CCAgenda_04Oct26 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -11- • October 13, 2004 Solid Waste Commission Report on Organized Collection (continued) Council member Lamb said that Falcon Heights is the second most educated community in the State of Minnesota. He recommended that the 70 page report go out to all of the single family home residents. He doesn't doubt that the City followed the right process and, more importantly, the City Attorney doesn't doubt that the City followed the right process. Ms. Jones said that she wanted to respond to Mr. Lageson's statement that there are no plans in the SWC report. She said they are on pages 33-34, and she reviewed them for the benefit of the attending and viewing audience. Mr. Douglas Carnival, attorney for the National Solid Waste Management Association, thanked everyone for their participation in the process. He said the haulers disagree with the recommendation and prefer that the open hauling, competitive system that exists right now continue. At the request of the SWC and Ms. Deb Jones, the haulers put together a set of ideas that were developed as they had discussions with the SWC, and he thinks they do what the City Council wants in trying to achieve the goals the City Council set forth in a way that permits open and free competition to exist as an alternate to proceeding forward with the organized collection system. Although he has not seen the report, he trusts tonight is its unveiling. He is a little • concerned that it does not talk about some of the things that are not so advantageous about organized collection. Perhaps it does and he is looking forward to reading it. The haulers have emphasized that choice is something their customers speak of. The three most important things in this industry are: Choice, choice, and choice. When they alerted their customers early on that this process was being undertaken, they got over 200 responses from their customers indicating that they were concerned about proceeding forward with organized collection and those responses will be shared with the city at the appropriate time. All but a handful though that choice and not having the government involved with waste collection were very important. The report, he trusts, talks about choice and how important it is to the residents. He said he didn't know if the report deals with the issue of the potential displacement of waste haulers, large and small, and what impact that might have on the local businesses. There is concern among the haulers as to what this might do and, frankly, there is concern among the citizens of the City that this impact will be dramatic and is going to upend longstanding relations that people have had with their haulers. That choice will be lost to them, with detrimental impact to the people they do business with. With respect to decision making, the haulers look at it from the perspective of citizens and customers making their own choices as to whom they want to do business with and how they want that service to be performed, rather than ceding that decision making authority to the City. As good intentioned as it might be, those decisions are better made for the benefit of everyone at the individual level, based upon individual household preferences and situations. He encouraged the Council to work with the haulers and implement a voluntary system and not proceed with organized collection. If the City Council decides to proceed forward, the haulers will provide the City with the comments they have received from their customers. r~ U