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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,November 18, 2013 <br /> Page 18 <br /> benign questions; but with the goal of digging deeper with questions to find out <br /> whether or not the community is truly happy with where it is for trash collection <br /> or if a consortium model was preferred, even if pricing was essentially the same <br /> as that of the open market. Councilmember Willmus opined that he did not feel <br /> any overwhelming need to change the system currently in place. <br /> Councilmember McGehee stated that she was happy enough with the current sys- <br /> tem, but noted the persuasive arguments heard to at least look at this and go <br /> through the process to see what was found. Councilmember McGehee noted the <br /> emotion expressed during in the community and during public comment tonight, <br /> but sought confirmation of the situation from haulers themselves by engaging <br /> them in the process. Councilmember McGehee opined that it didn't mean the <br /> City had to do anything, but that it should at a minimum perform due diligence on <br /> its own process and consult with local haulers, since only 1 hauler had been heard <br /> from tonight. Councilmember McGehee noted that most people knew her as a <br /> strong supporter of small business, and that she was not interested in some other <br /> process other than the one laid out before them. <br /> Councilmember McGehee spoke in support of the survey idea, noting that it was <br /> the intention of the City Council to authorize such a survey in the near future, and <br /> that this should be an important question to include as the process moved forward <br /> in tandem. Councilmember McGehee opined that more could be learned by going <br /> through the process. <br /> Councilmember Etten concurred with Councilmember McGehee's comments. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte questioned if City Attorney Gaughan had found any ev- <br /> idence, as Professor Olson suggested, of collusion with a zoned approach, or what <br /> the PWETC was proposing. <br /> City Attorney Gaughan opined that he had not researched evidence of collusion, <br /> but was immediately unaware of any within communities having adopted orga- <br /> nized trash collection. Mr. Gaughan noted that this would be outside the pro- <br /> posed set up for collectively negotiating a contract with haulers and the City with- <br /> in the statutory scheme. <br /> Mayor Roe stated that he was torn with the motion before the City Council. <br /> While recognizing some benefits for organized trash collection providing resi- <br /> dents to have some say into where their trash ended up and his concerns with <br /> landfills and impacts on areas and the community versus being dictated by a per- <br /> sonal hauler. Mayor Roe noted that, with the current system, the City couldn't <br /> dictate where trash ended up just by issuing a license to a hauler; and expressed <br /> his interest in pursuing that particular provision. However, Mayor Roe noted that <br /> he'd heard several interesting comments from people in favor of organized collec- <br /> tion based on their informal contacts in their neighborhood as a group, both mak- <br />