HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/24/2003 Urban Affairs Advisory Minutes 6-24-2003 Page 1 of 4
URBAN AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2003
1 CALL TO ORDER
The meeting of the Urban Affairs Committee was called to order by Chair Shirley Doenng at 7.05 p.m.
Members Present: Robin Curran, Shirley Doenng, Shelley Madore and Sharon Schwartz.
Members Absent: Barry Berg, Sandy Breuer and Pam Sohlberg
Staff Present: Kathy Bodmer, Assistant City Planner; Mike Hammerstad, Code Enforcement Officer;
Tim Miller, Code Enforcement Officer and Susan Bast, Recycling Coordinator
Guests present: Mike Trulsan, Waste Management; Ron Moemng, Waste Management; Jeny and Mary
Ann Staab, residents and John Bergman, City Councilmember
2 APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION Sharon Schwartz moved, seconded by Robin Curran, to approve the agenda. The motion
carned unanimously
3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 23, 2002
MOTION Shelley Madore moved, seconded by Sharon Schwartz to approve the minutes of the July 23,
2002 meeting. Motion carned unanimously
4 DISCUSSION ITEM
REFUSE PROGRAM -REVIEW OF DOORSIDE COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS
Shirley Doenng began the discussion by stating that the Urban Affairs Committee has reviewed the
issue of garbage collection several times dunng the twenty years she's been on the committee. She noted
that garbage is an important topic for the City and its residents.
Shirley stated that she drove through her neighborhood and noted that over 50% of her neighbors had
their refuse containers at the curb She called some of her neighbors to find out why they had placed the
garbage at the curb She found that, in general, the neighbors knew that the ordinance required that
garbage be collected at the door, but that they placed their refuse containers at the curb to help out their
haulers.
Ron Moening of Waste Management said that he wrote a letter to the City Administrator requesting that
the City review its door-side collection ordinance again. He stated that in the time since the Urban
Affairs Committee last reviewed the refuse ordinance, most haulers updated their collection programs to
provide all residents with free containers. Ron noted that the cities of Apple Valley and Edina are the
only two cities m the Twin Cities area that require door-side collection of garbage. He said that the
survey that was done in 1999 found that the three biggest issues the residents had were the cost of the
service, safety and choice of haulers. Ron then stated that the concern about appearance can be
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addressed by dividing the City into districts, placing refuse on the curb will reduce the cost of the
service, safety will be ensured because no truck would be left unattended, and lastly, a curbside program
would not interfere with the residents' ability to choose their own haulers.
Mike Trulsan of Waste Management stated that City of Edina's enforcement of door-side placement of
the garbage is not very strict. The collection program is a hybrid, though, because recycling and yard
waste are collected from the curb He also stated that children are attracted to large vehicles. Acurb-side
program would be automated so the vehicle would not be left unattended. He also stated that one or two
times a month, drivers are bitten by dogs. In fact, one driver went onto the property of a dog owner who
had an invisible fence and was bitten. Mike stated that costs will rise if enforcement is stepped up by the
City of Apple Valley
Ron stated that three or four years ago, not many companies offered carts to their customers. Today,
most haulers provide them for free. He stated the benefit of the carts is that they are easy to wheel down
to the curb
Jerry Staab stated that he is a twenty-year resident of the City and that the City is better because of the
ordinance. He stated that when he lived on Cortland Drive, he worked with the City to get his hauler to
comply with the ordinance requirements. Jerry conceded that safety is an important issue, but stated it is
the hauler's choice to have only one driver in a truck, leaving the truck unattended when the garbage is
collected. He said he has lived in three different houses in Apple Valley and has had three different
haulers.
Mike Hammerstad and Tim Miller, Code Enforcement Officers, discussed issues related to the
enforcement of the garbage placement ordinance. They stated that it was difficult to consider punishing
a resident for placing their garbage at the curb when the resident believes that he/she is doing a favor for
the hauler Others residents told the code enforcement officers that they don't want the haulers walking
up on their property
Shirley Doering stated that she lives on a cul-de-sac and that it's possible to have 9 trucks in the
neighborhood during the week.
Ron Moening described a new recycling program that Waste Management has implemented in a few of
its cities, including Burnsville. Customers are given 60 gallon containers in which they can place all of
their recyclables commingled into the container The recyclables are later sorted at a processing center
Sharon Schwartz commented that it seems like haulers combine all of the recycling right now She
thought recyclables had to be separated. Susan Bast, Recycling Coordinator, stated that some haulers
still require that everything be separated, but most separate recyclables into two streams. fiber
(newspaper, office paper, and cardboard) and containers (aluminum, glass and plastic) Susan said she
had been to the Waste Management facility where they separate all their recyclables.
Robin Curran stated that the issue as she sees it is safety and cost verses appearance. She said that she
lives on a cul-de-sac and that the hauler in her neighborhood park the truck in the middle of the cul-de-
sac and walks up eight driveways. The truck is left unattended during that time. She said she might be
willing to give up appearance for safety
Jerry stated that if the City does not have districting, garbage can be out on the curb five days a week in
a neighborhood.
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Sharon asked the Waste Management representatives whether they would require people to have carts.
She noted that some people don't have enough room m their garage for extra carts. Mike Trulson said
that Waste Management can offer smaller cans or they will allow some of the customers to set out bags.
John Bergman said that Lakeville Sanitation was his hauler and that they picked up his refuse by 10.00
a.m. He wondered if the City established districts whether the collection times would change for people.
He also stated that he wasn't sure he liked the idea of having residents place containers out on the curb
the night before collection. John asked whether the haulers would consider a compromise in which the
residents would place their garbage at the curb, but the haulers would return the cans back up to the
garage. Ron answered that having to return the cans would defeat the purpose of a fully automated
collection system.
Shelley said she is concerned about garbage blowing around. She also raised the concern that if
everything is totally automated, what would happen to the material that is placed beside the bins? A
discussion ensued about residents choosing the proper container size for the amount of refuse they set
out. Ron and Mike stated that additional materials outside of the bin would continue to be collected.
Sharon asked who typically sets up the districts for the haulers. Mike Trulson said cities generally set
them up The haulers were asked whether shifting to districting resulted in people being mad about the
day they were given. Ron stated that they have received a few complaints in other cities. He noted that
most residents do not like having their collection day on Fridays.
Sharon asked how refuse is collected curbside on a snow day She asked whether snow plows knock
over the garbage cans. Ron and Mike stated that they don't experience much difficulty collected during
snow days in other communities. They explained that the arm that is used to automatically empty the
cart into the garbage truck is long enough that they don't generally have problems with collection.
The Committee then discussed whether a new survey should be conducted to find out what residents
would prefer The group agreed that it might be appropriate to hire a professional survey company to
conduct a telephone survey to find out how the residents feel about switching to a curbside program.
The Committee asked staff to work with the haulers and to bring a draft copy of a questionnaire to the
next meeting. The Committee also asked staff to contact communities that have day-certain collection
(districting) to find out how the program works for them. They also asked for additional information
regarding the commingled recycling program.
MOTION Shirley Doering moved, seconded by Sharon Schwartz to direct staff to contact companies
that conduct resident surveys and to provide a preliminary set of questions for the committee to review
at their next meeting. Motion passed unanimously
The Committee decided by consensus that the next Urban Affairs Committee meeting would be held on
Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 7.00 p.m.
5 OTHER BUSINESS
Sharon Schwartz asked about the status of a home on 140th Street and Everest Avenue that had suffered
a fire, but had never been repaired. Mike Hammerstad and Tim Miller stated that there had been issues
with the ownership of the home and that rt had gone back to the bank. They stated that those issues seem
to have been resolved and that a new owner had submitted a building permit application to the Crty
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Shelley stated that she was concerned that garbage haulers are vulnerable to being bitten by dogs at
homes that use an invisible fence system. She stated that she would like to see a notice placed m the City
Newsletter and Website that warns residents that their dogs must be restrained if haulers have to go up
on the property to collect garbage. She also stated that if a dog bites people two or more times, it is
considered a dangerous dog and could be ordered to be put down.
John Bergman stated that he was glad he was able to attend the meeting and that the Committee
members should contact either Planning or Code Enforcement if they see things taking place in the
community that concerns them.
6 ADJOURNMENT
MOTION Shelley Madore moved, seconded by Robm Curran to adjourn the meeting. The meeting
adjourned at 8.35 p.m.
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