ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609250051
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DOWNTOWN ROANOKE INC. wants the city to start taking garbage twice daily for businesses in the tourist magnet. But the city's price tag is $15,000 a year.
It's evening at the Roanoke City Market. Tourists and townsfolk stroll toward restaurants and the Mill Mountain Theatre - passing piles of garbage set out for the night's collection.
"A good portion of the time it's unsightly and, at times, a little odorous," said Rob Callahan, proprietor of 309 First Street restaurant and a member of a Downtown Roanoke Inc. committee designated to do something about the situation.
Downtown Roanoke Inc., a private organization of central business district merchants and property owners, believes it has the answer: twice-nightly collection. The group wants city trash crews to make a first pass at 5:30 as rush hour ends but before the dinner crowd arrives, and again after midnight when downtown's 60-or-so restaurants close. Currently one city truck with a crew of three covers downtown every night but Sunday. The truck begins making its rounds at 8 p.m. and finishes at midnight.
Bill Clark, Roanoke's director of public works, doesn't dispute the unsightliness of trash piled up on sidewalks, but he said the extra collection would cost $15,000 a year. That's because the city must pay a minimum of two hours' time to employees working overtime.
On top of that, Clark said, businesses in other areas such as along Williamson and Grandin roads would demand comparable service. Right now, they receive twice-weekly collection compared to six nights a week downtown.
The city provides no collection at all to large establishments such as industrial plants. Clark said private collectors pick up the trash from Valley View Mall, which is private property.
Clark said his staff surveyed Virginia communities and found that "the vast majority" don't provide extra services downtown. Charlottesville, he said, was the only city providing two commercial pickups a day without charge.
But Matthew Kennell, executive director of Downtown Roanoke Inc., countered that the City Market is "a unique, special place" because it has been named the 63rd best public place in America by a New York urban design and architectural organization. It's the No. 1 destination in the valley, Kennell said, and the center of much of the community's life.
The new pedestrian bridge brings visitors to the market from Hotel Roanoke, Kennell said, and "it looks like a trash dump."
Clark wrote a letter this week to Robert Manetta, president of Downtown Roanoke Inc., offering to open competitive bidding to private collectors to determine the cost of a double collection. Kennell said the organization will meet to consider its response. The matter may ultimately go to Roanoke City Council.
Kennell said some businesses might be willing to pay more money for the twice-a-night service, but he added that downtown is generating more business and more tax revenue than other parts of the city.
Under the city policy, all small businesses receive free pickup for the first 10 containers (or bags) of trash they put out each week with a charge for more trash.
Callahan of 309 First Street said market merchants have discussed the collection issue for years. He puts out his restaurant's trash from lunch hour to shortly after 5 p.m., and it's generally picked up by the city between 9 and 11 p.m.
Callahan holds his dinner-time trash inside the restaurant until the next day's collection. On Saturday night, he must hold it until Monday evening.
Other restaurants deal with their trash in various ways, he said. Awful Arthur's and Billy's Ritz, for instance, share a trash bin. The Market Building has a trash bin for its merchants and food stalls. Callahan said some restaurants may put out their trash when they close at night if they have a place off the sidewalk.
Larry Davidson of the Davidsons men's stores and a member of the downtown trash committee, said the group's focus is on the market area with its myriad of popular restaurants.
He said the organization is trying to get the city to realize the value of the market as a tourist destination and to make a commitment to keep it free of trash.
The city is "in a difficult position," Davidson said, because it can't comply with all requests for additional service. The problem also differs for businesses, including his, which close in the evening compared with restaurants that are open until midnight or later.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Downtown proprietors want the cityby CNBto pick up trash after the rush hour but before the dinner crowd
arrives, and again after midnight when restaurants close. color.