ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
With the two most vehemently opposed members absent, City Council on Monday signaled that it's on the verge of granting the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority the ability to compete with private trash haulers for commercial collections.
Council voted 5-0 to reconsider its Sept. 16 vote denying the authority two key charter changes that would enable it to get into the business of collecting commercial and residential trash.
Monday's motion, offered by Councilman William White and seconded by Councilman Nelson Harris, means there will be at least one new round before council takes its final vote on the issue. It's likely to come up again at council's next meeting, Oct. 23, White said.
The action was good news for the resource authority, a trash transfer station and landfill cooperatively owned by Roanoke, Vinton and Roanoke County. Its current charter allows it to dispose of garbage in a landfill, but not to collect it.
The authority is seeking to preserve the stream of Roanoke Valley commercial waste that up until a few weeks ago was dumped entirely in the authority's Smith Gap Landfill at a price of $55 per ton.
That price subsidizes residential trash collection and disposal costs for taxpayers in the three jurisdictions, all of which operate independent trash collection services.
But Browning-Ferris Industries, one of three local commercial trash haulers, began shipping some of its commercial waste to a company-owned landfill a few weeks ago because disposal costs are far cheaper there.
BFI's move has led to concern that other commercial waste haulers - such as Waste Management and Virginia Container Corp. - also would dump their trash elsewhere in an effort to keep prices competitive. If enough trash were diverted, rates could soar for residential trash, driving local real estate taxes up or reducing local government services.
But the vote was bad news for trash haulers who have waged an all-out struggle against the charter changes. Besides preserving their exclusive right to collect commercial trash, at least one hauler - BFI - has been trying to win the city's business on residential collections.
Representatives of BFI were unavailable for comment Monday.
The private haulers have argued that the resource authority would unfairly compete against them on commercial collections, using tax dollars to drive them out of the local market.
To take effect, the charter changes would have to be approved by all three local governments that are part of the resource authority.
The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the changes Sept. 24, but Vinton Town Council has taken no action on them.
Roanoke City Council on Sept. 16 voted 4-3 against the charter changes, with White and Harris voting against them. They were joined by Mayor David Bowers and Councilman Jim Trout.
On Monday, both White and Harris indicated they'd changed their minds.
"I didn't feel [on Sept. 16] like I was fully informed on the issue, the options, and the resource authority's intentions," Harris said after the vote. Harris added that he's still against government competing with private haulers for commercial trash. But he favors regionalizing residential trash collection under the authority. The charter change is the only way to accomplish that.
"This is a possible opportunity for regional cooperation," White said. "I just think council should reconsider."
Bowers missed the meeting because he is in Wonju, Korea, at a celebration of Roanoke's 30-year "sister city" relationship with Wonju. Trout also was out of town Monday.
The charter change, if passed by all three governments, wouldn't automatically give the authority the right to start commercial collections. All three governments would have to approve that in a separate vote later.
In other action Monday, council:
* Approved, 5-0, the forgiving of a $212,000 loan to Total Action Against Poverty which the organization spent on removing asbestos from the old Dumas Hotel on Henry Street. The building is now home of the Henry Street Music Center.
Relatives of the last owners of the building unsuccessfully appealed to council to foreclose on the property and sell it back to the family, which sold it to the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority under the threat of condemnation in 1987.
* Approved, 5-0, a $5.6 million contract to Bryant Electric Co. of North Carolina for the construction of the Tinker Creek sewer interceptor. The interceptor is a new sewage line that is part of a massive upgrade of the Roanoke Valley's sewage plant. Bryant's bid was the lowest of six fielded by the city, and $1 million under the next lowest bid.
* Approved, 5-0, the city spending up to $335,000 to buy five properties in Southwest for parking for its employees. They are: 512 and 516 Luck Ave. and 505, 506 and 509 Church Ave. The city will tear down structures on each parcel and pave them for parking.
* By a unanimous voice vote, kicked Thaddeus Henry Hale Jr. off the Board of Commissioners of the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Hale has missed five meetings of the board in the past five months, City Clerk Mary Parker told council. He hasn't responded to three letters the city sent him.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 linesby CNB