Travis County Commissioners Court
December 1, 2009,
Item 8
Number 8 consider and take appropriate action regarding the implementation of the healthy workplace program through farmhouse delivery.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners.
>> good morning.
>> a couple of weeks ago we were before the court discussing the farm workplace delivery of produce, which we have samples of this week and there was some concerns on logistics, we talked to employees, we will talk to you in just a moment about that.
we also discussed the logistics of how shopping would take place and the delivery of produce, elizabeth will talk about that.
the one issue I guess was shopping on county time.
i think that that -- I wouldn't sit here before you and say that's not going to be occurred.
i would expect that to be controlled just as any other personal time or personal business would be conducted on county time.
so I think that's the best answer we can give you is to logistics of shopping and selecting the -- the produce.
>> what is the expectation?
>> the expectation is that would not be done on county time.
>> okay.
>> who will put together a list of written guidelines to -- to assist employees in determining how
>> [indiscernible] work, assuming we approve it?
>> I think that elizabeth had some outlines of how the shopping takes place, how the selections are done and the produce paid for in advance.
and we could put -- start with that and put together a policy or procedure to -- to present to the departments and the county employees.
>> I will be glad to put together a list of guidelines for approval for the process.
it should be a fairly quick process that could be done during a break or even at home.
by e-mail.
>> I'm looking for something to help employees to -- to determine do's and don't's.
the only answer that I was looking for is we will.
>> we will.
>> I think the major step in that direction is the fact that you don't shop for individual pieces of produce that are prepared and you look at what's being offered for that week based on the harvest and decide if you want to purchase the basket for that week or not.
so it's --
>> it's a one click process, but we'll be glad to put together guidelines.
>> well, guidelines would cover sort of work-related do's and don't's, that's what I have in mind more than anything else.
>> right.
>> otherwise you have got 4500 employees, although the -- the first pick up would be near downtown, so I guess employees in close proximity would be most likely to -- to take advantage of the program, still it's available county-wide.
my concern is that if you work at another part of the county and you have a certain pick up, you should pick the food up on your own time.
>> uh-huh.
>> my guess is taxpayers will be -- will be concerned about their having to pay for that and in some of the locations they are so distant it would take you an hour to an hour and a half to get down here and back to work.
right?
>> yes.
>> I'm sort of thinking far northeast, far southwest, some of our satellite offices, really are quite a distance from the central office downtown.
>> why don't you go into the logistics.
>> all that I'm looking for on that is if you participate in this program, you really should pick the food up on your own time.
that's the expectation, right?
>> that's the expectation.
we determined that the lunch hour would be a good time for them to be able to do that.
and so it might not be something -- it would something that would be offered to all of the employees, but it might not be something until we expand it to those other offices that would be as appealing to the ones that are in close proximity to here.
>> would the county property be involved in any type, way, shape or form or fashion in this particular program that we're looking at?
it will -- will there be a need for county property as far as pickup and stuff is concerned?
>> I think we talked about setting up a table for pickup in the parking lot.
>> county parking lot?
>> yes.
>> county-owned.
>> yes.
>> all right.
that's right.
>> so -- so hold on one second.
so if that is county property, just appears that there has -- with these vendors or whoever will be furnishing the food, the produce, it appear to me that it should be some kind of an agreement, license agreement, in place and also some kind of insurance and other things.
i'm kind of --
>> yes.
>> I'm kind of -- just being -- just very cautious when you proceed into things like that that we don't bring harm to the county.
>> [multiple voices]
>> I can address those concerns, Commissioner.
the agreement we drafted includes not only the scope of the services farmhouse delivery will be providing, but also includes an express license for the county property for the sole purpose of setting out a table for pick up by county employees who have subscribed to the program.
it does include insurance obligations which the license -- which the farmhouse delivery has agreed to provide and dan mansour as risk manager made sure those insurance provisions were -- were sufficient.
it also includes indemnification obligations.
it has all of the protections for the county that we normally impose on sort of standard licensees.
>> well, see, that needs to be expressed publicly.
because of the fact that -- that, you know, we -- we want to make sure that the -- that no harm comes to the county because the taxpayers end up having to deal with that.
>> uh-huh.
>> so we don't want the taxpayers to deal with that if we can help it.
so all of the preventive things, I think she just mentioned, thank you, assistant county attorney, that she just mentioned are just some of the things that I wanted to put out on the table.
>>
>> [indiscernible] do not have a copy of that draft --
>> I have prepared an agreement.
i don't know if it was provided with the backup or not.
but I can certainly provide that for you.
>> right.
>> immediately.
>> if we approve this proposal today, the actual agreement will be on the agenda next week?
>> that's fine.
i can have that.
i would just need one clarification that the draft that we had initially proposed offering the pickup for three different wellness clinic sites, I understand that's been scaled down to one initially.
and is that for a specific time period that you want it just the one or sort of on an as-needed basis that we will look to expand the delivery and pick up sites?
>> I think the contract should say that the court will approve the time.
>> okay.
>> if lunch doesn't work, there's another time, we really need to discuss it.
it becomes more problematic if it's during work hours.
if it's after work hours, and looks like employees didn't think that picking it up on Saturday when most of them are clearly on their own time was a good idea to them and that's a two-edged sword I mean but -- I have my optimistic cap on today.
and I'm seeing the brighter side.
>> the results of the survey are surprisingly very good.
here's a survey.
asking if we could -- asking if they would be interested in this type of program if approved by the Commissioners court, 97.7% said yes.
we thought that was a very good response and has a lot of interest in just trying to keep our employees healthy and well and on the right track.
that's my goal.
for our county employees.
>> okay.
will the listing be provided to show what -- what kind of produce will be -- will be -- that is available for purchase, their menu of something that -- that a person can --
>> that will be included in the e-mails that they receive, prompting them to get their orders in if they would like to place one.
>> it would be in the e-mail type of situation for employees.
>> uh-huh.
>> okay, all right, thank you.
>> uh-huh.
>> okay.
any other survey results that you want to cover for us?
i guess if you look at the total number sent out, the number that responded is like, what, 50% of that, roughly half?
>> we're -- no.
>> no.
it was 548.
that responded to that question.
>> but how many were sent out?
how many do you solicit responses from?
>> we sent out the survey on the global e-mail.
>> typically you don't get --
>> 3% normally.
>> you don't get a heavy percentage of responses.
but for those that responded, they seem to be positive about the program, if it's not on Saturday, if the court approves it, and look like they have the right to order or not order.
>> that's right.
>> so what benchmarks do we have in place, how do we determine whether this is worth whatever the county puts in?
realizing so far it's just parking and --
>> it's strictly a voluntary program.
and the -- the access to county property for the delivery is really the -- the -- the involvement of the county insofar as assets.
i think the measure is how -- how much of -- how many employees partake of the -- the program and how frequently they order the produce.
>> yeah.
so what -- how would -- how would farmhouse delivery distinguish success from -- from the lower expectation?
>> from my point of view.
>> right.
>> if we had -- if we had 10 people participating, then it would be -- it would be worth our time to come.
i mean, we're glad to have -- to have more customers and to be participating in getting more local food into customer's homes.
so -- so, you know, I think that that would be, I mean, from our point of view the -- I think that people begin to participate in it, then it usually grows by word of mouth and so possibly even people who didn't initially respond to the survey might be interested in it if they hear other people talking about it and -- and other people enjoying it.
>> I think delivery point and delivery time is going to be a key issue on -- on the participation, so we'll -- we'll have to watch that closely.
and come back to court if there's -- if there's modification that's needed.
>> let me just one reality check.
there is space under the wellness clinic.
>> yes.
>> and on any given day, some of that space is occupied, but some of it is not.
so there is room for a table with bags of food on it.
but are employees expected to like walk over and get their produce or drive through and get it that way?
or what?
>> yes.
they are expected to come to the location and collect their vegetable.
>> but come how?
because if they are driving, the likelihood of finding parking is small.
if they can drive through, it seems to me that's a lot more doable than finding a parking space and transacting business.
>> if they are coming by vehicle, we would expect them to drive through, collect their vegetables and move on.
>> okay.
mr.
reeferseed.
>> thank you, sir.
as a county taxpayer, I'm wondering what happens to the -- do you all have a plan for the excess produce?
i mean you'll get produce to use in the program and then assuming that not every bit is called for or ordered for, is there a path for you to -- let the -- the -- I don't know, other aspects of the homeless shelters or I mean is there a path for that produce that doesn't fit into the county program and is not picked up or for whatever reason, is there a home for that stuff?
>> we usually donate it to homeless shelter or capital area food bank.
we don't -- I mean, we don't usually have -- have a significant quantity of produce that isn't picked up.
>> so unless there's a whole bunch, you're not going to contact or -- that's what I'm wondering.
is the program already set up to --
>> we don't have a program in place for that, just because it isn't a significant amount.
we usually on the east side just donate it to -- to, you know, people that we know.
who -- who, you know, need it.
>> well, hopefully with the continued success of your program and like you were saying more and more people taking advantage, wouldn't it be possible, if not likely, that there would be enough in the -- in the pipeline to -- to bother to --
>> sure, we would be glad to.
we do a lot of -- we participate with -- with -- we do a lot of volunteer things with the sustainable food center, urban roots, we are very involved in community oriented things, so it's definitely part of our mission.
so definitely if it ever got to a point that it was more than just like hey we have an extra bunch of been able to ets, we would love to -- bunch of beets, we would love to create a plan.
>> that's again in the future there's ever that day when there are more beets, so that's not really --
>> any questions from the court?
let me ask you this: will the contract be structured in such a way that the agreement, the purchase order basically, is really between the employee and farmhouse delivery?
>> well, the license agreement addresses really, you know, what farmhouse delivery is going to do vis-a-vis its obligations vis-a-vis the county, providing the space, protections for the county, et cetera.
the exhibit to -- also includes sort of a detail of the assessment and ongoing survey kind of activities that farmhouse delivery has said they will provide as part of the ongoing program.
but the exhibit to the agreement that I prepared actually is the -- I think that you do have that as part of your backup.
that's provides a really detailed description of what the program is, how to go online, how to preorder, what you should be expected to bring with you when you go to the pickup site.
so I sort of deferred to the farmhouse delivery in terms of providing those specifics.
>> all right.
but clearly it's a deal between your company and the employee.
>> absolutely.
there's no money exchanged here and they pay online.
you know, in a transaction that --
>> so you ought to make the payment before delivery of the food.
>> uh-huh.
>> then there's an appointed time and place and if the employee does not pick up his or her food, that's the employee's problem.
>> exactly.
then we donate it.
>> okay.
but say they missed their delivery, can they phone you and go get it someplace else.
>> definitely.
they could come over to the east side where we have our warehouse and pick it up or if it's --
>> okay.
that ought nobody the written guidelines that you all are working on.
>> uh-huh.
>> anything else.
>> move that we support the program.
>> second.
>> discussion?
all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
we will look at the contract next week.
if you can get that to us.
>> tomorrow.
i'll have it.
>> tomorrow, if there are issues or questions, et cetera, can we get them back by Friday.
if they are reasonable and should be incorporated do it.
otherwise on Tuesday we will expect to approve the actual contract.
we may as well look at the guidelines, also.
>> okay.
>> I'm really looking at guidelines that sort of describe how the program should be implemented, and what the special -- with the special section on county involvement, tinley may have addressed that in the contract that she's working on.
>> logistics.
>> right.
>> okay.
thank you very much, we appreciate it.
and those are the bags that the employees will pick up.
>> uh-huh.
>> yeah.
>> so we -- we usually include about 10 items and these items are from inside the county here.
carrots, radishes, shallots, spinach, and really big cabbage.
chinese cabbage.
>> that's a big old cabbage.
>> peppers and then we also have --
>> it was that other bag --
>> this is the rest of it, the cabbage sort of took up all of the space.
we have got beets, lettuce, and four oranges and four tomatoes.
so that would be a typical delivery this week.
>> great.
>> now, let's -- I forgot to ask.
one question.
how will we distinguish Travis County employees from anybody else that would like to come and participate in the program but they are not a Travis County employee.
how do you determine who is Travis County who is not?
>> well --
>> how would that be done?
>> there are a couple of things that we could do.
>> okay.
>> we could have the e-mails prompting the orders sent internally so probably what I would do is create an e-mail reminding them to order and send it to the appropriate person in the county for people who have expressed interest.
and then they would have a link in the e-mail that you couldn't get to the page on our website without the link.
>> okay.
but I'm thinking about folks that don't have computers, per se, too, would still like to participate.
i don't really know.
i'm just trying to make sure that the people that are purchasing the food with the relationship that we have and the contracts in the situation umbrella that we're in, how we will identify.
the question is how we will identify Travis County employees.
that's the question.
>> they have to show their i.d.
when they pick up the order so they can show -- don't you all have county i.d.'s?
they can just show that i.d.
>> well, that's the how.
okay.
>> thank you very much.
we'll -- we'll hope to sign the contract next week.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
appreciate your bringing this proposal forward to us.
>> thank you.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1:50 PM
