Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 07/18/2016

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Councilmember LeTourneau arrived at 6:40 p.m. Board Member Covert asked what would be in the area of the pond, if the pond isn't there. City Planner Anderson responded the Engineering Staff is working on that with the developer. He said he is not sure what the disposition of that area is. He noted the area would be beneficial for both sides if it was smoothed out to be flatter. Motion by Board Member Hiatt, and seconded by Chairperson Stodola, to recommend approval of the Landscape Plan contingent upon compliance with the Staff Review Letter. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Stodola, Board Member Hiatt, Anderson, Bernard, Covart, Trossen, and Valentine. Voting No: None. Absent: None. 5.02: Receive Update on Status of City's Curbside Recycling Contract City Planner Anderson presented the staff report. He noted the City is in its fourth year of a five-year contract with ACE Solid Waste for curbside collection of recyclable materials. This contract expires on December 31, 2017. The Board is asked to begin discussions for policy direction and consider three options. One is to initiate negotiations with the current hauler for a new contract; the second is to prepare a request for proposal for competitive bids, and the third is to adopt an open hauling system, allowing residents to choose any city-licensed hauler. He reviewed the advantages to all three options. He noted the City has had a contract with ACE Solid Waste since approximately 1998. ACE Solid Waste is in Ramsey, and has provided good service over the past almost 20 years. There are several advantages to operating with a contracted service. Board Member Valentine suggested that an open hauling system could lead to increased truck traffic and possibly reduced tonnages. He said it could be useful to go with the RFP option, and thereby, see what the options are. The Board could work with staff in pulling together terms and requirements for an RFP. Board Member Hiatt asked when the last time was that the City conducted an RFP. He asked if there is any form for evaluation, or if the City had conducted a formal evaluation to look at the work the hauler is doing. City Planner Anderson responded there is no formal evaluation process within the current contract. In terms of complaints, the contract states the hauler needs to keep a record of them. He said ACE has been great to work with. Other than a few growing pains that happened for a short period of time with ACE, there have not been any issues with them from the City's perspective. The contract states the residents need to have their cart out to the curb by 6:30 a.m. to have their recycling picked up. He stated occasionally he receives a call or two from people saying they had their cart out, and it didn't get picked up. He said if he contacts ACE, they are almost always agreeable to send a truck back out to pick it up. It could be because they are based in Ramsey, and it is easy for them to do that. Environmental Policy Board/June 20, 2016 Page 3 of 7