Ravenna City Council will be looking for feedback from city residents in the month ahead to find out if they're willing to pay more for recycling. 

Council President Andrew Kluge said neighborhood meetings will take place on Wednesdays, starting July 14 at Councilwoman Christina West's home at 732 Eastland Ave., and continuing the following week at Councilwoman Cheryl Wood's home at 1083 Susan Road. Two other residents, who live in wards 1 and 3, also have agreed to host outdoor gatherings.

Kluge said council is likely to consider an ordinance on recycling at a special meeting on July 19, but it would not address the concept of having one hauler pick up both. 

"We heard from a lot of residents who didn't like the idea of a single hauler," he said.

Last month, council discussed the idea of seeking proposals for recycling, after learning that recycling fees for residents were likely to increase. The Portage County Solid Waste District told council this spring that it plans to increase rates for city residents to $5.50 per month. That's the same fee city residents now pay, but $3 of that fee goes to fund other city services, such as leaf and brush pickup, mulch grinding and bi-annual spring clean-up.

Kluge told council at that time that the best price was likely to come from a single hauler who would collect both trash and recycling. 

Conrad's, the Atwater hauler who handles spring clean-up for the city, wrote messages on its Facebook page, thanking people who came to Tuesday's meeting to speak on the company's behalf. Council considered an ordinance increasing rates to $8.50 Tuesday, but that ordinance, along with another ordinance renewing the city's contract with the county, was tabled.

Barb Conrad, owner of the business, said the company has thousands of customers in Ravenna, and she is concerned that if Ravenna switches to a single hauler, other communities would follow the city's lead. Because Conrad's doesn't have its own landfill, she said it's difficult to compete with large companies. 

"Small businesses have the right to survive in this country," she said. "It's about freedom of choice."

She said although Conrad's would be able to handle city-wide trash pickup, recycling is not cost-effective. She encouraged the city to keep the county as its recycling hauler. 

"Recycling will go up," she said. "But tell me something that hasn't gone up. Has anybody gone grocery shopping lately?"

Service Director Kay Dubinsky said if Conrad's goes out of business, community cleanup would also go away, because the hauler is the only one that bids on trash pickup. 

Councilman Rob Kairis pointed out that Tuesday's meeting was the first time in more than a year that residents had a chance to come to a meeting in person, and he believed the matter is being rushed through.

"There's people here who are passionate about trash and recycling," he said. "How many people in our community don't know about this because it hasn't been properly vetted?" He added that the issue "affects everybody in our community." 

Wood said she received at least 100 calls on the issue, plus texts and emails. Most of those people, she said, told her that they would rather pay an extra $3 a month than have the city select a hauler on their behalf. 

"I do think we have taken the time to listen to the public and what they want," she said.

Mayor Frank Seman said the cost of recycling is rising, and haulers, like many other industries, have a hard time finding workers.

"I know of no other option to bring in right now that's going to be cheaper," he said.