HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003/03/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session f11CITYoF
T. LOUIS OFFICIAL MINUTES
PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
Minutes of March 17, 2003
The meeting convened at 9:30 p.m.
Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Bnmeyer, Chris Nelson, Paul Omodt, Sue
Santa, Sally Velick, Susan Sanger and Mayor Jeff Jacobs.
Staff present. City Manager(Mr. Meyer), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin), Public Works
Coordinator(Mr. Merkley); Public Works Administrative Assistant (Ms. Hellekson) and City
Clerk (Ms Reichert)
1. Solid Waste
Councilmember Bnmeyer immediately suggested that the opt-out option that had been
researched by staff be abandoned as it was simply not feasible. Council and staff agreed.
Councilmember Bnmeyer asked councilmembers to consider how the City can adopt a standard
that provides for quality customer service other than what we do already.
Councilmember Santa stated that she felt that the solid waste contractor provide customer service
at extended hours. She pointed out that many persons cannot make calls dunng the day.
Councilmembers discussed the standard of customer service the City should provide and
determined that when customer service issues need to be addressed, our residents should be able
to speak to a real person during reasonable hours.
Councilmember Bnmeyer stated that he would support an increase in the price of the utility to
cover the cost of an elevated service level.
Councilmember Sanger also agreed stating that after the last contract change, many persons had
said that even though their costs were lower under the new contract, their service was not at the
same standard. They asked that the City "not do them any more favors".
Councilmember Velick also asked that better educational materials be provided about details
such as holiday schedules.
Councilmember Omodt suggested a "call center" approach where after hours calls would be
directed to a message center
Mr Meyer and Mr. Rardin both stated that training of customer service providers is difficult .
because St. Louis Park residents are unique and require special service from the provider. They
did not believe that a call center could handle the special needs of our residents after hours.
Councilmember Sanger asked what special needs St. Louis Park residents have that other
communities do not have.
Mr. Rardin responded that our city is unique in terms of its policies on special and bulk pickups.
Most communities do not require handling of cans and instead use bins provided by the hauler.
There is also a significant population in our community that require special protocol regarding
religious holidays Our provider has adjusted routes and trained staff to be aware of that protocol
and to respond with a higher level of service on those occasions.
Study Session Minutes -2- March 17, 2003
Councilmember Bnmeyer asked councilmembers to consider the impacts of changing providers
and the long orientation time that would be needed to bring a new hauler's customer service staff
and field personnel up to speed on St. Louis Park's special needs. He also commented that he
believed we had done our community a disservice with the last contract by not doing enough
research about the public's needs. Consequently, a great deal of disruption was caused in the
community. He did not want to repeat the same mistake. He asked if we would be better off
staying with our current provider rather than trying to train a new one.
Mr Meyer asked for clanfication and council direction. He was clear on program changes that
had been discussed and directed by council, but asked if a higher level of customer service was
what the council wanted.
Councilmember Santa stated that the component of customer service most needed involved
better communication from the provider to the public regarding the program and better
opportunities for customers to give feedback to the provider, i.e., longer customer service hours
that work with the schedules of our residents
Mr Meyer summarized saying that staff would build components into the RFP that allow for
better feedback and access. He also confirmed that costs for special services like walk-up would
be paid by individual customers requesting the service and not spread over the entire customer
base
2. Councilmember Tour of Recycling Plant
Councilmember Sanger requested that staff arrange for a tour of the BFI recycling plant at some
date in the future. Not all councilmembers were interested in attending and staff offered to
arrange a tour for those members that were interested.
3. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Approved on April 21, 2003
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Deptpki City Clerkv Mayo, 7 / _