingency is there for. But again, I want to reiterate, in no way is the city obligated to spend that contingency. It is just there as a safeguard. With that, I'm here and happy to answer any questions you all have. Can you explain exactly what does CPI stand for, and what does that stand for, CPI? CPI is Consumer Price Index. This is a federal measure that gauges inflation over a period of time. The city generally inserts a CPI adjustment into their contracts to account for inflation. So as contracts run over time, increases are afforded to the contractors to account for things like increases in gas, the cost of materials, supplies, equipment, and so on. So are those CPI increases in other contracts for trash pickup in the city? Yes. We have those in all of our contracts for Areas 1 through 5. So since 2022, we've been executing those annual CPI adjustments. As I mentioned, the actual amount ranges depending on what that actual value is at that time. I can tell you over the past three years, we've seen, you know, adjustments in a range of 4.2 to 6.7%, depending on just what inflation was doing at that point of time. And do other contracts outside of sanitation have a CPI adjustment? Yes. It's common for city contracts to have CPI adjustments. And I ask because we've been told that only this contract is receiving an increase, and people want to know why. So thank you for clarifying that. As the Director of Sanitation, what would you say is IV's work product? How has their work product been since they've taken over, based off your opinion and what you've heard from French Quarter stakeholders? Well, I can tell you from the Department of Sanitation's perspective, you know, we believe that IV Waste has provided exceptional service in Area 5 for the French Quarter and DDD. You know, we view this as a value-based contract to the city. And the service level has been outstanding. We receive almost no complaints from stakeholders. And we do receive many compliments and accolades from both stakeholder groups, as well as residents and visitors. So it's not uncommon for us to receive emails from folks that are visiting the city, you know, complimenting us on the current state of the French Quarter that they experienced during their visit. All right. Length of contract. There's been some discussion about this contract, the length being increased per six months or from six months to 18 months. Can you explain why that's the case, and under what administration initially had the increase? So this contract, again, was procured via RFP at the end of 2025, at the end of the Cantrell administration. The initial six-month duration was intended to be a bridge into whatever the next administration would be. And we're now in the Moreno administration, and to give them time to assess the performance of IV Waste and make a decision as to what they wanted to do, whether to do a new procurement or extend. And that's why the three six-month extensions were included in there. Obviously, as I've mentioned, I mean, we are extremely pleased with the work that IV Waste has performed. It's been exceptional. We believe that this is a value-based contract. The rates are favorable. And we would like to see IV continue that work in Area 5, and I know that we've heard that from stakeholder groups as well, hence why we're seeking to execute the three six-month extensions at this time. All right. Cost. That's been... I think councilman Hughes mentioned next door neighbors all kind of stuff on next door neighbor. That's Factually incorrect. So the cause where is this coming from? The the pay this contract So all all sanitation contracts are funded from the general fund So this contract was and will continue to be funded via the general fund of course as a The input to the revenue fund is the sanitation service fee which all eligible households pay But I know we're all aware that we're currently running a deficit and an ongoing Effort is under underway to kind of look at that deficit and see if we can help bridge that gap and my last question before move on is This wasn't put out for a bid People saying hey, this should have been put out to a bid. Why hasn't it? Can you explain? Why this wasn't necessary? Why it wasn't necessary in this situation? Yeah, I mean this contract was Competitively procured via an rfp a selection committee scored the contract and ivy waste was the clear winner in december of 2025 Hence, we awarded the contract again The initial duration of the contract was short term to allow For the transition to a new administration and for them to assess How they believe the performance of the contract Has been under ivy waste. I think there's a very consistent Opinion and agreement that ivy waste has provided exceptional service And we're confident that they would continue to provide that over the 18 months that we're seeking to extend this contract for Are there any comments from the dais anyone All right. We have a handful of online comments the first one Um, so not online in-person comments The initials are o a on apple street Kind of difficult. Okay gentlemen in the back. Sorry. I couldn't make it out Hello My name is osa atoon independent journalist um One second here. I was about to write a public comment Well, I appreciate ivy ivy waste interest in extending the contract I believe there should be more public and official scrutiny And what is the most cost effective and equitable use of public dollars from either the independent city from either an independent city official? Or a third party because the city is in austerity as a community.

We should review agreements with strict scrutiny The city consistently furloughs its employees cuts funding from departments But can find the money time and logistical effort to prioritize contracts with businesses that get preferential treatment Without analyzing the terms to discern whether or not its current issues and disparities have been addressed Over the span of five months ivy waste contract has ballooned from the initial value um That was already inflated considering the curbside recycling Has not has only been serviced at the rate of 42 percent to a value that surpasses with the company with what with the company with what the company is currently spending, um Is much less than the maximum value of the contract as I speak now the value is six hundred sixteen thousand dollars from Uh out of the 3.44 million proposed for the maximum possible value There's no veritable justification justification for the proposed maximum of the contract value being over quadruple What is currently being spent by the contractor given the current state of variable costs like gas and other costs associated with Um garbage collection. Thank you Mr. Tory, can you? Yeah, again, I think the slide up speaks, uh to Maybe some of the confusion around the legal terms in the amendment But again this while the contract value has increased with the duration We're increasing the duration from six months to 24 months. So we're extending Adding 18 months, of course The contract value is increasing proportionately There is no change to the service costs associated with this contract aside from the estimated four percent cpi that I mentioned so In 2027 again, we're estimating that cpi increased to be two hundred and forty thousand dollars. I think there seems to be some Confusion around again what the expenditure value reference in the amendment is and the contract maximum amount actually represents Hopefully this slide clarifies that for anybody who wants to look at it Thank you any follow-up no, mr. Wang, chris wang I live at 2500 dot fiend street For clarifying the some of the confusion in the amendment um so I guess i'm curious why that number was even thrown in there to begin with the current aggregate expenditure number of six hundred nineteen thousand given A it's not accurate in terms of the current amount to date and b it feels like it's just it's confusing And I actually haven't really seen that in amendments normally, they reference either the maximum value that was there, but um That's a question. I have. Um, the other question I have is that Uh First of all the contract amendment that you're voting on today is not the exact same contract amendment that was submitted on march 26 and so That might be a logistical issue or a legal issue but I feel like is it even allowed for you guys to vote on a contract that Is different from the one that was presented to you on march 26 that you approved then And there are many differences to that contract specifically the contract expenditure The the total aggregate expenditure went from 479 to 616 In terms of thousands, but it also removed the recycling cart provision clause that was in the march 26th amendment version and now we're on version two which got deleted so, I mean, I guess it's Uh as as i'm also speaking about this, I would love to to hear any clarity on that But also in terms of for the public because we are in a severe budget deficit. We all deserve as osa was mentioning um transparency scrutinies Specifically around the largest vendors that the city is paying for and that like sanitation is some of the highest vendors In terms of costs, I think we spend over five million dollars a month on sanitation related fees across the city So for the public's interest given on march 26 when you alluded to certain contracts But then you don't provide the links to those contracts Then it makes us as the public to have to do public records requests I don't want to have to spend 30 30 dollars every time to just get contracts that should be publicly available. Thank you Thank you Yeah, yeah, sure and I certainly appreciate feedback and and folks interest in this so The city originally communicated this contract amendment on march 26 Uh, mr. Lang pointed out that he's correct that it did include a different amount as the current expenditure summary I believe it was missing the december 2025 payment of 136 thousand dollars Which you see we we added and updated the current expenditure amount for the version that was communicated on april 9th and you and that you have before you so This is the actual amount that we've actually paid to ivy. Remember the city is currently paying on net 45 Days payment terms so we are delayed in what we're paying So this does represent at the time that this was communicated the amount that we actually Had paid as in the check had been sent to ivy waste now the difference is between those two versions Mr.

Lang is correct the original amendment did include some provisions around recycling we have received An offer from ivy waste and waste pro to help the city defray some of the costs associated with the curbside recycling program for the city Uh currently while our contractors are responsible for paying for the cost of solid waste trash carts for residents the city bears the burden of buying recycling carts distributing distributing them to residents and Maintaining them as far as repairs and returns both ivy and waste pro In an effort to help defray some of the costs associated with that had offered To take on those responsibilities not only buying the carts, but also potentially maintaining the carts We included that language in the original amendment that was sent to you all that would have saved the city Approximately two to three hundred thousand dollars in cart purchases per year uh what we realized After communicating it to you all that that there may be a better way to go about accomplishing that goal So in the subsequent revised amendment that you received that recycling cart language has been removed But we are continuing to explore solutions on how to accomplish that goal of saving that cost. Uh, so we're currently looking at An active donation potentially with both companies which would allow them to buy carts and donate them to the city again to help us save That uh capital cost that we expend every year of around two to three hundred thousand dollars. So We appreciate that offer from vendors in our time of financial need we certainly will continue to explore the best way to Maximize the benefit to the city the department of sanitation and residents But we just didn't feel like the way the language was originally was included in amendment one Was the best way after if they're looking at it again Hence why we've recommunicated and the revised version last meeting and that's the version you have in front of you at today's committee meeting Thank you, mr. Tory miss liz shepherd Good afternoon, everybody. We got a lot to do today Always get to see good people and there's nothing i'd love more than for sydney tours to be recycling king Um, maybe one day we're going to get there Um, I think this isn't a conversation about is sydney tour is good at his job. I think everyone knows the footage quarter is Incredibly clean This is a question about transparency for matt to say we are so grateful for our waste haulers for offering to buy recycling bins When these waste haulers have been vocally against a grant that would offer the city free bins feels like gaslighting I would also just say that You know, I think it's a best practice in cities everywhere that we're transparent about the biggest budgets we spend i'm fine with a bigger budget He's going to clean up the city. That's great. Let's give him a bigger budget, but let's be really specific What what is enhanced sanitation services? I don't know what that means public doesn't know what that means We need to be very clear and transparent about our largest budgets What is every line item going to especially in a budget deficit for matt to say there's been some confusion We have some confusion. Well, if there's confusion, there's no need to rush. So give us time. It is a It's a practice everywhere for cities to be fully transparent. We're not being transparent today. Yeah, I again, I guess I'll just say that, you know, this is this is not about this is not about recycling or trash. This is about transparency and good and good business and good governance. So I just really would ask the council to really be, you know, make sure this process is transparent. I've been in this work for a long time and we can reduce corruption. We can reduce increased transparency and build public trust in a time when the public doesn't have as much trust by being really clear about this process. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Tory, can you explain what is enhanced services? Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, I'll first start off by saying that the RFPs that were issued and there have been multiple RFPs that have been issued over the past two years for the French Quarter DDD service area five include immense detail on what the enhanced services are and those documents are publicly available documents. I know we've been here many times to talk about the various procurements that we've done and talk about the enhanced services. So anybody that wishes to learn more in detail about those can can easily read the RFPs and see in detail. But I did provide a summary that's included in this presentation here. Happy to go through the enhanced services. So in area five, again, based on the increased volume of people and visitors and activity in that area, there's an enhanced level of service. So the contractor for area five provides daily services for public trash receptacles. Obviously, those receptacles are being filled multiple times a day in the French Quarter. Requires a contractor to be monitoring those public trash receptacles, pulling the bags, replacing the bags, cleaning the receptacle, ensuring that they're in good working condition. We also have a graffiti sticker removal abatement services. So our contractor is doing that as well, making sure that the cans are in good condition, removing graffiti, even touching them up with paint as needed. So that's happening ongoing from 4 a.m. to midnight, 20 hours per day in the French Quarter, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In the DDD, we provide twice daily trash collection of the public litter receptacles in the DDD, once in the morning and once in the evening. The DDD clean team is pulling bags in the DDD throughout the day as needed, but a much less volume of debris there. Pressure washing happens on a daily basis as well. In the French Quarter Area 5, so in the French Quarter Commercial Zone, you have daily pressure washing that's happening on all rights of way.

In the residential area in the back of the French Quarter, we have monthly pressure washing. We also have monthly detailed service cleaning, which is the disc cleaning, which folks may have seen, which actually removes a thin layer of grime on all the surfaces to make it look as if the concrete is new. Our contractors have on-demand pressure washing available for the 20 hours a day, 4 a.m. to midnight, that they're working in the French Quarter. So if there's a spill, if there's an accident, if there's waste that somehow gets deposited on the right of way, that on-demand pressure washing unit can attend to that promptly, and we see that happening on a daily basis. Mechanical street sweeping and flushing happens daily as well in the French Quarter. Every day at the conclusion of the cleaning services in the morning, you'll see those flusher trucks with the lemon scent, as well as the mechanical street sweepers working in the French Quarter to clean the streets. In the DDD, we provide this enhanced service as well on set streets, and that cadence occurs either three times a week or one times a week on the designated streets. Happy to share those with anybody who's interested. The crews on the ground in the French Quarter, you have folks doing manual litter removal. So these are what you would most commonly see with a broom, buggy, rake, shovel, removing litter from the ground throughout the French Quarter. We have a significant issue with what we refer to as orphan bags. So these are bags that are placed on the right of way from households in the French Quarter. So you might have a high-rise building where someone walks out with their kitchen white garbage bag and drops it on the curb. Those need to be picked up. They will quickly accumulate in the French Quarter. As anybody who's been down there will see, it's important that they're removed quickly, and IV does that on a daily basis as well. Organic waste removal is something, unfortunately, that we deal with throughout the city, but even in higher quantities in the French Quarter. This can be both human and animal waste. It's important from a sanitary perspective that it's removed and properly cleaned with that on-demand pressure washer. So we have equipment on staff to do that. And as I mentioned, we have graffiti and sticker removal from public right of way and assets to do that. And I would say that the French Quarter remains probably one of the least tagged areas, at least on a continuous basis, because it's constantly being cleaned when you're walking through there on a daily basis. Special event services. Again, you see here a summary of the special events that we provide additional support and resources to deal with the surge crowds. This is extremely important. Anybody that's been in the French Quarter knows that when people come to New Orleans for events, they inevitably go and visit the French Quarter as well. If they're here for Jazz Fest at the fairgrounds, they go to the French Quarter at night. If they're here for Halloween and they're on Frenchman Street, they eventually make their way to the French Quarter. There needs to be additional resources on the ground to deal with the surge crowds. And that's what our contractor does on a routine basis. So again, this is just a summary of the enhanced services. Happy to speak in more detail and make the underlying RFP documents available to anybody that wants to view them. Thank you. You mentioned a surge of crowds. Just want to remind everyone this is French Quarter Fest weekend in the French Quarter. In about 48 hours, we'll see roughly a million people on the streets of the French Quarter from Canal Street to Esplanade. So it'll be a jam-packed area. Just want to give people an idea of some context, the amount of people that the French Quarter see. Mr. Troy Henry. Good afternoon, Council. I'm in Representative Hughes' district. That elderly statement kind of hurt a little bit there. But I guess I'm one of those now. I represent Henry Consulting, Rich's Disposal Team. As you may know, we won the long-term sanitation contract for Area 5. But the council did not sign our contract because of a varied number of reasons that they thought were valid. I just wanted to kind of make a couple things clear. This case and our contract remains in litigation. And the reason that this was structured as six-months contracts and six-months increments is to allow the court to process to prevail. And so that's why this actually occurred, not for some... Otherwise, it would have been a six-month, and then when the administration got on board, and they would have done another 18 months like you're trying to do now. But there was a respect of the will of the court. As you know, our position has prevailed in the lower court, and now it's being appealed by the council. So we believe that this is nothing more than an opportunity to circumvent the judicial process. Now, I know you guys have all made statements about how we support the courts, but I think it's also important that we respect the process so that if the courts prevail, and we prevail as we believe we will, that we give an opportunity for us to perform and respect the will of the judicial branch. On behalf of my brother, Mr. Richards, he made it clear he's not aware of any of his contracts having a six-month adjustment for CPI. He's been on the job and been performing sanitation services throughout the city for quite a while, and no one gets an adjustment for a CPI at a six-month interval. And so I know in this fiscal austere period of time, I think it's important that we make sure that if we're going to give some raises out, let's do them across the board on all of the sanitation providers. Thank you, Mr. Henry. Can I just clarify? So just to clarify, the CPI adjustment is one year on an annual basis, same as all the other contracts. It's not a six-month CPI adjustment. It's an annual CPI adjustment at one year.

It would take effect in January of 2027, which is one year after the start of this contract. So Mr. Henry's correct. No contract in sanitation receives six-month CPI adjustments. Thank you. Mr. City Torres. Council, thank you for allowing me to speak. Thank you for all the kind words of even the ones who are opposing that have issues with the grant that was canceled. I'm glad they think we do a great job. This, to Mr. Henry's saying about the fact, it has gone to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has ruled, and that's why we're here today. So the legal system will go through a process, and it will, at the end, go to the Supreme Court, because that's where it'll end up. And what happens there will happen there. Whatever happens, and we prevail, or he prevails, whatever happens will happen. But that's a long time away. We will continue to do the same work that we're doing. We will continue to give the great service. And I want to be clear, nothing has changed on the price. The price is going to stay the same every month. I didn't even know there was a 4% increase in 2027. It's in all my other waste contracts. I also have it in contracts in St. Bernard, in other areas that we have contracts in Harahan. We do have CPI increases. Fuel went up 50% in the last few weeks. So, I mean, you have to have that clause in there. So we look forward to continue the level of service that we're giving. The equipment that we provide is totally different than what's in the RFP. It's enhanced equipment that we custom build, and that's why you see the results. The team that we have out there have been doing this for years. They did it before when we had the contract under my old company. And they know what they're doing, and they're doing a great job, and I'm very proud of them. We look forward to receiving your vote. I'm very thankful that you're allowing me to come up here and speak, and hopefully we can continue over the next 18 months. Thank you. Mr. Pearson? Good afternoon, counsel. It's been a long time since I've been here. I'm a police officer and I do a lot of work in the downtown development district, and I have to say that Everybody who I've come across says Ivy does a great job You know the streets look amazing. You know there's no more poopoo smell In the French Quarter as we used to say it's all gone. All you smell is lemons. It's not like drinking lemonade Myself, you know I hope that we can continue the level of service that we get because it makes my job easier When I'm down doing a detail downtown and the public comes to me and says wow Look at the great job y'all done with the contract to cleaning up the city. Just as Mardi Gras, I had a group of people from Atlanta They came down, and it was watching the cleanup crew from Mardi Gras, and they came down, and they were watching the cleanup crew From Mardi Gras, and they were amazed at how well The company picked up all the trash in the streets. They brought out the cell phones, and they brought out Everything they videotaped the lemon truck coming through the street sweepers. They were just amazing and they were like We wish that we had this level of service in Atlanta that you guys have down here So I just hope that we can continue this right now because I know Mr. Torres. He does a lot He gives back to the community as well. I've seen him do it before No, so if we can do this, I think it'll help the city maintain the level that we've been using for a while. Thank you Just want to remind everyone to give you your name Address and are you a paid actor? Just to keep it level across the board Sam Bailey Sam Bailey, 1-7 East Point Court, New Orleans, Louisiana I've been working. I'm the DBE on the recycling end of the contract for Mr. Torres Zone 1, 2, and 5. I handle all the recycling You're not gonna find a more passionate guy that does his job like this gentleman here You know I give example one day we ride in a car You see a piece of paper on the street stop me to pick up the trash off the street. You're not gonna see that From anybody that I know because I probably wouldn't stop But So we want to keep Ivy on the job I don't want to seem like I'm biased because I am the DBE contractor on behalf of the city of Atlanta On the job, I don't want to seem like I'm biased because I am the DBE contractor on the French Quarter contract So I'm the recycling person in case you guys didn't know who I was. I'm the one handles all your recycling Also, I heard a little earlier. They alluded to Squashing some kind of grant or something like that One of the things about that grant, I think the only thing that the city may have gotten out of it was a Recycling carts out of it, but the problem with that was at the end when the grant money was gone three four million dollars You guys would have had to maintain the carts, and I think the proposal that the way his handlers it came up with now I think it'd be better off doing it their way rather than mess with the grant That's all I have to say. Thank you Thank you, Mr. Glea-Bilby Thank you, Mr. Glea-Bilby Thanks very much, good afternoon, my name is Glea-Bilby. I live at Esplanade and Charters. I'm a longtime resident of the French Quarter and During those years for decades. I've seen maintenance change Enforcement change the amount of police change Everything is has a cycle In the past ten years We've doubled the amount of tourists that come to the quarter the visitors in the quarter to some say 19 plus million people Do you think that those tourists know who cleans up the street? Do they know who has the contract do they know how often it gets clean? Do they know if it's pressure washed in the middle of night or one time a week? They do know when it's dirty.

They do know when it smells bad They do know when they see trash on the street And they also know when it smells good when it looks good And I think that's what we need to focus on One of the things that we have going for us It never looked better the current contractor is doing a great job as you've seen from the support of the community And even your own Matt Tory has said something about that In all of these things it's a question of the product and a question of the cost The cost is one thing Last year the French Quarter alone in geographic area delivered 158 million dollars to the city and the state so I think there's money there that we generate ourselves to keep the shine on the jewel of the quarter and To make the residential experience better and the visitor experience better. Thanks very much Thank You mr. Adam brilliant I Thank you. My name is Adam Grimmie on 909 Lafayette Street. I'm just here I would echo all the other accolades that are already been said I'm here in support to continue and extend The contract for IV waste that's pretty much it Thank you Evangelists in ballot In Ballot 23 30 Dauphine I'm just going to echo basically what they said to but as we go out on the street and in minister and do the Work and feed in different neighborhoods We go to many different communities and as we go to these communities We can see and we know and we talk to these people on a yearly basis And time as over the time and is recently that the work has been way better with the But I have your waste than what they had prior so now Seeing all those different the statements about their highways and seeing it myself From being you know doing ministry in the S on Esplanade and in the quarters Whatever God sent us that we go out as a team and we feed people in different areas But most of all is I brought up in I have a real project So bourbon Street was like my backyard So I went to bring for any little reason But every time I went to bourbon he had a certain smell the spill always bothered me But then after a while I got used to it, but now since I have a waste game I don't smell that smell no more and I was surprised one time. I went back there I went out there one night, and I was like man I'm looking forward to smell and I didn't smell it and I know No, so I got to say something because that's what I'm talking about 20 years Smelling that smell smelling that smell, but now like you said no There's not no the proof is in the pudding you can't make this up. It smell good out there look good out there So I just I'm with him. I'm supporting that he stay man Thank You mr. Michael or the Micah My name is Michael Owen doll. I'm a 13-year resident of the quarter. I just wanted to Say that I've enjoyed IV waste and everything that they provided over the last few years It's definitely made a difference, and I think if we want to focus on something else There are a lot of quality of life issues other than sanitation that need to be addressed But I really do appreciate everything and I appreciate you echoing the voting members of your district and Echoing our wishes to keep the sanitation that IV waste is provided over the last few years Thank you, mr.. Joey defied him Good Afternoon councilmembers Joey defied 1113 Bourbon Street And as a gentleman said his backyard was bourbon my front yard is Bourbon Street So I just want y'all to know that Obviously I'm here representing myself, but I'm also president of the patio planners at a view Correa We have 601 members as of today about 400 of our members live in the French Quarter If you recall several months back We went through a process where you saw keep IV waste signs all over the French Quarter and even went into Lakeview and all the rest of the city It was our folks in our group that put the dollars together to make those signs come out I think it speaks volumes for the folks who live in the French Quarter. This is what they want I can understand some folks are looking at this as the the financial side of it I'm sure the council and the administration will take care of that you're gonna make sure that the contract you sign will be the best contract for the people of the city of New Orleans, so you're gonna handle that, but we want you to understand We want you to handle our business for us keep the streets the way they are currently keep IV Keep them in the French Quarter and wherever else you can put them because they'll do a great job there also So just to let you know we are behind this group 100% if there's anything else we can do to help make this continue Let us know because we have the force of the people who live in the French Quarter. Thank you Thank you Frank Scurlock Hi there Frank Scurlock 936 North Rampart You know at the end of the day we're about finances it all ends up over here in numbers And it's very sad to have the competing person that was up here talk about he's taking pride in litigating this so Indirectly he's costing the city money instead of making the city money. You know we all know there's been a radical change Since mr. Torres took it over you know now we can proudly at least walk down the French Quarter and smell Wonderful lemons instead of urine I mean we have a long way to go I think Sidney knows that I know that if it Was up to me my magic wishes have all the oyster shells that have bacteria and everything go away from the restaurants every night I run in every day when I walk countless numbers of trash cans left on the street He developed the app for the French Quarter He could have an app that once the Trash cans are put out they could be zoomed away and taken right off the streets So we have better quality of life and at the end of the day going back to the city and the economics I mean, let's think about this we might be talking about sanitation today, but let's be reality We have a whole regime change that we got right.

We're called the big easy for some reason Maybe we need to change that and have it a little hard because what Sidney's done and all the departments every single department The city needs to be shaken upside down. We know what happened Thank goodness the state came in and kicked in and did it what it did We got a long way to go and we've the administration the new council has done. I think an amazing job I'm proud to call new ones home But I do think at the end of the day, just from the aspect of Mr. Henry, let's be reality. I'm an amusement guy. I worked on Six Flags. He got Six Flags. He's asking y'all for $50 million just to build his park. So please consider the track record, where they are, and maybe that can help quash all this big legal nightmare we have coming. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Jaquez-Williams. Pastor Jacques-Williams, 10320 Morrison Road, New Orleans East Resident. Great job, current and new administrator, District E. I'm the community liaison with Chief Anchor Patrick of NOPD, and as a result of that assignment, I have the responsibility to be on Bourbon Street, January 1, 2025, 3.15 a.m. The carnage that I saw was the most horrific thing I've ever experienced in my life, and you're listening to a six-year Marine Corvette who, to be honest with you, I was just a basic secretary, but I had so many reports that came across my desk that pretty much detailed what takes place in wartime. To see that from 3.15 until 8 p.m. that night as we're going from the street of Bourbon to Charity Hospital and all the other places where the victims were bought, including the officers that were injured, and then the very next day, have the responsibility as clergy, as a pastor, as a community leader and spiritual advisor to the city, to be able to walk down Bourbon Street and experience it like I never experienced it before. Now, let me make sure I'm clear on something. I'm a lifelong New Orleans resident. I went out for college, Marine Corps, so on and so forth. When I came back home, I steered away from Bourbon Street and the French Quarters because of the yellow substance that caused the street to stink. And walking down on Bourbon Street that day and experiencing something fresh, it revitalized my intent to visit the core of my city. Well, long story short, as I'm leaving Bourbon that day, I run into Sidney Torres, and Sidney Torres says to me, we have to do something about what took place. And he establishes Ivy Relief Fund 2025, which paid for the funerals of those people who were killed on Bourbon Street. And he continues that service beyond this time. Thank you, Pastor Williams. Debbie Latham. Hello, I'm here to tell you I've been a full-time resident for 11 years. My address is 702 Governor Nichols. And I am so thrilled to have Ivy Waste after living with different companies before they were hired. Ivy Waste is so much better. And I have to tell you, I'm a little angry that I'm here today because we shouldn't be having to do this. We've got an excellent company, excellent service. Everyone around our neighborhood loves Ivy Waste. So please, please listen to the residents and keep Ivy Waste. Thank you. Thank you. Jeanne Broome. My name is Jeanne Broome. I'm at 908 St. Peter's. I've been a resident since 2012. I originally lived on St. Anne's, and now I live on St. Peter, both streets. One is the entrance to the French Quarter, the other one is the exit, so heavy traffic. Things go through our area. I will tell you, for when I first moved here and had to deal with trash, my trash would be left on the corner for several days. It was torn apart, ripped apart, and things like that. Since Ivy Waste has taken over, all this stuff has been cleaned up. And I agree with Debbie. It is such a shame that we have to come down here and beg for a renewal of a contract of a fantastic service. I have never lived in a city, and I've lived in many cities, both domestically and internationally over the course of my life, and I never met a city that said they truly love their garbage men. This is the first time I've ever heard that, and we should be impressed by that. Thank you. Thank you. Al Latham, 1141 Royal Street. I wanted to say, same as everybody, I wonder why we're here. I appreciate you guys being here. I know how important it is. Being on your committee, the same one in Denver I was, it's hard to sort out these things. But my biggest thing lately is we live across the street from Verdi Mart, which is a grocery store that's open 24 hours a day, and it's a great place. But before we had this new service, it was horrible. Most of the days you get up and all the stuff over our streets and down our streets was so hard to deal with. But I just think everybody here that said something today really should, you guys understand, it's really just a great place to live. I understand that at one time there was like 11,000 people who lived in the fridge quarter personally, but now there's down to 1,900. Let's try and keep more people living here, and doing this really helps a lot. Thank you. Thank you. And our last public comment will be, I'm sorry, I could not make out the handwriting initials on SD, and from the Sonia Dewey, Lakeshore Property Owners Association. Thank you. My name is Sonia Dewey, and I live at 7364 Barrow Street. I don't live in the French Quarter. I live by Lake Pontchartrain. My folks in our neighborhood, we actually are those native tourists who go there, and all we hear is about the wonderful French Quarter and the cleanliness now under IV waste. The Lakeshore Property Association is some 700 homes in the Lakeshore area, and we are serviced by IV waste. When I tell you I have never heard one complaint, the trucks are rolling, they are clean, their people are professional. We can't ask for more. So we ask you to please continue to support IV waste throughout the city. You know, you know better than I do that there are so many things in this city that does not work. IV waste works.

Let's keep in this city what's working. Let's keep IV waste rolling. Thank you for your time. Thank you. That is the end of the comments. Seeing no public comment, no online comments, and nothing from the dais, we make a motion to adopt. Second by Councilmember Hughes. Forgave, no nays, thank you. Thank you very much. The chair moves that we adjourn. Second by Councilmember McCarran. Any objection? Without objection, we stand adjourned. Thank you all.