OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Discusses Trash and Recycling Carts, Approves Path Forward – June 10, 2022

City Council Business Session — Friday, June 10, 2022
BodyKansas City, Missouri
SessionCity Council Business Session
DateFriday, June 10, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:18

I've been here for like 30 minutes, Kevin.

0:21

Oh, thank you, Mary Polly.

0:42

Uh let's get started on business session for today.

0:47

Yeah.

0:48

First item is approval of minutes for business session of May 26, 2022.

0:52

How moved?

0:53

Second.

0:54

We moved in second.

0:55

Is there any discussion?

0:56

Hearing on all in favor of approving motion, uh, the business, the minutes of business session, May 26th.

1:02

Indicate by saying aye.

1:04

Aye.

1:04

All opposed?

1:05

All right.

1:06

That item is approved.

1:08

I guess we then go next to discussion of ordinances, resolutions, and communications on today's docket or for floor introduction.

1:14

Will there be any items relating to that?

1:18

All right.

1:18

Not hearing that, then I should pull up the email he sent me.

1:22

We'll convene as a committee of the whole top uh Mr.

1:26

Mayor, I believe the motion to commit's already been made, perfected, and voted on, so I think it's appropriate to just move into the committee of the whole at this point.

1:32

All right.

1:32

So we are now moving to a committee of the whole, which is a different council procedure than being in business session.

1:38

It's as if business session may have ended, but I won't say anything magic.

1:42

It all is the same.

1:43

So we'll have committee of the whole.

1:44

We're gonna have a discussion of ordinance two two zero three eight three.

1:48

I'll start with the sponsors, if you have anything, and then perhaps Mr.

1:52

Shaw has a presentation.

1:53

Can I ask one quick question before you is this the is this the brand new off the presses one?

1:59

I believe that is uh been represented as the brand new cost comparison.

2:03

Okay.

2:05

All right.

2:07

Councilman Hall.

2:08

Thank you, Mr.

2:09

Mayor.

2:09

You know, this has been uh a subject that we've been talking about since our first term together on the council.

2:16

The trash has been um a topic of conversation, one which I never thought that I would get involved with, but hence here we are.

2:23

And so we in the first term had so many problems with trash and recycling collection, mainly trash collection and then the way recycling was collected um with the unlited bins that our constituents were calling on us to help and do something better.

2:40

Uh just to give you a little tiny little snapshot in um the first term, the reason this I know it sounds like we're talking about ancient history, but 2015 to 2019 was not ancient history, and that's just to give you a little backstory on why we're here today.

2:55

We had um 32,045 missed trash calls in from 2015 to 2019 uh term.

3:06

We had 18,882 missed recycle for a total of 50,927 missed trash or recycling calls here in Kansas City.

3:17

And the reason that number is big is because this is what the most basic item that our citizens pay for.

3:27

They pay the earnings tax, they pay taxes, they do their life, and they just expect us to do the basic things, which is paying picking up their trash.

3:35

And 50,000 nine hundred and twenty-seven times we didn't do that.

3:39

And that was not okay in my opinion.

3:42

And that's a breakdown that I can give you breakdown by district, but I don't think y'all need to hear that.

3:46

What I do think you need to hear is that the citizens are unhappy, and they have been unhappy with their trash collection for a number of years.

3:55

And so what I was hoping today would happen, and I don't know where my colleagues are, whether we're gonna vote, not vote, talk, talk, listen, and do a lot of negotiation, which is what I believe public policy people are supposed to do to get to the right thing uh for the citizens.

4:10

I don't think there's a one stop shop or a one-size-fits-all that's gonna work.

4:13

I think we're gonna need to talk about this and figure this out.

4:16

What my hope is is that we do what is best for the citizens of Kansas City who already are paying their tax dollars for this service.

4:23

So what I'm hopeful happens is that by the end of this conversation, we find out that there's a compromise that we can come to that not only do the 13 of us agree on, but that the 500,000 residents and the 162,000 rooftops of Kansas City can find um some hope and success and a cleaner, safer Kansas City for them to live in.

4:44

Which I do believe that if you understand clean cities are also safer cities.

4:50

I think there's a whole lot of reasons why this is a critical um piece of legislation, however, it ends up shaking out today.

5:03

I didn't bring my big stack of paper because I know you're sick of seeing it.

5:06

But those are not a bunch of pieces of paper Heather Hoss's head sitting around in our office.

5:10

Each one of those represents multiple people who have called into 311 or multiple people who have yelled at us on social media or in our email who have said, come pick up my trash, Kevin McManus.

5:21

I'm mad about it, so I'm just gonna put it on your driveway.

5:24

That's for real.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Waste Management█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Public Works████████13%
Budget Equity Analysis███5%
Public Engagement███5%
Procedural██3%
Fiscal Sustainability█2%
Environmental Protection█1%
Community Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Committee of the Whole Discusses Trash and Recycling Cart Ordinance 220383 – June 10, 2022

The Kansas City, Missouri City Council met in business session and then as a committee of the whole on Friday, June 10, 2022, beginning at 9:45 a.m., to consider Ordinance 220383, which would provide lidded trash and recycling carts to residents. After extensive deliberation over three committee substitutes and a proposed phased approach, the council agreed by voice vote to advance a floor amendment that funds recycling carts for all households, expands dumpster days, and directs staff to develop a trash cart program for future consideration. No agenda or minutes were provided; this summary is derived solely from the transcript.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of the business session of May 26, 2022, by unanimous voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Aidan Montheiser, owner of a waste transfer station in the Third District, expressed interest in sponsoring trash carts and offered to work with city staff on financing options.
  • Beth Borger of the South Kansas City Alliance raised concerns about communication for extra dumpster days, noting contracted dumpster days and the need to reach rental-heavy neighborhoods. She also questioned elimination of trash amnesty around holidays.

Discussion Items

  • Opening Remarks: Councilman Hall described the history of trash service problems, citing 32,045 missed trash calls and 18,882 missed recycling calls (50,927 total) from 2015–2019. He emphasized residents' frustration and the need for a compromise.
  • Councilwoman Robinson posed three questions about service equity, access, and whether residents should expect adequate trash collection from existing taxes. She referenced a $17.1 million budget surplus and stated her support for universal carts without additional fees. She also said the city needs 167,000 trash carts for 167,000 households.
  • Staff Presentation: Public Works Director Michael Shaw explained automated and semi-automated collection, the current 12,000 carts in 12 neighborhoods, and details of the proposed 65-gallon carts, RFID tracking, education components, expanded dumpster program (from 400 to 800 dumpsters), and financing options including a $1.5 million grant, a $950,000 resin donation from Dow Chemical, and zero-interest financing.
  • Committee Substitute 1 (Hall/Robinson): Buy all recycling and trash carts for 162,000 homes using $6.1 million in ARP funds and financing the balance; 10-year cost estimated at $64.1 million.
  • Committee Substitute 2 (Mayor Lucas/O'Neill): Buy all recycling carts, but only 40,000 trash carts—20,000 for rental and 20,000 subsidized—with $50 acquisition and $25 annual rental fees; no general fund money required in early years.
  • Committee Substitute 3 (Park/Shaw): Provide carts to all homes unless residents opt out; $25 annual service fee; general fund contribution of ~$1.1 million in FY23 and ~$31–32 million over 10 years.
  • Councilwoman Hall's Phased Proposal: Start with recycling carts in year one (opt-in $50 purchase), add trash carts in year two, while implementing education, dumpster, bulky, and amnesty programs.
  • Debate Highlights:
    • Councilman Lucas (Mayor) favored opt-in/rental to limit general fund impact and avoid encouraging more waste.
    • Councilman Fowler warned that a $64 million general fund commitment would reduce funding for streets and other needs.
    • Councilman Bunch questioned whether illegal dumping sources would be addressed by carts.
    • Councilwoman Park Shaw supported universal carts with opt-out and subsidy, cautioning against fees for cost-burdened residents.
    • Councilwoman Boo asked about expansion capacity and whether 40,000 carts would be sufficient.
    • Councilwoman Shields advocated including a composting program to reduce food waste and animal attraction.
    • Councilman O'Neill supported the lower-cost opt-in plan.
    • Councilman Barnes challenged the assumption that carts would increase trash volume.
    • Councilwoman Robinson insisted on universal carts, saying "trash service is not something that we should be requiring people to fill out a form to say that I'm indigent."
  • Consensus Path: The council agreed to remove trash carts and the rental program from the current ordinance, keep recycling carts for all households, and direct staff to craft a trash cart solution for a future budget.

Key Outcomes

  • By voice vote, the council directed that a floor amendment to Ordinance 220383 be prepared reflecting the consensus: universal recycling carts for all 162,000 households, education, increased dumpster days, bulky item pickup, trash amnesty, and a composting program.
  • The rental program and trash cart purchase were intentionally excluded from the amendment; staff were directed to research and propose a trash cart program providing the greatest number of carts at the best value, including comparison with peer cities.
  • The council then voted to rise and report, ending the committee of the whole.

Meeting Transcript

I've been here for like 30 minutes, Kevin. Oh, thank you, Mary Polly. Uh let's get started on business session for today. Yeah. First item is approval of minutes for business session of May 26, 2022. How moved? Second. We moved in second. Is there any discussion? Hearing on all in favor of approving motion, uh, the business, the minutes of business session, May 26th. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? All right. That item is approved. I guess we then go next to discussion of ordinances, resolutions, and communications on today's docket or for floor introduction. Will there be any items relating to that? All right. Not hearing that, then I should pull up the email he sent me. We'll convene as a committee of the whole top uh Mr. Mayor, I believe the motion to commit's already been made, perfected, and voted on, so I think it's appropriate to just move into the committee of the whole at this point. All right. So we are now moving to a committee of the whole, which is a different council procedure than being in business session. It's as if business session may have ended, but I won't say anything magic. It all is the same. So we'll have committee of the whole. We're gonna have a discussion of ordinance two two zero three eight three. I'll start with the sponsors, if you have anything, and then perhaps Mr. Shaw has a presentation. Can I ask one quick question before you is this the is this the brand new off the presses one? I believe that is uh been represented as the brand new cost comparison. Okay. All right. Councilman Hall. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You know, this has been uh a subject that we've been talking about since our first term together on the council. The trash has been um a topic of conversation, one which I never thought that I would get involved with, but hence here we are. And so we in the first term had so many problems with trash and recycling collection, mainly trash collection and then the way recycling was collected um with the unlited bins that our constituents were calling on us to help and do something better. Uh just to give you a little tiny little snapshot in um the first term, the reason this I know it sounds like we're talking about ancient history, but 2015 to 2019 was not ancient history, and that's just to give you a little backstory on why we're here today. We had um 32,045 missed trash calls in from 2015 to 2019 uh term. We had 18,882 missed recycle for a total of 50,927 missed trash or recycling calls here in Kansas City. And the reason that number is big is because this is what the most basic item that our citizens pay for. They pay the earnings tax, they pay taxes, they do their life, and they just expect us to do the basic things, which is paying picking up their trash. And 50,000 nine hundred and twenty-seven times we didn't do that. And that was not okay in my opinion. And that's a breakdown that I can give you breakdown by district, but I don't think y'all need to hear that. What I do think you need to hear is that the citizens are unhappy, and they have been unhappy with their trash collection for a number of years. And so what I was hoping today would happen, and I don't know where my colleagues are, whether we're gonna vote, not vote, talk, talk, listen, and do a lot of negotiation, which is what I believe public policy people are supposed to do to get to the right thing uh for the citizens. I don't think there's a one stop shop or a one-size-fits-all that's gonna work.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com