AGENDA #5m

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

FROM:            Bill Terry, Interim Public Works Director

SUBJECT:       Use of Bio-diesel Fuel for Chapel Hill/Carrboro School Buses

DATE:             March 30, 2004

This budget working paper provides information on the feasibility and interest in providing bio-diesel to the buses operated by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School system.

BACKGROUND

During the budget process, the Town Council requested that the Town of Chapel Hill investigate any interest on the part of the school system in fueling their fleet of school buses with bio-diesel from the town’s fuel station.

DISCUSSION

The Director of Transportation for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System, Mary Lin Truelove, has indicated that all of the school buses currently are fueled on-site by the Orange County Schools Transportation Director.   Nearly all of the buses are parked overnight at the schools which they serve.  Because of the hours during which they operate, fueling during the day is impractical.  The school system staff believes that the drivers would not have sufficient time in their schedule to go to a central location for fueling during their work day.  The on-site fueling is the most important aspect of the service provided by Orange County.

Mr. Robert Miller, Schools Transportation Director for Orange County, said that he purchases, stores and delivers fuel to the school buses where they are parked.  This is done with county-owned trucks and county employees.

Both Ms. Truelove and Mr. Miller were invited to meet with Chapel Hill Public Works if their needs changed and both were appreciative of the offer.  They indicated that the offer would be considered as operational needs dictated.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Town of Chapel Hill remain open to the possibility of becoming the bio-diesel fuel vendor for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools system if their operational needs change such that they need a new or additional supplier of diesel fuel in the future.