City Council Minutes 2019 03 05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2019 Page 8 of 13 Rick Welch, 521 Wildrose Court, stated he has heard negative issues about Republic. He stated the Better Business Bureau reviews show many complaints which contrasts with Western which has only two He doesn't want to be in the position to be hassling about trash service and doesn't see that Republic can provide the service levels of Western He asked if the City asked neighboring cities about Republic. He felt $60 per year saving s was not worth it. He doesn't think the City will get good service from this company Eric Davila, 1903 Garfield, heard a lot about saving money but he didn't think the savings is enough to consider this change It is hypocritical for the City to tell us to shop local and then not go with the local company This is taking away 1/5 of Western's jobs. Robert Cozart, 914 Sunflower Street, stated they have had Western for 29 years and never had a problem He feels the residents should have been asked what they want. He is concerned we are ignoring the local company He is concerned he would be forced to get 96-gallon bins for composting and recycling, those won't fit in his space Mayor Muckle noted residents can get any size containers they wish Amanda McGarry, 1934 Blue Star Lane, stated she wants to show support for the large numbers of people on social media She noted she moved here because she thinks the community has residents at heart. Her HOA switched to Western and the neighborhood likes it. She doesn't think Republic offers enough better options for the few dollars it would save residents. A local company would care about their reputation We should shop local Councilmember Stolzmann stated one of the things the Utility Committee is working on is increasing waste diversion The RFP was structured to be a fair process to encourage sending less to the landfill The embedded price structure is based on the size of the trash can while having any size composting and recycling bins There is a lot of opportunity for improvement on our composting numbers. Choosing a trash hauler is not all about price, we do have a local vendor preference, but it still has to be within our purchasing policies She stated when we raise prices in our programs we hear about it from residents. On the whole this is $600,000 better in price and it could be even greater if people compost more If we were cost overrun $600,000 on another project that would be a huge deal Councilmember Stolzmann stated when looking at a variety of factors Republic gives us the best ways to divert more from the landfill It brings back some services such as branch and leaf pick up She added staff did references checks and she too called Council members in Sheridan, Edgewater, and Lafayette and got very positive feedback. She spoke to a number of people who live in Lafayette and got good reviews as well She feels this is a good decision and gives us opportunity to reduce landfill and reduce bills. Mayor Muckle stated he too has talked to many people who use Republic and found people to be happy with their service We are aware of issues on social media about Nederland but those are not a complete or true set of facts. Mayor Muckle asked how staff will address complaints from residents