By Lori Carlson, Editor 

There will be no government takeover of Prior Lake’s garbage-hauling system, City Council members assured residents Monday, but a change of some kind still might be imminent.

For the second time in two weeks, the council talked about changing its system of trash collection. City leaders insisted that something needs to be done about noise, safety issues, fuel usage, pollution and street wear and tear associated with garbage trucks.

Since first raising the issue at a meeting on April 21, council members have received dozens of e-mails and phone calls from residents, most of them urging leaders to keep the freedom of choice and free enterprise of the current system.

“I’ve gotten about 40 e-mails on this subject in the last week or so,” said Councilman Warren Erickson.

“Let me tell you, you want to open a can of worms in this town, you talk about garbage,” added Councilman Chad LeMair.

Five licensed haulers currently operate in Prior Lake, with trucks collecting on any given weekday. Council members said they want to simplify the system without dictating to residents who they can and cannot choose to collect their trash.

Council members said they’re not in favor of having a one-hauler system or putting the city in charge of garbage collection.

“I think it’s too important that government stay out of private industry. At this time, the only thing I’m interested in considering is breaking up the city geographically,” LeMair said.

“Any alternative we consider has to retain consumer choice,” added Councilman Ken Hedberg.

The geographical option would divide the city into quadrants and assign a specific collection day to each area. If the council chose that route, it would not have to go through the six-month notification process that would be required by state statute for a contract-based or city-operated system. If the council opts for a quadrant-based system, a public hearing still would take place, likely sometime in June.

For now, council members said they’re interested in talking to licensed haulers and hearing their input and finding out specifically how garbage trucks actually impact the city’s streets and the environment.

City staff will set up meetings with representatives of the companies licensed in Prior Lake, with a report expected to come back to the council at its July 7 meeting.

“We have issues: noise, safety, environmental, fuel usage, aesthetics, street wear and tear. That’s why we brought this out for discussion. I wouldn’t back off those,” Mayor Jack Haugen said. “I have no mission. I just know we have some problems that need to be talked about.”

 Lori Carlson can be reached at (952) 345-6378 or editor@plamerican.com.