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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 07-19-2018CITY OF PLYMOUTH COUNCIL INFO MEMO July 19, 2018 EVENTS / MEETINGS Housing & Redevelopment Authority Agenda for July 26 ....................................... Page 2 Official City Meeting Calendars .................................................................... Page 3 Tentative List of Agenda Items ..................................................................... Page 6 CORRESPONDENCE City Council Filing Period Set for July 31 to August 14 ......................................... Page 8 Picture Photo Contest Seeks Entries .............................................................. Page 9 REPORTS & OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST Elite, Minnesota-Born Foss Swim School Is Rapidly Expanding, Despite the Cost, Star Tribune ................................................................ Page 10 United Properties Seeks WELL Certification for North Loop Project, Twin Cities Business .................................................... Page 15 Minnesota Recyclers Scrambling in Wake of Chinese Restrictions, Star Tribune .......... Page 16 Another Apartment Project near Future Minnetonka Light Rail Station, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal ................................ Page 20 Cities Getting Intentional About Infill Development, Finance & Commerce .............. Page 21 MEETING AGENDA PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018 - 7:00 p.m. WHERE: Medicine Lake Room City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 CONSENT AGENDA All items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Commissioner, citizen or petitioner so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in normal sequence on the agenda. 1.CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2.CONSENT AGENDA A.Approve HRA Meeting Minutes for May 24, 2018. B.Plymouth Towne Square. Accept Monthly Housing Reports. C.Vicksburg Crossing. Accept Monthly Housing Reports. D.Vicksburg Commons. Approve amended and restated master subordination agreement and Estoppel Certificate. 3.NEW BUSINESS A.5070 Holly Lane North #6. Request to remove restrictive covenants. B.Vicksburg Crossing. Consider replacement of all original washing machines. 4.ADJOURMENT Page 2 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 INDEPENDENCE DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 July 2018 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 CITY COUNCIL FILINGS OPEN Mayor, At Large, Ward 2 and Ward 4 SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Medicine Lake Room 5:30 PM - 10:30 PM Music in Plymouth Hilde Performance Center 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Economic Development Strategic Planning Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers Page 3 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget and CIP Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 29 30 31 August 2018 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 8:00 AM-4:30 PM ABSENTEE/DIRECT BALLOTING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM EQC MEETING Medicine Lake 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Medicine Lake Room SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget and CIP Medicine Lake Room CHANGES ARE NOTED IN RED 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Kids Fest Hilde Performance Center 8:00 AM-4:30 PM ABSENTEE/DIRECT BALLOTING Medicine Lake Room PRIMARY ELECTION Polls Open 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM 8:00 AM-5:00 PM ABSENTEE/DIRECT BALLOTING Medicine Lake Room 8:00 AM-4:30 PM ABSENTEE/DIRECT BALLOTING Medicine Lake Room 5:00 PM CITY COUNCIL FILINGS CLOSE 5:00 PM CITY COUNCIL FILINGS DEADLINE TO WITHDRAW 8:00 AM-4:30 PM ABSENTEE/DIRECT BALLOTING Medicine Lake Room 10:00 AM-3:00 PM ABSENTEE/DIRECT BALLOTING Medicine Lake Room Page 4 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 30 24 25 26 27 28 29 September 2018 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:30 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT CHANGES ARE MADE IN RED LABOR DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Use of drones by City Staff Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM Plymouth on Parade Celebration City Center Area 6:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget and CIP if necessary Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Public Works Maintenance Building 14900 23rd Ave. N. ABSENTEE VOTING BEGINS FOR GENERAL ELECTION Page 5 Note: Special Meeting topics have been set by Council; all other topics are tentative. EDA refers to the Economic Development Authority Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items August 21, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room (If necessary, conduct regular meeting at 7 p.m. and then recess back to Study Session) •Budget and CIP •Quarterly City Manager’s update August 28, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Budget and CIP August 28, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Public hearing on Wellhead protection plan •Financial overview September 4, Special, 6:00 p.m. Medicine Lake Room (if needed) •Budget and CIP September 11, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Use of drones by City staff September 11, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •City Manager’s 2018 Financial Overview •Consider 2019 proposed budget, preliminary general property tax levy, HRA levy and setting budget public hearing date September 25, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Presentation of Volunteer Satisfaction Survey in celebration of 25th Anniversary of Volunteer Program •Recognize Deputy Police Chief Dan Plekkenpol October 9, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers October 23, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers November 13, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room (if needed) •Budget and CIP November 13, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Canvass 2018 General Election results November 27, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers December 11, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Recognize Police Citizen Academy graduates •Public hearing on 2019 budget, general property tax levy, HRA levy, and 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Program Page 6 BUDGET PROCESS Budget Calendar 2018-2019 Biennial Budget Preparation & 5-yr Capital Improvement Plan Date Category Description August 10, 2018 Budget Council receives budget materials for upcoming meeting August 21, 2018 Budget & CIP Council study session (Budget & CIP meeting #1) August 28, 2018 Budget & CIP Council Study Session (Budget & CIP meeting #2) Council Regular Session (Financial Overview) September 4, 2018 Budget & CIP Council Study Session (Budget meeting #3) (If necessary) September 11, 2018 Budget Council adopts preliminary levies & budget (Budget meeting #4) October 3, 2018 CIP Planning Commission public hearing November 13, 2018 Budget Council Study Session (Budget meeting #5) (If necessary) December 11, 2018 Budget & CIP Budget Public Hearing, CIP, Budget & Levy Adoption December 26, 2018 Budget Levy is certified with Hennepin County Page 7 City of Plymouth News Release For Immediate Release July 17, 2018 Contact: Sandy Engdahl City Clerk City of Plymouth 763-509-5080 sengdahl@plymouthmn.gov City Council filing period set for July 31 to Aug. 14 Plymouth, Minn. – Candidates running for City Council this November must file for office from Tuesday, July 31 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14. The following four-year term city seats will be on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot: •Ward 2 Council Member (southwest Plymouth) •Ward 4 Council Member (northeast Plymouth) •At Large Council Member •Mayor Filing can be completed 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at Plymouth City Hall, 3400 Plymouth Blvd. The top vote getters will assume office in January 2019. Requirements Below are the filing requirements for those individuals seeking public office. •Candidate must be an eligible voter. •Candidate is, or will be on assuming the office, 21 years of age or older. •Maintained residence in the district from which the candidate seeks election for 30 days before the general election. Residents may determine the ward in which they reside by visiting the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website, pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us. Candidates must file an affidavit of candidacy and pay a $5 filing fee with the city clerk’s office. The deadline to withdraw is Aug. 16 at 5 p.m. For more information, visit plymouthmn.gov. -30- Page 8 City of Plymouth News Release For Immediate Release July 17, 2018 Contact: Brian Rosemeyer Communications Coordinator City of Plymouth 763-509-5091 brosemeyer@plymouthmn.gov Picture Plymouth Photo Contest seeks entries Plymouth, Minn. – The annual Picture Plymouth Photo Contest will accept entries Aug. 1-31. The City of Plymouth and Plymouth Magazine, a local lifestyle publication, partner to hold the annual contest. Photo categories include people and families, community activities and events, pets, wildlife and nature, and city landmarks. All entries must be submitted digitally via plymouthmag.com. Each entrant must live, work or attend school in Plymouth and photos must be taken in Plymouth between Sept. 1, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2018. A winner for each category will be selected, as well as a grand-prize winner. The grand-prize winner will receive $100. Top picks in each category will receive $50. For complete contest rules, visit plymouthmag.com. After the contest closes, residents may visit the Plymouth Magazine website Sept. 10-30 to cast their vote for the readers’ choice winner. Those who enter the contest may see their work in print – even if they do not win. Photos submitted to the contest will be used in city publicity, including publications, the website and social media sites. Plymouth Magazine will also publish many of the photographs. Cutline: The grand-prize winning photograph from last year’s Picture Plymouth Photo Contest, “The Lone Fisherman, Timber Shores Park,” was captured by Riley Loew. Entries for this year’s contest are due Aug. 31. -30- Page 9 VARIETY 488514151 Elite, Minnesota-born Foss Swim School is rapidly expanding, despite the cost With its playful approach, Foss has developed an almost fanatic following among local families. By Rachel Hutton Star Tribune JULY 18, 2018 — 3:09PM Alex Kormann Foss Swim School teaches through games like diving for rings, clockwise from top, instructor Jasen Lasserud and a student; instructor Ross Mckenzie leads “Magic Carpet” game. At Foss Swim School, a family-run chain based in the Twin Cities, the teachers know how to charm their audience. Upon meeting a hesitant toddler clinging to his parent’s leg on the pool deck, an instructor requests a high five and then mock-reels into the water with a splash. Page 10 “You’re so strong, you pushed me in!” he says. The little boy cracks a smile. A few minutes later, he’s been coaxed into the pool. With 90-degree-plus water, cheery photos of swimming children on the walls, and an enclosed viewing area stocked with a TV, Wi-Fi and toys, Foss’ facilities are a far cry from the concrete municipal pools or seaweed-laden lakes where many Minnesotans learned to swim. By making lessons as fun and comfortable as possible for kids — and their parents — Foss has become one of the largest privately owned swim schools in the country, with seven locations in Minnesota alone. And the families that go to Foss have become devoted fans of the school. Alex Kormann A swim student dives for rings as part of a game played at the end of her class on Monday. Matty O’Reilly started his younger daughter at Foss when she was just 16 months old. When she turned 3, the family took a trip to Florida, where she was fearless, belly flopping into the pool without a life jacket, already capable in the water. “Compared to my older daughter, who didn’t start at Foss until she was 4, there was no way this would have happened,” he said. Parents who bring their kids to the school say they’re driven by the desire to keep their kids safe in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where knowing how to swim is not only a recreational skill, but a potentially lifesaving one. “We boat a lot so it was important for me that they know how to swim well,” said Lindsay Lappi, a Foss parent for the past eight years. Page 11 Yet Foss’ pricey lessons, as well as its largely suburban locations, put it out of reach for many. Among its financially secure, mostly homogenous clientele, there are few people of color, immigrants and others from groups most at risk of drowning. Teaching underserved populations to swim has been a major focus for municipal pools and nonprofit organizations, some of which have, in recent years, upgraded their facilities to include warmer, shallower pools and class sizes on par with Foss’. But those who can afford Foss say the school’s “learning by play” approach is worth the money. Amanda Keenan, a parent of three Foss students, said they tried community center and health club lessons, but her kids learned more quickly with Foss instruction. “You get what you pay for,” she said. Foss’ origins The school’s namesake, Jon Foss, is a 53-year-old former All-American college swimmer who oversees the multimillion-dollar business, and is still happy to get his hands wet. In addition to training the school’s instructors, he regularly fits a few laps into his workday. (He traveled to Budapest last year to compete in the World Masters Championships.) His lifelong passion for swimming was spurred by a family tragedy. When his mother was a teenager, she took her two younger brothers to a lake near their farm and the youngest one drowned. As a result, she made sure her children learned to swim. By age 8, Foss had joined a team. When he started coaching in the late 1980s, he realized his instruction had been inadequate. “To swim at a world-class level there are very complicated techniques you have to know,” he said. “I’d swum all these laps and didn’t really know what I was doing.” He developed a curriculum that broke those techniques down into easy-to-follow steps. As he refined his instruction, his team started winning state championships and setting national records. He decided to start his own swim school when he realized how many of his swimmers lacked fundamental skills. In 1993, he launched Foss Swim School in Eden Prairie with his wife, Susan, whom he had met when he was coaching. Page 12 Jon and Susan divided up the school duties: He took “wet” (curriculum and instruction), while she handled the “dry” (administration and marketing). For the first class, Foss taught a dozen kids in an apartment complex pool. Now, they typically teach 26,000 kids a week. Learning by play Foss’ pools are busy from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. At the Chanhassen pool on a Tuesday morning in July, multiple lessons were taking place simultaneously. Three young boys in goggles huddle around their teacher, taking turns at putting their faces in the water. Nearby, a couple of older girls push themselves to the pool’s edge to practice their kicks. Parents and siblings line the benches along the pool, but there’s also an adjacent air-conditioned observation room, where kids can watch movies or complete puzzles, while adults scroll through their phones. The Fosses, who built their business while raising five children, designed their pools for the parents as well as the kids. Accordingly, there are private changing stalls for families and poolside showers with waist- high splash guards so parents can assist their kids without getting wet. Small class size, typically three or four students per instructor, is among the school’s biggest selling points. “Group lessons feel like individual lessons,” Keenan said. Parent Karissa Sipek said she likes the way the Foss instructors frame concepts so kids understand them, with skill-building masquerading as play. Kids ride on large foam mats that become imaginary magic carpets. They talk about making “monkey cheeks” before they hold their breath underwater, or “painting the ceiling” to describe the backstroke. In the same way that inside jokes strengthen friendships, Foss’ silly lingo creates the sense that it isn’t just a lesson provider, but a club. “For the benefit of knowing how to swim, I’ll pay for it,” Keenan said. “I’ve heard several parents say, ‘It’s expensive, but it works.’ ” Issues of access While the swim school gets glowing reviews online, a few complaints suggest that completing the school’s robust, multilevel curriculum could cost as much as a year’s college tuition. Page 13 “It takes a lot longer than people realize to learn how to swim well,” Foss said. “It’s an investment.” He said he’s more focused on offering high-quality lessons than universal access. That’s the mission of the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, the area’s dominant swim lesson provider for the past 160 years. Programs at the Y and municipal pools have long focused on reducing barriers to swim lessons, whether that means financial assistance, transportation to and from the pool or help bridging language or cultural gaps. The city of St. Paul, for example, offers low-cost group instruction (about $8 a lesson) as well as fee assistance. The Y offers free swim lessons and water-safety instruction, with programs that send instructors to teach underserved groups at apartment-complex pools. Even though there’s no shortage of places to learn, most people don’t swim well. A 2014 Red Cross survey found that more than half of all Americans can’t swim or demonstrate basic water safety skills. Typically, between 30 and 50 Minnesotans lose their lives to water each year. And blacks and Asians in Minnesota drown at a rate nearly 1½ times that of whites. Despite the cost, demand is so strong that Foss is opening a new location in Plymouth and plans to expand to other states next year. Many municipal and community programs, including the YMCA and the city of St. Paul, say their enrollment remains strong, even with Foss’ growth. As they see it, the rising tide of swim schools helps all Minnesotans float. And the more who can safely navigate the water, the better. rachel.hutton@startribune.com 612-673-4567 rachel_hutton Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 7/18/2018 Minnesota recyclers scramble in wake of Chinese restrictions - StarTribune.com http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-recyclers-scrambling-in-wake-of-chinese-restrictions/488198641/1/2 LOCAL Minnesota recyclers scrambling in wake of Chinese restrictions Deprived of the biggest overseas customer, local haulers are raising rates and sorting facilities are scrambling to sell material in a flooded market. By Eric Roper (http://www.startribune.com/eric-roper/62906482/) Star Tribune JULY 16, 2018 — 2:16PM China no longer wants to buy the wastepaper, plastic and other material that’s tossed into recycling bins in the United States, and the effect of that ban is rippling across Minnesota. Deprived of the biggest overseas customer for American recyclables, local haulers are raising rates and sorting facilities are scrambling to sell material in a market flooded with mountains of excess waste. Some of them huddled with state regulators last week in St. Paul to discuss what to do if sorting plants cannot sell the truckloads of material arriving at their doors. State law prohibits burning recyclables or dumping them in landfills without permission, which has never been granted. “This is an unprecedented space,” said Kate Davenport, co-president of Eureka Recycling, which handles recycling for Minneapolis and St. Paul. The United States typically exports about 30 percent of its recyclables, with the largest portion headed to China, according to an industry group (http://www.isri.org/docs/default-source/int%27l-trade/isri-comments-to-the-wto-re- notification-gtbtnchn1211-august-18-2017.pdf?sfvrsn=0) . The loss of China as a major customer has both exposed and upset the fragile economics of the recycling industry. Recycling sorting facilities sell the recycled goods picked up from businesses, homeowners and renters to subsidize the cost of processing them. Mixed paper, for example, used to fetch $70 a ton. Now it’s worth nothing. Minnesota is feeling a delayed impact, compared to coastal states that ship more of their waste overseas. Republic Services recently sent educational fliers (https://www.scribd.com/document/383680221/Republic-Services-Flyer) to local customers with the word “crisis” emblazoned on a large yellow traffic sign beneath recycling arrow symbols. Eureka had to lay off six education and advocacy staffers amid slipping revenue. Waste Management’s northeast Minneapolis sorting facility is now checking inbound trucks and charging extra for particularly dirty loads, which sell for less. Aspen Waste, a major hauler, once received money back for bringing in commingled loads of recycling. Chief Operating Officer Thor Nelson said it now has to pay to drop it off, and revenue has been cut in half over the past year — after factoring pure cardboard, which still brings a profit. He has seen competitors raising rates between 20 and 50 percent around the metro. “That swing from a rebate to a fee to us has to get built into the pricing,” Nelson said. Price hikes may take longer to hit pocketbooks in cities that contract directly for recycling, however. The area’s recyclables are still “moving,” an industry term meaning they are being sold. But Dem-Con Cos. President Bill Keegan said one local processor, which he would not name, has had to begin storing mixed paper in trailers. “The million-dollar question is how do we keep recycling economically sustainable? How do we keep going?” Julie Ketchum, a local spokeswoman for Waste Management, asked a room of recycling professionals at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Wednesday. ‘Wish cycling’ Industry leaders say residents can help by ensuring what they toss is actually recyclable, rather than “wish cycling” something that is not, contaminating loads and costing recyclers money. That’s grown more problematic in recent years as the switch to single- sort recycling and pressure on haulers to accept more materials — including some with no viable reuse markets — has raised contamination rates. “I see education being one of the things that’s going to greatly help us out with single stream,” Keegan said. “They’re putting baby diapers, they’re putting garden hoses, they’re putting electronics [in the bin]. You can’t put those in there.” Getting recycling right is also a growing challenge as packaging grows more complex. Granola and other products come in plastic pouches, which get mistaken for paper in the sorting process. An increasingly common message, included on the Republic Services flier, is “when in doubt, throw it out.” “Recycling is part of how we address some of the impacts of consumption, but we really need to start looking at reduction,” said Davenport of Eureka, a nonprofit company. “I think this is an example of where recycling is not going to fully solve our consumption of plastics and paper and all those kinds of things.” About 7 percent of the waste Eureka receives is “residual,” meaning it cannot be recycled. That is better than many parts of the country, though Davenport said it has risen from less than 1 percent before implementation of single-sort and the switch from bins to larger carts. To ensure it has a clean product to sell, Dem-Con has slowed down its sorting facility, added staff, and will be spending $2 million this fall to upgrade paper-sorting equipment. (http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/ows_153160292626877.jpg) BRIAN PETERSON - STAR TRIBUNE Josefa Calleja, left, and Cecilia Morales worked the presort line at Eureka Recycling in Minneapolis, pulling obvious nonrecyclables… BRIAN PETERSON, STAR TRIBUNE (http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/1531616249_10022302+1achinawaste071518.J A Chinese ban on accepting U.S. recyclables is having a ripple effect in Minnesota, where the economics of recycling have imploded. Mixed… Page 18 7/18/2018 Minnesota recyclers scramble in wake of Chinese restrictions - StarTribune.com http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-recyclers-scrambling-in-wake-of-chinese-restrictions/488198641/2/2 “I don’t think this is doomsday. I don’t think what China is doing is bad,” Keegan said. “The recycling industry has to adapt. I think we need to make cleaner product. That’s going to cost money. And I think that cost is borne by — and must be borne by — the generator: the consumer.” ‘Seems to find a way’ China once happily accepted dirty loads of America’s mixed paper, commingled plastics and other recyclables. But since 2012 the country has tightened its standards for acceptable contamination in recycling shipments. Adam Minter, a Minnesota native and authority on waste whose 2013 book “Junkyard Planet” chronicled the worldwide recycling market, cited a number of reasons for the Chinese shift, including environmental concerns, less use of mixed recyclables in manufacturing, favoritism toward state-owned companies and the public relations benefits of rejecting foreign trash. The short-term impacts are likely to be higher rates for residents, he said. Minter expects entrepreneurs will eventually build facilities in America that help turn the recycled materials into new products. “The recycling world always seems to find a way through this,” Minter said, highlighting the announcement last month (https://www.midlandpaper.com/green-bay-packaging- announces-new-500-million-facility/) of a new $500 million mixed paper recycling plant opening in Green Bay, Wis. Governments in other states (https://www.wastedive.com/news/what-chinese-import- policies-mean-for-all-50-states/510751/) , like Oregon, Massachusetts and Washington, have granted recyclers permission to landfill or burn materials in response to the China restrictions. Minnesota law (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/115A.95) bars landfills and incinerators from accepting recyclables unless “the [MPCA] commissioner determines that no other person is willing to accept the recyclable materials.” “One of the questions people have been asking is, ‘The law doesn’t say anything about if the market is more expensive,’” said Mark Rust, supervisor of the MPCA's Sustainable Materials Management Unit. He said the agency has been talking with industry leaders about other options, such as stockpiling materials, that state officials would want to discuss before granting an exemption to the law. eric.roper@startribune.com 612-673-1732 StribRoper Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23