Community: Red Cross helping Sunrise tenants find new homes. 3
Art From flying pig Arts: to ssinister fairies. 19
Sport Sports: Wa Rock Wall team on top. 22 Wednesday, April 1, 2015 · mapleridgenews.com · est. 1978 · (office) 604-467-1122 · (del iver y ) 60 4- 4 66 - 63 97
Head of the city retiring Jim Rule has been Maple Ridge CAO since 2002 By Neil Corbett ncorbett@mapleridgenews.com
City Hall is losing its head. Maple Ridge Chief Administrative Officer Jim Rule has announced that he will retire from his job at city hall this spring. Rule’s last work- Rule ing day will be May 29. “He’s an extremely steady CAO, and it’s been a pleasure working with him,” said Mayor Nicole Read. “He’s been very supportive.” See Rule, 13
Believing Emileigh Gessner of Freestyle Dance Centre performs Somebody to Love in the solo competitive program during the View Dance Challenge at the ACT on Friday. Tim Fitzgerald/THE NEWS
Council considers garbage pickup Agrees that public would have to approve any changes By Neil Corbett ncorbett@mapleridgnews.com
The one thing Maple Ridge councillors agree on is that residents will get an opportunity to approve a municipally administered garbage collection system to replace the existing user-choice one. But council hasn’t determined how that discussion will take shape. Maple Ridge is unique in the Lower Main-
land for its system, which sees four private contractors providing garbage pickup, at rates and terms agreed upon by the homeowner and the business. The average cost is about $288 per household per year, according to a report by city hall. Other options would be a contracted-out system administered by the city, or an inhouse system where the city purchases garbage trucks and hires staff. Coun. Corisa Bell said members of the public are asking for a city-administered system, and said the issue should not wait until the next election, when it could be put to
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It’s got Canada talking — with their mouths full.
referendum, as some of her council colleagues suggest. The handling of organics in the waste stream highlights the lack of consistency in the present system. Bell noted not all of the city’s service providers are handling organic waste, but since Jan. 15 Metro has put a ban on organics in the waste steam. By June, companies will be Spiers charged a 50 per cent tipping fee surcharge on all loads containing organics dumped at the Metro Vancouver transfer station.
See Garbage, 5
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These charges will be the responsibility of private haulers. The discussion prompted lively debate among councillors. Coun. Craig Spiers argued that he hauls his own garbage to the transfer station, and a mandatory city-wide collection system would be “the biggest tax increase I’ve ever had.” He asked staff to provide the number of people who don’t contract a garbage handler, as part of the information council should consider.
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