HomeMy WebLinkAboutA020 - Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus Project UpdateTo:Mayor and City Council Members
From:Brian Phillips, Assistant City Manager
Date:November 25, 2025
Subject:Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus Project Update
Item No. 23
MEMO
Please see the attached memo for an update regarding the Resource Recovery
and Recycling Campus project. A copy of the presentation that staff will deliver
during the November 25 Council meeting is also attached for the Council's
review.
ATTACHMENT(S):
CC - November 2025 R3C Update to Council.pdf
R3C Update to CC 11-25-25.pptx
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
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515.239.5101 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave.
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
City Manager’s Office
MEMO
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Brian Phillips, Assistant City Manager
Date: November 25, 2025
Subject: Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus Project Update
Work is underway to develop the Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus
(R3C) project, located on Freel Drive. In late September, City staff attended a
project kickoff meeting with representatives of HDR, Inc. (the project design
team) and Story Construction (the project's construction manager). The design
team has delivered 60% drawings, which are currently being reviewed. The
project continues to advance with the anticipation of drawings ready to be issued
for bid in mid-January.
SITE LAYOUT
The most recent site layout concept is shown on the next page. Several key
components are described in further detail below:
1. Conceptual Arrangement - The arrangement of the facility on the site
has changed slightly since the Council received the conceptual design in
June. The original concept involved the creation of a full-height tunnel
under a portion of the building to allow large transfer trucks to be loaded.
This approach reduced the usable floor space and involved more
substantial earthwork. In the revised design, the tunnel is "half-height"
(approximately 8 feet below the tipping floor elevation) and arranged on
the east edge of the building instead of through the middle. This allows
the tops of trailers to be above the tipping floor, but low enough that the
loader can reach and press down on the materials as trailers are loaded
(see page 3). This revision is expected to be simpler to construct.
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Overhead view of site layout (north is to the left of the page)
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Section view of tipping floor and transfer tunnel elevation (looking north from inside of transfer station)
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The second major change in the layout is to eliminate the ability to pull
through the building from north to south. Instead, haulers will enter the
building on the north, make a u-turn and tip their loads, then exit through
a separate door on the north (see page 5).
The south side of the building will be enclosed except for loading docks
and access doors to allow roll-offs to be removed from under the
processing equipment. This will reduce the wind-tunnel effect, helping
contain material inside the building. Car line customers will no longer
routinely enter the tipping floor. Instead, after stopping at the scalehouse,
they will be diverted to the self-service “Customer Convenience Area”
that contains recyclable bins and roll-offs for garbage (see page 2). This
change frees up more tipping floor space and reduces conflicts between
commercial trucks and personal automobiles.
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2. Processing Equipment –
Plan view of tipping floor and process equipment (north is to the left of the page)
To reduce volume and open the waste for metals to be recovered, a
shredder is a key component of the project. Staff originally had hoped to
reuse the existing primary shredder, drum magnet, and eddy current
separator in the new facility. However, the existing primary shredder is
reaching the end of its useful life and a recent inspection revealed stress
cracks in the frame and other challenges. Staff is not confident that the
shredder could be successfully relocated. HDR is therefore preparing a
specification for a replacement shredder, which will be of a different type
compared to the existing equipment.
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This change is expected to more closely match the shredder to the goals
of a project (reducing material to 6-8" instead of 2" in the existing
shredder) and be more easily maintained. The cost for a new shredder
is expected to be approximately $1 million (a portion of this amount was
already included in the project budget for a shredder rebuild). Staff
continues evaluate if the drum magnet and eddy current separator can
be reused. A second eddy current separator has been planned to be
installed to effectively reclaim non-ferrous metals.
Another significant modification is the inclusion of a solid waste pre-load
compactor. This machine will take either unprocessed or processed
(shredded with recyclable metals removed) solid waste, compact it into
large bales, and then slide the bales into an attached transfer trailer. The
compactor is an additional cost of $1.5 million. However, it allows for the
use of lighter transfer trailers (since compacting is not being performed
by the loader operator from above) and increased trailer payload.
Additionally, staff believes the compactor can assist in removing some
amount of liquids from the waste before it is transported, reducing
transportation and landfill tipping costs. Ultimately, staff believes the
compactor’s capital cost will be offset by operational cost savings.
3. Scalehouse -
Image of similar prefabricated scale house. Actual details still being developed.
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Staff continues to work through details on the scalehouse and the need
for plumbing in the building. Additionally, the scalehouse building will now
be a pre-fabricated structure instead of constructed on site. These
changes are expected to reduce $250,000 from the project costs.
4. Office/Locker Rooms/Operations –
First floor offices (north is to the left of the page)
Second floor offices (north is to the left of the page)
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Staff has asked HDR to proceed with a design for a two-story structure to house
the offices, locker rooms, maintenance area, and operation room. This will allow
the operation room to be elevated over the tipping floor for improved visibility.
The second floor will also contain offices and an education room. The first floor
of the structure will consist of locker rooms, a maintenance area, reception, and
equipment rooms. This conversion to a two-story structure is expected to add
$500,000 in costs, but will better utilize the available space and provide an
optimal view for operators and visitors.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY FEATURES
The new facility is expected to reach approximately half of the peak electric
demand of the existing facility, primarily because it will contain only a fraction of
the processing equipment of the existing plant. Like the existing Resource
Recovery Plant, the new facility will be designed without gas-fired equipment.
The office area will be heated and cooled with an air-source heat pump unit.
Additionally, the facility will be specified to have all LED lighting throughout. The
roof of the building and the electrical system will be designed to accommodate
future solar panel installation, although solar panels will not be specified in the
initial construction. Due to the majority of the site being located in the floodway
fringe, ground-mounted solar will not likely be feasible. A type 2 electric vehicle
charger will be included in the project and made available to staff and visitors to
the facility.
Once the building design work is completed, staff will work to determine
operational details of the new facility, such as the timing of receiving,
processing, and transporting waste, and their impact on staffing. It may be
possible to coordinate the processing to occur during off-peak periods for
electric demand, thereby taking advantage of time-of-use electricity rates.
Staff expects to procure six semi-truck tractors to haul the solid waste to the
landfill and other materials to recyclers. The trucks will be configured to operate
on standard no. 2 diesel for startup and shutdown and will switch to B100 during
operation. The same system installed on City snowplow trucks will be used to
accomplish this. The inclusion of the compactor in the project is expected to
increase payload capacity per-truck by 20%, with minimal impact on fuel
economy. Therefore, the compactor is expected to help reduce the number of
trucks per day on the road and the amount of fuel consumed overall.
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FINANCIAL MODELING
After considering the changes to the construction and operation of the project,
staff has refined the financial model provided by HDR in June. The revised
financial modeling indicates that even with an increase in the project
budget, the estimated required tipping free can remain around $95.11 in
FY 2027/28 due to operational savings from the added costs.
The most recent project budget is outlined below:
Final Design Total 965,715.00$
Final Design Contingency 124,785.00$
Construction Cost Estimate 12,567,000.00$
Construction Contingency 1,435,020.00$
Permitting 50,000.00$
Construction Manager 830,797.50$
Construction Inspection 450,950.00$
Project General Conditions 448,000.00$
16,872,267.50$
SITE PREPARATION
The rezoning of the properties to S-GA was presented to the City Council on
November 18. It is expected to be completed in December. A minor site plan
will be submitted in December for staff approval through the Development
Review Committee process.
Staff is working on the initial stages related to the paving of Freel Drive. It is
expected that the Freel Drive paving will be engineered by Public Works staff,
then bid for spring/summer construction in 2026. Staff will need to obtain
Council's direction regarding whether to impose a special assessment on those
properties that abut the portion of the road to be paved.
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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
In addition to the work described above, staff is also beginning the process to
procure the trucks and trailers for the project. It is anticipated that six trucks and
nine trailers will be purchased. More information will be presented to the City
Council once bids are solicited.
In October, staff sent letters with revised 28E agreements to the partnering
agencies in the Resource Recovery System. The revised agreements include
extended termination dates, eliminate references to waste-to-energy, and
emphasize the need for each agency to adopt landfill diversion efforts as waste-
to-energy concludes. It is anticipated that an update regarding the agreements
can be provided to the City Council in early 2026.
Staff continues to refine design details with HR and evaluate value engineering
options with the project Construction Manager, Story Construction Co. A 90%
plan set and project specifications are expected to be completed in late
December. Following final review by City staff, a set of issued for bid documents
will be presented to the City Council prior to bid solicitation, which is anticipated
to occur in January 2026.
OUTREACH
In addition to letters to partnering communities over the past several years, staff
has provided updates regarding the R3C project in several ways. These have
included a presentation to mayors in attendance at the October 2024 Story
County Emergency Management Commission meeting, letters to the
communities in July 2024 and February 2025, and many phone calls, emails,
and meetings with individual city officials and haulers. On October 16, staff held
an open house meeting for partnering communities and haulers to learn more
about the project, discuss the 28E agreements, and consult with staff about
recycling opportunities.
In September and October 2025, staff presented updates about the project at
multiple public tabling events and directly to local organizations, including
Kiwanis, Rotary Club, Green Hills Community, Ames Climate Action Team, and
the Iowa Chapter of the American Public Works Association.
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In October, staff launched an e-newsletter, the R3Cycled Report, which
provides bi-weekly updates to partnering communities, haulers, and City staff
about the status of the project. This newsletter is expected to continue
throughout the project to announce upcoming meetings, feedback
opportunities, and project milestones.
In November, staff held an open house for haulers at the Resource Recovery
Plant to review and provide comments on the 60% design plans. Staff also
presented on the project and recycling options for 28E partner communities at
a meeting hosted by Story County.
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Resource Recovery
and Recycling Campus
(R3C) Update
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Agenda
•Site Layout
•Scale House
•Processing Equipment
•Office/Operations
•Financial Modeling
•Outreach
•Upcoming Activities
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Site Layout
•60% Drawing Stage
•Tunnel Configuration
•Car line/Customer
Convenience area
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Scale House
•60% Drawing Stage
•Modular
•Reviewing Plumbing
Needs
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Processing Equipment
•60% Drawing Stage
•Shredder
•Ferrous Metal Drum Magnet
•Non-Ferrous Metal Separator (Eddy Current)
•Compactor
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Office/Operations
•60% Drawing Stage
•2 Story Design (1st)
•Reception
•Locker Rooms
•Breakroom
•Fire/Mech/Elect
•Maintenance
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Office/Operations
•60% Drawing Stage
•2 Story Design (2nd)
•Operations
•Administrative Offices
•Educational/Meeting
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Financial Modeling
•Current tipping fee: $75/TN
•Proposed tipping fee: $95.11/TN (when facility
opens in 2027)
•Freel Drive Paving: $975,000 (estimate)
•Trucks and Trailers: $2,340,000 (estimate)
Final Design Total 965,715.00$
Final Design Contingency 124,785.00$
Construction Cost Estimate 12,567,000.00$
Construction Contingency 1,435,020.00$
Permitting 50,000.00$
Construction Manager 830,797.50$
Construction Inspection 450,950.00$
Project General Conditions 448,000.00$
16,872,267.50$
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Outreach
•Presentations
•Multiple public tabling
events and service
organization
•Open House Events
•28E Partner Communities
•Haulers
•Story County 28E Partner Meeting
•R3Cycled Report – Bi-weekly E-
newsletter
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Upcoming Activities
•90% Drawings
•28E Partner Community
Agreements
•Bidding
•Site Clearing
•Recycling RFP
•Mobile Equipment
Procurement
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Questions?
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