Council expected to continue conversation at July 22 meeting

By Megan Kelley
Clarkston News Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
CLARKSTON — At its regular meeting on July 8, the Clarkston City Council discussed potentially placing the issue of procuring a single waste hauler for the city on the ballot for the November election. Though there was a lengthy discussion on the topic, because two councilmembers were absent from the meeting (Mark Lamphier and Gary Casey) the council ultimately voted 4-1 to table the conversation until the council’s next meeting on July 22 so all councilmembers could be present. Ted Quisenberry cast the lone nay vote.
The topic arose several years ago in 2022 when city officials along with officials from Independence Township held several joint meetings on the subject but the meetings ended when township leadership changed.
More recently, at the city council’s June 24 meeting, a resident spoke during public comment to ask what the status of that proposal was, stating that he felt a single hauler would be for the betterment of the community.
“The people on dirt roads, which of course we don’t have in the city, but in the township those that live on dirt roads were clearly in favor of having their choice of haulers. But, downtown or in a little more urban areas, they seem to like the idea of a single hauler that will just come down their street once a week,” said city Manager Jonathan Smith. “We thought that was a good fit for Clarkston but it just died when the leadership changed at the township. So, I just thought I’d bring it up, we have an election coming up. We have to move quickly. If we just want to put a very simple yes or no referendum it would be a way to get an answer from our residents.”
Two councilmembers Quisenberry and Peg Roth were vocal about their stance against having a single waste hauler in the city while Mayor Sue Wylie and councilmember Amanda Forte were in favor of the idea. May Pro-tem Laura Rodgers sat in the middle on the issue, seeing the potential pros and cons for each side.
Though the discussion centered around whether or not councilmembers were in favor of having a single waste hauler, it is important to note that the resolution presented was on whether or not the city would put the question on the ballot for voters to decide. The council itself would not be making the decision on if the city would implement a single waste hauler.
“What we’re looking at is possibly having government thwart competition which I think goes against most of the tenets of our whole economy,” said Quisenberry. “Any experience that I’ve had in government when the government steps in and eliminates competition, requires a sole service provider, the end result is usually service drops because now that person holds the key to all the services. If you don’t like the service you have, you have options…I just think that having us get involved with the competitive nature of business and restricting other businesses providing their service is wrong.”
Rodgers voiced several concerns with how a single waste hauler would work logistically.
While this is a relatively new conversation in the City of Clarkston, Smith noted that other townships nearby have implemented a single waste hauler, citing Orion Township and Rochester Hills. Oxford Township is also expected to place the question of having a single waste hauler on the ballot later this year as well.
“We would have a city wide contract, it’s what other municipalities have done,” Smith said. “We would not try to reinvent the wheel. We would piggyback off of what Orion Township and Rochester Hills and others have done. Which – with volume you get really competitive pricing. You talk about competitiveness, they have got some of the best pricing because of volume and those companies want to keep that contract so they have been very loyal.”
Wylie voiced her support for putting the issue on the ballot as well as her support for the city going to a single waste hauler.
“I like the idea of a single hauler because I would like to see fewer trucks on our streets, garbage our fewer days, maybe some savings – hopefully a little bit of savings – and when I’ve looked into it in the past, those communities did see a reduction in price for trash hauling,” Wylie said.
Several residents spoke during the meeting with one pointing out that the city currently controls the water and the sewer, there are no other options for those services.
“If it goes to the vote and it comes up a percentage and it comes out better – you can see pros and cons about it all day long,” he said. “I think there are a lot of bad things with the trash companies. We’ve had tons of problems with Waste Management and I think it’s because they’re over extended. We’re switching (providers) right now. And I live on a dead end street – three different garbage companies, three different days and they come on different days to pick up your yard waste so, it’s a mess.”
Two other residents spoke against the idea of a single waste hauler for a number of reasons, mostly being how it will impact their current billing and their disapproval of the government taking away their choice.
Though there were enough councilmembers present to vote on the item, the decision to place the issue on the ballot did not need to be made until August, according to the city’s attorney.
Because of that and because there were councilmembers absent at the meeting, the council decided it would be pertinent to have the discussion again at the July 22 meeting to allow for all councilmembers to be present.
Councilmembers also asked that Smith reach out to other municipalities who use a single waste hauler to garner some insight on how the service has been, if there have been any issues and how the residents feel about the service.