Columbia City Council lifts ban on roll carts, removes trash collection from Aug. 2 ballot

Trash collection will no longer be an issue on the Aug. 2 public ballot after a narrow vote by the Columbia City Council.

The council voted 4-3 Monday to lift the city's ban on residential roll carts.

Two bills, previously voted on April 4, were reintroduced as one Monday night, allowing council members to vote on repealing notice of an election and to reverse the ban on roll carts and automated collection vehicles as a solid waste collection option.

"We have a system that does not work for anybody; it's a complete mess," Fifth Ward council member Matt Pitzer said in support of immediately lifting the ban. "... We need to step up and act as responsible civic leaders and do the things that are necessary in order to enable our professional staff to go out and collect trash and recycling on a regular basis in a reasonable and responsible way."

More:Columbia City Council to reconsider roll carts, possibly lifting ban instead of public vote

Pitzer, Second Ward council member Andrea Waner, Sixth Ward council member Betsy Peters and Mayor Barbara Buffaloe voted to repeal the ban of roll carts.

First Ward council member Pat Fowler, Third Ward council member Karl Skala and Fourth Ward council member Nick Foster voted against repealing in favor of keeping the issue on the public ballot.

"Since it was given to the public to decide in 2015, it ought to be given to the public in 2022," Skala said before the council vote about his opposition to an immediate repeal.

When the council decided in November 2015 to put the issue on the March 2016 ballot, the public vote that added the language banning roll carts to city ordinances was for a six-month moratorium, Buffaloe wrote on social media after Monday's meeting.

The public passed the measure on the ballot in 2016 with 54% of the vote. Until Monday, the ban had remained in place ever since.

"We are now six years past the expiration of that moratorium and we have many of the same problems that we had in 2015," she wrote Tuesday morning. "(This) vote doesn’t mean we will roll carts today, tomorrow, or even this year. It means that we can work on a plan that may incorporate automated collection. This plan will include feedback from community members and our employees that collect our trash and recycling."

A handful of residents spoke in favor and opposition to lifting the ban Monday night. 

Monica Lee, who helped lead the group that collected signatures for the citizen petition asking the council to lift the ban on roll carts, shared her experience of collecting over 800 signatures over the span of several months.

"It shows that many people really want and can't wait for this to happen," Lee said. "... Repealing the ban is just a simple first step, so we can discuss all our options for a better system and start the discussion as soon as possible."

Previously:Roll carts to appear on Aug. 2 ballot after vote by Columbia City Council

Residents in opposition cited the similar ballot issue in 2016 that put the ban in place. 

"The people of this city adopted the current policy," resident Dan Viets said. "The fact that you may have the power to repeal it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do; it is in fact the wrong thing to do."

At the April 4 council meeting, council members unanimously voted to send the issue back to voters. However, Pitzer at the April 18 meeting suggested bringing the issue back to the agenda to allow new council members Buffaloe and Foster to have a say.

"I think our two new members would attest to how much they heard about the subject during the campaign," Pitzer said April 18. "I thought before it would have been more appropriate to give them the opportunity to weigh in on it then, so I wanted to give them the opportunity to weigh in on it now."

Pitzer, Waner and Peters voted to lift the ban when the first two bills were introduced. That bill failed 4-3. Former Mayor Brian Treece, Fowler, Skala and former Fourth Ward member Ian Thomas voted to send the matter back to voters at that time. 

Lauren Tronstad covers local government and politics for the Tribune. Contact her at LTronstad@gannett.com or on Twitter @LaurenTronstad.