City Council Study Session Summary 2014 02 25

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City Council Study Session Summary February 25, 2014 Page 3 of 4 If RFID data is collected, Councilmember Keany would like it kept anonymous. Councilmember Dalton concurred. Councilmember Stolzmann asked if there is a compost buyback program. Kowar answered yes. There was discussion on whether or not loading the RFP with alternatives would reduce contractors interested in bidding. The basic service is hauling trash. Councilmembers discussed how citizens want to be responsible with their trash and discussed whether citizens would prefer more compost pickups and reduced trash pickups. Kowar concluded by saying there is less risk for bidders now than 5 years ago when companies were bidding the first contract. Update/Discussion Recycling and Composting at Special Events Public Relations Manager Meredyth Muth said that in 2013 City staff began requiring a recycling and composting plans as part of the special event permitting process. Street Faire is the largest permitted event. Staff handled waste for the Downtown Business Association (DBA) Street Faire in 2013. There was a lot of education and interest from attendees in disposing of their trash properly. Mayor Muckle said he would hate for that education to be lost. DBA Chair Jim Tienkin said the DBA is very much behind zero waste but they have budgeting concerns and constraints. He thanked Meredyth Muth and Tom Brophy for their hard work at the 2013 Street Faire. For 2014 the DBA will contribute $2000 toward the zero waste effort and would like the City to fund anything beyond $2000. Councilmember Stolzmann asked how costs would be contained and if it is inconsistent to provide funding for one group and not other groups. Mayor Muckle said Councilmember Lipton had previously suggested the City provide zero waste containers and the Mayor supports that idea. Councilmember Dalton said the question has to be what is the benefit to the cost? What are we trying to achieve? If we are going to mandate zero waste, we need to fund it. Councilmember Lipton said the City puts a lot of labor into zero waste wonders if we are doing it successfully. He is interested in investing in infrastructure that events could share. Councilmember Stoltzmann has asked LSAB to study what other groups are doing related to zero waste and report back. Councilmember Lipton mentioned that University of Colorado has a huge program and could be a good resource for LSAB.