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Ely council reaches tentative agreement for garbage service

Keith Vandervort
Posted 10/11/19

ELY – On Tuesday, city council members here authorized the city attorney to continue negotiations with legal counsel for G-Men Environmental Services for a sanitation pickup service agreement with …

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Ely council reaches tentative agreement for garbage service

Posted

ELY – On Tuesday, city council members here authorized the city attorney to continue negotiations with legal counsel for G-Men Environmental Services for a sanitation pickup service agreement with the city of Ely.

The progress in the contract discussion was reported by attorney Kelly Klun during a brief special meeting this week. The council had directed her earlier this month to seek a six-month extension to the exclusive license agreement, set to expire on Nov. 1, to allow council members more time to agree on a path forward.

Instead, she presented a tentative agreement that included four-years of residential and one-year of commercial pickup service. “Both contracts would abide by the rates previously agreed to by both parties,” Klun said.

The new agreement would include the following amendments:

 Change the starting time for garbage pickup to 6 a.m. from 6:30 a.m.

 Make commercial pickup available Monday through Saturday, excluding holidays. Saturday commercial pickup would include a $50 surcharge in addition to the standard commercial rate

 Any waste collection complaints could also be reported to the city’s Sanitation Committee.

 Removal of the automatic renewal provision.

Council member Al Forsman made a motion to accept the language of the contract and to direct Klun to proceed with negotiations to reach a formal agreement with G-Men. The motion was supported by Ryan Callen. Forsman asked for clarification in defining a residence, especially in cases of multi-family rental units.

Paul Kess said he could agree to the new contract, as long as negotiations continue in the next year to allow for an open commercial pickup license agreement in the city.

“It remains uncertain as to what the city wants to do in terms of commercial pickup here, and this agreement gives us time to explore our options,” Forsman said.

Angela Campbell questioned whether city residents would continue to be allowed to take their own garbage to the Northwoods Transfer Station on Hwy. 21. That provision remains in any new agreement. “I want to make sure that my handyman can still take my garbage to the dump,” she said.

Campbell continued to query the city attorney and was reprimanded by Mayor Chuck Novak. “You need to go through the chair. This isn’t just a little debate that goes between you and the attorney. We’ve talked about this before,” he said.

The motion was passed by unanimous vote of the members present. Klun will continue negotiating specific contract language with G-Men and expects to present a formal contract for approval by the council at their next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Council members also agreed to a motion to disband the Sanitation Committee as it stands and to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance in accordance with proper county and state language to form a new committee that deals with the city’s sanitation needs.

Ely, garbage