City of Anoka
February 3, 2020 Council Meeting
Prior to the February 3, 2020, city council meeting, Garbage Haulers for Citizen Choice (GHCC) notified citizens of Anoka by US Mail that they had the opportunity to speak at an upcoming council meeting on the city's plan to take away their right to choose their own hauler. GHCC also provided residents with contact information for the Mayor and council members.
The response was significant. Citizens placed hundreds of phone calls to their council members and filled the council chambers at city hall on February 3, 2020.
ACE general manager Dave Wiggins was the first to speak. He called out City manager Greg Lee for false statements that he made at previous council meetings and at the city's open house of January 23, 2020. (For reasons unexplained to the public, City manager Greg Lee was absent from the entire council meeting)
Dave Wiggins spoke about the misuse of Dr. James Wilde's research as stated by the City Manager of New Hope. He also stated that city claims about his company's garbage trucks weighing 44,000 lbs empty or 80,000 lbs full were completely false. He said that in the third week of January, in the City of Anoka, two trucks services all customers. At the end of their routes, one truck weighted 44,000 lbs full, and the other weighted 46,000 lbs full. He noted that this was half of the 50 ton or 100,000 lbs weight City manager Greg Lee mused about at a previous meeting.
Dave Wiggins further discussed his research on the weight of each tire on the road service, comparing garbage trucks vs. school buses. GHCC has covered this in detail on our page titled, School Buses Heavier than Garbage Trucks. He concluded his remarks by stating, "in spite of what's being presented to you - I just told you everything that was supposedly a big secret" and gave his phone number to council members and told him that they are always welcome to call him.
Several citizens then spoke on the issue of government taking away their right to choose their own hauler. A majority of the speakers supported the free market and opposed the city forcing them to use a hauler of the city's choosing.
At the end of citizen comments, Councilmember Mark Freeburg announced that he would only be supporting a referendum, a citizen vote on the issue. He said that he would not fight with people on this issue. It is the people's decision, not his.
(2/3/20 council meeting word for word transcript, prepared by GHCC)
(2/3/20 council meeting minutes, prepared by staff)
February 3, 2020 Council Meeting
Prior to the February 3, 2020, city council meeting, Garbage Haulers for Citizen Choice (GHCC) notified citizens of Anoka by US Mail that they had the opportunity to speak at an upcoming council meeting on the city's plan to take away their right to choose their own hauler. GHCC also provided residents with contact information for the Mayor and council members.
The response was significant. Citizens placed hundreds of phone calls to their council members and filled the council chambers at city hall on February 3, 2020.
ACE general manager Dave Wiggins was the first to speak. He called out City manager Greg Lee for false statements that he made at previous council meetings and at the city's open house of January 23, 2020. (For reasons unexplained to the public, City manager Greg Lee was absent from the entire council meeting)
Dave Wiggins spoke about the misuse of Dr. James Wilde's research as stated by the City Manager of New Hope. He also stated that city claims about his company's garbage trucks weighing 44,000 lbs empty or 80,000 lbs full were completely false. He said that in the third week of January, in the City of Anoka, two trucks services all customers. At the end of their routes, one truck weighted 44,000 lbs full, and the other weighted 46,000 lbs full. He noted that this was half of the 50 ton or 100,000 lbs weight City manager Greg Lee mused about at a previous meeting.
Dave Wiggins further discussed his research on the weight of each tire on the road service, comparing garbage trucks vs. school buses. GHCC has covered this in detail on our page titled, School Buses Heavier than Garbage Trucks. He concluded his remarks by stating, "in spite of what's being presented to you - I just told you everything that was supposedly a big secret" and gave his phone number to council members and told him that they are always welcome to call him.
Several citizens then spoke on the issue of government taking away their right to choose their own hauler. A majority of the speakers supported the free market and opposed the city forcing them to use a hauler of the city's choosing.
At the end of citizen comments, Councilmember Mark Freeburg announced that he would only be supporting a referendum, a citizen vote on the issue. He said that he would not fight with people on this issue. It is the people's decision, not his.
(2/3/20 council meeting word for word transcript, prepared by GHCC)
(2/3/20 council meeting minutes, prepared by staff)
Updated 3/2/20
Updated 3/2/20