Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/27/2016

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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. Board Member Hiatt asked how Ramsey's contract for payment is comparable with other cities. City Planner Anderson said it is difficult to compare. The City of Anoka is tight and compact. Ramsey has a mix of urban and large lots. This complicates the issue of comparing with other communities. He offered to gather up that information, noting the comparison will not be apples to apples, per se. He explained the last contract included a flat rate for the past 5 years, which is unusual. Board Member Reid recommended the City get bids from other contractors. He advised against an open hauling system because of the increased traffic. He pointed out that some people may choose to stop recycling if they can opt out.