Wednesday, Dec. 10, 1997 | 10:54 a.m.
The city of Las Vegas is in the spirit of giving this holiday season and the beneficiary of its generosity is Silver State Disposal Service.
AT the company's request, the Las Vegas City Council is toning down an ordinance that would have forced the garbage disposal company to stay out of residential neighborhoods between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Commercial areas within 300 feet of residences were also included in the time limits.
After being held for a couple of meetings, the proposed law was ultimately killed in September. The reason: Silver State officials told the council it would take a significant rate hike to accommodate the limited pickup times. Councilman Michael McDonald, who proposed and sponsored the bill, agreed to further negotiate with the company.
Three months later, it looks like the City Council will be introducing a watered-down version of the original law. The new proposed ordinance, though not drafted or officially introduced yet, would require the garbage company to meet individually with city officials on where the dumpsters are located on every new commercial and high-density residential project. The city also would discuss the pickup times for the projects with Silver State.
It's the same plan Henderson uses, a city the Las Vegas City Council often used as an example when discussing the first proposed law.
"It's getting them involved with the master plan," McDonald said. "That helps the new areas of town."
For the older, more established areas of town, McDonald is setting up a sort of garbage-complaint hotline at his office. Through tracking the citizens' complaints and documenting them, McDonald is hoping to better pinpoint specific problems residents have with garbage pickup.
"We'll be looking at specifically how to combat (complaints)," McDonald said. "Is it the cans? Is it the truck that's noisy? Is it the commercial area? Then we'll look at how it can be resolved."
Though the new law doesn't have the same kind of bite as the original, McDonald remains optimistic that this time the law will pass. He's been working with Silver State on the matter directly, and doesn't expect any opposition.
"I think this one is really going to work," he said.
Silver State officials could not be reached for comment.
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