During last year's budget process, the Vienna Town Council decided to stop picking up and disposing of so-called white goods. What councilmembers didn't realize was how popular the service is among many town residents. "I will say we erred in not getting public opinion on this," said Mayor Jane Seeman.
At its Dec. 6 meeting, the Town Council heard members of the public speak about the issue during a reconsideration of the service. The town provides, as a free service, pick up of the white goods — appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, microwaves, hot water heaters, stoves and washers and dryers.
The items would be picked up curbside at residents' homes and taken to the Northside Property Yard where they are stored temporarily. Residents around the property yard, Seeman explained, have complained about the practice. "It's unsightly, and it's noisy," she said.
After enough appliances have been gathered to make a "full load," that load is taken to a disposal facility in Lorton.
"It is a service that has outlived its usefulness," said Dennis King, director of the Vienna Department of Public Works.
The council cut the service as a cost-saving measure, and as of Jan. 1, 2005, the town will no longer offer the service.
The exact amount the town spends on the service is unavailable. However, King provided information to the council which calculates the cost to the town for disposing of one load of white goods as $264.03. "It usually takes about three months before we get a load," King said.
Four loads per year would come to an annual cost of $1,056.12. These numbers are likely to be high. The estimates provided includes the removal of CFCs, a chemical whose primary function is cooling. It is used in refrigerators and air conditioners and has been shown to deplete the ozone layer.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has standards which the town must follow in disposing of items which contain CFCs.
However, while the estimate assumes removing CFCs from every white good collected, only four of the 13 identified white goods actually have the potential to contain CFCs.
Additionally, the federal government phased out the production of some CFCs in 1996, and many appliance manufacturers have models which no longer use the chemicals.
VIENNA RESIDENT Herbert Dern, calculated that the amount a Vienna citizen pays on his or her annual tax bill is between $7.43 and $3.49 for disposing of the white goods. "It's very cheap, and I think my figures are probably high," he said.
Several others came to speak in favor of continuing the pick up. "This is something that a small town would do for its citizens," said Gerry Komandt.
"This is one of those things I always appreciated," said Kathleen Lake.
Other residents, however, spoke in favor of cutting the program. "It's something that people can do on their own when they purchase a new one," said Carey Sinenicki.
Town officials attached a document showing the fees that many local retailers charge to remove a "white good." Charges ranged from free to $20, with most places charging $10. However, this does not account for a delivery charge, and many businesses will only remove one appliance after it has delivered a new one.
An operating cost exists for the town, which is more difficult to calculate. The town is under increasingly stringent regulations about the proper disposal of different items. "We take the debris we pick up in five different directions," said King.
Additionally, town employees who are dealing with the disposal of white goods are not working on other projects. "It's time that could be spent on other things," said John Schoeberlein, town manager.
The issue is about more than the money, said Councilmember Laurie Cole. "There were many good and substantial reasons for the policy decision," she said.
The Town Council ultimately decided to defer on a 6-1 vote (Councilmember Sydney Verinder the lone dissenter) a decision on whether or not to reinstate the program until after the mid-year budget review in January. As a result, pick-up will stop on Jan. 1. It may or may not be reinstated later that month.
In other business, the Town Council authorized spending $133,141 for drainage improvements along Center Street South. It also authorized the purchase of two new trash trucks at a cost of $258,400 and an ATV at a cost of $6,698.50. The ATV will be used to help plow snow from sidewalks