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• FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -13- June 23, 2004 Interim report from the Solid Waste Commission on organized collection (continued) Mayor Gehrz said the City Council isn't mandated to make a decision by a certain time. The City Council can take as much time as it wants. There is some anxiety out there about this issue. The anxiety may be coming more from people who feel very strongly that what they have now is helping them manage and be able to stay in their homes. They are fearful of what might change. Whether or not a survey ought to be done is a Council decision. She asked for reactions to that. Council member Talbot said that surveys can be flawed because they are responded to by people who are biased, not by people who are affected. He urged people to go to their neighbors and talk this up. Take that information neighbor to neighbor. This is beneficial in a way that can't be measured. Council member Lamb said the City Council commissioned the Commission. Common decency says to let them do their work. He doesn't have any trouble at all suggesting to the Commission that they might want to consider a survey at some point. There is a process laid out here and the Council approved the process. Because people are getting upset or have something to say doesn't mean that we abrogate the process at this point. The people on the Commission have • done a lot of work. They are studying the issues. They are upfront. Their report says the pluses and minuses of what they see. The report says the things they are still in a quandary about and still have to study. To put out a survey now before the facts are in defeats the whole purpose of doing this study. Let them do the study. Let them come up with conclusions on the study. Then educate residents about their conclusions. Then it's time for proper feedback, whether that is a survey or another public hearing. The Commission is still in the study process. The City Council is not up to as much speed as the Commission. Let the process go forward. For all we know, the Commission may say leave it all the same because we can resolve the majority of the issues. Mayor Gehrz said that no one is suggesting doing a survey at this point. Normally, in the process, the City Council takes action on recommendations in a fairly tight timeframe. She is recommending a longer timeframe on this issue. Mr. Randy Gustafson, 1775 St. Mary's Street, asked for clarification of the process. Council member Lamb said that State statute mandates two, three-month periods. The first three months are for fact finding and educating. At the end of that period the facts come to light and there will be a recommendation from the Solid Waste Commission to the City Council. Then the second three month period begins and this time is used by the Commission and the haulers to negotiate a potential goal for presentation to the City Council. City Council approval cannot take place less than 90 days after the second time increment begins. Mr. Gustafson suggested that the City Council, upon receiving recommendations from the Solid Waste Commission at the conclusion • of Period I, establish a time period during which it receives recommendations and input from the public. J8