From:
To: City Council
Subject: Public comment: agenda item #22- please pull from consent and table Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 12:10:37 PM
Attachments: Partial list of unanswered questions re_ waste hauling contract RFP_ award.pdf Dear Mayor Zollman and Councilmembers Maurer, McLewis, Hinton and Carter, I remain deeply disappointed in the council's unwillingness to address valid public questions about the waste hauling contract RFP/ negotiation process at the January 7th meeting. I want to point out the flawed public process leading to the Council's 3-2 vote.
I looked back on the agendas and minutes for all the council meetings in 2024. The last time the waste hauling RFP issue was brought before the public was October 15th. Then complete silence, until the Staff Report was published New Year's Eve.
Let’s be honest, this schedule gave the 3 council members who are not on the Ad Hoc Committee just a few days time to analyze the information in order to make an informed decision at the Jan 7th meeting.
The choice was to delay the vote in order to better understand the details and consider public comments, or for all practical purposes rubber stamp the Ad Hoc Committee.
Your constituents were blindsided. Our public comments at the meeting were cut quite short, and our many valid questions went completely unanswered (see a list of some of these attached to this letter).
This was not an example of transparent governance, and it has led to concern about the validity of the negotiations and the public process.
In short, SCRR might be the better choice, but there is no way for your constituents to tell based on the public record.
Because public concerns have not been addressed, and owing to the lack of transparency in the selection/ negotiation process, I ask that you take agenda item #22 off of consent and table it until our questions are answered.
I compiled a partial list of questions from the public comment on January 7th that the council has yet to answer, and will be asking these at public comment this evening (attached).
Sincerely,
Sunny Galbraith