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FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -10- <br />June 23, 2004 <br />Interim report from the Solid Waste Commission on organized collection (continued) <br />Council member Kuettel said she had some questions that she hoped could be answered during <br />the next month or two of study, unless Council member Lamb, as Council liaison to the Solid <br />Waste Commission, knew the answers right now. She said that some of the haulers stated they <br />would not be able to bid on a portion or full City collection if we went to organized collection. <br />How many said that? Council member Lamb said that if the City goes to organized collection <br />and zoned hauling, all of the current haulers are prepared to submit bids for zones. If the City <br />goes to organized collection and a single hauler, one hauler said he isn't big enough to do this. A <br />couple of the other haulers said they weren't real confident about outbidding Waste Management <br />and BFI but they would bid. <br />Council member Kuettel asked if there is a table indicating prices the haulers charge now and, <br />if so, how do those prices compare with cities nearby that have organized collection? Council <br />member Lamb said the haulers who operate in Falcon Heights gave the Solid Waste Commission <br />a lot of data but requested that it not be published because they don't want to share that <br />information with their competitors. The best data he has seen is from North Saint Paul. It <br />demonstrates that the rates their residents pay now are substantially cheaper than what they were <br />. paying before organized collection. <br />Council member Talbot commented that we know that with all of the sweetheart deals going on <br />between the haulers and residents, if you call up your trash hauler and tell him you are going to <br />leave, he will turn around and offer you a bigger bin, lock you into 20% less, and offer you half a <br />year of free hauling. <br />Council member Lamb said that an unidentified wag made the comment that we ought to keep <br />this hearing going on forever because the citizens of Falcon Heights have never gotten better <br />service than they are getting right now because of the City's focus on this issue. <br />Council member Kuettel asked if the Solid Waste Commission has considered a test site. We <br />know that the people in Northome have alleys and they paid for their alleys in a different way <br />than we pay for streets. So, some of us with streets are not as concerned about the truck traffic as <br />those with alleys. Council member Lamb said the answer to that is maybe. His impression is <br />that the people who have alleys have a higher concern about the volume of trucks running up and <br />down their alleys than people who have streets. Residents south of Larpenteur have a higher <br />level of dissatisfaction about the number of haulers than the residents north of Larpenteur. One <br />of the possibilities, when you think about zones, would tend to address some of the concerns <br />because the nature of the City is different south of Larpenteur than it is north of Larpenteur. <br />Council member Kuettel said that what she would like to throw out for the Solid Waste <br />Commission to look at is if there is a specific area in the City that is really concerned. The <br />majority of the people who have called her and who are in favor of organized collection <br />generally live south of Larpenteur. <br />rs <br />