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August 15, 2003
<br />Dear Mr. Mayor,
<br />Thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter directly. While I appreciate the anecdotal information you
<br />provided about no longer needing curbside leaf pickup and a compost site, I take issue with a number of the
<br />points you present. My comments are below, presented in the same order used in your response to my original
<br />email.
<br />St. Paul Pioneer Press reporting: Unfortunately, I was not present at last weeks meeting, so I missed the `other
<br />80%' of the discussion. However, once I read about the issue in the paper, I attempted to find out more
<br />information. I called City Hall, where I was directed to the web site. I hoped to read the minutes of the meeting
<br />and gain a better understanding of the issues, but got stuck in the Catch 22 -you can't read the minutes until they
<br />are approved, but the minutes won't be approved until after the meeting at which the vote takes place! This topic
<br />is outside the leaf pickup issue, but perhaps the Council should abolish the slam-dunk policy of presenting a
<br />recommendation and then calling for a vote at the very next meeting.
<br />Strengthened environmental Laves: In my mind, the strengthened environmental laws are all the more reason
<br />to maintain, or even expand and promote, the curbside pickup and compost site. I am a very strong believer in
<br />protecting our environment. Unfortunately, I know that many people don't feel the same way. Even though the
<br />law forbids it, there are still plenty of individuals who think nothing of including `just a bit' of yard waste in their
<br />regular waste pickup. Nearly every publication I receive from the county includes stories of individuals who have
<br />included some sort of banned material, from lawn clippings to brush to old microwaves.
<br />reasons that no longer apply: in your response, you state: "The leaf pickup program was created for reasons
<br />which {sic} do not Apply today." For years, communities have encouraged residents to plant trees, water them
<br />during droughts, fertilize them for growth, and keep them pruned for health, citing the community benefits of
<br />cleaner air, lower home energy consumption, and neighborhood beautification. Every new neighborhood I hear
<br />about requires new residents to plant a minimum size tree, or number of trees. Obviously, the benefits are
<br />myriad. I believe that one reason why curbside pickup was implemented was the enactment of clean air laws,
<br />which outlawed the burning of leaves from all of the trees in the community. Another reason is that with all of the
<br />promotion of trees, the disposal of their leaves should not be an arduous endeavor. The newer waste hauler
<br />policies, which forbid yard waste in garbage pickup, are a strong reason for continuing the programs, not
<br />eliminating them.
<br />If you have additional data about the original reasons for initiating curbside pickup, and how those reasons have
<br />been recently eliminated, I would sincerely like to hear about them. From my residential perspective, the reasons
<br />still seem to stand. In fact, there seems to be even more reasons to keep the site open. Recent years have seen
<br />a resurgence of gardening in the city. People are clamoring to get their hands on the rich compost that leaves
<br />create. If we added a sifter to the process, similar to what the City of Woodbury offers, the demand would
<br />probably increase even more.
<br />Waste hauler pickup: I applaud you for taking the step to pay for and request a yard waste bin from your hauler.
<br />I am also pleased to hear that the program is working out fine for you, but I must recount that my parents have not
<br />been as lucky. They too, requested a yard waste bin, but after a few months of only very sporadic pickup, they
<br />abandoned the idea. Even if haulers were required to religiously pick up yard waste bin contents, the bins are not
<br />practical for leaf removal. Our yard is filled with old oak and maple trees. We believe these trees to be an asset
<br />to not only our property, but also the neighborhood as a whole. However, I confess that every fall I have a fleeting
<br />thought to cut them all down as I stand before the three-to-four foot tall mound of leaves that I've raked to the
<br />entire length of curbs on my corner lot. If curbside pickup and compost were abolished I would be forced to bag
<br />the leaves, since the snow would fly before I could get the waste hauler to pick them up in a bin. It is no
<br />exaggeration to say it would take at least eight to ten weeks to dispose of them. If I had to wrestle a!I these
<br />leaves into bags, I can tell you that the thought of cutting down trees would be more than fleeting...
<br />Based on your comments, I recently called the eight waste haulers that serve Roseville to inquire about removal
<br />services. Of the five that I was able to speak with, I found a variety of options. One offered free pickup of bags,
<br />but the service was limited to seven bags per week. This same service also offered the bin for a nominal one-
<br />time fee, but would not accept bags in addition to the bin. The other four haulers charged $2-4 per bag, or
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