The Medical Lake City Council welcomed a familiar face to its fold at its March 3 meeting.
They voted 4-0 to reappoint John Paikuli to the council. Councilwoman Shirley Maike and Councilman Art Kulibert were absent from the meeting.
Paikuli will fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Councilwoman Brenda Redell in December. Paikuli served on the council from 2007 to 2011.
During his speech, Paikuli said his interest to return to the council wasn’t because of any specific agenda but rather he wanted to once again serve the city and “missed working with the people.”
“Every aspect of my life is right here in Medical Lake,” Paikuli said.
Following Paikuli’s appointment, Mark Torre, Sunshine Disposal and Recycling, appeared to discuss his business’ curbside recycling program with the City Council.
Ross reiterated that curbside recycling would be a mandatory service for residents if the city adopts it. Residents would be charged an additional $3 to the current garbage fee of $14.70. They are currently charged $1 for recycling. Ross said that fee would remain to help pay for the compost trailer.
Councilman Howard Jorgensen asked Torre what curbside recycling would cost local businesses. Businesses are not included in the proposal and would not have to pay the $3. Torre explained that the city’s proposal does not include commercial because there is a case law that doesn’t allow regulation of commercial recycling.
He said some businesses can request a service similar to what Sunshine would provide residents or a service based on volume. He added that a representative from Sunshine would meet with businesses.
If the city adopts curbside recycling, residents also have the option to subscribe to compost curbside service for an additional $14.
Jorgensen asked about recycling services for apartment complexes in the city.
Torre said it would depend on their current garbage service. If complexes use dumpsters, he suggests they have a recycling container. Torre said Sunshine would meet with property owners as apartment complexes can a bit of “an anomaly.”
“They can be a tough animal in the recycling world, just because the nature of move-in and move out and you end up with a lot of contamination. It’s a little more work on our part to make sure they monitor recyclables and make sure we get clean material,” Torre said.
Torre said if residents balance their solid waste flow, they could reduce their garbage level. He added that there is a also a 22-gallon can available
Ross agreed with Torre and said residents do not have a lot of options to reduce their garbage level with the current system.
“If you have two carts (waste and recycling) you have the opportunity to reduce your overall garbage rate and opportunity to pay less each month,” Ross said.
If the city adopts the program, Torre said it would take eight weeks to order the carts and three business days to deliver them.
Ross said he will bring the council a resolution for a fee amendment to add the $3 to garbage fees at the March 17 meeting.
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
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