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​City of Anoka
​May 29, 2015 Anoka County Record

From the May 29, 2015 edition of the Anoka County Record:


Anoka City Council chooses “middle of the road” option for solid waste collection
 
After holding a public hearing on April 27, 2015 and providing additional time to receive written comments, the Anoka City Council voted 4-0 at their May 26 council meeting to choose a “middle of the road” option for modifying residential solid waste collection.
 
The council voted to direct staff to bring forward a draft ordinance to reduce the number of residential solid waste licenses to three.  The city currently has seven licensed haulers.  The reduction would occur naturally through market forces such as acquisition and mergers.  As these events occurred, licenses would be automatically reduced down to the maximum number set by city ordinance.  City Manager Tim Cruikshank stated, “We wouldn’t force anyone out of Anoka.”  Councilmembers agreed that this was a good compromise between some who proposed government managed trash collection and others who proposed maintaining the current open system with unlimited licenses.
 
Other options before the council included taking no action on the issue, assigning each of the existing haulers to a zone in the city, or selecting a single hauler.  The latter two options would eliminate all citizen choice in selecting a hauler which generated stiff opposition from the community.
 
The only person who strongly advocated for eliminating choice was Mayor Phil Rice, who was absent from the meeting.  Mayor Rice asked Councilmember Mark Freeburg to relay the message to the council that he was in favor of a single hauler.  He wanted to do what was best, not what was popular.  He wanted single hauler due to less wear and tear on roads.  Mr. Freeburg said that initially he was of the same thinking of the mayor but now could go to a single hauler or a reduction in licenses to three.  At three, he said that we would still have competition in the community.
 
Councilmember Jeff Weaver, the staunchest advocate for maintaining the city’s current open system, said that he could support this compromise.  He also inquired about additional options the haulers could offer the community such as smaller containers, every other week pickup, or other customized services.
 
Mr. Cruikshank then raised the issue of increasing fees for licenses, which haulers are required to obtain from the city on an annual basis.  Mr. Freeburg immediately inquired about the amount of the increase, stating that increased costs are passed onto the consumers.  He openly asked if the council wanted to increase the rate customers had to pay.  He then stated that if it was needed for roads, then we have to do it.  Mr. Cruikshank indicated that any increase would be minor and that staff would provide findings to support the increase.
 
Prior to the start of the meeting, there was brief discussion that there was no evidence of safety issues with garbage trucks in the city’s recent history.  A recent Bloomington study of garbage truck safety was also shared.  This study showed that in the past 15 years there was one garbage truck accident in the city and the truck was the victim.  During the same time period of time, there were over 100 city vehicle accidents where the city was at fault.
 
Beyond the Mayor’s and Mr. Freeburg’s brief comment about road wear and tear, the issue was not discussed any further at this meeting.  It was a topic of discussion at the public hearing and previous council meetings.  A Fridley report was cited which claimed a 17% reduction in road life due to garbage trucks, but the report was solely based upon a universally applied mathematical formula.  Public Works Directors in the cities of Arden Hills, Bloomington, and Roseville have all publicly stated that there would be no measurable savings in road maintenance due to the removal of some garbage trucks.
 
Mr. Cruikshank stated that staff would bring back language to reduce and cap the number of residential hauler licenses and modify the annual licensing fee at a future city council meeting.

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​​(612) 930-3985  Copyright 2011

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It is not coordinated with or approved by any candidate nor is any candidate responsible for it.