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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_04Mar24 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES March 24, 2004 Mayor Gehrz called the regular Council meeting to order. PRESENT: Mayor Sue Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Robert Lamb, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, City Attorney Roger Knutson, City Planner/Zoning Coordinator Deb Jones and Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy COMMUNITY FORUM: Mr. Brian Olson, 1592 Roselawn Avenue, said that the turf along Roselawn, between Snelling and Fairview, was torn up by the plows that clear the sidewalks during the wintertime. He asked who is responsible for repairing the damage and Mayor Gehrz said that will be referred to the City’s Public Works Department. Mr. Olson said that at the last Council meeting, when local elections were being discussed, Council members commented that this had been discussed at the last three or four workshops. He said he is stepping forward and asking that Council workshops be televised. Mayor Gehrz told him his comments were appreciated. PRESENTATION: None Scheduled APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Mayor Gehrz asked that two words be added to the minutes: Page 1, last paragraph, add information resources. Page 2, first paragraph, Construction management, add services. The Council minutes dated March 10, 2004 were unanimously approved as amended. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent Mayor Gehrz outlined the public hearing protocol that would be followed, as outlined below. Presentation - Deb Jones, Planning/Zoning/Code Enforcement Coordinator, and Staff Liaison to the Solid Waste Commission Open Public Hearing Take Testimony Close Public Hearing Council Discussion Consideration of Resolution of Intent FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) The presentation by Deb Jones, Planning/Zoning/Code Enforcement Coordinator, and Staff Liaison to the Solid Waste Commission is outlined below. Reconsidering Organized Collection of Trash What is organized collection? ‘“Organized collection” means a system for collection solid waste in which a specified collector or a member of an organization of collectors, is authorized to collect from a defined geographic service area or areas some or all of the solid waste that is released by generators for collection.’ - Minnesota Statute 115A.94 Minnesota Statute 115A.94 A city or town or county may organize collection after going through the process defined in the statute. Municipal service – not under consideration in Falcon Heights Bidded contract, franchise, or other means City must invite participation of “interested persons,” including haulers Minnesota Statute 115A.94 Process: 6 months + City must hold a public hearing City must pass a resolution of intent Three months for planning and proposals Three months for discussion with licensed haulers who have expressed an interest At the end of six months the City may propose implementation Minnesota Statute 115A.94 Subdivision 7 grants To cities Authority to engage in anticompetitive conduct to the extent necessary to plan and implement their chosen system Immunity from liability under state laws regulating trade or commerce To waste haulers or organizations of waste haulers who participate Authority to engage in anticompetitive conduct to the extent necessary to plan and implement, under active supervision of the city Immunity from liability (as above) FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (Presentation by Deb Jones - continued) In order to consider organized collection, a city must comply with all the provisions of Minnesota Statute 115A.94 What is the Solid Waste Commission? Residents of Falcon Heights who volunteer and are then appointed by the Mayor Serve the City as advisory body to the City Council on matters related to recycling, trash and other solid waste Revived in 2001 after several years of inactivity Commission began a comprehensive study of all aspects of solid waste in Falcon Heights Mission of the Solid Waste Commission: To develop a more efficient, more economical and more environmentally sound solid waste disposal system, and To build a waste management education plan for all age groups, starting with our youngest citizens Mission of the Solid Waste Commission: More Efficient More Economical More Environmentally Sound Educational Background: Why is Falcon Heights considering changes now? Falcon Heights last considered organized collection in 1990. Council decided not to go ahead, although options were left open Many of the same concerns and priorities remain Costs – direct and indirect Long term impact on the environment Impact on City infrastructure Many things have changed since 1990 Costs are going up Billions of taxpayer $ have gone to clean up polluted sites and landfills Fewer, larger companies have reduced competition in the industry More options for what happens to garbage County Environmental Charge FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (Presentation by Deb Jones - continued) Background: Why is Falcon Heights considering a change now? When alleys were rebuilt in 2000 and 2001, many residents expressed concern about the number of trucks on streets and alleys. One trash truck, once a week, has an impact equivalent to 857 cars or 44,564 cars per year 5 trucks is equivalent to 4,285 cars, or 222,820 cars per year Standard ESAL figures provided by City engineers Concerns about where the garbage goes Individual has no control Future liability 2002 City-Wide Survey: Commissioners asked questions to get a sense of community priorities now. City Wide Survey: 2002 235 responses were received. Solid waste issues in order of importance, as ranked by residents Cost Environmental Impact Number and size of trucks in streets and alleys Choice of hauler Additional services/choice of services 74% said they would be willing to have the City negotiate a contract if it could guarantee lower prices and higher quality service 69% said they would be willing to pay a little more if they could be guaranteed that waste would go to a recovery facility instead of a landfill Conclusion: Time to take another look at organized collection. More Background: Falcon Heights already has organized collection of recycling Two of our neighborhoods have voluntarily set up organized collection by agreement of the residents To reduce the number of trucks To negotiate better rates and better service for the whole neighborhood FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (Presentation by Deb Jones - continued) More Background: Other cities have taken this step North St. Paul - 2000 Lauderdale – 2003 Little Canada Vadnais Heights Minneapolis Many others around the United States Falcon Heights has mandated Friday collection Ramsey and Washington Counties considered organized collection jointly in 2001 - 2002 The current system was not meeting environmental and public health goals Although organized collection best met the defined goals, the difficulty of implementation led to a different choice “Restructure financing and regulation” was the chosen compromise: Easier to implement But did not address goals as well County Environmental Charge moved from property tax to your hauling bill Public-private partnerships to move toward environmental goals If the recommendations are not achieved and the system does not move toward the goals, organized collection can still be implemented in the Counties Can residents get a better deal together than they can separately? Environment Cost Service Working together is also a choice Goals: What would the ideal system look like? The Commission created a vision of what an ideal system might look like and drafted a statement of preliminary goals. More Efficient More Economical Environmentally sound Education Component FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -6- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (Presentation by Deb Jones - continued) Goals: What would the ideal system look like? Many of these goals have been in place for years We want to keep the best of what we already have Can we do better? Can we do better? “Buy in bulk” Group discount Predictable fees over several years Added pay-as-you-go service options Yard waste Large appliances No-fee “time outs” for vacation Lower cost options for those who produce less trash Small households Residents who recycle diligently and compost their yard waste Reduced number of trucks in each neighborhood Who to call? City could pursue complaints on behalf of residents One stop for service changes Community determines where our garbage goes Future opportunities to reduce waste by composting organics Can we get a better deal together than we can separately? What happens next? Interested haulers are invited to meet with the Commission on April 20, 7:00 p.m. (Tuesday) Next public meeting: Thursday, May 20, 7:00 p.m. City website updates http://www.ci.falcon-heights.mn.us FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -7- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) The Public Hearing was opened to the audience for commentary. Jeff Alexander, 1700 North Albert, said that he is the Chair of the Solid Waste Commission. He said that he would like to speak about an issue that has been at the forefront lately. There has been a lot of printed material and talk about it. That issue is choice. He would like to put choice in perspective. The other day he was looking at the City web site. One of the pages on the web site is called streets and utilities. When you click on streets you get things like seal coating. It says there is seal coating every couple of years and talks about curbing being put in. Actually, when you look at it and when you cross Hoyt into Saint Paul, we have some pretty fine streets. We are proud of our streets. Our streets are done by the City. You go down the list and you see snow removal. The City does it. Electricity and gas is provided by Xcel Energy. Water and sewage are provided by the St. Paul Water Utility. He put a map of the City on the overhead projector and explained that the black dots on the map highlight private wells that are/were in the City. Most of them are capped now, but there was a time when all of those places had active wells. Some are still active. At that time the choice for water was only one choice—a well. And, if you wanted to have a flushing toilet, you had one choice and that was a septic tank with a drain field. Eventually, as you can see from here, somebody’s drain field became somebody’s well. He suspects it was a night just like tonight when the City Council was deciding what are we going to do about all these wells and drain fields. That night a decision to go with City water and City sewage was made and now we have St. Paul water and metro wide sewage which, to the best of our technological ability, is recycled safely back into the environment and is no longer sitting in the back yards like it used to. If you continue on the City web site you will see a link called garbage. It is a service. When you click on it you will show recycling. Recycling is done by the City every first and third Friday. The trash haulers are the responsibility of the residents. It is the only thing in the whole list that is the responsibility of the residents. It is our responsibility to organize our haulers and choose which haulers we want. He uses Walters and is very happy with Walters. Walters has been very good to his family for over ten years. If you look at your bill, in very small print, there is a statement that says you may be responsible for any liability that results from well contamination at a facility where your waste is deposited. What does this mean? What this means is Walters, like everyone else, is a courier. The garbage is taken from his place to point x. Point x could be a landfill, a perfectly preserved pouch in Iowa, oftentimes buried in some farmer’s field. This whole 180 days of public forum is about choice. He believes the discussion is about the public good, just as our predecessors had this discussion fifty years ago about drain fields. They had a discussion trying to figure out a better way and that is what tonight is about. It’s about the future and what we, as a community are going to do about our garbage. Douglas Carnival, attorney for the National Solid Wastes Management Association, Minnesota Chapter, said that he was in attendance to urge the Council to not proceed further with organized collection or the study of organized collection. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -8- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Mr. Carnival said that, in his opinion, this is a solution in search of a problem. There is no public health concern that he is aware of. It’s not like waste has been accumulating in the community causing health problems. The environmental issues are not there. Allusions have been made. These haulers have negotiated contracts with Ramsey and Washington counties to bring as much waste as they can handle to the processing facility in Newport. Newport can’t take any more waste from them. They have given them everything they need. Any waste that doesn’t go to Newport because they can’t handle it goes to Federally certified facilities that meet all environmental regulations imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As you proceed forward with organized collection, you may be inserting the City in the loop of decision making with respect to garbage and if there is any potential liability, you might be involved in that liability. There is no problem with a monopoly because there are five haulers here. Individual households can choose who their hauler is. They can negotiate the best price, the best service and what their needs are. Most importantly, they can change haulers if they aren’t satisfied with the service they are receiving. The haulers want to compete and prove they are worthy of business. These haulers seldom get together and agree on much. They compete on the street everyday and that is what they want. They want to prove to the citizens that they are worthy of their business. The only time they get together is when they come together to oppose something like this, which is essentially the City’s decision to take over this business and become a contractor on behalf of the citizens, rather than letting the citizens make those decisions. If you make the decision to proceed to organized collection, you are telling the citizens of Falcon Heights that you know more about this than they do, that they don’t know how to make their own individual decisions, and it may have substantial repercussions in this community and for the citizens of this community. You will hear from some of the refuse haulers. 150 cards have been returned to one hauler from people who want to continue to have choice. You will have an impact on the businesses that may not win this contract. They want to have satisfied customers because it is better for them and for you to have people competing individually at your households than competing every five years for the City contract. Your colleagues in Lauderdale are considering this. 75 people showed up in Lauderdale to oppose organized collection and yet the City Council decided to proceed forward with another step in that process, saying they are pretty far down the line. If you proceed forward you will find yourselves in the same position later. We urge you to keep the current system, letting individuals make their own choices. Kenneth DuFresne, a representative for Walters Recycling and Refuse, Inc., said that Walters has been in business since the 1950’s and is a second generation company. He said he was going to talk from the heart. The family has built their business by providing a niche service because they can’t compete with the big boys on price. They can compete in an open market. Call and you get a live person on the phone. With the big contracts, they can’t compete. If they get the contract, resources will be stretched to such a point they will be encouraged to fold up. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -9- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Mr. DuFresne asked how you would feel if you were a small business, an auto repair shop or a lawn care service, and spent 16 years building a small company with employees? You have a mortgage on a little building and have a couple people working for you, a couple of mechanics. Then someone in the City decides there are too many cars sitting around all of these car repair shops or all that dripping oil is going in the storm sewer. We could have an environmental disaster on our hands. We’re going to have one repair business in the City. So they put out an RFP. You try. You put that bid together for them. Now the City is going to walk in and say that all of those customers, all of those clients, have to be turned over to them. That is where we are. How does he go back and tell the young people who have worked so hard to give them good service that their job is in jeopardy. He said his grandfather wasn’t a very educated man. He was a farmer. He said that with equipment you oil it, grease it, and take care of it, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Helen Foster, 2190 Folwell Avenue, said that she is o.k. with BFI. She is generally o.k. as long the refuse collection and disposal is environmentally o.k. She composts in her backyard and hardly any trash goes out. They have a one car garage with two vehicles and recycling really backs up in the garage. She would like weekly recycling pick up. Frank Meah, 1597 Hollywood Court, said he has been a resident of the City for 33 years, is an environmental engineer by profession, and a member of the Solid Waste Commission. He came from Burma where they were governed by Army dictators. He highly appreciates the freedom of choice in this great country. He described where Hollywood Court is located-behind the TIES building and a State Fair parking lot. There is limited access to Hollywood Court, which has eighteen houses, nine on each side. He once counted 12 refuse collection companies plus recycling trucks in their neighborhood, and he expressed concern about access and safety for residents. Cars can be blocked in from both sides. Three years ago he paid $1,700 for alley repairs because of wear and tear. Since his neighborhood has chosen one hauler they have one refuse truck each week and a recycling truck every two weeks. This was a wise choice and he is very proud of his neighborhood. Kevin Silverstein, 2108 Folwell Avenue, said that he supports the proposal. He gave the following ranking of importance to the goals that the Solid Waste Commission had put together. #8 – One of the most important. It will encourage people to reduce the amount of waste they make. #11 – Very important because if people just go for cost, might sacrifice something for the greater good. #5 – The University Grove neighborhood has a single hauler. He suggested individual zones within the City to get better leverage on cost and also save roads a little bit. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -10- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Thomas Lageson, 1740 North Pascal, said he is a 14 year resident of the City and is here to speak in opposition of the resolution of intent. He has come of his own free will. He is a little upset about this because he feels there is no common understanding of this plan. We all have different ideas. When the January 29, 2004 letter from the City first came out it sounded somewhat reasonable to maybe just have one truck. It talked about organized collection and that a couple of neighborhoods are doing that. There was a letter to the editor that talked about organized collection, but that is not organized collection, it is just people getting together on a neighborhood block. Then there was a line from the City Council minutes dated February 25, 2004, where it talked about a single hauler. There isn’t a common understanding of exactly what is being proposed here. He thought that the Solid Waste Commission, after meeting for a year, and he is sure they did a lot of good study, would have developed more of a plan, more of a common understanding of exactly what is being proposed before starting the resolution of intent. This formal hearing tonight is part of the process according to State statute. The letter made it sound like “Come out and talk about the ideas” but you might have been a little misled thinking you could just come and talk about things and see what we can come up with. Also, you might get the idea from the statistics that everyone is doing this. He spoke briefly about the resource recovery project of 2002 for Ramsey and Washington Counties, and said that in Ramsey County there are 51 local governments, of which 13 have organized collection and 38 do not. What are the implementation and maintenance costs? He received an e-mail from Mayor Gehrz that said staff is stretched so thin right now that we can’t keep our web site up. Heather Worthington stopped by at 8:20 PM last night with a list of haulers. Yet this will be putting more pressure on staff to produce more stuff. A lot of resources will be required to implement this. Thomas Baldwin, 1716 Albert, said that Jeff made a good point earlier. There are several good reasons for the City to regulate any number of things within the City. The City is obligated to regulate all trade and commerce within the City and certainly garbage hauling is that. The City looked at this 14 years ago. His experience with City government tells him that the best regulation comes when the City sets pretty specific guidelines for why it should get into regulating any industry. Those who know him know that he is proud to be an unrestricted liberal. This is not coming from a talk show or talk radio fan. But government should have a compelling reason to get into regulation, and the way to prove that reason is to show us the goals and the options that are being considered, and then ensure that you have chosen the options that leave commerce in the best shape, meaning that it leaves as many decisions as possible in the hands of the vendor and the client, the customer, him. The only problem with this process, from what he has seen so far, is that it looks like we have passed over a lot of simpler options and jumped right on the mother of all regulatory functions here with organized collection. Every goal that he has heard tonight, with the exception of 1.5 can be reached through the licensing process. That is what the City did in 1990. By working with the haulers, and this is their livelihood, they know that if you have a compelling City reason to require something on a license, they have to comply or you will pull their license. They will work with you. 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. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -12- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Mr. Barany said that you have heard and will hear more tonight about many important factors to consider when deciding whether organized collection is the best decision. He would like to talk about one important point: Where the waste goes. Now that you see where he is coming from, let’s look at what’s happening now. The simple fact is that some haulers are acting responsibly about where their waste goes. Some are acting with limited responsibility. And some are being entirely negligent. The unfortunate fact is that when haulers have to compete for business, they have to consider the bottom line. For many haulers, this means taking the convenient option: Land filling. Land filling is practical for them for many reasons, but it leaves a tremendous environmental, and even economic burden to future generations, especially when it comes to cleaning up the site. But, as in many cases, the convenient option is not the responsible option. The responsible option is to take waste to a resource recovery facility, such as the NRG facility, where it can be re-used to the greatest extent possible. The recovery facility takes many important steps. First, it removes recyclables from the waste stream, allowing them to be put to good use. Second, it removes ferrous metal from the waste stream—one of the main environmentally problematic materials in landfills—as well as any other hazardous waste. Third, it burns more than three quarters of the waste as fuel, getting energy that can be used in our everyday lives and reducing our use of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels. All of this is done while releasing less pollution per year than burning a single barrel of waste in the open air. Clearly, waste recovery facilities are wonderful tools, but why can’t individual citizens or the City take action without organizing? Statutorily, the City can’t direct where the waste goes unless it is under an organized collection contract. As for citizens, he would say the same thing as before: Some are responsible and pick only haulers that use such facilities, some consider it in their choice but don’t act on it, and others are unaware of the environmental impact of their choice of haulers. Fortunately, with organized collection, we can come together to make good choices about where our waste goes without sacrificing other concerns. Only through organized collection can we uniformly do what is responsible, instead of what is convenient. Deborah Kielsmeier, 1892 Tatum Street, and a resident of Falcon Heights since 1995, said that Tatum Street is a through street with no sidewalks, and many children play in the street. There are times when haulers barrel down Tatum, from Larpenteur to Roselawn, to get from one end to the other, which is a real safety issue. Take note of that when making a decision as well. Raymond Wirth, 1795 North Pascal, said there are a number of haulers who have worked hard to develop their businesses. Are we going to take that away from them? Damage to streets – the trucks out now have air suspension, wider tires and additional axles. The stops and starts cause the damage. If two trucks go down the street and make 10 stops and starts, it would be the same as one truck doing the same thing. We have free enterprise and just stick to it. Are we going to socialism? He hopes not. His hauler will pick up bags and bundles. They have biodegradable bags and do a good job. He can be gone for two weeks and get a reduction in rates. He wants to have a choice as to who will pick up his stuff. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -13- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Tom Monzel, 1497 Hoyt, said he wants a choice. He likes the little guy. The young man’s presentation was nice. Does the facility at Newport have capacity? He has a beautiful alley that he didn’t really need. The old alley was probably 35 years old but he was told by the City it was cost effective to replace it because there were only six alleys left that had to be done anyway. BFI came through his neighborhood and said they would give two months free trash hauling. A bunch of people took their offer, and after six to eight months they moved away from BFI. Resources are stretched thin already. The City doesn’t need a big commission and all that goes with it. It’s wasteful to have the City handling this kind of stuff. Susan Mueller, 1776 Holton Street, said she didn’t have a prepared statement. She just lowered her rates and saved $10/month by going to a smaller bin. She doesn’t think government can do that as easily as an individual can. She wants to keep this choice to herself. She is a home schooler. She pays for but doesn’t use the school system. She has a choice here and doesn’t want it taken away. She is happy with her hauler and service. She always gets a person. They always call back and let her know what they will do. She realizes there are a lot of haulers but trusts they are doing the right thing. Let us keep this choice. Loretta Stutsman, 1653 Maple Knoll Drive, said that she was raised in North Dakota by an aunt and uncle who owned a restaurant. They always told her to stick with a family business. With regard to the streets she suggested that the Saint Anthony Police hide the car and watch how many trucks go down the City’s side streets. Dale Gengler, 1611 Hollywood Court, said his neighborhood has organized refuse collection. They have one hauler because they want to reduce wear and tear on the alley and he encourages others to do the same thing. You might think he is in favor of this but he is opposed for several reasons: 1. Loss of free enterprise. 2. Loss of competition. When you go out for contract, you are leaning toward the big guys. Maintain as much choice as you can. With contracts opening up there is a potential for wrongdoing. He suspects that the agenda or driving force is the final disposition of the garbage. Russell Hobbie, 2151 Folwell, said he has been a resident since 1969. They have always had a single waste hauler in the University Grove neighborhood. The main reason he is here is because he became so angry at two letters from BFI. He thought it was ironic that they were opposed to organized collection, when that is the type of contractual arrangement they have with his neighborhood. He has learned a lot tonight listening to the testimony. He would recommend considering some sort of a zone system. The streets would be quieter. The trucks would be efficient with time and fuel. If residents want more than once a week service, they can get it. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -14- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Gene Wegleitner, Gene’s Disposal, said he has been in the business since 1968. He doesn’t have many stops in Falcon Heights. He is in a zone situation in Little Canada. He doesn’t buy 100 trucks and doesn’t have 100 mechanics. If people want his company to do anything, they do it. He knows they aren’t the cheapest so they provide top service. He uses small business mechanics and a small gas station. All will be affected. Everyone says this will be cheaper but the basic costs are the same. He went through this in Maplewood. People in the organized collection areas are paying more. If people don’t like their refuse service, they are gone. It is a tough business. This country needs small business. That is what this country was built on. Barbara Heideman, 1750 Albert Street, said she has been a resident for 20 years and is speaking in favor of the resolution of intent. Personally, she thinks that the people who have devoted many months and time to study this are all correct. She doesn’t think there is enough information available yet to shut the process down. The study will let us make an informed decision later. Nancy Strege, 1397 West Larpenteur Avenue, said that she agrees with the previous speaker and with the Commission’s goals. She doesn’t want to put anyone out of business. Look at all of the options. Proceed and investigate how the City can meet the goals. She understands the concerns of the small business owners as she is one herself. She works at home and is not a big fan of all of the trucks on the road. Sonya Monzel, 1497 Hoyt, said that she doesn’t have the luxury of working out of her home. She has to commute to work and pay for parking. She is opposed to the resolution. Educate citizens about recycling and composting. If residents want to organize their own neighborhoods, provide education so they can do that. The neighborhood kids play in the alley. Pizza haulers, license, regulate them. One neighborhood indicated they get pick up twice a week. Isn’t that in violation of City ordinance? Barbara Barany, 1813 Prior Avenue North, said that before they bought their home they researched many things. There were two surprises: They had to walk halfway down the block to get their mail and had to arrange for their own refuse collection. In her experience she had never had to contract for her own refuse collection. She doesn’t see a problem with going to organized collection. She would want the City to make sure the refuse is being taken to an appropriate place. Gary Wambach, 1770 Pascal Street North, said this is a solution looking for a problem. The system won’t save any money and the City will have to hire staff to answer the phone calls six days a week. He is against this. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -15- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Sue Majerus, 1381 Iowa Avenue West, said she is opposed to the resolution. Within the last year the City has lost local government aid. The City was very good in forecasting and did a lot of planning to continue to support the services that are needed. She works for the County. The City needs to decide what’s best for the citizens. There is a six month planning process. Stop the process and do not use any more time and resources. With the population Falcon Heights has, the City doesn’t have any additional money coming in to take on additional services. Tom Kough, 2931 Asbury, Roseville, and a Council member for the City of Roseville, described what occurred in Austin, Minnesota, his former community, when they went to single hauler refuse collection. Small haulers were put out of business. The first few years were o.k. and then equipment had to be replaced. He respects the City for looking at all the options. Jim Kielsmeier, 1892 Tatum, said he has been a resident of Falcon Heights for 19 years, and is a member of the Solid Waste Commission. He did research on the impact of solid waste. Refuse collection is a $43 billion industry, with Waste Management being #1. The national truck fleet is 91% diesel and 9% natural gas (90% cleaner). The average diesel truck gets 3 miles per gallon. 1 billion gallons of oil are consumed each year, with 6l% of it imported, 30% from the Middle East. One truck trip is the equivalent of 1,125 cars in Chanhassen, 1,000 cars in Roseville, 1,500 cars according to the Metropolitan Council, and 857 cars in Falcon Heights. According to 2003 information from the Oregon Department of Transportation, 70% of their road reconstruction costs are caused by trucks. Vehicle weight and axel distribution are the key factors in wear on roads. Diesel fuel exhaust is a source of gases, particulates, and over three dozen toxic contaminants. There is 12% greater lung cancer in high pollution communities, suggesting a correlation. Children are the most vulnerable, with the #1 hospitalization cause being asthma. Talking about costs: Pay now or pay later. Short term versus long term consideration: Environment. Health of our children. This is an opportunity for us to step up and take on a very important step for our children. Clem Kurhajetz, 1733 Hamline, said that he has been a resident of the City for 25 years. Diesel problems: Block off Snelling and Larpenteur so they can’t go through the City. The City Engineer should be here. Until then, he is against the proposal. Ramsey County Commissioner Janice Rettman, said that Ramsey County has been talking about trash for about two years. One of the outgrowths is an area she is familiar with. What do you do with your wood waste that is going to landfills? We have compost sites in Ramsey County. Why don’t we have a way to take care of wood waste? A new co-generation plant is being built which will burn wood waste. She brought forward a plan that will go into effect April 3 that will allow residents to dispose of tree and brush wood waste at four compost sites in Ramsey County. Pierce Butler is the closest site for Falcon Heights residents. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -16- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Barbara Leary, 1382 West Iowa, said that she has been a resident for 35 years and is a member of the Solid Waste Commission. She believes the City can collectively negotiate a better contract than on an individual basis. She lives in the Northome Addition where the alleys are an extension of the backyards. Her children played there and now 18 children play in the alley. Three years ago she paid $1,595 or $29/linear foot for a complete rebuild of the alley. One truck is the equivalent of 857 cars. She has asked everyone on their block to utilize one hauler. Up to five garbage trucks go down her alley. Alley corners are a bit torn up and huge boulders don’t correct that problem. She knows that City streets are built to a higher standard than alleys. Residents should have some control over traffic in the street and alleys. She and her neighbors have tried. David Wark, 1588 Northrop, said that individual choice is a good thing. There is a lot of information that he doesn’t have. What kind of leverage do individuals have? He would like information made available to the residents. Chuck Wegner, representative for BFI, said that he was a small individual hauler himself once. People in the audience can relate to the small haulers. The small haulers are not fearful about competing against one another. They are fearful about competing against government. Manley Olson, 1974 West Summer, said that he has been a resident for almost 35 years. One of the things that he thought was that this meeting was part of a process of deciding what to do, not a decision making process. What he is hearing people say is that because most of the people who came to this meeting are against it, they should make the decision for the City Council. His understanding of representative government is that it is the function of a Council to hear proposals, weigh information, to do study and to follow through. This is complex information. He could probably use 2-3 minutes on each of several items, but we don’t have time for that. But that is part of the process so he would urge the Council to continue with this process. The Council has gotten a lot of good information here. They have gotten a lot of resources here; there are probably a lot of things that people can follow up with in terms of getting information. As he was sitting here tonight, he didn’t feel comfortable saying this is it. There is one item of concern to him. The biggest disturber of the peace is garbage trucks, and not because we have more haulers in the area, but because the technology has changed. The trucks have automatic arms that go out so the truck goes down the street and then comes back down the other side. The trucks are basically making two trips to accomplish the same thing. So, we have twice as much traffic as we had a few years ago when the technology was different. We now have 3-4-5 haulers covering an area. Time is money. They may have one stop at each end of the block so they are probably going faster in between. He sees some problems. He also understands the concerns about streets. Streets are a big ticket item in terms of the budget of this City. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -17- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Mr. Olson said they are a big concern for people, when our particular street has to be redone, in terms of what it does to our tax bill, and the inconvenience we go through during that period of time when our street is a quagmire, and people walk out to the nearest intersection when they live in an area that is completely at the mercy with only one way in and out. That becomes very much a concern. There is no back way. He hopes that with all of this complex information the Council will continue the study process and the trash talking. Susan Harding, 2189 Folwell, said that she wanted to applaud the gentleman ahead of her. Allow City government to go forward. Meet with the haulers and the public. Roger Aiken, 1589 Hollywood Court, said that he is a 30 year resident of Falcon Heights and a manager in energy education. Energy education should be done on a global basis. Where does waste go to? The NRC facility is not at capacity. It is under capacity and has room for expansion. He would like to see the contract stipulate that the waste go to the NRC facility. There is an educational component. Residents here don’t realize this is the back end of their garbage. How many of us put garbage in a container and forget about it. We should be concerned about where it is going. The cost should be on the basis of production. Produce more, pay more. Produce less, pay less. He suggested dividing the City into zones and having one hauler per zone. Choice: What I want for myself and what I want for my community. Frank Crowley, 1769 North Snelling, said that he is not in favor of government run garbage collection. There should be some choice as to what level of service will be provided. The City could limit the weight of trucks. If they are too heavy, fine them. Janet Tschabrun, 1659 Maple Knoll Drive, said that to get to choose who her garbage hauler is incredible. She called Walters and saved over $100. Have choices. The streets are clean and there is no debris on the streets. She is really concerned about the possibility of a big business coming in. She is not saying never look at this. People are happy with the service they have now and will be a little happier if they get to choose their own refuse hauler. Tom Monzel, 1497 Hoyt, said that Ramsey County Commissioner Janice Rettman spoke about the co-generation plant. He worked down there for a year and a half as a construction industrial electrician. It doesn’t work. It was built to run on wood and a small amount of natural gas but the only way they can make it run is by burning natural gas. The whole time they are burning the wood it is basically an incinerator. A side benefit is that you might recoup some recyclables. It looks great on the brochure but you need to get behind the doors and see. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -18- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Tom Lageson, 1740 North Pascal, said there has been a lot of commentary about the streets tonight and as far as he is concerned wear on the streets is not an issue. We talked about the garbage trucks but what about the snowplows, school buses, MTC buses? An MTC bus is the equivalent of 1,785 cars. Does that mean we should get rid of them? Of course not. They serve some public good. Someone asked about calling the City Engineer. He called the City Engineer and they were not invited to attend tonight’s meting. The City Engineer said that you can’t quantify because there are so many variables. You are talking about state of the art streets that were put into Falcon Heights. The City Engineer said that a regular thorough program of seal coating every four to five years is much more effective than elimination of the trucks. We also talked about eliminating competition. The City of North Saint Paul, the community that people like to hold up as a model of organized collection, has seen a 7.82% increase in their cost over the last two years. That is for a 60 gallon container. BFI got the contract. They got a small increase the first year and then they jacked it up 5.86% this last year. So, if you get rid of the competition, you’re going to be hurting. It will be an expensive study. Think of all the lawyer fees that are going to be involved in negotiations. Think of the staff time that will be involved coming up with options, the public hearings that will have to be held. This is not a free process. If you can’t make a decision tonight and stop this, if you want to proceed with it, know that you will be spending a fair bit of money and time to do this. Kenneth DuFresne, Walters Recycling and Refuse, Inc., said that he wanted to assure everyone here tonight that every pound of garbage they pick up in Falcon Heights is going to the NSP plant in Newport. That is because of a contract they signed with Ramsey and Washington counties. Mayor Gehrz asked Council member Lamb to summarize the commentary that had been received this evening and he proceeded to do so, as outlined below: Freedom of choice Maintaining a viable marketplace Predatory practices National versus local carriers Role of government Clarity of proposals Available resources in the City to do this work Adequate use of licensing power to address some of the issues that have been brought up here Service is actually a product of competition Lose ability to information gather Pizza haulers Volume pricing Choice of service levels and pricing NRG capacity Where our waste goes FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -19- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Use of landfills Trucks Pollution Noise Traffic Safety Environmental concerns Price and service levels Recycling frequency NRG Possibility of zones versus entire City in terms of a single hauler Impact on future generations Hazardous waste and the dangers in the waste system and waste stream Roads and road maintenance Health concerns Lack of engineering input at this meeting Expansion of compost sites Alley maintenance and damage to alleys Alley safety Tom Baldwin, 1716 Albert, said that when he comes back to the next meeting he would like to see a report structured around each one of the goals. What is the least intrusive way the City can accomplish each goal? If you find that the most important and bedrock goals we are after require organized collection, then we will know that. Pay attention to the important goals that have been formulated and structure the report that way. There was no further commentary from the public and the Public Hearing was closed. Council member Lamb said this was a terrific meeting and accomplished its purpose. There are a lot of concerns and issues on the table. The Council is considering a resolution of intent that will allow the City to look at the organized collection process. The Council is not voting on the selection of a hauler. The Council is not voting on whether or not to approve of organized collection. What do we have? We have a half dozen haulers who provide a variety of services and costs. There are two neighborhoods in the City that have organized collection systems that were set up by the people in those neighborhoods. Some people say the facility at Newport can’t take more, others say it can. We have heard allusions to other cities’ experience. North St. Paul got a substantial reduction in price and service complaints. What he thinks the Council ought to do is approve the resolution of intent tonight. Let us see what can be done to resolve these questions. Council member Lindstrom said that he listened to everyone tonight. There have been dozens of issues brought up on both sides. It would be to the Council’s advantage to continue to explore the issues. There may be some middle ground. Let’s keep our options open. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -20- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) Council member Kuettel thanked everyone and said this has been a great forum. She was on the Solid Waste Commission for six years. The reason she would vote yes tonight is only for more study. If, at the end of this study she does not feel residents are going to get a deal, she will vote no. Right now there are many questions. She will vote yes on the intent to study this. People have made it clear they have concerns and are not comfortable with organized collection. She has talked to residents of Vadnais Heights who have organized collection and who do not like it. This is not a do or die. It’s a study time. Council member Talbot said that we know what we have, but we don’t know what we don’t have. Go ahead and get answers to the questions, with the reassurance that this is not a done deal. Get more information. Mayor Gehrz thanked the Solid Waste Commissioners for their hard work in gathering information. She has been on the Council fourteen and a half years and during that time people have repeatedly asked about reducing trucks. People have tried to organize collection in their neighborhoods. It is very, very difficult to get 100% agreement. However, we don’t know if organized collection will be beneficial or not. She cannot forget that 74% of the residents who participated in the City survey said they would consider this if there were reduced costs. Haulers have written letters and put ads in the paper. This process is subject to State statute, which requires that the City can’t go further unless a resolution of intent is approved. The volunteers on the Solid Waste Commission need Council approval of the resolution in order to proceed with the study. She wants to be very clear that she won’t support organized collection unless the study shows there are clear and adequate benefits for the residents. She listened and heard the concerns. The comments and concerns will not be lost in this study and will form a wonderful frame work. She invited everyone to continue to stay involved. She will be willing to pull the plug if she doesn’t see anything that will be appealing to the City. RESOLUTION 2004-06 Lamb moved, and Kuettel seconded the motion to approve Resolution 2004-06, outlined below, adopting intent to organize the collection of solid waste. The motion was unanimously approved. NO. 2004-06 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL RESOLUTION Date: March 24, 2004 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING INTENT TO ORGANIZE COLLECTION OF SOLID WASTE WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute 115A.94 covering organized collection was adopted in 1987, as a process to organize collection of solid waste within a city; and FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -21- March 24, 2004 Refuse Collection - Public Hearing on Resolution of Intent (continued) WHEREAS, at its January 28, 2004 meeting, the City Council adopted organized collection goals; and WHEREAS, published and mailed notice of a public hearing was given as provided in M.S. 115A.94, subd. 4; and WHEREAS, a public hearing was held on March 24, 2004, in the Council Chambers of the City of Falcon Heights. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA: The City of Falcon Heights announces its intent to organize collection and invites the participation of interested persons, including persons licensed to operate solid waste collection services, in planning and establishing the organized collection system. ADOPTED by the Falcon Heights City Council on March 24, 2004. CONSENT AGENDA: Lindstrom moved approval of the Consent Agenda, as outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. General Disbursements through March 19, 2004: $ 133,269.65 Payroll (03/01/04-03/15/04): $ 10,544.84 2. AMM Resolution 2004-07 regarding continuation of the Metropolitan Radio Board POLICY AGENDA: None REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: None INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council member Kuettel said that she wanted to thank everyone who attended this evening’s meeting. Mayor Gehrz reminded the audience that there is a first annual City-wide food drive this week. Residents should have received flyers about this. There are many, many collection points. Take a look at the flyer and posters for information about the collection sites. Please be generous. Administrator Worthington said that the Saint Anthony Police Department has been notified about the difficulties with the pizza delivery drivers. The pizza businesses in the area also want to be notified. She asked people to get the make, model, color of the offending vehicles and let Ramsey County Dispatch know about them. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -22 March 24, 2004 The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk