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• FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES _6_ January 26, 2005 Organized Refuse Collection (continued) Mayor Gehrz said that even if organized collection results in a lower cost to residents, both for weekly trash collection and for future assessments for replacement of streets and alleys, most of the residents consider having flexibility of services and providers to be more important than cost. People believe they have more control of specific services by negotiating on their own. From her own experiences with organized collection in her neighborhood, she believes they are right. Because of the hard work of the Solid Waste Commissioners and residents like Rolfe Leary, who did additional research, the City can offer a wealth of information to residents who want to get together with their neighbors to reduce the number of haulers on their block or alley. She believes the City can get closer to the goals that the Solid Waste Commission has developed and the Council approved by working with education, information and voluntary action. Council member Lindstrom thanked everyone for coming and said the City owes a great deal of gratitude to those on both sides of this issue, especially the Solid Waste Commissioners, including Council member Lamb, who have spent countless hours over the last two years • hammering over the details and crunching the numbers. He said he wanted to thank Deb Jones, the staff point person on this issue, who has taken a lot of undeserved flack. She has been the consummate professional, always doing her best to stay above the fray. He thanked those who have organized against having a single hauler. The haulers have always been above board and provided valuable information. Finally, he said he wanted to thank everyone who has contacted him over the past year. The City asked people to read the Solid Waste Commission's report -and they did it. They were asked to register their opinion-and they did it! Democracy requires citizen involvement. He said we should be proud of our residents. After listening closely to the citizens, talking to the haulers and reading the Solid Waste Commission's report, he has concluded that organized collection is not in the best interest of the City. He said that, to be honest, his position has evolved on this issue. At first, he thought that if residents could save a couple of bucks on their bills and possibly reduce wear and tear on the roads and alleys, then that's a good thing. But, then he thought - Is this the proper role of City government? The answer is no. If you tune into Channel 16 on Wednesday nights, you will find the Council keeps pretty busy around here. The City works with the St. Anthony Police Department and the Falcon Heights Fire Department to ensure our safety. The City maintains and improves the City parks. The City works with the private sector to improve areas that are blighted. The City Council recently • created a budget and passed a levy. These are things the City should be doing! 7