5. Staff Report - Waste Management Update Staff Report
Date of Meeting: August 2, 2023
For: Honorable Mayor and Council
From: Kyle Morell, City Administrator
Subject: Waste and Recycling: Status Report on Negotiations with
Waste Management
This report aims to update the Council on the negotiations with Waste Management (WM) and
recommend the following steps as the city determines how best to provide waste and recycling
services to Scandia residents.
Background:
At the January 4, 2023, meeting, the Council directed staff to pursue an organized collection
system for trash and recycling services. Organized collection is an optional use of the city’s
authority to choose the waste hauler(s) to serve the community. The price households pay in
an organized collection system is generally lower per month for similar service levels than in an
open collection system due to increased efficiencies from serving every household in the
community or a particular route.
At the February 1, 2023, meeting, Council approved a notice entering the City into a required
60-day negotiation period with existing haulers. The notice was published on February 8, 2023,
for a negotiation period that ended on April 9, 2023. The Council also appointed a Waste and
Recycling Negotiating Committee consisting of Councilmembers Benson and Lubke, along with
staff and consultants.
The Committee met on February 22, 2023, to discuss what services should be discussed in
negotiations with Waste Management (WM), the city’s only current waste and recycling hauler.
It also reviewed current waste and recycling contracts from other area communities, the City’s
previous contract with SRC for recycling services, and created a detailed list of items to discuss
with WM.
On March 14, four committee members (Hurlburt, Benson, Fischer & Larson) held the first
negotiation meeting with WM representatives Pat Cosgrove, WM Area Public Sector Manager,
and Jason Hartman, WM Public Sector Sales Representative. The same group met again on
March 28, 2023.
Interim Administrator Hurlburt created contract language using the WM contract with the City
of Stillwater as a foundation, adding aspects of other organized collection contracts reviewed
by the Committee. That contract was reviewed by the Committee and Jason Hartman from
WM at our April 18 negotiation meeting.
WM returned the proposed Agreement on May 9 with minor changes. The Negotiation
Committee reviewed the document over email and offered comments to City Attorney Larson,
who made the changes and returned the Agreement to WM.
Current Proposal:
On Tuesday, May 30, I received a call from WM stating that we have an agreement on an
Organized Collection Agreement. The Agreement is seven years, per the requirements of
Minnesota Statutes, for trash and recycling for residential service only. The proposal includes
rates for the remainder of 2023 (assuming the contract is approved before the end of the year).
Rates would be adjusted annually on January 1, as determined by the contract. The inflationary
adjustment is written as an annual increase based on the annual water, sewer, and trash
inflation number. We have proposed a rolling three-year average, which WM is OK with. The
proposed rates are similar to those currently paid by former SRC customers who have their
rates with WM protected through September 2023. However, the rates do not include the MN
Solid Waste Tax of 9.75% or the county environmental charge, so caution must be taken when
comparing rates to current bills.
The City has received three written complaints regarding Waste Management’s failure to pick
up waste and recycling on their scheduled date and time within the past two weeks. Many
more residents have called to log complaints.
Discussion:
At this moment, there is no follow-up meeting scheduled. Staff met with Washington County on
June 14 to discuss our new solid waste ordinance. I have a follow-up meeting with the County
and their consultant on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. Once the new ordinance language is
ready, it will be brought before Council for review and approval. Attorney Larson recommends
that the new ordinance language and the Agreement be presented together for approval. The
Agreement is included in the packet for review.
Recommendation:
The current negotiating period ends on August 7, 2023. Therefore, staff recommends that a 30-
day extension be approved, with the option of additional extensions. This will continue until
Council approves the Agreement.