2009-07-28_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Member Gjerdingen stated there is a newsletter that is emailed to residents as a communication process. He also heard that 1500 feet could be a more appropriate distance than 300 feet. Member Felice suggested putting notices in the newspaper to reach those residents that are beyond the 300 or 500 feet who might be affected by a project. Tim Pratt stated from a staff perspective it is difficult to know which subjects will be controversial and should be advertised in the newspaper. Member Felice mentioned perhaps any subject that deals burning and things that get into the air or with water should be thought of as controversial and should be communicated. Member Vanderwall mentioned if there are many comments from the public about an issue perhaps the City Council can hold off on the discussion until we can get the word out about the subject. Member DeBenedet stated the problem with holding off on a subject is that there is a 60 day limit from the time the application is filed until they take action. Duane Schwartz stated the City Council did discuss revisiting the notice policy. 6. Organized Collection Study /Next Steps Duane Schwartz mentioned there is a statute for cities considering a waste collection process. The City Council holds the hearing about organized waste collection. The topic that needs to be discussed is prior to starting the statutory process what types of research is needed or what additional study is needed. Member DeBenedet stated they were given a copy of the City Attorney's letter dated January 8, 2009 along with a 30 point question and answer list that staff developed from Tim Pratt's office. Duane Schwartz added that this list has been updated since then. Tim Pratt mentioned there are two tracks. One is the statutory process that Duane Schwartz mentioned. The other is the process of the Public Works Environment and Transportation Commission gaining the knowledge it needs to know to make informed decisions and recommendations. Tim suggested the Commission goes down the second track to first to gain knowledge before this topic goes to the City Council and the public hearing. Generally what has happened in other cities is once this topic goes to the public hearing the waste collection companies begin their own campaign of sending out information and any information from the Public Works Environment and Transportation Commission is lost. Duane Schwartz stated they should gather enough information to be able to make a recommendation to the City Council as to whether or not the Council should start the statutory process. They should be able to tie a recommendation to a list benefits of why starting this process would be a good idea for the City. Page 5 of 8