Town of Gardnerville approves trash rate hikes

Residents and businesses of Gardnerville proper can expect their trash rates to increase come July.

On Tuesday, town board members voted unanimously to approve a staggered 3.5-percent increase effective next month.

The change will start with a 1.5-percent increase in July, then finish with a 2-percent increase in January 2010.

Town Manager Jim Park said the increased revenue, approximately $26,657 annually, will balance the town's health and sanitation fund and increase the capital reserves used for equipment replacements.

Tuesday's meeting was the second of two required public hearings.

"There's still been zero objections," Park said.

Presently, a Gardnerville household pays $49.75 per quarter for trash service. That fee will rise to $50.50 in July, and to $51.50 in January.

Commercial rates will also increase.

The cost of picking up a 2-yard dumpster will rise from $21.63 each pickup to $21.96 in July, and to $22.40 in January.

The monthly rental rate for a 2-yard dumpster will increase from $15 to $16 in July, and to $17 in January.

In other news, the Gardnerville Town Board also approved an update of their 5-year Capital Improvement Program.

Perhaps the most visible project currently underway is the rehabilitation of Eddy Street, between the J.T. Basque Bar and Dining Room and the Eddy Street Book Exchange.

Park set the cost of the project around $160,000, which includes new curbs and gutters, wider sidewalks and a new street. Overhead power lines will also be buried, and parking spaces re-striped. Poles will be installed along Highway 395 to accommodate overhead street banners, which town board members recently approved.

Park expects construction to be completed by the end of the month.

"It's a nice project that adjacent residents and businesses will be proud of," he said.