ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609250088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
Saying the change was needed as a negotiating tool, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night approved giving the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority power to collect garbage in the region.
Supervisors voted unanimously in support of changing the authority's charter to allow collection of residential and commercial waste.
Authority officials have said they want the option to collect residential trash if a regional system is created. They also want to reserve the power to collect commercial trash if a large percentage of garbage is hauled out of the area by the private haulers who traditionally perform that service. Browning Ferris Industries has already begun hauling some trash out of the region, saying the $55 tipping fee at the Smith Gap landfill is too high.
Diane Hyatt, director of finance for the county, said BFI's actions will divert 30,000 tons of garbage and cost the authority $1.6 million in revenue this year. Under the authority's charter, the county would have to pay 40 percent of that, or $600,000, if the loss resulted in a budget deficit for the authority.
BFI representative Karen Freeland said pressure from competitors forced her company's actions.
"If we were to stop taking waste out of the valley right now, it wouldn't matter because someone else would," she said.
Freeland urged supervisors to consider lowering the tipping fees rather than putting the resource authority in position to compete with local businesses.
County Administrator Elmer Hodge, who urged supervisors to approve the charter changes, also suggested they look into lowering the tipping fee at the Smith Gap landfill, saying that could be done by increasing the efficiency of operations within the resource authority.
Supervisor Chairman Bob Johnson told Freeland the charter changes are needed to give the authority bargaining power in negotiations with private companies.
"We just want to be able to put our feet under the same table as you and be on a level playing field," he said.
Rob Glenn, chairman of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, said his organization opposed the charter changes. He asked supervisors to explore refinancing of the authority's debt so that tipping fees could be reduced.
Roanoke City Council voted 4-3 against changing the charter. Vinton Town Council deferred a vote until after the supervisors made their decision. All three localities must agree before any change can be made in the authority's charter, and a second round of hearings would be required before the authority could begin collecting trash.
Also Tuesday, supervisors voted to approve a state-recommended open-burning ordinance that requires county residents in both rural and urban areas to obtain permits for burning yard waste and brush. The permits will be free and can be obtained over the telephone through the Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
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