2007-11-19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 Mr. Norris said that the County has their $1.25 million in their future CIP budget. He said he supports the proposal and appreciates the cost being brought down. Dr. Brown said we do need to have six lanes at Smith. He said that also protects us if the YMCA does not work out. He said he thinks we should move forward with the Smith Pool proposal. On motion by Mr. Taliaferro, seconded by Mr. Lynch, Council approved moving forward with the Smith Pool renovation as proposed by the following vote. Ayes: Dr. Brown, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Norris, Mr. Taliaferro. Noes: None. REPORT : RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE REFUSE COLLECTION Ms. Judy Mueller, Director of Public Works, explained that Council expressed concern month ago about the trash collection services in the City. She said since that time staff has had discussions with the provider and has monitored the service provided. She said a survey was conducted and over 3,900 people responded. She said the City has the option of going out to bid or continuing the current contract for two years. She said there has been a decrease in complaints. She said staff looked at bringing the service back in house, but the cost would be substantially higher. She said staff do not believe there will be savings in taking the service out to bid at this time as there would likely be a fuel escalation charge included. She said staff is looking at automated pick up and other options. Mr. Norris suggested repeating the survey again a year out. Mr. Taliaferro said he has no problem waiting. He said he still thinks the service was better when we did it ourselves. Ms. Hamilton said she has seen significant improvement in trash collection. She said she would also be interested in repeating the survey next year. Responding to a question from Dr. Brown, Ms. Mueller said that an automatic or semi-automatic pick up can be made an option of a future bid. Mr. Lynch asked if a vegetative waste pickup is something the City could do, and Ms. Mueller said the City could do it if we had a place to take it. She said it can be investigated. It was the consensus of Council not to put trash service out to bid at this time and to conduct another survey in a year. RESOLUTION : SOLID WASTE AGREEMENT Mr. Brown said that the solid waste agreement has been negotiated for a number of years. He said the proposed agreement provides that the City pay the service contribution fee that has been escrowed since 2001, allocates cost based on population, and requires that Rivanna Solid Waste Authority develop a strategic plan with the goal of becoming financially self-sufficient. Mr. Lynch asked what the point is of the City having an agreement with RSWA. He said we are spending money on services the City does not use. He said the benefit to the City of the agreement is marginal at best. He said it is still flawed and biased against the City. He said he thinks the City and County should get all the money back. On motion by Mr. Norris, seconded by Ms. Hamilton, the Solid Waste Agreement was approved by the following vote. Ayes: Dr. Brown, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Norris. Noes: Mr. Lynch and Mr. Taliaferro.