On January 10th, The City of Blue Ridge adopted a new garbage ordinance during its first city council meeting of the year. The ordinance was introduced last month and since then remains the same. According to the ordinance, Blue Ridge will only have one trash contractor picking up garbage in the City. The other change is to include bulk containers in pick ups. Water and Sewer Commissioner Rodney Kendall said that the purpose of the changes is to limit the number of garbage truck travelling in and out of the City, which, Kendall said will limit “the nasty gunk on the road” and prevent the heavy trucks from destroying the roadways. Mayor Donna Whitener said that the City currently has a contractor, but will prepare bids to go out by the end of February.

The Council also approved a series of changes to the water and sewer rates. During the meeting, though, Kendall only mentioned one, the tampering fee. In this context, “tampering” is when people turn their water back on after it has been turned off, thus stealing water from the fire hydrant. The fee was increased from $50 to $100. Other changes include a short-term service fee, geared toward landlords and real estate agents. The breakdown of this is $25 service charge (normal fee) and a reduced deposit of $50, which covers service for one week.