CCAgenda_04Apr14 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -11- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection -Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Mr. Baldwin said that what he would like to see the City do is go back or slow down the process. Which one of these things can be accomplished through the licensing process? Then come to us with the things the haulers are digging their heels in on. A goal that he doesn't think can be reached is safety. What makes garbage trucks scary also makes them safe. They are big, they are loud, and they move slowly. He hasn't heard they are a big safety problem. Pizza delivery is a big safety problem. The other one is the repair/shape of the infrastructure. He sent the City a letter earlier where he went into some calculations. If the City can save him more than $2.00/month on the infrastructure he will let you proceed right now. The other thing is economy of scale and there he does know something because that is what he does for a living. He helps school districts, cities and counties achieve economy of scale. There is no secret to doing that. You identify cost drivers in a business. You go to people and say that if you can control those cost drivers through volume, will you reduce our costs? Cost drivers in garbage: Personnel, you are not lowering that. Equipment, you are not lowering that. What you are lowering is the travel between profit points. But, because we live in a densely populated City, he believes that is already at a minimum and, thanks to living in a metro area, we have already wrung most of the savings out of the economy of scale. What will we be giving up? He and his family have changed haulers three times, once because of what they were doing with his garbage. Each time he called and said don't pick up any more. A 30 second phone call said to pick it up. Now what he will get is a system whereby he will have to document bad behavior and forward it to City Hall. City Hall will investigate to make sure it's real and wait until enough of that bad behavior piles up. That has to go to the Commission to formulate a recommendation to send to the Council, so they can hold a public hearing, so that we can get into a court fight about breaking the contract, and all of the time he has lousy service. This is a small public hearing this evening and they have a pretty good attorney in attendance. All he is asking the City to do is come at this a little bit differently. Which one of these goals can't be reached through the licensing process? Or, are the haulers digging in their heels? Then let us see if that is worth giving up what we have and going to organized collection. Michael Barany, 1813 Prior Avenue North, said that he is a student at Roseville Area High School, has been a resident of the Falcon Woods neighborhood since 1989 and has served as the secretary of the Solid Waste Commission since its reinstatement. He said that before proceeding with his prepared remarks, he wanted to clarify the use of the term single hauler. Use of the term single hauler is neither precise nor accurate. He gave a brief review of Goal #5, which states: To reduce road maintenance costs, each street or alley shall be served by only one hauler, one truck per collection day. The City may choose the option to designate one or more zones, one hauler to a zone, and may choose to contract separately for recycling. No where are the options being limited to a single hauler. The Commission has already pursued a number of options, including possible zoning, and respects the right of small haulers to bid for smaller zones of the City. C~