Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 22, 1990 TAG: 9003232459
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Town Manager George Nester told council members during a work session Tuesday that 3,300 bins will be purchased with money from the grant.
Vinton is the first Roanoke Valley locality to approve a mandatory recycling program. After July 1, the beginning of the 1991 fiscal year, the town will apply for a second grant, also in the amount of $10,500. That grant will be spent on a chassis for a truck that will be used to collect the recyclable items.
Council also agreed to buy lids for the containers for residents who choose to store them outside. The lids will be sold to residents at cost, $2.30 each, Nester said.
In other action:
Nester read a request from the Vinton Breakfast Lions Club asking to use the Vinton Farmers' Market as a site for yard sale in April. At a work session last month, council agreed to give civic groups use of the market area and evaluate each request separately.
If the request is approved during council's regular meeting in April, the Lions Club will be the first group to hold such an event at the market, Nester said.
Nester reminded council about the upcoming Clean Valley Day, an annual event that will take place on April 21 this year.
Although the town is offering prizes of $150, $100, and $50 to clubs or civic organizations that bring in the most trash, "there's been very little response," despite the fact that the town has actively encouraged participation, Nester said.
Council decided to continue promoting Clean Valley Day. Interested groups may contact David Fulk at the Public Works Department, Nester said.
Councilman Don Davis suggested that the town get involved in the Department of Transportation's "Adopt-a-Highway" program, where civic groups volunteer to clean up a particular stretch of highway on a regular basis. Nester agreed to look into it.
Nester also reminded council about the upcoming 1990 census. The forms, he said, should be delivered to residents by Friday.
"We need to stress the importance [to town residents] of the forms' being completed," he said.
Nester said the information from the forms "will be held in strict confidence," and will not be shared with the Internal Revenue Service or law enforcement agencies. The information is vital to the town's future education, social services, and sales tax distribution funding, he added.
Council went into an executive session to discuss a real estate, a personnel, and a consolidation-related matter.
Council did not divulge the nature of the personnel and consolidation issues, but Nester announced that the town has agreed to enter into a lease-purchase agreement for a 1,200-square-foot pre-engineered metal building. The town will erect the building on lot 6 of the Vinton Industrial Park. The cost will be determined after bids have been received.
Once the price is known and the fees are calculated, the building will either be sold or leased to "a good, established industry," Nester said, adding that the name of the firm will be announced later. He described the firm as "high-tech" and said it will employ 50 people.
by CNB