11-17-2021 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and City Council Members FROM: Chris Heineman, City Administrator Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director DATE: November 17, 2021 RE: Review Organized Collection & Recycling Contract BACKGROUND: Staff met with representatives of the existing haulers participating in our organized collection contract (Republic Services, Waste Management, & Gene’s Disposal) in March and again on June 7. At these meetings, city staff shared our concerns and observations about the current level of service provided by the existing haulers and discussed the proposed rates provided by the haulers in their current proposal. A meeting of the city council subcommittee on organized collection (Council members Mike McGraw & Christian Torkelson) met on July 7 to review and discuss the proposed changes as listed below. Organized Collection Contract Items for Consideration • Moving from Bi-Weekly to Weekly Recycling Service - City staff requested that the haulers provide an estimate for the cost difference to offer recycling services on a weekly basis as opposed to bi-weekly as several residents have expressed interest in this. o Hauler Response: Recycling service is unlimited and residents are currently allowed to have up to two (2) carts at no extra cost. Additional recycling that does not fit in the recycling carts should be broken down and placed next to the recycling cart. Because of this, there is likely no need for Little Canada staff/residents to schedule extra recycling. • Incorporate select Townhomes, Condominiums, and Triplex & Fourplexes into our organized collection - Staff provided a list of these select properties to the current hauler consortium to see if it would be cost beneficial to add these accounts to the City’s organized collection or to continue to keep their services separate. One of the repeated concerns we see specifically with these properties that are NOT part of Little Canada’s organized collection contract is that residents don’t know who to call when they need service. For example, they call Waste Management and WM tells them to call the City & when they call us, they’re told that they need to call WM. o Hauler Response: Additional services can be added into the contract at the proposed rates with the applicable changes to City Code. Additional details such as bulky items will need to be worked out at multi-family properties, as these are difficult to track. • Bulky Item Removal - City staff requested would like to explore the cost difference between offering a “Pay-As-You-Throw” option for Bulky Items compared to keeping the “3-Free Bulk Items each calendar year” option. In 2020, there were 1753 households in Little Canada’s organized collection, 522 (30%) households used the bulky item removal service and 163 households (9%) used all 3 free bulks. o Hauler Response: If bulky item removal is transitioned to a “Pay-as-you-Throw” model, rates can be reduced by $1.00 per week for each service level.