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Wednesday, May 27, 2015
CITY COUNCIL
Garbage has city ďŹ t to be tied Council’s 3-3 vote Monday night on commercial garbage collection could result in future tax increase “I don’t believe that the city has any business being in business against the private people.â€?
MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
P
ort Alberni city council couldn’t reach a majority vote to cancel commercial garbage collection, so the service will continue, against the city engineer’s recommendation. City engineer Guy Cicon recommended council scrap the service, as it would cost too much to replace aging equipment and hire more labour. T he city lost $51,000 from the service last year and business is declining. An anticipated July 1 ban by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District on cardboard in the landfill complicates the issue. “My conclusion was that we didn’t have enough labour or equipment or bins to offer cardboard service,� said Cicon. It would cost the city additional funds to ramp up for including cardboard collection, he noted. Currently, the city operates commercial garbage collection
Ron Paulson, city councillor
CICON
for more than 200 local businesses – about 20 per cent of the market – and more than a dozen municipal buildings. The city’s aging commercial garbage truck requires a $380,000 replacement. Cicon recommended the city use the smaller bins for munici-
pal buildings and include it as part of the residential garbage collection. The city competes with three private companies in Port Alberni that pick up dumpsters from businesses. Stacy Watton, CUPE Local 118 president, wrote a letter to council urging them to continue the city-run commercial service. “By currently subsidizing dumpster service for $50,000 you collect and dispose of current facility garbage, a good portion of the town’s litter cleanup, control over your own garbage collection, many unaccounted garbage incidentals, support
community groups and a good union job,â€? Watton wrote. Cancelling the service and switching to residential collection for municipal buildings would not save the city any money, she argued. Council split a 3–3 vote to discontinue the commercial garbage collection, resulting in no change and business as usual. There was no decision on whether to further invest to replace the garbage truck. Mayor Mike Ruttan, councillors Ron Paulson and Sharie Minions voted to discontinue the service. Councillors Dan Washington, Chris Alemany and Denis SauvĂŠ voted to keep the service going. Coun. Jack McLeman, whose son works for a private garbage collection company in the city, did not participate in the debate or vote. “I see us going in a different direction,â€? said Coun. Paulson, noting the city should turn towards collecting garden waste.
“I don’t believe that the city has any business being in business against the private people,â€? Paulson said. With both commercial garbage and garden waste collection, the city would be on the hook for about $600,000 in vehicle costs, he added. Coun. Alemany argued that a large private conglomerate would take over the market if the city discontinued the service. But Mayor Ruttan responded that city council can’t speculate on what the market will do. If the city pursues collection of garden waste, it will cost residents, Ruttan said. “We are committing the city down the road, in a very short time, to at least a three per cent increase in property taxes,â€? Ruttan said. Martin. Wissmath@avtimes.net Âť We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to news@ avtimes.net. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
TRANSPORTATION
‘Frances Barkley’ back in business to BamďŹ eld KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Three months ago, the major lifeline to Bamfield was cut off. The MV Frances Barkley had been out of service after striking something at sea and has just recently resumed regular service. The vessel, which provides daily passenger and freight service, was on a scheduled run to the small community when it was damaged in the canal. “We speculate it hit a deadhead,� said Mike Surrell, owner of Lady Rose Marine Services. “No one knew there was an issue until we started losing oil.� When the crew took the gear box apart to inspect the damage, they found a broken shaft and knew it was major. “It was an integral part of the vessel that failed,� Surrell said. “It is like the transmission of a car breaking. “Everyone felt sick. We knew it was a big problem.� It took two months for local workers to machine build and re-install all the parts. The vessel was transported by steam to Point Hope Shipyard and staff from Lady Rose Marine
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The ‘MV Frances Barkley’ has resumed service to Bamfield after three months of repairs. [TIMES FILE PHOTO]
Services rented an apartment while completing the job. They worked 10-hour days on something Surrell equated to performing heart surgery. In the interim, the company was forced to use a 50-foot landing craft, a Carryem water taxi, to load and unload freight and keep the service running. One of the main ways businesses and residents of Bamfield acquire
goods is by water. The alternative is a rough, dirty logging road. For the people of Bamfield, the disruption in service required adjustments to be made to daily life. At the general store, employee Neil Wright was happy to see the return of the Frances Barkley. The store gets all of its stock three times a week by boat,
which usually adds up to a total of 5,000-10,000 pounds of freight each week. They had to cut back orders significantly, but were still receiving about two pallets piled six feet high, which came with challenges of loading and unloading from the water taxi. “The boys (running the Carryem) took care of us pretty good,� Wright said. “They did
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the best they could with what they had. It was a lot of work to carry the stuff up the ramps.� Besides goods, the community relies on foot traffic, and with two months of very little tourists, the business took a hit. “They help out with the bottom line at the end of the day,� Wright said. “We didn’t order as much as normal for the beginning of the season. It was a tough thing for Mike to go through.� Surrell said his office staff stepped up and were busy loading and unloading on the dock. The service transports anything that can be carried on board and hits several miscellaneous waypoints en route to Bamfield. Surrell said the vessel is now in tip-top shape and reservation numbers are steadily climbing. “We are lucky we have very skilled labour here,� he said. “Our engineers are phenomenal.� At the rate in which business has resumed, with both an influx of passengers and freight, Surrell expects this to be a busy tourist season. Kristi.Dobson@avtimes.net
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