4A, 09/24/12-WS Draft Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 3 Mayor Grant stated that at $1.88 per month per household, he felt that Eureka Recycling's fees were reasonable. Councilmember Tamble noted that he has no complaints about Eureka Recycling. The proof is in the average revenue share per month as to how much we are recycling in the City. If we maintain the same path, we will likely see $20,000 in revenue for the City, and he likes the idea of the dividend. He does not see a point in seeking out RFP's. Councilmember Werner noted that his experience with Eureka Recycling has not been positive. He used to put out aluminum cans in plastic bags, and Eureka would not take it because of the plastic bag. Also, for years, he would put his recycling in a regular garbage can until he received a note stating that the container was too large. Mayor Grant stated that Eureka Recycling recycles 100% of what he puts out and he likes that. He said that something to note with single sort is that a bin that is roughly the size of a regular garbage container is used for recycling materials. He said that complaints are already received from residents regarding neighbors that do not screen in their garbage cans. If we give residents another large can it will exacerbate the problem. Also, if the recycler doesn't like the mixture of recyclables, they will take the load to the dump. The cottage cheese containers that people get upset about Eureka Recycling not accepting is far less waste in the landfill than a whole garbage truck of recyclables that are rejected and placed in the dump. For these reasons, added to the fact that Eureka Recycling is lower in price than the other haulers, makes him lean toward keeping Eureka Recycling. Councilmember Holden noted that if we negotiate a contract with Eureka Recycling, maybe we can add more educational stuff within the contract. Councilmember Holmes questioned if Eureka Recycling is the lowest priced. City Planner Beekman explained that Foth Infrastructure & Environment, LLC completed an analysis of recycling haulers. She cautioned that it is difficult to compare contract-to-contract simply by looking at cost per household because some contain processing fees, some have revenue shares, and some have fuel surcharges that are not included in the per monthly household cost and are billed separately. We are on the low end price-wise compared to other cities, and that speaks highly of our contract with Eureka Recycling because of the relative small size of the community. She stated that increasing education is a priority of hers, which also includes offering more information about revenue sharing. She is interested in the Council's feelings regarding broadening the program to include multi-family properties. Mayor Grant stated that he is in favor of more people recycling because it is more environmentally conscientious. Councilmember Holden stated that she thought that some multi-family properties already had their own recycling haulers, so she would be concerned about"stepping on toes".